"So this is Hinata-chan eh?" Anko said when Naruto brought the girl to her house.
"It's an honor to meet you Mitarashi-sama!" Hinata said quickly, making a swift bow.
"Hey whoa there kid, I'm no queen or nothing. Just call me Anko, or if I'm guessing the situation right, mom." Anko said with a chuckle.
"Oh? then what would that make me then?" Atataka asked with a smile.
"Ata-chan! Oh man I haven't seen you since what Jounin exams?" Anko exclaimed, hugging the Wolf Woman who returned it in full.
"Since right after. Now, I believe we have a lot to catch up on. Apparently our Daughters are dating." Atataka said, as if she had just found out with heavy sarcasm.
"Oh I know it's such a hindrance for it to come up out of nowhere." Anko said, rolling her eyes.
"Well while the two of you talk we'll be watching a movie." Naruto said as she led Hinata into the television room.
"What do you want to watch?" She asked Hinata.
"Ano... Anything would be good." Hinata replied. Naruto smiled and put in 'The Last Samurai'. She sat down next to Hinata on the armchair, which was crowded, and simply pulled Hinata into her lap and wrapped her arms and tails around the girl.
"You know, for such a cold and withdrawn person in public, you're really sweet and nice." Hinata said.
"That's because the people in public don't earn my affections like you do Hinata-chan." Naruto smiled.
"Teams have already been decided? But the Genin exam won't be for at least another year." Atataka said.
"It's not really the teams, it's just who would work best together. The only thing that's for certain is that Naruto will be on my Genin team and Hinata will almost certainly be with her." Anko said.
"But I thought you said your team would be the Special Genins." Atataka said.
"That's right. That girl is probably the only other Kunoichi match for Naruto in the academy. Hell even any of last year's Genin probably couldn't beat Naruto now one on one. Well, maybe Neji or Lee but you know what I'm saying. I've seen Hinata fight and from what I hear from Naruto if she had the confidence she's rapidly gaining being around Naruto, she'll surpass her cousin in no time." Anko explained as she drained a shot of Sake.
"Wow, I wonder who could possibly fit that third slot. That Uchiha?" Atataka asked.
"I don't know. That would be the best fit, but if our best Genin are all in one team then it's a bit unbalanced for the rest of the teams." Anko replied. Suddenly Atataka's ears, which were now exposed as well as her single wolf tail, flicked and she grinned.
"What?" Anko asked, looking at the closed TV room door.
"They're watching 'The Last Samurai'... Hinata loves moves like that." Atataka said with a grin.
"That's a good one. Let's see how they're doing." Anko said. Atataka nodded and they opened the door a little bit to see Hinata sitting in Naruto's embrace.
"Wow, they've been going out a day and it already looks like how Hiashi and I were before he got so busy." Atataka whispered with a smile.
"Naruto had no friends, hell she still really doesn't. The few she's made at the academy are as important to her as family and that's tenfold with Hinata. Plus her instincts as a Kitsune bring them closer as well." Anko said. She looked at the screen and saw it was very close to the end.
"Has Hinata seen this before?" Anko asked Atataka.
"No, I had forgotten about the end... " Atataka said.
"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE DAMN YOU!" The television called as the cinematic slaughter via gatling gun stopped. Hinata had tears in her eyes, barely holding back sobs. Very soon though, as the protagonist assisted his best friend with suicide as the general screamed at his men to kill them, Hinata's face was buried deep into Naruto's chest as she lightly sobbed. Anko and Atataka were both surprised to see Naruto's eyes had watered a bit as well.
"Hinata-chan, look." Naruto said softly to the girl nestled into her chest. Hinata cautiously looked at the screen to see the ending of the movie. Anko slowly closed the door as they heard Naruto promise the next one won't be so sad.
"They're perfect for eachother." Atataka said with a light giggle.
"I somehow find that Hiashi will have a hard time ignoring that." Anko said.
"I'm going to have to agree. Hey wait a minute, they finished that movie the entire time we talked... Wow, I used to smack Kakashi when he said women talk for days..." Anko said.
"We talked a lot, I think the time it took was warranted. We spent a good amount of time out before we came here, it looks like it's getting dark. If it's fine with you I'll leave Hinata here overnight. I have a feeling those two will be inseparable at the moment." Atataka said.
"It's perfectly fine. You might as tell tell Hiashi and send him to pick her up so he can at least talk to Naruto so she can kick his ass if he doesn't like it." Anko said with a grin, but Atataka knew the joking threat was probably true.
"I'd have to join her on that if that's the case. It was great seeing an old friend again." Atataka said, hugging Anko.
"You bet." Anko replied and walked to the door.
"I'm guessing Hinata-chan is spending the night?" Naruto asked as she poked her head out of the door.
"Yeah. I've got a meeting in the morning so keep it down." Anko said as she turned towards the stairs.
"Mom?" Naruto asked a bit softly, stepping forward and closing the door.
"What's wrong?" Anko asked.
"I'm happy. I have a few friends at school, I'm not afraid someone's going to kill me in my sleep anymore and I have Hinata-chan..." Naruto said softly.
"How is that something wrong?" Anko asked.
"I'm not used to it... I'm scared to lose it." Naruto said.
"Naruto... Go back in there and watch movies with your girlfriend. When school starts back up go and enjoy your friends. Enjoy uninterrupted sleep. Enjoy these things while you can Because soon you'll be protecting them. That's what I'm training you for, that's what being a Ninja is really about. Protecting the things you love and protecting your home. It won't always be this peaceful. That movie you watched, at the end? That one man almost never comes back. That general that wanted nothing other than the man's head won't be alone. Remember that, and enjoy the little things whenever you can." Anko said as she walked up to her daughter and held her head between her hands.
"And the most important thing, never forget who you are, your dreams, your goals, your ambitions. Anyone can learn how to fight for their village... Only the truly strong fight for themselves and others." She continued. Naruto looked straight into Anko's eyes and suddenly the Jounin found herself wrapped in arms and tails.
"You have no idea how much that helped me." Naruto said soft as a whisper.
"Naruto-chan..." Hinata said from where she was standing at the doorway. She quickly rushed forward to join the hug.
"Alright kids, I've gotta get some sleep if I'm going to be coherent for my meeting tomorrow. Naruto, remember what I told you. I imagine you heard it too Hinata and you remember that too. The Ninja that don't are the ones who die as cowards and traitors." Anko said.
"Oh what, are you like an all knowing wise man now?" naruto asked, wiping a few tears that had formed away.
"I'm not, but if my sensei taught me one good thing it was that. He was taught that by his sensei, and so on and so forth until its origin first put it together. The First Hokage of Konoha spoke those words to his first team as a team leader. That is the Will of Fire put into words and is to this day the best 'translation'." Anko said.
"So... I'll be strong to protect what I love. No, I won't be strong... I'll be the strongest. I'll be Hokage, and I'll make my Father's spirit proud." Naruto said softly. Anko and Hinata could only stare at the declaration.
"I don't doubt that for a second." Anko said as she held Naruto at arms length and looked at her.
"That means I'll get to be the Hokage's girlfriend." Hinata giggled. This earned a round of Laughter from the other two before Anko bade them oyasumi nasai for the umpteenth time that night and left them to their movie and their own sleeping arrangements. They found the chair and Naruto's tails were cozy enough and decided to try and finish their current movie 'Princess mononoke'.
"Naruto-chan?" Hinata whispered right before they drifted off to sleep.
"Yes Watashi no ai(My love)?" Naruto responded, earning a tired giggle from Hinata.
"The only reason you would ever lose me is if you stopped being everything that makes you you. And if that were to happen I wouldn't hesitate to kill that person because she wouldn't be you." Hinata said into her ear.
"You're the best Hinata-chan." Naruto said with a grin.