(own naruto I do not)
Naruto sighed as he watched the girl he had saved earlier that day. The girl in question, hinata, was sitting silently as she tried to eat her food, having to do so with her unfavoured arm due to the still healing skin on the other. This was, in her honest opinion, one of the few things that was quickly becoming one of naruto's more bearable qualities… his cooking. Hate him all she wanted, she could not deny that the blond knew flavour, and knew how to work flavour. The meal before her was rather simple, considering his limited time to actually prepare such a meal for her after taking an early leave from the academy. The meal in question, was a healthy helping of stir fried vegetables with a little dark sauce, ginger and some garlic. Simple as it was, it was quickly becoming something she was seriously considering adding to her pallet of favourite meals.
Naruto on the other hand was eating something which, at first, made her pause in her devouring of his culinary creation. Dehydrated noodles, boiled in… coffee. He obviously enjoyed the meal, if his moans of delight were anything to count for, but she could not stand to watch. Each noodle, covered in.. COFFEE. Hanabi however could not help but giggle with every noodle that slid past his lips, finding her sister's reaction to be humorous. But sadly, this somewhat calm image was to be ruined by one…simple… thing. "…naru-…guard-san. There's an anbu at the window" looking up, naruto sighed and nodded. "yes inu?". The anbu, which naruto knew to be Kakashi, made a small handsign then shushined away, leaving naruto to groan as he poured his meal into the trash. "The council wishes to see me. hinata, I've placed your ointment on your bed. Hanabi, she might ask you to help her so keep your hands clean. I should be back within…. The next two hours, depending on how things go". The girls nodded as they watched him dissolve into shards of pixels, hinata growling slightly as she sat back. "…bastard"
"Hinata!". Turning, she sweatdropped to see hanabi standing next to her with a jar full of money. Placing a single coin into the jar, she sighed as she looked at her younger sister. "but he is one. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't….wouldn't be alone. Father, neji, they'd all be alive. And…. And I wouldn't be like this". but to her surprise, hanabi simply shot her a glare that could cause a kage to shiver. "stop being silly…. It isn't his fault hiro and the emo did what they did. And it wasn't his fault that emo junior did that today. If anything, you should be thanking him for taking us in and helping you recover faster!". Hinata just clicked her teeth as she looked away. This was how their arguments had been since naruto took them in… all 4 of them. Hinata expresses her hate, hanabi puts it down with logic. "whatever… I'm going to sleep". Hinabi just sighed and nodded, eating her own meal as hinata shakily walked to her room. "….when will you drop the mask sis…."
[council chambers]
"…ok naruto… just… breath. They probably want an update, the nosey bastar- nope… come on… just… breath… go to your happy place….. ADA give me a shot of dopamine please- ahh….thank you". The now relaxed blond would sigh as he stepped forward, opening up the council chamber doors as he stepped in. before him stood the 'exalted, honoured, GODLY' council chambers of Konoha… and the scum which inhabited it. well, half of it. on the better half, stood the council of shinobi clan heads with the anbu corps and jounin commanders respectively. The only seats empty, were the senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki and hyuuga chairs, their seats covered by runes to prevent anyone taking them without permission. On the other half of the council chambers, an amphitheatre with the hokage behind a balcony at the flat side…. Was THEM. The bastards that sought to make his life a living hell.
The council of the civilian heads… empty… annoying.. smashable heads. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he sighed as he stepped forward. He saw how half of them locked their sight on him within moments, and the other half just..didn't care. But what he did notice above all else, was the lacking of a certain wizened old man. "…yes?" there was no response, leading him to sigh as he played their game. "I was summoned here by the council?". The civies nodded as they smirked, their spokesperson leaning forward. "yes, you were called in Uzumaki, under charges of undermining a shinobi's growth to power, and for the failure of your mission in protecting the hyuuga heiress". His eyes betrayed nothing, but inside he was shocked. The civilians were not meant to know of such a mission, and the fact they did meant the office of the hokage himself had a mole. But thankfully, and unfortunately for the civilians, one shukaku nara actually woke up for once with a hefty glare. "a mission… councilman haruno, mission reports of this kind are unofficial to people of your stature, and if he did in fact 'fail' a mission, wouldn't that make it OUR business, not yours?".
Naruto made a mental note to thank the nara, frowning as the civilians backed down to their seats with harsh glares upon the man. The spokesperson however, a surprisingly well built man with pink hair, just kept his smirk. "ah but the mission report is not what we have. One of our members was going for a morning jog when he overheard Uzumaki and young hinata in a heated argument." Of course, the hidden message was pretty much hidden in plain sight. "We eavesdropped and got information outside of your control". Haruno then sat back, leaning on his fist. "and as the first crime involves Uzumaki as the focal point, we hold as much jurisdiction as you on the matter… boy, we of the civilian's council demand that you hand over your knowledge on jutsu to the heir of the Uchiha clan, written on council sanctioned scrolls by tomorrow sunrise, or you will be subject to further punishment". Naruto, with all the restraint he had to gather, simply inhaled before smiling, stepping up to the council before leaning in to speak.
"…..No"
Chaos erupted as the council called for the boy to be restrained, further punishment, even for some anbu to restrain the demon. It was a kunai hitting the skulls of each of these members that finally quietened the mass of bitch fits… well, that and the hokage walking through his doors with a blazing glare. "HE WILL DO NO SUCH THING". Spokesperson haruno frowned before leaning forward, smirking as if he had some hidden Ace up his sleeve. "with all due respect your lordship, we of the civilian council have drawn up a petition. Even your seat cannot argue with us on civilian matters when it is against the masses". But his smirk fell as hiruzen tossed naruto a konoha headband with a light purple fabric. "then I suppose it's a good thing that GENNIN Uzumaki was promoted years ago. You have no jurisdiction over him, and your client!" the civilians began to pale as they were found out, one of them standing up as they walked next to the hokage.
"thanks to my associate here, I know all about your attempts to circumvent clan laws and increase the Uchiha jutsu vaults for his favour. But, alas, naruto Uzumaki is the clan heir of the Uzumaki clan, and any jutsu he may, does or will have are counted as clan techniques. Therefore, for the crime of breaching clan laws, I Decree that the current civilian council be disbanded until new, SCREENED, members without bias be selected to take your seats. And as for your precious Uchiha, For assault on two clan heads and risking the career of another, he is to be placed under arrest and be sent to a Yamanaka for an evaluation. If he fails, he shall NEVER be a shinobi, and instead will be placed under the CRA. NO, DISCUSSIONS". Naruto watched in shock as this new side of his grandfather came out, the dictator that was the hokage. Seeing his grandfather wave him off, he just blinked before walking out of the council chambers. "….remind me to never piss him off"
[later that night]
Walking in through his front door, naruto's sigh echoed through the empty hallway. Hanabi was fast asleep, if the snoring was anything to go by. But in front of him, was something he didn't expect. "…yes hyuuga-san?". As she stepped forwards, he prepared the seal to stop any hostile actions… only for her to grab him by his collar and drag him to the main room, where sitting on the table was a still warm meal. A simple curry. "….don't think anything of it guard-san. I just wanted to thank you for helping me earlier… hanabi forced my hand-" but she fell silent as she watched naruto eating the curry, letting go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. As she walked back to her room, naruto looked up at her with an open mouth, ready to say something, yet…silent. As the door was slammed shut, mainly due to hinata's still present dislike of him, he sighed and leaned against the chair, looking at the meal.
"…thank you…hinata-san"
[apologies for this chapter being shorter, I wanted to get the prologue part of the chapters done. And this was as far as my mind could go for this chapter. ]