Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any properties in this work that I did not make myself.
Before the redemption
Chapter six: Mister popularity
Naruto Uzumaki was walking through the market area of Konohagakure one morning, having taken a shortcut on his way to the Hokage office building. Just a few days previous, Naruto won the final match of an event called the Chunnin Tournament, a combat tournament where he and his fellow members of the group known in some circles as the 'Konoha eleven' fought each other in one-on-one matches not unlike the combat portion of their first go at the chunnin exams. Only members of the 'Konoha eleven' who were chunnin were allowed to compete; Neji Hyuga did not compete. There was no need for him to take part, though; Neji was already a jonin.
…As was Naruto now, since Lady Tsunade, the fifth (and current) Hokage, promoted Naruto to jonin after he had won the Chunnin Tournament. This was part of the reason why Naruto was on his way over to the Hokage office building; now that he was a jonin, Naruto wanted to see what sort of missions he would now be allowed to take up. As Naruto was walking, he was spotted and sub-sequentially joined by Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi, three genin who have taken to looking up to Naruto as a sort-of big brother figure.
"…Like I said the last time you brought this up," Naruto said to Konohamaru as the two of them talked, "I have not yet had the chance to let Granny Tsunade know about the potential stalker."
"Well that certainly explains why Udon, Moegi and I have the feeling that the stalker's back," Konohamaru replied in a mildly worried tone.
"I have a theory about who the stalker is," Moegi said suddenly, holding up an index finger.
"Oh?" Naruto said, "And who do you think it is?"
"I believe that the stalker is…" Moegi began, then turned on her heels quickly to point dramatically at Konohamaru before continuing, "…The ghost of Konohamaru's grandpa. It would certainly explain why we haven't been able to find anyone stalking us, because we aren't being stalked, we're being haunted."
"You think my grandpa's ghost is haunting us?" Konohamaru remarked, looking rather alarmed.
"You must have done something to disappoint your grandpa," Moegi said, "Or maybe you have yet to do something that he wanted you to do." With a somewhat mischievous grin spreading across her face, Moegi continued, "And now he's haunting you because you've been a bad grandson!"
"The ghost of the late Third Hokage is not haunting you three," Naruto stated firmly, "And Moegi, quit trying to freak Konohamaru out."
"So, who do you think is stalking us, Big Bro?" Udon asked.
"I have no clue, Udon," Naruto replied, "But since I'm on my way over to the Hokage office building right now, I'll be sure to bring the issue up with Granny Tsunade after I-"
"Oi, Naruto!" a familiar voice called out, cutting Naruto off and getting him plus the genin to turn around. To their surprise, they saw Naruto's friends Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka walk up. Like Naruto, both Sakura and Ino had competed in the aforementioned Chunnin Tournament. Unfortunately, both girls were eliminated in the first round. It had been Sakura, Naruto's fellow teammate from Team Kakashi, who had called out.
"Ino and I heard that you're been promoted to jonin," Sakura began, "Is that true?"
Nodding in the affirmative, Naruto replied, "I was on my way to the Hokage office building to see what sort of missions I'd be allowed to undertake now."
"Lady Tsunade said that most of the Land of Fire nobles who came to watch the Chunnin Tournament might specifically request you to carry out any missions they send in requests for," Ino remarked, "It's pretty impressive that you made such a mark, Naruto! Congratulations!"
"Maybe Udon, Moegi and I should hire Big Bro to track down and put my grandpa's spirit to rest," Konohamaru remarked.
"For the last time Konohamaru, you aren't being haunted by your grandfather's ghost," Naruto said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and sighed; it was an expression of mild annoyance.
"What's this about Lord Third's ghost?" Sakura asked, a confused look on her face.
Shaking his head, Naruto replied, "It's nothing to worry about, Sakura. I'll handle it."
"Well anywho, Sakura and I just wanted to track you down so that we can congratulate you for the promotion," Ino remarked, "Now that you're a jonin, you'll-"
"There you are, Naruto!" another familiar voice called out; upon hearing this voice, Ino winced in embarrassment, her shoulders scrunching up somewhat.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Ino muttered as she face-palmed.
Naruto, the genin and the girls all saw a group of three grown men approach them; the group consisted of Inoichi Yamanaka, who is Ino's father, Kizashi Haruno, who is Sakura's father, and Harold Fisher, who is Sakura's uncle. It had been Inoichi who had called out. (1)
"I heard that you're now a jonin, same as Harold and I," Inoichi began, "Welcome to the club, my good man."
"Uhh…thanks?" Naruto replied, mildly unsure on how to react.
"Not only did you join the club, but you did so in such a fashion that people all over Konoha think you're the hottest thing since sliced bread," Harold remarked, "Pretty sick, dude."
"I'm pretty sure I didn't do that impressive a job, Mr. Fisher," Naruto remarked, blushing slightly out of embarrassment.
"Don't be so modest, Naruto," Kizashi said, "My brother-in-law has a point about you being the talk of the village! It must be pretty good to be mister popularity, huh?"
"Dad, Uncle Harold, Mr. Yamanaka, please quit trying to embarrass Naruto," Sakura said in a mildly annoyed tone.
"Maybe your grandpa's ghost will switch from haunting us to haunting Big Bro, if what the older guys are saying is true," Moegi whispered to Konohamaru as the older folks were talking to each other, drawing out some nods of agreement from the mildly rattled genin.
"We aren't trying to embarrass Naruto, young lady," Inoichi said, "He really is as popular as the boys and I are saying. In fact, many fathers all over the village have a desire to offer their daughter's hand in marriage to Naruto. He is Konoha's most eligible bachelor right now, after all."
"You cannot be serious, dad," Ino remarked.
"I am entirely serious," Inoichi replied, "And that reminds me." Turning his head to face Naruto, Inoichi said, "Naruto, will you marry my daughter Ino?"
"What?!" Naruto exclaimed out of shock.
"What?!" Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon all exclaimed out of shock and in unison.
"What?!" Sakura exclaimed out of shock.
"WHAT?!" Ino exclaimed out of shock, having exclaimed the loudest of all.
"It would be totally awesome to have you in the house of Yamanaka," Inoichi explained, "Please do me the honor of becoming my son-in-law."
"Dad, I'm dating Sai!" Ino exclaimed.
"And that's another reason I want you to marry my daughter!" Inoichi said to Naruto without turning to face Ino, "You are by no means an artsy little son of a bitch! That makes you perfect!"
"Inoichi, with all due respect, Naruto cannot marry your daughter," Kizashi remarked. (2)
"Thank you, dad," Sakura said, "About time someone decided to be the voice of-"
Cutting his daughter off, Kizashi continued saying to Inoichi, "After all, Naruto is going to marry MY daughter!"
"WHAT?!" Sakura exclaimed.
Turning to face Naruto, Kizashi said, "Naruto my good man, I cannot think of anyone more suited to marry my daughter Sakura other than you! Besides, you do have something of a crush on her, do you not?"
"Umm, that crush I had on Sakura actually faded a while ago," Naruto explained, "Granted, Sakura and I are still good friends, but-"
"It's time to take that friendship to the next level, my good boy," Kizashi interrupted. Turning around, Kizashi said, "Come on, Harold! I need you to back me up on this!"
"I don't know if I can take part in this, Kizashi," Harold replied as he put his hands on the sides of his head, "You're my bro, and Inoichi is my best friend! This conflict of interest is making my brain feel like it's being smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick!"
"Dad, Mr. Haruno, Mr. Fisher, leave Naruto alone!" Ino snapped, "You're embarrassing him!"
"Oh, look at that, Naruto," Inoichi said, "Ino is already looking out for your well-being! She'll make one hell of a wife for you!"
"ARUGH!" Ino exclaimed in a frustrated manner, throwing her hands up into the air.
Naruto eventually made his way to the Hokage office building, where he inquired about possible missions. Fortunately for Naruto, there weren't any missions available at the moment, so he had a good bit of free time. With that free time that he had on his hands, Naruto decided that he'd get some training in, and maybe a workout.
As Naruto walked back through the market area, not being able to shake the feeling that he forgot something, he was met up by Might Gai, the self-proclaimed rival of Naruto's jonin instructor Kakashi. With Gai were his students, Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga and Tenten. "Greetings, Naruto!" Gai said as he held up his right hand in a gesture of greeting, "I bet that you're excited now that you're a jonin! Neji and I welcome you to the club!"
"Oh, umm, thank you," Naruto replied.
"If you should so desire, we can take you the secret jonin party club here in Konoha," Gai offered.
"There is no secret jonin party club, Gai-sensei," Neji pointed out.
"Quit trying to ruin my attempts to look cool, Neji!" Gai exclaimed as he turned on his heels to face the Hyuga prodigy, looking very embarrassed.
"So, Naruto-kun, what are you up to?" Rock Lee asked in polite curiosity.
"I was just getting back from the Hokage office building," Naruto explained, "I wanted to see what sort of missions were available for me, seeing as how I'm a jonin now. But Granny Tsunade said that there weren't any missions available for me to undertake." With a look of consideration on his face, Naruto added, "I also have the feeling that I forgot to do something very important, for some odd reason."
"You most certainly have forgotten to do something very important, my good Naruto," Gai replied. With is left hand over his chest and his right hand held out to Naruto, Gai continued, "You have yet to accept Tenten's hand in marriage!"
"Wait, what?!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Tenten's actual father, for reasons we cannot disclose, is unfortunately not around," Gai went on, "As such, I have taken to standing in as a father figure for Tenten. Part of that duty requires me to find a suitable husband for my darling student to marry." With more confidence in his tone, Gai said, "And it is you, Naruto, who I would like to offer Tenten's hand in marriage to!"
"As…flattering as the offer is, Gai-sensei," Naruto began, "And with all due respect to Tenten, I'm going to have to politely decline." (3)
"How can you not accept Tenten's hand in marriage, Naruto-kun?!" Rock Lee exclaimed, "She is Gai-sensei's daughter in every way but blood! You should be honored!"
With the stares that he was receiving from the two Taijitsu masters, Naruto quickly turned to face Neji and said, "Neji, a little help here, please?"
"Naruto is just being respectful of my feelings, Gai-sensei," Neji began to explain.
A confused look on his face, Gai said, "What do you mean, Neji?"
An embarrassed look on his face, Neji said, "Naruto kinda…sorta…kinda knows about how I feel about Tenten."
The looks on the faces of the two Taijitsu masters were nothing short of stunned. Tenten, blushing with embarrassment, looked very much flustered. Naruto, for his part, looked confused. "I did not see that coming," Naruto thought honestly. (4)
Later that day during the lunch hour, Naruto was grabbing lunch with his friends Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi, along with Neji. Shikamaru, who was holding a clipboard in his left hand and a pen in his right hand, was writing something down on a sheet of paper attached to the clipboard, leaving a half-eaten burger and his drink ignored for the time being. Choji, who had just finished devouring his first burger, was getting started on his second when he pointed to Naruto's meal, which was just a large soda.
"I still don't understand why you didn't get anything to eat, Naruto," Choji remarked causally.
"I'm…not feeling all that hungry," Naruto replied.
"Ehh, that's understandable," Shikamaru said, "I mean, take a look at this." Turning around the clipboard he was holding, Shikamaru had revealed that he had written down a list of pairs of names; one name in each pair was that of a man in Konoha, and the other name of each pair was the name of a girl who was the daughter of the man that she was paired with. "You have so many men in Konoha wanting you to marry their daughters, that even Sasuke back when we were in the academy can't claim to have had so many options."
"That reminds me, Naruto," Choji remarked, "I'm sorry if my father was kind of pushy in wanting you to marry my cousin."
"What really caught me off guard was what Neji said to get me out of that situation with Gai-sensei trying to get me to marry Tenten," Naruto said.
"Yeah," Neji replied as he blushed mildly in embarrassment. Setting his chicken sandwich down, Neji said, "I've actually have those kind of feelings Tenten, and have been meaning to confess as such in a better setting. But with the stunt Gai-sensei pulled, I guess I sort of…panicked."
"Well that's putting it mildly," Shikamaru remarked with an amused smirk.
"So, Naruto," Choji began before tearing into his second burger, "Who are you going to pick?"
"I don't know," Naruto replied with a mildly unsure look on his face, "I'm not sure if I even want to marry any of the girls on the list." Taking a closer look at the list, Naruto added in a mildly bemused tone, "Or the one guy." With a quick glance at Shikamaru, the blonde jonin said, "Umm, no offence."
"I seriously have no idea why my father is so against the idea of me being in a relationship with a girl who isn't a naturally born citizen of the Land of Fire," Shikamaru remarked as he shook his head in shame.
"Well putting that all aside, you have your pick of practically every girl in Konoha," Choji said to Naruto as he took the list from Shikamaru, "You're like a kid in a candy store, man."
With a mildly somber smile, Naruto said, "I bet that, if he were still alive, Pervy Sage would try to be like an advisor of sorts to me in picking what girl I'd marry."
Nodding, Shikamaru said, "Yeah, that sounds like Lord Jiraiya, alright." (4)
Naruto took another sip from his drink as he contemplated his current situation. "I've never really considered the idea of spending the rest of my life with some girl," Naruto thought, "I guess that mostly has to do with the fact that, up until recently, every girl regarded me with the same consideration with which they'd regard garbage." At that moment, as if it was seemingly at random, something that Naruto heard someone say a couple of days back crossed his mind.
"H-h-h-he's not m-my boyfriend! …Although that would be really, really nice, now that you mention it."
"Hey guys," Naruto said suddenly as he got up.
"What's up, Naruto?" Neji asked.
"I need to go clear my head a bit," Naruto replied, "You guys mind if I take off?"
"I'm guessing you want to weigh your options on your own a bit before you get back to business?" Shikamaru suggested.
"Something like that, yeah," the blonde jonin replied. Picking up his soda, Naruto drained the last of it as he stood there before walking over to the door, tossing his empty cup in the trash, and taking off.
As he walked through the village, his hands in his pockets, Naruto was considering the line that went through his head randomly back at the establishment he was at with Choji, Shikamaru and Neji. To be more specific, Naruto was thinking about Hinata Hyuga, the girl who had said that line. "Does…does Hinata really think that way about me…?" Naruto thought somberly. It was then that Naruto was suddenly struck by more memories he had of Hinata.
That time back when they were all students at the Leaf Village Ninja Academy, and Hinata had brought a bunch of snacks that she had intended to share with, and only with, Naruto. During their first go at the chunnin exams, Hinata risked herself by trying to offer letting Naruto copy off of her paper from the written portion, then she gave Naruto a thing of healing ointment after he defeated Kiba during the combat portion, then she gave him kind words of encouragement as he was worried about taking on Neji. Also, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Hinata jumped in front of an assault to protect Naruto, even though she herself would have forfeited her life. Granted, Neji jumped in front of Hinata and was able to save all three of them thanks to blocking the assault with his Pod Shield, (5) but it's the thought that counts.
Then there all of the times that Hinata got flustered or red in the face or fainted, just because Naruto was in her immediate proximity; the blonde jonin, having remembered what Hinata said during that lunch with the other girls, finally had some reason for all of that behavior. Suddenly, Naruto stopped dead in his tracks as he remembered what Hinata did during Pain's attack on Konoha over a year and a half ago, specifically what Hinata said to him prior to charging at the head Pain.
"That's why I'm not afraid to die, if it means I can protect you. Because, Naruto-kun, I love you."
"Oh, fancy running into you here, Naruto," a familiar voice called out, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts and making him look up from the ground. As such, Naruto saw the familiar face of Iruka Umino, an instructor over at the Leaf Village Ninja Academy. Naruto's somewhat somber expression lightened up somewhat when he saw his old teacher.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei," Naruto greeted.
"I heard you're a jonin now," Iruka began, "Congratulations, Naruto." With a bit of a chuckle, Iruka added, "I guess this means you outrank me now, huh?"
A small but sincere smile on his face, Naruto gently shook his head. "Yeah, I guess I do technically outrank you now," Naruto replied, "But as far as I really care, you're still my superior, Iruka-sensei."
An amused smile on his face, Iruka said, "Well if that's the case, then can I get you to help me with some cleaning out over at the academy? There's a load of boxes full of old assignments over in one of the old classrooms. I'm surprised that those boxes are still around, given that the academy had to be rebuilt due to Pain's attack on Konoha roughly a year and a half back." Shaking his head, Iruka said, "I swear that those boxes must have more endurance than the smooshed-together contents of a backpack that a child never cleans out."
Chuckling in good humor, Naruto said, "Sure, Iruka-sensei, I'll help you with the cleaning. Lead the way."
Over at the Leaf Village Ninja Academy, Naruto was carrying a box from a closet in a classroom over to one of the desks. "Hey Naruto, take a look at this," Iruka called out, getting the blonde jonin to turn and look. Naruto saw Iruka shift through a number of old assignments from the open box that he had on another desk somewhere in the classroom.
"Do you remember the assignment I gave back when you and your friends were all still students here," Iruka began with a mildly amused smile, "Where I asked you all if the world was going to end tomorrow, who would you want to spend your last day with? Well, I just found all of those assignments."
"Yeah, I remember that assignment," Naruto replied, "Sorry about turning my assignment into a paper airplane and tossing it out a window. I…didn't really have anyone to put down back then."
Smiling in a sympathetic manner, Iruka said, "Yeah, I kind of figured that was the case. Sorry about chewing you out over that. I guess the assignment might have hit something of a sore spot on you."
"Nah, it's nothing to worry about," Naruto replied, "It's in the past anyway." As Iruka looked through the assignments, he stopped on one and let out a snort of laughter. Walking over to look over his sensei's shoulder to see what was so funny, Naruto saw that Iruka had found Sasuke's paper from the assignment. Surprisingly, there was a two-way tie between who Sasuke would want to spend his last day with; his mother Mikoto and his older brother Itachi. (6)
Putting all of the assignments from the box into a neat stack, Iruka said as he got up from his seat, "Well this trip down memory lane has certainly been rather fun, but we really should-"
"There you are, Big Bro!" Konohamaru called out randomly, startling Iruka into dropping the stack of assignments he was holding, spilling them all over the floor. Naruto and Iruka both turned to see Konohamaru standing there in the doorway. "Did you tell Granny Tsunade about the stalker yet?" Konohamaru asked.
"Damn it, that's what I was forgetting earlier!" Naruto exclaimed. Shaking his head, Naruto replied, "I'm sorry, Konohamaru, but it completely slipped my mind."
"You could have knocked instead of calling out suddenly, you know," Iruka said to Konohamaru in a scolding tone as the chunnin instructor bent down to pick up the spilled assignments, "Darn near scared the life out of me, Konohamaru."
"Here, let me help you with this, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said as he bent down to assist with cleaning up the mess. As he and Iruka picked up assignment after assignment, Naruto came across Hinata's paper from the assignment on who she'd want to spend her last day with. What Naruto saw made him pause.
Hinata had only put down one person that she'd want to spend her last day with, and that person was Naruto.
Just as Iruka and Konohamaru both noticed that Naruto was looking at one of the spilled assignments that he had picked up, Konohamaru cried out in surprise, making Naruto and Iruka both look up and see that Konohamaru had been pushed into the classroom rather hastily by Neji and Ko Hyuga, apparently too preoccupied with whatever they doing to show much concern for their surroundings. "There you are, Naruto!" Ko said as he and Neji entered the classroom.
"The two of you just shoved Konohamaru to the side as you entered," Naruto pointed out dryly.
"Neji and I are sorry about that, but we're kind of on a job here," Ko replied as Neji went about helping Konohamaru up off the floor, "Specifically, to find you. Lord Hiashi wishes to see you."
"Why would Neji's uncle, of all people, want to see Naruto?" Iruka asked in a confused manner.
"Iruka-sensei," Neji began, "Have you heard about what happened during the Chunnin Tournament, during Lady Hinata's match against Kiba?"
"Yeah, I actually saw a video recording of that match, and every other match from the Chunnin Tournament as well," Iruka replied, "Other than Naruto's match against Kiba, which I saw in the stadium live. Although after the tournament, I made a DVD with all of the matches recorded on it. Students I have at the academy currently have been begging me to show it in class, but with how brutal some of those matches are, I'm doubting that showing it in class is a good idea." (7)
"Ko and I suspect that Lord Hiashi wants to personally congratulate Naruto for his victory against Kiba," Neji went on, "Especially since it happened after what Kiba did to Lady Hinata."
"Will you come with us, Naruto?" Ko asked.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Naruto replied, "Alright, I'll come with you guys. Just let me finish helping Iruka-sensei clean up this mess." Both cadet Hyugas nodded respectfully, then went to wait outside of the classroom, with Konohamaru following them out. After about a minute, Naruto and Iruka got all of the assignments cleaned up off of the floor. When that was done, Iruka said that he'd get the papers reorganized on his own, allowing Naruto to take his leave to go with Neji and Ko.
"Ah, Naruto, there you are," Hiashi Hyuga, the leader of the Hyuga clan, greeted in a friendly tone as Naruto walked into his study over at the Hyuga clan's estate with Neji and Ko. The blonde jonin and the two cadet Hyugas found the Hyuga lord seated at his desk in the study.
"Neji and Ko told me something about you wanting to congratulate me for winning the Chunnin Tournament?" Naruto began in a mildly unsure tone.
"Ah yes, that," Hiashi replied, "You winning the Chunnin Tournament has made you the talk of not only Konoha, but the Land of Fire as a whole, as well as major foreign villages not currently acting hostile towards everyone else. People are especially happy as your final win in the tournament was against Tsume Inuzuka's son, who had made a less-than-flattering reputation for himself due to how brutally he beat his other opponents." Sighing in a regretful (and mildly upset) tone, Hiashi added, "Particularly Hinata. Let me tell you, the elders of the Hyuga clan are NOT happy with what happened."
"I can imagine," Naruto replied.
"I myself am not fond of what happened," Hiashi went on, "Granted, Hinata survived her ordeal, was treated at the hospital, released from the hospital this morning and is now recovering here at home. But none of that changes the fact that my first-born daughter was very nearly killed."
"What happened to Lady Hinata has caused no small amount of grief for the rest of the Hyuga clan as a whole," Ko said as he turned to face Naruto, "Hence why the Hyuga clan was particularly elated when you won that match against Inuzuka." With a knowing smirk, Ko added, "Some of the Hyuga clan elders, hearing that you're currently Konoha's most eligible bachelor, have expressed an interest in making you a member of the Hyuga clan."
"Huh?" Naruto replied with a shocked and confused look on his face, "They actually said that?! You guys can do that?! How?!"
"Yes, I would like to know what's going on as well," Neji added.
"The clan elders that Ko speaks of proposed an idea to me that, the more I think about it, sounds very much appealing to me," Hiashi explained to his nephew. Turning to face Naruto, Hiashi said, "Naruto, I would like for you to marry my daughter Hinata."
Sighing in an unamused tone, Neji said, "I'll call Shikamaru so I can have him add you to the list, sir."
Regarding his nephew with a confused look, Hiashi said, "What are you talking about, Neji?"
"With all due respect, Lord Hiashi," Neji explained, "You are far from the first father who's asked Naruto to marry their daughter. Shikamaru, Choji and I have had to write up a list to keep track of all of the marriage offers Naruto has received. To say that the late Lord Jiraiya would have been proud of Naruto would be an understatement."
"From what I heard," Ko began as he spoke to the Hyuga clan leader, "There's fifty-seven fathers, counting you, offering their daughters in marriage to Naruto, twenty-two uncles offering nieces, eight grandfathers offering granddaughters, eleven granduncles offering grandnieces, two brothers offering sisters, Might Gai offering his student Tenten, and Shikaku Nara offering his son Shikamaru." Neji nodded in agreement with his fellow cadet Hyuga.
"I…see that I have my work cut out for me," Hiashi replied, shocked that he has so much competition. During the entirety of the talk between the three Hyuga right after Hiashi made the offer to Naruto, the blonde jonin had a quick flashback to all of the times he was thinking about earlier, all of the times when Hinata proved herself as the one exception, the one girl who had NEVER regarded Naruto as if he was nothing.
"Because, Naruto-kun, I love you."
"I seriously have no idea why Shikaku would be so adamant about his son being with a natural born citizen of the Land of Fire," Hiashi remarked to Ko and Neji as Naruto was still deep in thought, "He does realize that his son is an item with the older sister of Sunagakure's current Kazekage, doesn't he?"
"Hey, Mr. Hyuga," Naruto began suddenly, getting the attention of everyone else in the room.
"Hmm?" Hiashi said, "What is it, Naruto?"
His eyes closed, Naruto inhaled and exhaled before opening his eyes again to look at the Hyuga clan lord. "…I'll do it," Naruto stated firmly, never having been more sure about anything else in his life.
"You'll accept Hinata as your wife?" Hiashi asked, surprised by how Naruto replied to his request. Ko and Neji were likewise surprised as well.
"Assuming, of course, that Hinata's okay with the idea as well," Naruto replied, "I wouldn't feel right if she was being forced into something that she wasn't okay with."
Smiling, Hiashi said, "I'll let her know, then. In the meantime, I don't suppose I can offer you a refreshment of some kind?"
"Lord Hiashi has this amazing aged bourbon," Ko remarked.
"One, Naruto is too young to drink," Hiashi began, "Two, how would you know how amazing my bourbon is, especially considering the fact that I hardly ever break it out, as I prefer to save it for special occasions?"
"Harold Fisher, Inoichi Yamanaka and Tsume Inuzuka gave some to me the last time they were here," Ko explained with a shrug, "I have no idea where they found it, though." (8) Sighing, Hiashi only face-palmed.
"Ko, Neji, just take Naruto to the kitchen and get him some soda, or something," Hiashi said in a defeated tone.
Down in the kitchen area of the Hyuga clan estate, Naruto was talking with Ko and Neji. "So, Naruto," Ko began, "Of all the girls in Konoha that have been offered to you in marriage, you've chosen Lady Hinata."
"I'm just wondering what Hinata will have to say," Naruto remarked to the two cadet Hyugas as he sat an empty glass down on the counter, "I mean, does she want to marry me?" At that moment, Naruto felt a gentle tapping on his right shoulder, making him turn around. To Naruto's surprise, Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto (her arms were under his), resting the side of her head against Naruto's chest so that she faced the counter; this way, neither Ko or Neji could see Hinata's face. Her eyes closed as tears came down the sides of her face, Hinata softly said her answer.
"Yes. I do."
END, BEFORE THE REDEMPTION CHAPTER SIX
Author's Notes:
(1) Thus, Ino's reaction is explained.
(2) For more than Inoichi knows at the moment.
(3) Kurama is, to put things mildly, not all that fond of Tenten.
(4) You gotta admit that this would have been right up Jiraiya's ally.
(5) Technology rules!
(6) Young Sasuke had trouble connecting with his dad.
(7) Mostly due to the matches in which Kiba took part.
(8) They raided Hiashi's liquor cabinet; doing so was Tsume's idea.
Well there's chapter six done and over with. The next chapter will finally get to the issue with the potential stalker that has been following around Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi over the past couple of chapters. …I wonder if anyone has figured out who it's going to be yet?