Updated 10/09/2017

Naruto: master the elements

Ch. 4

Naruto walked slowly out of Hinata's room, shutting the door quietly, in hopes that Hinata would end up sleeping through the night. It was getting to be pretty late.

He took a few breaths, calming the burning in his cheeks.

He walked down to the opposite side of the hallway, curious about the open door at the end. He could see that the room was just a clean and organized as Hinata's had been. It didn't look lived in, really. As he grew closer he realized that it was another bedroom, and a young girl was perched on the bed.

"Who are you?" Her voice was already lower than Hinata's.

He scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Why are you in Hinata's house?"

"Hinata is my older sister."

"I didn't know Hinata had a sister?!" He said.

She nodded and stood up, stalking towards him. For someone so much smaller than him, Hanabi was an intimidating person. Her light skin was accented by her dark brown hair, but it framed it in a way that made her look powerful. He found himself straightening his shoulders for no other reason than she was staring at him, her eyes cold and calculating.

"Why are you in our house?" Her eyes narrowed.

"My mom wanted to talk to you dad." He said.

"Why?"

"Uh."
"Don't hesitate!" Hanabi crossed her arms. "Why are you in my home, and what business do you have of my father? Tell me now or I will call my guard!"

"I'm just Naruto Uzumaki!" He shouted, "My mom had business with your dad and I was in the same academy class as Hinata!"

"Hmph." Hanabi frowned. She put her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't like you."

"Huh?"

"You're annoying." She said.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. This small girl held the power of intimidation. Hanabi Hyuga was definitely different that Hinata, and Naruto wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was certainly a terrifying thing.

"I, uh, I have to go find my Mom. I'll see you later Hanabi."

Naruto turned and went straight to the stairs, not looking back once to see if she was watching him. As he tread down the stairs he felt his cheek begin to burn, although his heart felt light with happiness.

He saw his mother talking quietly to Hiashi, though the conversation stopped the moment he came within earshot.

"Naruto, dear, we should leave Hiashi and his family alone for the evening. We wouldn't want to be rude." Kushina said.

Hiashi smiled and nodded at the two, his eyes darting towards the door. "And I'm sure your companions wouldn't like to wait too much longer."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto nodded. "I forgot about them." Naruto said.

Naruto and Kushina quickly made their way to the door to put their shoes back on and leave the property.

As they were walking to the gate, Naruto looked up to his mother, "Hey Mom, Can we go see gramps?"

"Of course, Naruto! You shouldn't wait to tell the Hokage important information!" Kushina laughed a deep laugh.

The gates opened and they soon met up with Haku and Kumiko.

Naruto looked towards the Hokage monument and pointed at it. "We're going there next. The Hokage is our villages leader and he gets to decide everything."

"Not quite everything." Kushina said. "The council also decides a lot of important things."

As they started the walk towards the tower, Naruto's mind drifted back to the conversation with Hanabi and the situation at hand with Hinata.

Hanabi couldn't be any older than seven, even though she seemed entirely put together. Her demeanor felt much like their father, but Naruto honestly found the younger girl more terrifying. Perhaps it was the way her hair fell in her face, framing her pale cheeks and eyes. And her eyes. They were so calculating, as if she considered everything around her at all times.

He shuddered just thinking of the type ninja she would become. Suddenly he felt glad that he lived in the leaf village. Though, if his engagement happened, Hanabi would be his sister-in-law and perhaps that was a scarier existence than facing her on the battlefield.

Perhaps it was even scarier, still, that he was headed towards one of the few adults he trusted to plead for two dangerous persons. Haku technically classified as a rogue ninja and Kumiko was the great beast that destroyed the village. What on earth had happened to his relatively normal life?

Before he knew it they were at the door to the Hokage's office. He couldn't help but hesitate, mind jumbled.

"Naruto!" Kumiko pushed his shoulder forward, silently telling him to go inside.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." He pushed open the door and put his shoulders back.

"I'm bac-ah" He cut off as someone tackled him to the ground.

"Boss!" Konohamaru grinned down at him.

"KONOHAMARU!" Naruto yelled.

Quickly Haku and Kumiko were pulling the small boy off of Naruto. Kumiko seemed to exude an aura of anger, while Haku seemed almost emotionless.

"Sorry, boss!" The boy cried out, as if he was afraid now that he had been taken into custody.

Naruto said. "Let him go. He's an academy student."

Seeing Kumiko's nose turn up at his statement, Naruto rolled his eyes. Konohamaru was someone that you had to get used to. He was loud and hyper, much like Naruto had been at that age. He wanted, no, craved the attention of everyone around him and he did anything to get it.

Naruto saw Konohamaru glance away from him, towards his two friends, Moegi and Udon.

"I need to talk to the Hokage, I'll meet up with you guys later, okay?"

The three students nodded and slipped out the door.

Once they were gone Naruto felt his cheeks begin to heat up again. Konohamaru might make him look bad in front of the girls, and his mom. He had proven himself on the dangerous mission, only to have the shrimp act like they were on the same level. It was just plain embarrassing.

If they saw the interaction that way, then they would know he wasn't nearly as good as he had been on the bridge. They would know that Sasuke was the powerful one. They wouldn't want to be around him and that would leave him without anyone again.

"Naruto," The Hokage cleared his throat. "I have already heard a report from Kakashi but I assume there is more to the story?"

"Yes sir, "Naruto nodded, anxious about what would happen next.

"We will need to schedule a date to hold court in front of our council. It shouldn't be too difficult to show the council that these two have changed and wish to join the village. However, I have my suspicions about one." His eyes flickered towards Kumiko, a knowing look in his eyes.

"May I ask you friends a few questions?"

Naruto nodded.

He turned his gaze towards Haku and smiled. "What is your name?"

"Haku Yuki," She replied.

"Where were you born?"

"The land of water. My parents were simple farmers until my father learned of my bloodline."

Hiruzen nodded. "I understand. What happened afterwards?"

"I lived on the streets begging for food and clothing for maybe a year before Zabuza found me. He took me in and gave me clothing and food so long as I trained to protect him. I have trained with him for the majority of my life."

"You need not relive any other possibly unpleasant memories, Haku. I do however, need you to officially state your purpose in wanting to join our village."

"Yes, sir, "She took a deep breath, " I want a new beginning. I don't want to be used as a weapon with no emotions anymore. I want to have a clean start where no one will try and hurt me just because I exist. When I was a child I could never have lived a normal life because of my bloodline. My father murdered my m-mother after finding out. He tried to kill me but I ended up killing him instead. I didn't have a choice in my life and now I have a choice."

He nodded and turned his gaze to Kumiko, "And you. What is your name?"

She paused to look at Naruto and then Kushina. "I won't lie, Hokage-sama. I am going by the psuedo-name Kumiko but my title is Kyubi no Yoko. "

He nodded. "I suspected as much. Tell me of your origin."

"I was chosen as the Kyubi when I was very young. It was an honor among my clan, as only one was chosen every few centuries. I was the brightest of my generation when the last Kyubi It was around the time that Lady Kushina moved to the leaf village. I eventually met Minato through her, and befriended them both. You might be wondering why I look so young, but that is because of how my clan ages. We age very slowly in comparison to humans when we are in our demon forms. While I am in my human form I age like a human. I understand that my presence has caused your world much chaos because of my power when unleashed. I do hope that your village can forgive my former transgressions against it and accept me as a member who will protect it. My life is in the hands of Lady Kushina and Naruto, and since the village is precious to them, then it is precious to me." Her eyes burned with a bright fire as she concluded.

"I understand, Miss Kumiko." The Hokage nodded. He finished writing down their statements in his paper before stamping it, putting it in a sealed folder and replacing it in one of his desk drawers.

"Old Man?" Naruto said. "What's going to happen to them?"

"Well, Naruto, I believe that their statements will be shown to the council members and there will be a trial to see if they believe that either of these girls will bring harm."

Kushina touched Naruto's shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. "It will be fine, Naruto. Don't worry."

"That's all you need from us?" Kumiko questioned, hands flying to her hips.

The Hokage nodded. "All I needed was the basis of your case for the council. "

"Oh." She replied.

Naruto frowned. "That's it? You take one statement and then they decide if they can be a ninja of our village!? You're the Hokage! You should have the power to fix all of this and let them join."

"I'm sorry Naruto, I don't have complete power in our village. Most power resides in the Clan heads. You see, the Hokage is chosen by Fire Nation's Lord. If I had all power over the village, I could easily take control and force the population into slavery per say."

Naruto pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

"WIth the clan heads being able to make some decisions, it allows for me to have control over our ninja forces and not worry about civil cases such as having new persons join our populous. I have the power to instate ninja from our population but I have almost no power in letting someone join our village. That isn't to say that I have no sway in the council.

"I was selected as Hokage because of how I approach problems and new information. The Hokage has to be a person who is wise enough to stay away from petty wars and someone who is determined enough to stay with his decisions. Do you understand?"

Naruto said, "I do. I just don't like it."

"I'm sorry that you do not particularly like our system right now. I do have a busy schedule so I am going to have to ask you to leave. The court date will be later this week. I will send an Anbu with the information tomorrow morning. And Naruto, remember that you will be a part of this meeting as well. With your status of Namikaze, you may have a bigger role in our village than you imagine. "

Hiruzen signed and moved on to the next sheet of paperwork.

MTEMTEMTEMTEMTE

The next council meeting ended up being three days later. The room was silent as the rest of the council filtered their way into the room and moved to their designated seats. The meeting was boring at first, talking about small issues such as a neighbor's fence being an inch on their land, or this year's taxes. Naruto really hadn't been paying attention.

Instead he had watched the people around him. Hiashi was here, of course. And he thought that one women was Kiba's mother. And another Shikamaru's father. And Sakura's mother was a civilain council member.

He wasn't quite sure of the rest. Many of his classmates had been from the other clans but Naruto had never met their parents or siblings so he wasn't sure the relation.

Kumiko suddenly gave his hand a small squeeze under the table, and that brought him back to the council member's speech.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please stand," Naruto stood, "We as a council have discussed and voted what to do because of your status as Lord Fourth's heir. We have come to the conclusion that it will be best if we enact the ancient law. This is modernly known as the C.R.A. or Clan Restoration Act. Since we are choosing this path, if you do not fulfill our requirements you will be killed. Do you have any questions?"

"Hell, yes I do!" Naruto stood up. "What are these supposed requirements? I'm only twelve right now and I don't think it's fair to expect a ton out of me right now!"

The man grimaced. "Of course, not. By the age of eighteen you must have taken five wives. It's very simple. We have to start expanding the Namikaze clan into what it once was. By the age of sixteen you must have found at least one women to marry. Extensions can be made at times if you come before the council when the time nears. I we have any issues with your loyalty to the village, your bloodline may become considered too dangerous. Keep that in mind Mr. Uzumaki."

Naruto frowned at this but didn't say anything negative. He knew this was one of the best outcomes. He very well could have been deemed too dangerous and assassinated on the spot. There would be very little he could have done to change the decision and who was he to complain about being surrounded by loving women for the rest of his life?

"Yuki Haku, please stand."

Haku stood up, meeting the coucilman's gaze with a look of stern determination, "Yes, Sir."

"Welcome to Konoha, Haku. We need to ask you a few questions before we decide what to do with you, is that alright?" His tone was much softer than it had been when addressing Naruto.

Haku nodded.

"We need you to state your reasons for wanting to join our village. We have all looked over your statement but I would like some clarity. You were born in the land of Water?"

"Yes, Sir. My village was small in the north so we were a very small part."

He nodded. "And have you ever had affiliation with your land?"

"Not anything that would be considered an affiliation."

"Explain."

"My father murdered my mother when I was very young because of our bloodline. I luckily found refuge on the streets and survived until Zabuza Momochi found me and took me under his wing. I never had any connections to any villages except through him. I did awful things in the name of my master but he trained me and taught me everything I know about being a ninja. After he died I realized that my life was close to pointless.

"I don't want my life to be pointless anymore. I don't want a master who dictates my life. This is my chance to start fresh and learn to care for the sake of friendship and love. Miss Kushina has been so nice to me in the last few weeks and I want a chance to help her as well. Please, I want a life where I can protect something special." Haku stopped talking and closed her eyes to take a deep breath. Naruto could see that her hands shook as the room started up in an array of whispers. From the corners of her eyes tears started to form but Haku seemed able to push them back.

"We shall vote on this matter."

A piece of paper passed around the room and each council member wrote something down. Soon the paper went back to the council man who looked over it.

"Alright Haku, we as a council have unanimously decided to approve your case to join our village. This is for you." He handed her a small package," Inside is 5,000 ryo, which is roughly the pay of a C-Ranked mission. This should be enough to start to settle in. There is also coupons for a month of free food passes. You will be on a 6-month probation and instated as a genin level ninja per the Hokage's recommendation. Report to the Hokage on Monday to be assigned a team. You will be permitted to partake in the Chunnin exams in two months. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Haku slowly grinned. "Thank you so much!"

"And Miss, uh, Kumiko." The council man stuttered. "You are a special case within our village. We have spent many hours in consideration of your role here. After discussing everything in depth we will offer you the same as we did Miss Yuki. Though, we will have an ANBU checking your actions periodically. We hope you understand our hesitation in this matter."

Kumiko nodded. "I understand that I caused a lot of destruction to your village. I did many awful things, even though I was under a jutsu at that time. It may sound impossible but I had no control over my own thoughts or actions on that fateful day. To be honest I barely remember any of it other than the man who controlled me.

"To you all, it must be a scary thought to throw your trust in a demon. You have very little reason to trust me other than the witness' accounts. Lady Kushina has spoken for me and I am eternally grateful that you are allowing me a chance to prove my loyalty to the village and to my friends."

"Let us hope that our trust in you is not misguided." He nodded as the rest of the council to stand. "We would like to welcome you to our village Kumiko and Haku."

The girls grinned at each other and Naruto felt his heart lighten greatly. Everything went much faster than he thought it would. The meeting took maybe an hour. He suspected it was because of the statements the Hokage had taken previously. No matter, Naruto was just happy that his two newest friends were tentative citizens of Konoha.

"I'm a bit hungry." Kushina stated. "We should all go eat ramen to celebrate this great day."

"Ichiraku's Ramen is the best! Let's go there, Mom." Naruto grinned widely.

The group headed towards the ramen stand, much to Naruto's great delight. There were few other customer's when they arrived which allowed them to be seated rather quickly.

They quickly ordered food for each of them, Naruto starting his order with two bowls. The food came quickly as it always did and the group found themselves celebrating rather happily.

"I noticed that there was a ninja clothing shop that we passed. What's the difference in a ninja and civilian clothing shop?" Kumiko asked, eyes wide with question. Naruto had learned quickly that many human understandings didn't come easily to her. He assumed it was because she never paid attention to the outside world while she had been sealed away.

"That's a good question Kumiko." Kushina set her chopsticks down as she spoke. "Ninja clothing tends to use more expensive fabrics that are made while continuously weaving chakra into it. This allows the clothing to take on specific characteristics depending on the amount and type of chakra used. If someone had an affinity for the element of fire then the clothing they weave will take on characteristics such as extra protection from the element of wind while offering no protection from the element of water. Does that make sense?"

Kumiko nodded.

"What if they have an affinity for more than one element?" Haku pipped in, suddenly curious.
Kushina thought for a moment. "Well that's where things get a bit tough to think about. It really depends on a person's ability to control their elements. If someone has really good chakra control they can give characteristics such as using a lighter fabric without any negative side effects like ripping easily. A person with really good chakra control and the ability to use several elements can eventually discover how to use their chakra to weave certain characteristics that they want into the fabric. Mind you if someone puts too much chakra into the fabric is can catch on fire if their affinity is fire, or be cut if their affinity is wind. The people go into this field are ninja who do not like combat but still enjoy using chakra. It's very few and far between but they have made major advancements in the clothing of ninja. "

"That's fascinating!" Haku said. "I never thought about the civilian minded ninja. Before I met Naruto thought every person alive was like Zabuza. He always went for things that made his life easier. To think that some people love to take the time to learn a skill like chakra enhanced weaving seems very different than the world I grew up in."

Naruto suddenly raised a hand to call the attention of the owner, Tenchi. "Another bowl of Miso Ramen please!"

"Oh Naruto, your dad would be ashamed if he saw you. He always disliked my obsession for ramen but it seems that's something else you inherited from me."

Kushina laughed and settled back into her seat, waiting quietly as the three preteens started up conversation again while they finished their bowls of ramen. In the end Naruto had downed a total of ten bowls of ramen whole Kushina ate five. Haku and Kumiko both only ate one though and after both Naruto and Kushina ordered more after their third now, the girls gave up on wondering where the food went.

They thanked Tenchi as they left, Kushina paying without giving anyone else the option. Naruto started to notice that it was starting to get dark out and both Haku and Kumiko were acting a bit odd. He couldn't quite nail down the reason. They both were avoiding eye contact and they seemed to hesitate at every corner.

Then Kushina spoke up. "Haku, Kumiko, I know that everything in your life has changed suddenly but I believe Naruto would agree with me. I want you both to stay in the Namikaze compound for the time being. You, of course, can stay as long as you like but I won't stop you from leaving if you ever feel the need. I am not your mother but I missed the first twelve years of my son's life and I always wanted more children. You are all still very young and I would like to offer you a home. Would you like to stay with us for the time being?"

"Of course, Lady Kushina." Kumiko bowed her head. "We would both be honored to stay in your family compound. Your offer is very generous."

"I agree, Lady Kushina." Haku stumbled over the title, as if lords and ladies were foreign to her tongue.

"No need to call me Lady. Kushina is more than fine." She pulled the two girls into a hug, not letting go for several moments.

"Now, let's get home before it gets too dark. I'm rather tired. "

And thus, they went to the Namikaze compound to get a night full of rest before having to deal with any consequences that came at them in the next few days.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to R&R and Stay Golden!