Naruto:
Edge of Tomorrow
Chapter 3
-Konohagakure no Seto:
Relationships-
By Geor-sama
"Hmm, running a bit late..." Teuchi muttered, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was well past time for the boy to arrive, which was a shame, since nobody else liked ramen for breakfast...Which cut into their meager profits.
"I know," Ayame remarked from the table she was cleaning.
"Why'd he have to get a girlfriend?" Teuchi muttered, turning to stare at her in exasperation. How had he angered the gods that they would do such a thing to him?
"You're not about to say he shouldn't have one because of..." Ayame said glancing at her father darkly.
"Huh? No its just that..." Teuchi sighed, scratching the back of his head. "See Ayame, when a guy gets a girlfriend, he stops coming to this type of place."
"Oh."
Teuchi shook his head, still trying to wrap his head around the concept.
"Well," Ayame grinned in that way, the way that almost shouted that she knew some juicy gossip, which she did. "According to Shiateou-san's granddaughter, she came into the shop a day ago and hired them to make a rather expensive item for the boy."
"She hired Shiateou?" Teuchi whistled, scratching the side of his head. "Talk about expensive! He only works for a few families anymore...but he is the best at what he does."
"He worked especially hard on this one, apparently," Ayame leaned forward, her eyes wide. "According to Usagimimi, they were paid enough to buy three houses in the Yutaka Kingou district."
Teuchi paled at the mere thought of having that much money, and to spend it on... "Sweet kami."
"I know," Ayame said seriously, as if reading his mind. "At least he has someone that cares about him now."
"C-care?!" Teuchi exclaimed. "She spent a small fortune on him; that girl has to be planning on marrying the boy!"
"I don't know; that might be a problem." Ayame glanced at him and sighed, hand on her hip. "After all, the Hyuga don't allow you to marry outside the Clan... Or, at least, that's what everyone says."
"Hey old man, two bowls of ramen..." Naruto suddenly called from the doorway, and Teuchi spun to stare at his number one customer as well as the timid-looking girl at his side. "Hinata-chan, you want something?"
"A-anou...Senzai, if its not too much trouble?"
Naruto sort of pouted, but he shrugged, leading the girl to the counter.
Ayame smiled brightly and hurried around the counter. "Of course! Nothing but the best for the girlfriend of our favorite customer!"
Teuchi nodded in approval, noting the blushes on both teens' faces, and then promptly returned to work on the ramen. Maybe loosing some money wouldn't be so bad if he could keep seeing that boy smiling like that.
"Oi, so, like I was saying, Hinata-chan, that stupid woman ordered me to work in the academy, right?" Naruto said after a moment, his voice indignant. "Which, I mean, is cool 'cause I get to see Iruka-sensei now, but there's all these annoying brats..."
"Anou, umm, did you meet Kiba-kun?"
"Er...no, why would I met him?"
"Well, uh, he's been assigned to help Shikamaru at the academy."
"Oh?"
Teuchi paused at the tone of voice; he knew it all too well. That was Naruto's 'I'm really interested and have a prank in mind, but I'm going to pretend I'm not interested so you never suspect me' tone of voice.
"N-naruto-kun, please don't do anything..." Hinata pleaded, apparently knowing that tone as well. "Uhmm, remember the last time you pranked Kiba-kun? It started a prank war..."
"Hehe, yeah, that was great!" Naruto gloated.
"Anou, you two managed to give our first teacher a nervous breakdown." Hinata protested softly.
"Yeah, but then we got Iruka-sensei!" Naruto protested defensively. "Plus, everyone was laughing all the time..."
"Just, Naruto-kun, for me? Promise that you won't start another prank war."
"Okay," Naruto said, "I won't start the war... But I declare my right to defend myself!"
Even Teuchi heard the smirk in his voice.
Teuchi
Hyūga Neji was the picture of confidence, he had an unshakable believe himself that bordered on an arrogance that no Uchiha could ever hope to achieve. In short he was cocky, and while it was usually well-founded, it was often the crux of his downfall. The most notable example, his most public and humiliating defeat, was in his match against Naruto during his first ChÅ«nin exam.
Of course he had also learned something of humility, of accepting that not everything was predetermined and this usually kept him from falling in such a spectacular manner. It was this odd blend of confidence and humility that had allowed him, when exposed to Naruto's presence, to reach a decision concerning Ino and Tenten. That was why upon his return he had sought out Ino and broken up with her.
It had gone exactly as he expected: some feelings were churned up, but ultimately it was nothing either got very worked up about. After all, on some level they had both known that it was merely a physical attraction and would come to an end soon enough.
After that he had went to the first gathering of Team Gai for lunch, ready to lay out his feelings, as best he could. Yet even when both Lee and Gai had went off, leaving only Tenten and himself behind, there had been a feeling of distance between them. It had disturbed him, because he could neither see nor think of any reason for it.
Tenten had eventually excused herself and left before he could finish his nod.
It was at this point that he began preparing for something, he couldn't quite place a finger on it, but he knew it would be bad. Still he had decide to seek her out once more, in private, to speak with her and hopefully reassure himself that his vague fears were groundless.
Which explained his current location, deep within one Konoha's training grounds, watching her intently in silence. As always, he was captivated by her often-overlooked beauty. The way her ever-practical bangs swayed with her movements and the smirk on her lips as she displayed an accuracy beyond anything that should be humanly possible.
Mostly, though, he was captivated by her eyes: the way they darted from target to target, gleaming with a confidence that spoke to him. Aside from her features, Neji was also captivated by her sleek movements, the grace she displayed with every pivot and twist. Like always he decided that she was poetry in motion.
He watched until, at last, she came to a stop, her breathing heavy, but with a definite aura of pride surrounding her. Entering the clearing completely, he opened his mouth to speak, when she beat him to it.
"We need to talk."
Neji paused, his foreboding increasing, for of course he knew that nothing good ever came after that phrase. His fears now confirmed he prepared himself for the break up that he saw coming, wondering if he had an argument that would work to forestall the impending pain.
Neither moved or said a word for several minutes -she didn't even turn to face him, just continued to stare at last target- before she finally decided to speak. "I've wasted hundreds of kisses on you, kisses that I thought were special. I just can't do this any more."
"Tenten-" Neji began only to have her turn abruptly to stare at him with those hurt brown eyes and words failed him.
"I-I can't this anymore, I can't keep going on and on, like some blind little girl." She paused, fighting back what sounded like a sob, then she lifted her chin to glare at him in defiance. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I can't keep loving you while you don't love me."
"I-" Neji paused, then looked away frowning. What could he say? How could he convey what he felt? That he would give her whatever she wanted?
"Do you have any idea how lonely it is? How much it hurts?" Tenten asked, her tone low and hurt.
Neji unconsciously shook his head a sigh escaping him.
"So-so I've decided I need to move on..." Tenten paused, her tone almost reproachful.
Neji remained silent, heart battling with his mind, but he was Hyūga and in the end the mind won. She wanted to move on and he would give her that if she wanted it. Looking at her once more, memorizing her features while keeping his face blank he spoke. "I understand."
"Neji?" Tenten asked sounding uncertain, almost reproachful.
Nodding curtly to signal goodbye, in the way that he had used when he had been younger, the genius turned and in silence walked away. With all of his arrogance, Hyūga Neji left Tenten standing there with the final proof of just how accurate she could strike with any weapon.
He simply just walked away.
Neji
It was a beautiful -no, glorious- day. Well, maybe she was just too keyed up to be objective about what the day was really like. Hinata just had to face it: when you had spent twenty minutes kissing your boyfriend it was hard to view a day as anything but good.
Hinata actually giggled just thinking about that last, passionate, kiss before he had rushed off to his team training. As a matter of fact, her lips were still tingling from the kiss. It had taken her at least fifteen minutes to catch her breath and then another five to remember that she was supposed to meet Kiba and Shino for lunch.
It was while setting off that she had noted that he was more patient than she had expected. He had yet to push her for anything more than what she offered, which Kurenai had warned her about several times when guys had started noticing her. Naruto, however, seemed perfectly content with things as far as she could tell, and that just made her sigh happily.
On the whole, Hinata thought her day couldn't get any better.
Lost in her little world, she bumped into somebody and stumbled back. Recovering, she looked up at the person she had run into and blinked at the rather odd look on his face. "Anou...Excuse me,"
"Yeah, you better apologize." The young man snapped scornfully before he continued on his way.
Blinking, Hinata stared after him and then looked around, surprised to see that several of the people on the street were looking at her darkly. Some refused to make eye contact with her, others curled their lips in disgust and a few hurried their children away while glaring at her. Hinata frowned, taken back by the looks. What had she done?
Starting forward once more, she turned over her actions, wondering what had caused so many people to glare at her in that fashion. The only other time she saw people look like that was when Orochimaru or Naruto was mentioned. She faltered, wondering if maybe her dating Naruto was the reason behind the looks of disgust she was receiving.
Spotting her three teammates -She couldn't help but consider Akamaru a teammate- waiting patiently near the lamppost, Hinata set that aside for later consideration and hurried toward them. Akamaru saw her first and barked happily, and Hinata, smiling, bowed as she came within a few steps.
"Hey, Hinata!" Kiba exclaimed while Shino merely nodded a silent greeting.
Hinata closed the space to stand with them. "Anou, I'm sorry I'm late. I was-"
"-busy making out," Kiba interjected grinning at her.
"A-anou!" Hinata managed, blushing seven shades of red. "I...I w-was not..."
"Hinata, please. This is me, Inuzuka Kiba! I know when a girl's been making out." He grinned rather wolfishly as Akamaru barked in agreement. "Her eyes are all dreamy, her hair's usually disheveled and... her lips are bruised, especially if it was a good make out session."
"I... Anou..." Hinata blushed even brighter and unconsciously reached up to check her hair and lips.
"Kiba, I wonder if you have actually ever heard of tact," Shino remarked blandly, shaking his head.
"Hey, tact is just not telling the truth." Kiba responded, glaring at the other boy, before glancing back at Hinata with a smirk. "So, anyway, make out queen, we're going to try a new restaurant that allows pets."
Hinata nearly toppled over at his comment, knowing that was the price she paid for being on the same team with Kiba. Worst of all, he wouldn't let this drop any time soon, either; he would just keep teasing her until he got tired of it. The only answer, then, would be to focus on the positive.
She was dating Naruto.
That positive thought got her grinning and daydreaming, which only got as far as another kiss when she was startled back to reality by Kiba's voice.
"-rth to Hinata, hey Hinata, anyone home?" Kiba was saying while waving a hand in front of her face. Seeing he had her attention, he chuckled and started walking away to join Shino. "Man, it's always the quiet ones. I don't even wanna know what you were daydreaming about doing with Naruto."
"W-what?" Hinata managed, eyes wide before she hurried to catch up with the three. "H-how did you know that I was...with Naruto-kun?"
"You're kidding. The entire village knows," Kiba remarked, glancing at her. "The Hyuga Princess with one of the village's biggest troublemakers? Big news."
Hinata stared in shock at her team mate, her eyes wide and mouth gapping slightly.
"Indeed," Shino agreed. "Several people have expressed shock over such an event."
"Not that I blame them." Kiba snorted while continuing to look at her. "Honestly, Hinata, Naruto? What are you thinking?"
"I, anou...I don't see why you seem so shocked," Hinata stammered staring at her friend through narrow eyes. "I've...I've always had a crush on Naru-kun, this shouldn't be a surprise...anou, not really."
"It is unexpected," Shino supplied placidly as ever. "While it is true that opposites often attract, it is more common for the same kind of people to attract each other."
"Yeah, we thought you'd always end up with someone... less... Naruto-ish," Kiba said, smirking.
"I believe it would be more accurate to say that we expected you to begin a relationship with someone better suited to your personality," Shino said, arching an eyebrow.
"Anou, Naruto-kun likes me...uhm, for being me," Hinata protested defensively as they finally turned onto the street that the restaurant was on.
"Hey, we like you for being you, too," Kiba said, shrugging as he hopped off Akamaru's back "But we're not dating... I personally don't see what the big attraction is."
"He thinks, uhmm, Naruto-kun thinks I am bea-beautiful and that my jokes are funny..." Hinata responded, only to have Kiba interrupt her.
"Plus he likes making out with you," he said and then chuckled at her astonishment. "Look, he's a great friend, and all. I just don't get it, okay?"
"He just..." Hinata said after recovering from her surprise. "Naruto-kun makes me happy."
"That is the most important thing," Shino agreed.
"Man... I'm still confused about what you see in that blond dummy," Kiba said in exasperation before smirking. "But, whatever. I'm not the one swapping spit with him every chance I get."
"K-ki-kiba-kun," Hinata stammered scandalized. "P-please don't say things like that..."
Kiba snorted and flashed a smile, followed by a whistle at a girl they passed.
"Kiba had a good idea earlier," Shino said, subtly changing the subject. "Which should not be surprising since even people such as him have their moments."
"Hey!" Kiba protested, with only Akamaru barking in support.
"Anou...what was his idea?"
"He thought that we should camp out and do some training," Shino explained turning his attention to the street. "We wondered if you would like to join us."
"I, uhmmm..." Hinata blushed, looking down to hide her face; she could already hear the jokes coming from Kiba. "Uhmm, I promised...I promised Naruto-kun I would help him unpack at his new place."
"Uh huh," Kiba said loudly with a grin. "I can see a lot of unpacking getting done in that scenario."
Hinata wished the ground would just open up and swallow her.
Hinata
"Tsutenkyaku!"
Seconds later there was an explosion of earth and a jarring sensation, which, thankfully, forced Naruto to pause in his attack. This, in turn, allowed Sakura to collapse to one knee, panting while trying to catch her breath, and Lee to come barreling in to attack the orange and black clad ninja.
Watching the taijutsu exchange, Sakura couldn't believe how much stamina Naruto and Lee had. They'd been at this for most of the morning, as per Gai's and Kakashi's suggestion, and yet they were both barely showing signs of strain. Sakura could hardly believe that, but, then, considering Lee's previous training and Naruto's unique situation, it was to be expected.
Still, she couldn't feel too bad; after all, she beat both in terms of sheer strength and the ability to use genjutsu.
Watching the fight for another few minutes, Sakura frowned, wondering why Naruto was putting so much distance between himself and Lee.
"Taju Kage Bunshin!" Naruto suddenly shouted, and, much to her annoyance, the world was filled with a sea of orange and black.
"That's cheating!" Sakura shouted, only to realize exactly what she was shouting. The basic ground rules for Naruto didn't forbid the use of that technique, just the Rasengan.
"Oi! I'm just evening the odds!" one of the Naruto's shouted in response before the entire group yelled in agreement and charged both Lee and Sakura.
"Okay, he wants to play it rough..." Sakura grumbled, pulling one of her gloves down to tighten it against her fist. "I can do rough..." Seconds later, she dropped to a knee while driving her fist into the ground with enough force to throw the mob of Kage Bunshin charging her off their feet and disappear in a massive amount of acrid smoke.
Smirking, she looked up at where she believed Naruto would be standing. "You'll have to do better than-" her words trailed off, however, as she realized what she was staring at. There was a Naruto, sailing at her, his arm pulled back but... he had a spear... made out of smoke.
"Kemuri Yari!" Naruto shouted as the smoke spear came hurtling at her. Sakura could only blink in surprise and watch, but she felt no real worry since smoke was insubstantial and anything made from it couldn't really cause any damage. Then the smoke spear slammed into her chest and her eyes went wide at the impact.
She was sent sliding several feet away from the attack, her chest throbbing from the blow. Recovering, she shook her head and glared at the smirking blond. "What the hell was that?!"
"The Kemuri Yari no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, thumbing his chest. "One of my latest original jutsu!"
"Well, I think you need to rethink it," Sakura snorted, narrowing her eyes as she prepared to take the boy's head off with a punch.
"Why?"
"Didn't hurt at all," Sakura answered while smirking in a manner that would scare even Ibiki.
"Oh," Naruto said conversationally before giving her that fox-like grin of his. "That's 'cause it's not supposed to."
Sakura felt her eyes widen as she realized what he meant and then, feeling the earth rumbling beneath her feet, she jumped as high as she could. Moments later, a pair of hands burst from the ground and she cursed. She knew he was excellent at out-thinking his opponents; how could she have forgotten? Then she spotted the shadow under her, a shadow which was much too large to be her own.
While she was distracted, she felt a foot connect solidly with her ribs and send her higher. "U-" Another kick, and she went even higher. "Zu-" another kick and even higher. "Ma-" Another kick and higher still. "K-" Sakura, already reeling from the pain, knew what was coming and lashed out with a hand, catching the final incoming kick and twisting so that the Kage Bunshin slammed into the Naruto in the air over her.
That move disrupted, Sakura turned her attention to cushioning her landing. With only the basics of taijutsu, this was going to be a painful experience, but it was doable. Thankfully, she was saved the trouble when Lee caught her in mid-fall and then sprinted away from the main battle area.
"Yosh! Are you alright?!"
"Yea," Sakura managed, breathing heavily and using her skills to ease the pain from the blows. "He's really pushing his luck, though..."
"It is impossible to believe that he could have changed this much," Lee commented seriously. "I have seen film of him from his battle with Neji-san; it is as if we are fighting an entirely different person."
"It is," Sakura admitted as they finally came to a stop and she was allowed to escape his grasp and catch her breath. "He's been training with a battle-intensive sannin for two and a half years, plus he received some advanced training from Kakashi-sensei. He's even stronger than when we both fought Kakashi-sensei when he first returned."
"Yosh, he is a truly worthy opponent with a bright flame of youth!" Lee exclaimed before taking a breath and frowning. "However, I do not see a way to defeat him. I am faster, but his use of ninjutsu is amazing, and I fear he can recover from any injury faster than either of us can inflict them upon him."
"...Either of us," Sakura mused, an idea taking shape in her mind. Lee had a point: alone, they could both push him, but he would ultimately win. However, if they worked together, they could defeat him, just like she and Naruto had managed to defeat Kakashi in the second bell test. "Lee-kun, I have a plan..."
Ten minutes later, Naruto came bursting into the area, making a bee -line for the branch she was standing on. Then, much to his surprise, she nailed him with a round kick to the face which sent him tumbling down to a branch beneath her. Recovering he attempted to throw a punch at her, but Sakura was one step ahead of him and, using his incoming forearm for leverage, flipped over him.
His curse was cut off as her hand, now glowing blue, made glancing contact with the back of his neck for a split second. Sakura winced -the Ranshinsho was not her best move, and such limited contact would not work for long, especially on Naruto. Still, it worked according to plan: Naruto tried to move, but, since the signals in his brain were screwed up, he toppled forward from the tree branch to where Lee was waiting.
"Konoha Daisenpu!"
Seconds later, Naruto was an orange -and -black blur shooting towards her from the impact of a powerful taijutsu kick. She saw the concern on his face, the surprise and, even more, the smoldering fury, which caused a part of her to hesitate, but the rest of her followed through with the plan, and, when he was even with her, she delivered a powerful uppercut to his chin which shot him high above the trees.
Panting and exhausted, Sakura quickly retreated to the ground to join her partner. Lee was grinning as well, the look of a man pleased with himself etched on his face. Sakura, however, was remembering the look in Naruto's eyes, the look that promised that this fight was far from over. She even opened her mouth to say something along those lines to a beaming Lee when something raced up her spine.
Chakra. Vast, unfathomable, Kage-level chakra. And a whistling noise.
High overhead.
Looking up Sakura felt her eyes widen and her mouth gape. Naruto was coming back toward them a hand outstretched, but the air before him was taking the shape of a massive twisting...dragon. Oh kami, he had a one-handed jutsu that could manipulate the air?!
"Kazeryu no jutsu!"
Sakura heard Lee mutter something that sounded like a prayer, and she couldn't blame him; the dragon that was rushing toward them was beyond frightening, plus it was totally unexpected. Sakura had never heard of a wind dragon jutsu, let alone see someone perform it.
Still, she had been trained by a Sannin as well and, while she was by no means the jutsu-fiend that Naruto had apparently become, she did understand the principle behind this attack. Wind was unblockable and, formed into such a condensed shape, it would impact with a great deal of power, which meant that unless they wanted shattered bones, she needed to put something between them to take the brunt of the attack in their stead.
Driving her fist into the ground yet again and breaking a large enough chunk free, she hurled the earth shield into the dragon's path. That should do the trick... Then the dragon twisted around the object as if it were alive, and the chunk of earth shattered against a ridges on its back.
There was only a split second left before impact, and Sakura could think of nothing else to do.
Then, she felt Lee grab her wrist and yank her off her feet, darting away at high speed just as the wind dragon -with something greatly resembling a roar- slammed into the earth with enough force to uproot nearby trees and create a billowing cloud of smoke and debris. Sakura's world went topsy-turvy, the wind almost biting, and her ears nearly bursting from the delayed explosive noise that followed.
Seconds later, she found herself sprawled on the ground, her head throbbing and the sky over head still raining dirt. Blinking, Sakura sat up, a groan escaping her as she did so. Her body was protesting, but it wasn't enough to make her stop. Then, as the dust cloud cleared, she discovered a rather large crater where she had been standing.
Gulping, she turned her attention to Lee, who was already climbing to his feet as well, though he looked rather battered. Cursing under her breath at his use of such a dangerous jutsu, she began searching for Naruto and was disturbed to see him struggling to his feet already as well.
"Why the hell did you use that?! Were you trying to kill us?!"
"Oi, who's the one that tried to take my head off with a punch?" Naruto shouted back just as angrily. Then, after a moment, he grinned sheepishly. "Maybe I did get a little carried away...Uh, how about we call this a draw?"
"Indeed, we should call this a draw," Lee agreed solemnly before he smiled brightly and held a fist before him. "However, I now know who my greatest rival of a lifetime shall be! Great Rival Naruto, we shall meet again and determine a final victor!"
"Ahh... right." Naruto said, blinking rapidly before glancing at her. "Sakura-chan?"
Sakura frowned, then sighed. It was kind of awesome to see. Besides, it didn't exactly go against the ground rules for him and she had, technically gone against her own ground rules for this battle with the Ranshinsho. "Yeah, it's a draw."
"Great!" Naruto shouted, a grin plastering itself on his face as he looked at Lee. "So, you buy the ramen this time right?!"
"And we shall have a contest!" Lee said eagerly. "Whoever eats the most bowls wins!"
Sakura wobbled at the sheer thought of what the green clad ninja was getting himself into. "Ah, Lee, I don't think you want to do that kind of contest with Naruto-"
"Hey, who am I to deny my worthy opponent in the flame of youth a chance at besting me?" Naruto interrupted her, while rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Besides, I'm sure Lee will be happy to buy you some umeboshi!"
"Yosh! Prepare for defeat, my rival!" Lee shouted enthusiastically.
Sakura just shook her head in resignation. At least she would get some umeboshi before her afternoon shift at the hospital. "So, Lee-kun, with all the time you spend training, you don't spend much more than you did back when you were still making a genin's salary, right?"
"Less, actually, since I deprive myself of food sometimes to build my efficiency," Lee responded, nodding as if agreeing with himself. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason..." Sakura sighed, reaching up to massage the bridge of her nose as she started back toward the village. This was going to be a long lunch.
"Why is there a gleam in your eyes?" Lee suddenly shouted behind her, obviously toward Naruto.
Sakura just kept walking.
"YOSH! I know, it is because, as my eternal rival and a fellow bright flame of youth, you can not wait to attempt our challenge!"
A very long lunch.
Sakura
Tsunade hated it when her old comrade was in town, partly because he always stole her sake, but mostly because he was the only person who could make her feel like she was still twelve years old. Jiraiya had never been afraid of her, although he could be intimidated within reason. Still, no matter how hard she tried, she had never been able to make him afraid of her, nor make him stop arguing with her.
Or stop making her feel butterflies like a schoolgirl.
That was the real reason that she hated him, that he could affect her like that. Even when Dan was alive, he had been able to do that on the rare occasion. Still, as much as she hated him, she couldn't quite bring herself to beat him into a bloody smear. Mostly because he was the only person from her early life she had left who wasn't dead, crazy or more of a faithful servant than a friend.
Jiraiya had been the one to seek her out after Nawaki's death and offer her some form of comfort. Tsunade could also remember that he had gotten falling-down drunk with her after her first break-up and, most importantly, he had been the only person besides the Sandaime to turn up at Dan's funeral. Considering how violently those two had gotten along, Tsunade knew just how much Jiraiya had cared about her.
So, she watched him greedily consume her sake and talk about trying to create a mainstream manga. Hated him for how he affected her and his lack of fear. Mostly, though, she wanted him to hurry up and kiss her, and instead of demanding that she started an argument.
Which was what Kakashi walked in on.
"Hokage-sama, you wanted to see me?" Kakashi asked after carefully closing the door and visibly making sure he was not in the line of fire.
Thankfully, this provided Tsunade with the chance to shove her conflicting emotions aside and focus on being Hokage. Shooting her former teammate one last dark look, she focused on Kakashi completely. "Yes, I did."
Kakashi nodded, then reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Err...can I ask why?"
"Because I wanted to check on the runt's progress," Jiraiya grumbled from his spot on the couch. "He's too busy to spar."
"Ah," Kakashi said before raising his single visible eyebrow. "Though, don't you normally just ask me yourself?"
"Which is why I ordered you here," Tsunade said her gaze darkening. "Naruto is my soldier, and I do have a personal interest in him, as well. So, naturally, I find it annoying that I am being kept in the dark as to his progress."
"Yeesh, woman, I already explained all of that," Jiraiya said, laying his head back on the couch. "We worked on seals, and he created a few prank jutsu."
"Seals?" Kakashi inquired blankly.
"Yeah," Jiraiya said, glancing at Kakashi without moving his head. "He has a knack for those. He even discovered a couple of new sealing methods and how to use seals to perform pranks. Master-level, easily but I doubt he'll ever get beyond that level, not enough patience."
"Which is all fine and dandy," Tsunade interrupted grumpily. "However, you've never mentioned just what jutsu you taught him."
"Hai," Kakashi said, sounding interested as well. "I've wondered about that as well. I listened to the explanation of his latest fight, and he has new jutsu, but nothing near what I expected."
"He had other things to learn," Jiraiya responded before sighing as he sat up. "Naruto had no social skills, no patience at all or much of anything else. I had to correct that-"
"Thus the seal training," Tsunade said, cutting him off. "But what Jutsu did you teach him, exactly?"
"Mostly Earth Jutsu from what I heard," Kakashi said before glancing at Jiraiya. "Which is fine, since he has a secondary earth-type chakra. Still, no wind jutsu, no advanced jutsu...Plus you have me teach him Nature Manipulation instead of doing so yourself."
"Well, you are more suited for that than me," Jiraiya explained. "Raikiri is Nature Manipulation taken to the extreme after all. Besides I did help him develop some jutsu and taught him an advanced jutsu. Well, technically it'd be considered kinjutsu..."
Tsunade, whose attention had been lagging slightly since she had almost no interest in this type of discussion, suddenly sat bolt upright and focused on the white haired Sannin intently. "You taught him what?"
"Kinjutsu," Jiraiya responded casually.
"Explain. Now." Tsunade rapped out as she narrowed her eyes, wondering how stupid the man had to be to give such techniques to someone like Naruto.
"It was designed for use against the Akatsuki," Jiraiya explained, locking his gaze with hers, completely unintimidated. "Sakasagouka is extremely deadly. Basically it sets off a chain reaction, inverting every trace of chakra in an area, making it explode violently."
"Like a positive and negative charge trying to co-exist in the same space," Kakashi summarized.
"Exactly. The smallest range for the chain reaction, from just Naruto, could possibly take out a Hidden Village the size of Kusa." Jiraiya said equally serious, without ever looking away from her. "Its not a move that he would ever use if he could help it."
"You said smallest range," Tsunade grated out. "What is the maximum yield?"
"He could conceivably destroy a country the size of Kusa no kuni," Jiraiya answered, frowning. "But only if he used both his own chakra and the Kyubi's."
"You. Fucking. Moron," Tsunade finally managed, staring at him in horror. "What would possess you to create that technique, let alone teach it to Naruto?!"
"I was being realistic, just like when I invented the Hakke no Fūin Shiki." Jiraiya responded. "We have to face the possibility that there is a chance Naruto could be captured or faced with a situation where he'll have no chance to survive. "
Tsunade bit her tongue at that, considering the truth behind his words. It was true, and it was better that he had something for a last-ditch effort, but still...The sheer amount of damage that could do...Tsunade massaged her temples, almost groaning. If it wasn't for how things with the Yondaime had worked out, Tsunade would have ripped his head off for the sheer idiocy of this.
"Fine," Tsunade finally grated out giving Jiraiya a sour look. "So, what about those jutsu?"
"They were Naruto's idea actually," Jiraiya said, scanning her desk for a fresh bottle of sake.
"So he can create something other than the Sexy no Jutsu?" Kakashi remarked in amusement.
"Of course, he's not a complete moron after all." Jiraiya said grinning. "Anyway, the first one he came up with was the Kazeryu no Jutsu."
"You mean Kazeryudan," Kakashi corrected automatically.
"No, its the Kazeryu, and it's A-ranked," Jiraiya said before glaring at Tsunade. "Where the hell is your sake?"
Tsunade smirked crossing her arms. "Out of your hands. Now finish telling us about Naruto's jutsu you foul-smelling lush."
"Oh, that's the pot calling the kettle black if I ever heard it," Jiraiya shot back.
Tsunade merely arched an eyebrow, enjoying the frustration in his features. Then, remembering that they were supposed to be talking about Naruto and his abilities, she cleared her throat motioning for him to continue. Jiraiya sighed, muttered something and complied.
"Fine. Basically, it uses Wind to create a dragon...only unlike the other Dragon techniques 'Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu' and 'Katon: Karyu Endan' it can be used in any environment and its one handed."
"Because it's wind?" Kakashi guessed sighing.
"That and the fact that its being powered by a near-Kage amount of charka," Jiraiya shot back smiling. "It is highly destructive and very hard to control. So, naturally, he loves to use it when he can..."
"Naturally," Tsunade grumbled, beginning to drum her fingers on the desk. "So, what is the last justu?"
Jiraiya, apparently noticing her old habit that signaled impatience and danger, offered a placating smile as he held his hands up. "The Kazeho-ou no jutsu, the 'sister' move to the Kazeryu. Basically its weaker overall compared to the Kazeryu but due to the amount of detail and thus manipulation of form it is perfectly suited toward countering the Kazeryu."
Tsunade nodded, closing her eyes for a moment to absorb the information. Opening them once more, she stared at the two men before shaking her head. "Impressive, I'll say that."
"Thank you," Jiraiya beamed.
"However, I could have sworn I had explained the importance of making sure he could at least qualify for his dream job," Tsunade finished darkly, glaring at the man.
"Trust me, he'll qualify for Hokage even without meeting that 'Thousand Move' requirement," the large man said smugly, reaching out to pat Kakashi's shoulder. "Its all about quality over quantity, and with the Nature Manipulation, Hatake here is giving him, combined with the Form Manipulation Naruto will have quality out the wazoo."
"...Still, a thousand moves is a requirement," Kakashi said thoughtfully.
"If it was, then a one-trick pony like her couldn't have the job," Jiraiya said, gesturing at a scowling Tsunade.
Tsunade took a breath -several deep breaths actually- felt the vein in her forehead begin to throb and shot Jiraiya a look that made him turn green. Then, she began to climb to her feet.
"Ah ah," Kakashi said nervously, waving his hands attempting to forestall the coming slaughter. "He does have a point Hokage-sama, and if he can combine both Form and Nature Manipulation, he'll finally complete the Rasengan."
Tsunade grunted, preparing to stomp toward her almost cowering former teammate when what the JÅ?nin had said registered. Freezing, she gaped, staring at the man in surprise. The Rasengan was incomplete? The single most powerful jutsu she had ever seen was...flawed? Impossible, but that was what both were saying, or hinting at...
"Impossible,"
"Yondaime-sensei was trying to combine Nature Manipulation and Form manipulation. He took Form Manipulation to the highest level, the Rasengan. He always intended to combine the two, but it proved impossible for him and for me. Anyone that has tried has failed."
Jiraiya nodded, rubbing at his neck. "I figured that if Naruto could grasp the basics of the Rasengan in such a short amount of time, then maybe he could do it. Plus, he does have a way of making the impossible into merely difficult."
"True," Kakashi admitted, scratching at his cheek. "I believe Naruto is the only one that can do it."
Tsunade slowly eased herself back into her seat, staring at them, and then looked down at her hands. She wanted to rant at them about the sheer stupidity of expecting Naruto to surpass a legend, but she knew they were right. If anyone could accomplish such a feat, it would be Naruto. Which meant...
"What happens when he does it?"
"He creates the only U-ranked jutsu in existence and completely surpasses the Yondaime," Jiraiya answered with smug satisfaction. "Completing the jutsu requires so much control, skill and power that, even if all of the Akatsuki worked together, I doubt they could hope to produce anything even close to the sheer devastating power of what Naruto will create."
"Also, since he knows Nature Manipulation and can use it, it'll help his other jutsu in terms of power and skill," Kakashi explained, his eye curving up in a smile while a heart floated behind his head. "He'll be stronger than me within three months, especially if he uses the training method I developed for him."
"Since he improves with each battle and strenuous training, such as Nature Manipulation training," Jiraiya added in mock aggravation, "give him a year and a half, and he should be able to match me."
"Unless he somehow manages to complete the rasengan and then...he's stronger than anybody." Kakashi added in amusement.
Tsunade was silent for several long minutes, the sheer amount of information she had gained nearly overwhelming her. Then came the realization that Naruto stood the best damn chance of actually becoming the Hokage, plus she now had a few ideas on how to confirm his status as the selected Candidate.
Which meant that, when she started smiling, it was rather evil. Ignoring the two men who shifted uneasily, she rubbed her hands together in anticipation. Oh, yes, things were looking good. "I can't wait until the next Security Conclave."
"Uhhh, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi said nervously.
Tsunade looked at him, her grin if it was even possible, even more evil. "They want a Rokudaime Candidate, and now I have one."
Tsunade
"Oi, why do I have to handle the paperwork?"
"Naruto, as Hokage you'll have to deal with tons of paperwork, so you need to get used to doing this sort of tedious job." Iruka paused, nodding. "You need the experience..."
"Fine," Naruto muttered, glaring at Iruka and crossing his arms. "Oi, so, what you want me to do?"
"First, you can sit at your desk..." Iruka smiled, visibly relaxing as he gestured at a small desk stacked high with papers. "While I'm teaching, you can use my rubber stamp to confirm their grades."
Naruto grunted at the mere idea of what he would be doing, plus that looked like a great deal of paperwork he would be facing. Grumbling under his breath, Naruto sat down at his desk, then looked over at his adopted brother and angrily yanked the first sheet off the stack and began stamping paperwork in annoyance.
As he worked, he listened to Iruka's lesson absently; something about the Nidaime Hokage, but he wasn't entirely sure. Turning his full attention back to his paperwork, he frowned, wondering why the hell that stupid woman had to put him here. That was when he felt something approaching from the side, his years a prankster informing him that it was a spit wad.
Jerking his head out of the path, he turned, fixing his gaze on the startled child. "Oi! Don't you know who the hell I am?!" Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet angrily as he threw the stamp so that it bounced off the boy's forehead.
"Naruto, please-" Iruka almost begged, only to be cut off by said trouble maker.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The next Hokage and the NUMBER ONE PRANKSTER EVER!" Naruto gave every one of those brats a challenging gaze. Seeing the way they sort of sank into their seats, he grinned and sat back down. That would teach those stupid runts about trying to prank him!
"Aheh," Iruka said nervously. "Uhmm...n-now, the Nidame Hokage was known for what kind of techniques?"
Naruto tuned the class out, yet, minutes later, he realized that, at the rate he was going, he would be at this all damn day. No wonder Baa-chan was always trying to sneak out of her office. Hell, the next time he saw her, he was going to help! He shivered just thinking about having to deal with that fate himself when he became a Hokage.
However, it would be easier if he could finish the paperwork more quickly. Pausing, he considered that. How could he speed this up? Ahhh, the perfect answer. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
"Naru-wah!" Iruka screamed as the kids all yelped as well.
Naruto just grinned, looking around at the fifty grinning Kage Bunshin. "Yosh! Let's get to work!"
"Yatta!"
Naruto
It was days like this that Sakura hated working at the hospital. Her shoulders were sore, her lower back was throbbing and her left toe felt like it was jammed. Which wasn't surprising, considering what she had just done for the last eight hours. Any other job and she could have justified taking a day off, but since she worked at the hospital she couldn't do that.
She just prayed that she could avoid the Emergency Department. The last thing she needed was to use up even more of her chakra. Maybe she would luck out and get assigned to exams and treatments; that wouldn't be so bad. However, since she was the lowest on the totem pole, she had very little say, despite her ability to outperform most of the other staff.
Experience trumped sheer skill in the hospital.
Sighing, she pushed her way into the lobby, nodding at the on duty nurse. "Quiet day?"
"Yeah," the nurse responded before returning to filing her nails.
"Great," Sakura muttered making a bee line for the stairs. Well, if it was slow, she could probably slip off to her office for a nap. Sakura nearly snorted at that; her 'office' was actually a converted broom closet, and she only had that because of her status as Tsunade's apprentice.
Not that the connection meant much of anything else in the hospital. After all, she was the youngest doctor on staff and, by their standards, still raw. Not enough experience. Thus, despite her connection with the Hokage, she was given the smallest office available. Plus, she had to deal with interns on a regular basis.
Climbing the flight of stairs to the second floor, she paused and then started along the hallway, keeping a weather eye out for anyone who could put a stop to her nap. Pushing open the access door, she started up the next set of stairs, smug in her thoughts about taking the back way to her office.
Three floors later, she grinned and stepped out into the hallway, striding purposely toward the double doors that separated the offices from the rest of the floor. Her sought-after nap was within her grasp now; as long as she didn't let anyone stop her, she'd be home free.
"Oh! Sakura-senpai!"
Wincing, Sakura slowed to a halt and then turned to stare at the breathless intern who was holding a clipboard tightly to her chest. The girl looked slightly anxious, and Sakura had a feeling that this was the girl's first solo case. Sakura could almost remember feeling overwhelmed back then as well, but she had been blindly confident, too.
"Koukin-san?" Sakura said politely, offering a reassuring smile.
"Umm, I was wondering if you could maybe...give me an idea about a patient Shizune-dono gave me," the girl said hopefully.
"I guess so," Sakura said, reaching out to take the clipboard and flip through the contents. "First cases can always be overwhelming." Sakura paused, scowled and flipped back to the first chart before blinking. There was nothing to indicate any problem. Glancing up at the intern, she arched an eyebrow. "So, what's the story?"
"I'm not sure," Koukin offered, moving around to point at a few items on the sheet. "His pulse is normal; blood pressure is a little high, but nothing out of the ordinary; and respiration is fine."
"I noticed that," Sakura said, frowning slightly as she noticed the name of the patient. "You ordered a PT, Chem-7, blood gas, UA, WBC and a tox screen?"
"Well, I wanted to be thorough," the intern offered weakly, "and he was complaining about things that could suggest serious problems," Koukin finished defensively.
"I see," Sakura drawled before handing the clipboard back to Koukin. "Last month, he claimed to have a pulmonary disease."
"But, none of his previous tests-"
"Think about it for a moment," Sakura said cutting the intern off. "He's in good health. His records indicate that he's been in good health for years..."
"A hypochondriac!" Koukin exclaimed with wide eyes. "W-why would Shizune-dono give me a hypochondriac?"
"A test, I guess," Sakura answered with a shrug. "See, it's not enough just to run tests. You have to do some detective work and think about more than what your patient is complaining about. Take into account past medical history, former physicians and even prescribed medicine."
"I...just thought..."
"I know," Sakura said in understanding as she reached out to touch Koukin's shoulder. "However, you wasted an hour or more on this case while expending the hospital's resources on a case that didn't need them."
"So, what do I do?" Koukin nearly whimpered.
"First, you learn from this," Sakura said firmly, then held a finger up along with an unpleasant smirk. "Second, you give him several humiliating tests that won't expend hospital resources and third you write him a prescription for Giyaku."
"But that's a placebo."
"Yeah, but it'll keep him out of here for a month or so," Sakura explained and then turned, walking away from the intern at a brisk pace. She wasn't about to risk letting another intern catch her; as it was, Sakura had gotten off lucky. Any other intern would have chewed her ear off with questions or praise, even the legality of giving humiliating tests.
Chuckling to herself, Sakura finally slipped into her office and, with a sigh of relief, slumped against the door. Pushing off, Sakura made the short trip to her battered desk and sat down heavily, glaring at the rather drab room. The only way you could even tell someone was using it as an office was the scroll shelf and the picture on her desk of Team Seven.
Shaking her head, Sakura crossed her arms on the desk and rested her chin against them, almost instantly falling asleep.
"Sakura? Sakura?" someone was saying, shaking her shoulder rather insistently.
"Y-" Sakura started to say before yawning. "Yes?" Lifting her head, she stared blearily at the figure hovering over her. "Shizune?"
"You're suppose to be on duty," the dark haired woman responded, moving back around the desk toward the door.
"O-okay," Sakura managed, sitting up while stifling yet another yawn. Stretching, she winced, then frowned, staring at the other woman. "I’m sorry...er, how long was I out?"
"When'd you come in?"
"Noon, I think," Sakura offered, resuming her stretching. "Ugh, why is it whenever I sleep at my desk my shoulders hurt?"
"About twenty minutes, then," Shizune said in exasperation. "Sakura-san, picking up all of Tsunade-sama's habits is not an endearing trait."
"I know, sorry," Sakura muttered, once more appreciating the patience that her master had with this woman. Sakura had never realized just how...annoying...Shizune could be until she had gone to work with the older woman in the hospital.
"Anyway, you have a weak and dizzy in Exam 2 and abdominal pain in Curtain 1," Shizune explained while crossing her arms. "Oh, and bleeding hemorrhoids in Exam 8."
Sakura couldn't help but wince. That would not be a pleasant case. "Why not let a nurse handle that one?"
"Fine," Shizune said, in much the same tone as when she was dealing with the Hokage. "Then you have the boil that needs lancing in Exam 5."
"Oh, terrific," Sakura muttered, glaring at the older woman. Moving to get up, she paused, wincing in pain as a muscle in her back went taunt.
"What's wrong?" Shizune asked, anxiously moving back over to her side.
"Ahhh, nothing, nothing..." Sakura managed, easing herself back into her seat while placing a glowing hand on the offending muscle. Shooting a glare at the Team Seven picture, particularly at Naruto, she snorted in frustration. "I don't get it! I'm one of the strongest kunoichi in this village, definitely the strongest of my group."
"Well yes, but what does-"
"I've fought an S-ranked criminal and won!" Sakura exclaimed, slamming her hand on the desk, which toppled the picture over. She couldn't help it, but that sparring match with Naruto and even the second bell test had frustrated her beyond all understanding.
"Let me guess," Shizune said after a moment. "Naruto-kun?"
"Yes!"
Shizune smiled slightly, reaching out to set the picture upright. "I'm told Jiraiya-sama often had the same effect on Tsunade-sama when they were about your age."
Sakura snorted, then began chewing her bottom lip before glancing up at Shizune guardedly. "There's something else, though..."
"I'm listening."
"I hesitated," Sakura said slowly. "At the beginning of the match, I was in the right position. I could have knocked him out cold. Hell, I could have done that a half dozen times; even if he blocked, I could have powered through and laid him out. At the end, I could have done it, but instead I just-"
"Hesitated."
"Yeah," Sakura sighed, cradling her head in her hands. "I just...I just couldn't, and I don't get it."
"Well, he is your friend..."
"That's just it! I've never hesitated before," Sakura exclaimed, looking up at the older woman before turning her attention to the picture. Reaching out, she picked it up, studying those young faces. "I just don't get why I did this time. All he did was smile and say something about how even if I was cute he wouldn't take it easy on me."
"That is strange," Shizune said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should talk to Hinata-" Shizune started to say until she was interrupted by the sound of glass cracking.
Sakura blinked in surprise, staring at the spider webs radiating out from her thumb on the glass. Why the hell had she done that? All Shizune had said was Hinata's name, but there was no reason to react just from hearing that girl's name. Yet, her control had slipped and broken the glass.
"She might be able to help since she used to have the same problem in holding back." Shizune finished, before taking the frame from her hand. "Hmm, I'll get you a new one." That said the older woman sat the broken frame on the desk and walked back toward the door.
Sakura blinked then shaking her head in exasperation rose and followed.
Sakura
Naruto sighed and leaned back to stare at the sliding wood and paper door, pleased that Hinata had been right about how easy it would be to install. He smiled and chuckled, deciding that asking her to explain things about this place was a good idea. In all honesty, Naruto felt completely out of place there. For one thing, it was much larger than what he was used to.
For another, it was way too traditional for his tastes.
He was still confused about the lack of a real living room or bedroom. Hinata had explained that, because of doors -she called them fusuma- like the one he had just installed, any room could be a living room or bedroom. Shaking his head, Naruto climbed to his feet and stretched, then grabbed his jacket and walked outside to the veranda.
Looking around at the various clones doing yard work and cleaning, he sighed. He was definitely not going to adjust to this place any time soon. It was also a bit bland, which he supposed was an improvement over the original gloom. Still, the sooner he could add his own touch the better; but, first, he had to get the place cleaned and repaired.
Whistling a jaunty tune, he turned, walking toward the extension of the main house where the kitchen and dining room were located, wondering what Hinata was making. She had asked, blushing slightly, if she could cook dinner, and Naruto, glutton that he sometimes was, agreed. He did feel slightly guilty, since he had only asked her over to help unpack the few things he still owned.
On the other hand, Hinata seemed rather happy to do this sort of stuff, and she was just too adorable when in this sort of homemaker mode to argue with. Chuckling, Naruto walked into the kitchen only to pause as he saw her fussing over what appeared to be rice balls.
Hmm, that was an odd dinner. Oh, well, even if it wasn't glorious ramen, it would still be food!
"Oi, Hinata-chan-" Naruto started to say, then jerked in surprise when Hinata jumped as if caught at doing something embarrassing. Scratching the back of his head, he walked toward her, rounding the kitchen island to stare at her blushing face. "Something wrong?"
"N-no Naruto-kun, I was just...uhmm..." Hinata stammered, trying to block his view of the rice balls.
"Just what?" Naruto asked, suspiciously locking his gaze on her and smiling at the small traces of her furious efforts at cooking. Spotting one on the bridge of her nose, he poked it with his finger "You have flour on your nose!"
Hinata blushed even redder and reached up to touch her nose, which only added even more flour and caused Naruto to start laughing. Seeing her mounting frustration and sensing her embarrassment, Naruto grabbed her wrists, laughing. "Here, let me help." He grabbed the nearest rag and carefully cleaned the flour off before nodding. "There ya go."
"Anou, thank you..." Hinata said softly, still blushing. However, when Naruto leaned forward to peek over her shoulder, she reacted by placing a hand on his chest firmly. "P-please, Naruto-kun...I want it to be a surprise..."
"A surprise, huh?" Naruto inquired, raising an eyebrow, his smile never fading. Seeing her anxious look, he relented, easing back. "I guess I should go in the dining room, then..." When she nodded, giving him an adorable little smile, he did just that.
Damn, it was hard to argue with her when she decided to smile at him like that.
Shaking his head, he entered the dinning room and then, spotting the low table, made his way toward it. Flopping to the ground at one side, he pulled off his jacket, then stretched before leaning back on his hands. Looking around the room, he sighed, then frowned as he noticed a battered shoe box. It was in the corner, and it looked as if it had been recently opened, but he couldn't remember ever having a shoe box of anything.
He was just preparing to get up and see what, exactly, was inside the box when Hinata came out with a plate of rice balls.
Shifting his attention back to her, he raised an eyebrow, wondering about the touch of yellow he noticed, which was answered when she set the plate down. Sitting forward, he blinked, then looked up at her and then back, trying to process the fact that some of the rice balls resembled him. They had his yellow hair -he wasn't sure what she used for that- his whisker-marks and his trademark grin and half-closed eyes.
Even more amazing was the fact that the other rice balls resembled Hinata, which was rather impressive. Blinking, he looked up at her in amazement. "Uhmmm...Is there a reason why they look like us?"
"A-anou, I just uhmm..." Hinata lowered her head slightly, voice dropping. "Uhmm, I got carried away Naruto-kun..."
Naruto shook his head, then absently reached out for a rice ball. Taking a bite, he grinned; it didn't taste all that bad. Glancing at the ball in his hand, he chuckled, thinking about how he was eating one that looked like Hinata. Suddenly, he started choking, eyes wide and blushing, realizing what he had just thought.
He was eating Hinata.
That was perverted as hell, and he could only blame that damn pervert of a sensei. Great now not only was he paranoid, he was becoming as perverted as that white haired leech.
"A-anou...are you alright?" Hinata asked anxiously, fingers near her mouth.
Pounding his chest, he nodded, still coughing. Then, not meeting her eyes, he cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah...just...some of the food went down the wrong way.."
"Oh," Hinata said after a moment. "Uhmm if the rice balls aren't...I can make something else."
"No, they're fine," Naruto said reassuringly before he coughed once more.
"It, anou, it wouldn't be any t-trouble-"
"No, it's okay, really," Naruto said, giving her his best smile. "Was just too greedy..." Cheeks burning still, he scratched the back of his head, taking another bite of his rice ball and praying that he could keep his thoughts clean.
Hinata, now mollified and reassured, smiled back as she selected one for herself. "I uhmm, the recipe I used came from my mother," Hinata explained, careful as always just to take a polite bite, while her eyes got a faraway look to them. "She said I would make a great wife someday."
"Oi, I think so, too," Naruto agreed, munching away on his fifth ball.
"Y-you think so?" Hinata asked as if she was startled.
"Yeah, sure!" Naruto exclaimed smiling at her, his mouth full and the edges of his mouth covered with crumbs. "You're beautiful and smart...plus you cooking's really awesome!"
"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata mumbled, an odd look on her face.
Naruto, however, was oblivious to the implications of what he was saying. It was the truth, but, still, he was eating, and when he was eating very little of what he said actually registered. Finishing his latest rice ball, he looked at her, confused by the stunned look she was giving him.
Shrugging, he wiped his hands on his pants and nodded at the shoe box. "Oi, so what's in the box?"
"B-box?" Hinata mumbled as if lost, then looked around to spot the box and then looked back at him with realization. "Oh! That uhmm...I found it earlier. It's a box of pictures..."
"Really?" Naruto blinked, then hopped up to retrieve the box and returned, flopping down next to her. "So this is where they went!"
"Anou, it was uhmm...it was under your clothes in the Oshiire," Hinata offered, showing interest as he began to lift out a stack of photos.
"This is great!" Naruto beamed, kissing her cheek in appreciation. "I was worried that whatever baka that packed my stuff forgot them." Turning his attention back to the pictures in his hand, he felt a sense of relief. While he didn't have many, the ones he did have were very precious to him.
Like the one on top of the stack, which was taken shortly after he had been made a full-fledged ninja. It was of him and Iruka eating ramen together and grinning. Glancing at his curious-looking girlfriend, he handed her the picture, explaining. "Remember that whole Mizuki crap? This was right after Iruka-sensei got out of the hospital! His treat to celebrate my graduation."
"Oh!" Hinata breathed, staring at the picture with a small smile before setting it aside to stare at the next one in his hands. "Anou, why are you...why do you have..."
"Hehehe," Naruto said glancing at the picture of him crouching next to Gai's turtle, pretending to be a turtle -with his jacket pulled up over his head- while Lee threw a jump kick and Gai gave that 'good guy' pose. "I couldn't resist! Lee and Gai thought it was my youth power flowering!"
"Oh, no," Hinata mumbled, staring at him in horror.
"It wasn't though!" Naruto said quickly. "I just wanted to pretend to be a turtle!"
"Anou, good...I...I don't think I could handle..." Hinata didn't finish her statement, instead giggling slightly. "I can't believe you did that..."
Naruto offered her a grin, then quickly moved on to the next picture, fearful that she might decide she liked green spandex. "Oh, this one! First time anyone ever helped me on a prank." It was one of his fonder memories, and he still wasn't sure how he got Sakura to help him steal the Sandaime's hat.
Or to pose with him, but there they were, Naruto with a mile-wide grin on his face, and Sakura flashing a peace sign.
Glancing at Hinata, preparing to lay out the details, he noticed a disappointed look on her face. Turning back to the picture, he frowned. He might not know what was wrong, but he knew something was. So, he did the obvious thing: he tossed it and the few other photos back in the box and nodded at a startled-looking Hinata. "Let's take a picture, Hina-chan. Just the two of us."
"B-but..." Hinata stammered, staring at him in surprise. "I-its okay, Nar-"
"Oh, come on!" Naruto almost shouted, poking her playfully in the ribs. "You know you want to!"
Hinata blushed and moved away from the poke slightly. "Anou, but shouldn't the picture be unplanned?"
"Awww, you don't wanna take a picture with me?" Naruto said teasingly as he began to tickle her. "Pwetty pwease?"
Hinata, now laughing, began to wiggle and playfully slap at his hands, trying to escape. "S-stop...hehehe...don't tickl-...Naruto-kun please...hahehehehehe." Her protests, however, were soon lost in her laughter, which only increased when Naruto leaned forward, his tone almost turning babyish.
"Take a picture-wicture with your Naru-kun."
"Hehehehehehe...al-alrig-ompfh!" Hinata suddenly gasped as Naruto apparently overbalanced in his tickling and carried her backwards to the floor, landing on top of her. However, the tickling was far from over, only now Hinata fought back and, without realizing it, they began to roll around on the floor, caught up in their tickle fight.
At least, until one of Naruto's hands ended up someplace new to the both of them.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelped, which in turn froze Naruto in his tracks. Realizing what had happened he blushed and closed his eyes experience telling him that he would soon be hit and that he should wait for it.
When the blow didn't arrive he blinked and looked at her, amazed and relieved to see that he wasn't the only one blushing.
"Anou...m-maybe we...should...uhm...g-get u-" Hinata started to suggest, right until Naruto did the stupidest thing imaginable. He kissed her. She made a soft, instinctive noise of protest, but returned the kiss happily enough.
Naruto was just beginning to think that maybe he might be able to leave his hand in place, when a flash suddenly went off. Jerking away, to his own disappointment and the sound of Hinata's whimper, he snapped his attention to the intruder only to discover a medium sized toad on the table, holding a camera and grinning as only a toad could.
"I didn't..." Naruto blinked, confused. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"The others were busy so that old pervert asked me deliver a message," the Toad explained, then gave a thumbs up. "Do a lil dance, make a lil love, get down tonight!"
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm. Going. To. Kill. You."
The toad in question froze, its blue skin paling in fear. "Uhmm, I didn't mean to...you know I just thought that old man would be interest-oh shit!" The toad shouted, jumping over the diving Naruto while making a hasty exit out of the dinning room.
Seconds later an engaged Naruto was hot on his heels leaving a blushing and completely dazed Hinata behind.
AN:
Naruto, Gai and Lee: Official Art book
Naruto and Iruka Ramen: Official Art book, picture 66
The Hokage picture: Inspired by a fanart picture
Omake:
Later That Night:
"A-anou, maybe you should let him go?" Hinata asked after a moment, glancing at the toad that was hogtied and hanging upside down from the ceiling.
"Nah," Naruto said stretching. "So how was your day?"
"It was..." Hinata paused and looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Anou, Naruto... Um, you remember what I said about, ah, pranking Kiba?"
"Yeah, didn't you say not to do anything unless he starts it?"
Hinata nodded and rubbed her fingers together nervously. "Well, anou, I'd like you to, um, well, forget it. Ah, in fact, anou, if you get him really good, you get... you get free, anou, under-the-shirt, um, access..."
Naruto froze, his eyes going starry as he stared at her with a wide beaming grin. "It's a dream come true! I get rewarded for doing something I wanted to do anyway!"