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Another chapter released as promised.
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Chapter 6: A house to call home
Sarutobi and Hitomi were deep into their discussion about Naruto when all of a sudden they heard what sounded like Naruto yelling at the top of his voice, something about ramen was all they could gleam from it but it was more then enough. Sarutobi chuckled and withdrew his pipe from his mouth.
"Well it seems that Naruto is more like his father then we first thought… I just hope I did the right thing by introducing him to ramen, I remember what Minato use to be like. He would eat nothing but ramen for months on end." Sarutobi and Hitomi had been speaking about Naruto and his life in great depth over the last hour, they had discussed the reasons behind his features being labelled as a bloodline, his treatment by the villagers, his old and soon to be new accommodations and a few other things. But currently they were speaking about the Hyuga elders and their reaction towards Naruto being taken to the Hyuga hospital. "Anyway back on topic, you said that the Hyuga elders threatened you if you didn't force Naruto-kun to leave could you further elaborate on it." Hitomi nodded then recounted the meeting she and her husband had had with the Hyuga elders, with each word Sarutobi's expression darkened. He did not like blackmail as he had had his fair share of it dealing with the council, but this was just sick. "Hmm… I can indeed understand your apprehension then… I say you follow through with their demands for now, but I do believe it would be best if we could find some sort of loophole so that Naruto-kun is able to at least visit. He values your friendship with him more then you could ever possible understand." A wicked smile appeared on Hitomi's face and Sarutobi found himself wondering if they already had such a loophole.
"With all due respect Hokage-sama, I do believe it quite foolish that you didn't think of it yourself." Sarutobi was slightly off put by this but he didn't let it affect him as she didn't mean it to. "Naruto-kun is from the Uzumaki clan correct? He is also the last of the Uzumaki clan making him the head of his clan correct?" At this Sarutobi had a pretty good idea where she was going with this and gave a small smirk. "Then it would be easy enough to arrange weekly clan meetings between the Uzumaki clan and the Hyuga clan." Hitomi gave a slight pause so Sarutobi could get his laughter under control, these were the things he liked about politics turning the councils and clans own rules against then. "And if the meeting just happened to finish early then I don't see why Naruto-kun wouldn't be allowed to familiarise himself with the other clan members." Sarutobi's laughter returned to him as quickly as it left him.
"Well I must say Hitomi-san, your plans are brilliant and I'm sure most agreeable to from all sides." Sarutobi gave one more chuckle before taking a quick puff of his pipe, before withdrawing a large folder from underneath his desk. After he opened it, Hitomi noted that it was information on Naruto. Having a quick glance from where she sat it looked more like political information then anything. "Now Hitomi-san, you and your daughter have spent more time with Naruto-kun then anyone else has so far, even myself I have only been able to see him for a few hours at a time. So I was wondering if you make a few statements before we wrap this meeting up. These are all questions that were created by the council that everyone who came into contact with Naruto must answer, and believe me I don't like a few of them." Hitomi nodded her head, agreeing to make the statements. "Ok first off, Do you believe that Naruto-kun is the Nine Tailed Fox reborn?"
Hitomi was stunned at this, 'What sort of question is that! It sounds just like the sort of question that the council would want answered by the villagers'. Hitomi, although not that happy with the question answered truthfully anyway. "Of course he isn't the fox!" Sarutobi nodded his head a wrote down her response. The questions continued for about twenty minutes and by the end Hitomi was almost ready to run over and slaughter the council. They made the questions almost like an attempt to accuse him of all sorts of crimes.
"Now this one is quite important Hitomi-san. What do you believe, if any, are any strengths or abilities that you believe Naruto-kun to possess." Hitomi nodded with a smile at this one, at least it had a point.
"Well as you probably already know he has unprecedented healing powers, he also has the ability to hear and smell better then I believe any Inuzuka or Ninja Dog. He also had quite superior strength for a child his age, able to climb trees and lift another person his weight with just his tail. He also has the extra appendage being his tail, and also clawed hands and feet that appear to be able to cut most anything. His chakra capacity is also well beyond normal for his age, around high Genin to low Chunin level. But I believe his greatest ability is his compassion towards his friends and those that show him kindness, a perfect example is when he befriended a friend of mine. She got into trouble with an elder and he saw it fit to punish her by activating her seal, Naruto defended her not by verbaly attacking the elder but taking all the blows that were meant for her." Sarutobi gave a big smile at this last one, he expected something of the sorts but this was beyond his expectations. He was a little concerned about the claim that Naruto could hear and smell better then any Inuzuka or Ninja Dog. Although it was true that foxes had better senses then dogs, he wasn't sure if this applied to Naruto's case.
"Are you sure Hitomi-san? That is quite a claim you are making. Do you have any evidence to support your claim that his hearing and sense of smell is better then any Inuzuka or Ninja Dog?" Hitomi felt like she was in some sort of court house but she would persist with the questions as she knew that they might help Naruto in the long run.
"Well he was able to detect multiple people and the difference between them even after waking up from a coma. He was also able to hear every conversation that occurred this morning at the Branch family's eating hall, and being able to repeat what he heard. But besides my evidence and my words I'm sure that you yourself Hokage-sama have seen him display his abilities." Hitomi said in reply to what she hoped was the last question.
Sarutobi nodded his head with a smile, he had indeed witnessed Naruto's abilities on many occasions, his first being just after the sealing when little Naruto had heard the villagers and the still able shinobi approach the Hokage Tower minutes before they actually arrived. Feeling it was time to conclude their little discussion Sarutobi returned to one of the original topics that they were talking about, a home for Naruto to live in. At first Sarutobi was a little apprehensive about the idea but after receiving Hitomi's reports and her suggestion that he have at least one Jonin level ninja guarding him and his house at all times convinced him otherwise. "Well I thank you for the report Hitomi-san, being the Hyuga Matriarch and having such an outstanding assessment will help counter many of the other claims as well as fill in a few blanks. Now before we go and retrieve Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan I need to explain to you something about him, it has to do with him being a Hanyou." This really caught Hitomi's attention and her stance mirrored her interest. "You see, a Hanyou is half human half demon right? Having different quantities of both human and demonic charka, but never only one. Now a Hanyou that is born into the world through a union of a human and demon will be able to produce both chakras at a normal rate. However, Naruto-kun being a Hanyou due to side effects of the sealing is not able to produce enough demonic chakra to keep his body functioning properly so he is constantly drawing on very minute amounts of demonic chakra from the Fox. Now this wouldn't normally be a problem, but in Naruto-kun's case it can be. You see when a Hanyou becomes unbalanced in a particular emotion they create large amounts of demonic chakra so they can deal with whatever is causing this imbalance easier. In Naruto-kun's case his body will produce more but still not quite enough and he might subconsciously draw massive amounts from the Fox to compensate. It hasn't happened so far and the seal should keep him from drawing too much but we still aren't sure on the outcomes of such an event. In the worse case the Fox could use an opportunity like that to try and influence Naruto-kun, but in the best case he could be under complete control at the time and be able to use the demonic chakra effectively." Sarutobi paused a moment to let this information sink in and to take a quick puff of his pipe. Hitomi was a little concerned for Naruto, she didn't ever want the Fox to take over.
"Now as for the emotion that triggers this response in his body I do believe that it is a mixture of emotions but mainly anger. Mainly due to the Fox's chakra being pretty much the embodiment of anger, hatred and malice. However, from what you have said Naruto does not ever get angry at the villagers and the only time you have seen him angry is when protecting a friend, now I believe if this is what causes Naruto to become angry then he would have no problem of controlling himself. I do believe that other emotions could cause such a response as well but as he learns to control his demonic chakra, which he will have to eventually, he will eventually be able to use more and more without any risks of being controlled. This would have probably been the same case if he was full human, but being a Hanyou means he is more prone to drawing on the chakra which in turn causes more risks for himself and those around him. The risks are also not only caused from Naruto-kun being influenced by the Fox but also that his chakra coils might not be able to handle the stress and could combust, effectively killing him." Sarutobi finished his explanation and starting smoking his pipe, waiting for Hitomi to digest it all properly before leaving to retrieve Naruto and Hinata.
Hitomi was indeed beginning to worry, not from the damage that Naruto could cause using the Fox's chakra but mainly from the damage it could do to him. She never knew that just holding the Fox carried such a risk to your own life, but when she thought about it, a single boy was holding probably the most powerful thing in the world in just his tiny little body so in a way it is understandable that risks are involved. Voicing her understanding and clarifying everything else Hitomi now requested that they now discuss a place for Naruto to say at. Nodding his head in understanding Sarutobi informed his secretary that he would be away from the desk for an important mission for the next two hours and left with Hitomi to retrieve Naruto and Hinata.
Everyone watching in a mixture of shock and horror as the kitsune hanyou in front of them devoured yet another bowl of ramen. Yugao, longs since past the initial shock watching with a curious fascination, mainly for where it all was going to. Hinata watched her friend with wide eyes, she thought that he could eat a lot when he ate those five apples yesterday but this was just mind-boggling. Ayame was a little worried that this unusual eating ability would cause him some stomach problems but her father was watching with stars in his eyes, imagining all the money they could make of such an amazing customer. To him not only was Naruto the son of his good friend but exactly like Minato in his love for ramen except able to eat just as much at such a young age, Naruto was an invaluable customer.
Finishing what everyone counted to be his eighth bowl of miso ramen he slumped down onto his stool and gave a long satisfied sigh. "Ahhh…. That ramen is the best!" Naruto proclaimed while trusting his hand once again into the air as seemed to be his signature move. "I don't think I could eat much more… maybe just one more though." Teuchi was more then happy to comply to his now favourite customer but Yugao told the chef no more as she was concerned that Naruto would be to bloated to move. Naruto gave her a hurt glare and instantely jumped again on his stool shouting that he could eat more. His more then slightly overextended stomach overbalance him however and he fell of his stool hitting the ground hard. Hinata jumped down to ask her friend if he was alright while everyone in the ramen shop burst out in laughter. Naruto was a little off put that they were laughing at him but he himself had to admit that it was quite funny. After everyone had quelled their laughter and Naruto had dusted himself off, he asked in a hopeful voice if Yugao could take Hinata and himself to the park.
While not quite within the scope of the mission, Yugao didn't think that taking him to the park was a bad idea because as long as she stayed with him to protect him it didn't really matter where they were. Besides the park was only around the corner, so informing Teuchi that if anyone comes asking about Naruto and Hinata they he should tell them the she took them both to the park. Nodding his head in agreement he quickly scribbled down the amount owed for the meals to which Yugao just placed the bag of coins on the bench and told him to take what was owed out of it. After everything was paid for Naruto leapt once more onto the counter, his tail moving rapidly while his ears were perked up straight. With a big smile he thank both Teuchi and Ayame for the wonderful ramen and allowing him to enter there restaurant and promised to return as soon as he could. Something that pleased both Teuchi and his wallet.
Jumping back down off the counter Naruto speed forward to catch up with Yugao and Hinata, upon reaching them he linked hands with Yugao. This action surprised her but not totally unexpected, she could easily see that he trusted her. It was written within his eyes that he did, she didn't blame him however because as she looked around she could once again she the hated looks focused upon him. All their hated for the Fox seethed out of them and even Yugao found herself feeling the pressure of their killer intent, but being an Anbu she was easily able to combate it with her own. A shudder ran up her hand and she realised that Naruto was again suffering under their stares and quite possible words judging by his ear movements. Not being able to see him suffer any longer she knelt down and beckoned the two kids to hold onto her. Neither of them knew why she asked them to hold on but both complied, Naruto grabbing onto her arm and Hinata onto her sleeve. Looking up to face the villagers around them on last time she glared harshly at them all releasing a massive amount of killer intent they made a few begin to sweat while others nearly fainted, before performing a one-handed handsign and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Moments later they reappeared in another swirl of leaves right next to the local park, surprising some of the villagers nearby, their surprise turned to anger however when they noticed a certain little fox boy emerge. Naruto in his case was dizzy as hell and completely lost his balance, falling hard on his back. His movements were quickly followed by Hinata and she fell in a heap upon Naruto's tail eliciting a small yelp from him. Yugao almost laughed at the two and their reactions to her jutsu, sure it was always the same with everyone when it was your first time but that still didn't mean that it wasn't funny. After a few moments Hinata regained her balance enough to realise she was on the ground and had landed on Naruto's tail, apologising profusely for hurting him she quickly sat up and moved off of his tail and gently patted it to make sure there was no damage.
Naruto just smiled at his friend and reassured her that he was fine, his tail also seemed to twitch slightly from the attention it was receiving. Soon after Naruto regained his balance enough to stand, he shot up like a rocket and looked and sniffed his surroundings, it was then that he noticed that he was in Konoha's park. Slightly stunned by this he turned to Yugao who just simply explained that she used a short range teleportation jutsu. Upon hearing this Naruto pounced upon Yugao almost knocking her of her feet and pleaded with her to teach him such a cool jutsu.
"Hmm… Maybe when your older Naruto-kun, it is not an easy technique to learn but maybe I'll teach it too you when you are at least chunin level." Yugao calmly replied while trying to resist his puppy eyes… well in his case kitsune eyes. She was a little disappointed in herself right now though, she was an Anbu and yet her emotions were so easily visible today. She just felt so comfortable around the little hanyou, he was so happy and energetic, and Hinata was the embodiment of everything pure and innocent and Yugao found herself slightly saddened by the fact that the Hyuga's would do everything within their power to beat that our of her. Two children so different and yet so alike, and they both seemed to extrude and aura that evoked happiness of those around them. Yugao was brought out of her thoughts when she saw Naruto and Hinata run off towards the playground, well more or less Naruto running while slightly dragging a shy and blushing Hinata along with him.
Naruto couldn't have been happier then he was right now, for years he had dreamt of finding a friend and playing with him/her on the playground. He was so happy it even brought a few tears to his eyes, which he quickly wiped away with a flick of his tail. Hinata however had noticed his tears and was instantly worried that her friend was not happy, voicing her concerns almost made him shed another tear.
"No Hinata-chan I'm not sad… I'm just so happy that I finally have a friend to play with. I had always wanted to play on the playground… but most of it needed two people to play." Naruto's ears were slightly bending at the sad memories but quickly picked up when he spied the swing set. "Come on Hinata-chan! Lets go play on the swings, I always wanted to play on them!" Hinata was only able to utter a small 'ok' before again being dragged off by her friend, not that she minded as she too had also always wanted to play on the swing set.
Yugao watched from the side of the park with a smile as the two ran off towards the swings. Sitting down on the nearest bench she maintained her watch on the two children under her care while also carefully observing the few adults that remained since they arrived. When Yugao first brought the children here she could instantly see that their eyes fell on Naruto, and most of them immediately called to their own children that they were leaving. Which was perfectly fine for Yugao, she did not care if they remained or not. Just as long as they didn't harm Naruto, it was her mission after all. That was one thing she was unsure of too, she wasn't sure if she was protecting him anymore because of just the mission or because of something else. In just a short time of knowing the little hanyou and the Hyuga heiress, she found herself getting slightly attached to them. Naruto was bright, funny and cheerful as long as there was nothing to threaten him nearby, and Hinata was a human angel, caring, soft and kind.
Naruto and Hinata were having the time of their life playing with one another, where before they had no one to play with, now they had a best friend for life. Currently they were still playing of the swing set, Hinata on the swing with Naruto pushing her gently with his tail. Originally Hinata had been too scared to have a go, but with Naruto ensuring that he wouldn't let her fall she gathered up enough courage to try. To her it was the best choice she could have made, as she was laughing her heart out as she swung back and forward on the swing. Naruto had never heard her laugh before only giggle at times, and was taken back a little at her new sound. To everyone around them her laugh was extremely cute and innocent, but to Naruto's sensitive ears her laugh sounded more like the very bells of heaven ringing to the voices of angels. Her laugh was so pure, so sweet, so wonderful that Naruto almost started to cry.
"Wow Hinata-chan, your laugh is really pretty. You should laugh more often." Hinata's little face went bright red at his complement and in her embarrassment her hands let go of the swing causing her to fall backwards. Luckily for her and unluckily she fell on top of Naruto. Jumping off him and apologising again for landing on him, Naruto just laughed as he got up off the ground waving his tail happily and said that he did promise he would catch her. To which both children laughed again.
"Well ok Hinata-chan, I think that's enough swinging so what should we do next?" Naruto asked while still happily waving his tail about. Hinata however didn't know what to do, she had never played with someone before let alone ask what they should play. In her nervous confusing she began to play with her hands as she slowly glanced around for the closest section they could play on. Seeing one that was actually quite interesting to her she pointed a small finger towards it.
"Um… w-what about the s-seesaw N-Naruto-kun, do you um… want t-to play on i-it" Naruto followed the direction that his friend was pointing towards and grinned brightly and quickly nodded his agreement before rushing off to jump on it, with Hinata following suit, but in a less rushed fashion.
Yugao continued to watch the two children play happily together with a smile. In a weird way she actually wished that she was small enough to join in with their fun. She hadn't really had many friends while she was young and most didn't want to play with her on the playground. For the next forty-five minutes the duo switched from activity to activity, including the slippy slide which Hinata had to go down with Naruto because she was so afraid. All in all they couldn't have had a better time and they had played on all the parts of the playground that they were big enough for and thoroughly enjoyed each one. By the time they began to tire, Hinata decided that they should play a calmer game. Naruto, being Naruto, offcourse agreed and asked her what the game was.
"I-its called hide and s-seek, one of us m-must hide… and the o-other must find them, after counting to t-twenty to give the other time to hide." Naruto thought it was an excellent game and quickly begged Hinata if he could be the one to hide. Hinata nodded slowly and giggled slightly as he bounced around thinking out loud where he could hide. When he calmed down enough to think to himself a thought came to his head.
"Um Hinata-chan… you aren't allowed to use your Byakugan, ok? And I promise to block my nose and cover my ears." Hinata's eyes widened at that, she hadn't thought of using her Byakugan. But even if she had she never would as that would be cheating. So nodding her head in agreement Hinata began to slowly count to twenty with her eyes closed while Naruto speed off into the bushes near the playground. Yugao was about to move from her seat so she could better observe where both children where, when she sensed two familiar chakra signatures behind her. Turning around she flashed a smile at the approaching figures of Hitomi and Sarutobi.
Hitomi and Sarutobi had been quietly walking to the park since finding out from Teuchi that's where Yugao had taken Hinata and Naruto. Sarutobi's heart was instantely lightened when he saw the smile Yugao had on her face. 'Now that's the emotions shinobi should have, looks like you have a special ability to bring even the deepest emotions to the front of everyone around you Naruto.' Hitomi also noticed the happier mood that Yugao was in and thought almost the very same thought as Sarutobi.
Upon arriving Yugao greeted both of them and explained what had happened while the children were in her care, and also reported the looks that the villagers were giving Naruto when they were walking through the village. Hitomi smiled happily and thanked her for looking after her daughter and Naruto.
"Speaking of my daughter… where is she?" Hitomi looked around with her ever sharp eyes and found the small girl with her hands over her eyes. Hitomi's happy mood slightly dropped thinking that Hinata was crying but was shocked when Hinata finished counting and removed her hands from over her face. Hinata's eyes and face were full of happiness and you could practically see the rays of sunshine beaming off of her. Hitomi had never seen such a look on her daughter's face before and was almost brought to tears then and there. All three adults were shocked at the difference in the young Hyuga, they could all still see that she was the same nervous and shy girl, but her general being seemed to be so much happier. They were so distracted looking upon the bright and happy girl that they failed to notice a dark haired boy about three years older then Hinata approach her.
"Hey guys would you look at this! If it isn't the little cry-baby!" Hinata froze at the sound of the voice of the boy and her body slowly began to shake. She had had a few meetings with this boy and his friends and she always left crying her heart out. They always picked on her and called her horrible names, all because she could catch a ball when they first played together and ever since that day she had always been afraid of them.
"Oh yer it is her. I wonder if she is still as weak and pathetic as she was last time we saw her." A few of the boys laughed at that and soon formed a small semi-circle around the little Hyuga. Hinata began to falter under their intimidating stances and closeness and subconsciously began to back down slightly while tears welled up in her eyes, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by the group of bullies.
"Hey look! She is already about to cry, she is such a baby!" Hitomi had been observing the group of boys around her daughter and quickly remembered who they were. Instantly changing to her 'protective mother' mode she yelled at them from across the park to immediately leave her daughter alone and began to quickly march towards them. The boys quickly began to retreat so that they didn't get into any trouble, but before they fully left, the boy who was the self-proclaimed leader of the group decided to get one more jab into the little girl just for kicks. "Hey cry-baby! Looks like your mommy is coming to save you because you're too weak and pathetic to save yourself! Oh and before we go I bet you still can't catch!" And with that said he threw the baseball he was holding as hard as he could towards the young Hyuga. The ball was moving too fast for Hinata to even think about dodging, and already being in an upset state of mind the most she could was put her hands in front of her face to protect herself.
Hitomi could only watch in horror as the ball sped towards her daughter, had she not been on the complete opposite side of the park she would have easily been able to catch the ball, but the most she could do now was run towards her as fast as possible and hope she got there in time. Everyone was so focused on Hinata however, that they didn't notice a small blur speeding out of the bushes. Hinata watched in fright as the ball quickly approached her and she couldn't do anything but be hit by it. 'I'm… so weak…' was the only thing that went through her mind as she braced herself for the collision. But it never came.
Just as the ball was about to impact with her face, a red and white tail appeared in front of her and spun around quickly, slamming hard into the ball and sending it flying. Naruto landed on all fours in front of her and growled deeply. Hitomi immediately stopped running and looked on in shock. Yugao and Sarutobi had a similar look on their faces, Naruto had just practically appeared in front of Hinata to stop the ball. Their look's of shock quickly change to that of fear however when they saw Naruto speed off towards the boy who had thrown the ball.
The boy had been told about Naruto by his mother, according to her he was a horrible demon that killed everyone around him, at first he never believed his mother. But as he desperately tried to run away from the fast approaching hanyou he quickly changed his mind. Naruto rushed towards the boy who had dared to hurt his friend, and within seconds had caught up. Leaping into the air, Naruto tackled the boy down to the ground and quickly pinned each limb down, the boys two legs were pinned with Naruto's tail and left foot and his two arms were pinned with Naruto's right foot and left hand leaving Naruto's right hand to hover dangerously above the boys face.
Naruto just stared into the boys quivering face with cold eyes and growled deep again before speaking in a low and dangerous tone. "Why did you try to hurt Hinata-chan?" Naruto continued his low growl and kept the boy pinned down, even though the boy was a fair bit bigger and older, Naruto was too strong for the boy. Many of the adults who had still remained began frenzying about screaming that the demon was attacking a child. Sarutobi did not take this casual insulting very lightly and immediately silence all the adults around him by announcing his presence and demanded to know why there are people breaking his law. Those adults that had any sense quickly left with their kids, however some remained and demanded to know why the Hokage was defending a demon who was clearly attacking a boy, this time it was Hitomi who silenced them.
"Attacking him? If anything Naruto-kun is saving him!" This caused all the remaining adults to drop their mouths to the ground. Saving him? How is that possible? "If any of you are wondering how he is saving him, it is simple! Naruto-kun is demanding to know why that brat dared to attempt to attack MY daughter, the Hyuga Heiress!" The remaining adults were shocked at this and quickly made the connections between what could have happen to the boy if he was to be punished by the Hyuga clan and what is happening to him and decided that he was indeed better off being punished by the demon. After they left Naruto continued growing impatiently with the boy in his grasp as he still had not answered why he tried to harm his friend.
"I'll ask again" Naruto said while moving his clawed hand closer to the boys face. "Why did you try to hurt Hinata-chan!" Hitomi and Sarutobi, even though knowing why Naruto was doing what he was doing, they were still a little concerned for Naruto. For one he could get into a lot of trouble for this, and two they were slightly worried on whether or not Naruto was actually going to hurt the boy. Said boy was still quivering under Naruto's gaze and was lost in his own thoughts as the terror from Naruto's cold eyes bore down upon him, he could do nothing but shake, not trusting his own voice. Naruto by this time had had enough of him and got of him while lifting him slightly into the air by his shirt.
"Now listen here because I'm only going to say this once, do not hurt Hinata-chan or you will be sorry. I can take being bully any day, but I will not allow anything to harm those precious to me. So I don't ever want to hear you picking on anyone ever again!" When Naruto said those words Sarutobi had a brief flashback of the night Minato had sealed the fox.
"…It was what I decided, I could never defeat the fox, but by sacrificing my life I can seal it. I will not allow anything to harm those precious to me."
Sarutobi smiled at the little hanyou, even though what he was doing was probably not the right way to go about it he was still happy. 'He is exactly like you Minato… you would have been proud of him.'
By now the boy had thoroughly wet himself and begged for Naruto's forgiveness, Naruto's cold stare and superior strength was scaring the boy something terrible. Naruto felt bad for scaring the boy like he was but he still wanted to protect his friend, no matter what. "You don't need to apologise to me. You have to apologise to Hinata-chan for the horrible things you said to her, and promise that you won't be so mean ever again. Got that!" Naruto released the quivering boy whom quickly rushed over to Hinata and apologised profusely before running like a dog with its tail between its legs. After the boy had left Naruto's stance softened and he dashed over to Hinata and asked if she was ok.
"Y-yes, I-I'm fine now N-Naruto-kun… T-Thank you for standing u-up for me… I'm… I'm j-just sorry I'm too w-weak to stand up for m-my-myself." Hinata's tears slowly pored down her face as her self confidence quickly plummeted. Naruto was shocked that she said something like that, he had never thought she was weak and they were just trying to hurt her feelings because they were bullies. He sat down next to his friend and wrapped his tail over her shoulder, eliciting a small 'eep' of surprise from her.
"You are not weak Hinata-chan, you shouldn't listen to them. They're bullies and they were only saying those horrible things because they wanted to hurt your feelings. You are one of the strongest people I know, you just need to believe it yourself." Hinata blushed a bright red at being called 'one of the strongest people he knew' and quickly said a small thankyou before hiding her blush in her dress. Hitomi, Sarutobi and Yugao walked over to the two friends with smiles on their faces at such a cute scene. Sarutobi and Hitomi, although proud that Naruto wanted to protect Hinata so much, needed to explain to him the possible consequences of his actions.
"Naruto-kun… we need to talk." Naruto quickly jumped up at the ready to listen to Hitomi, even if he didn't know about what. "I'm proud of the way you defended Hinata-chan without a second thought to your own safety, but… but we believe that you might have done it the wrong way." Naruto already knew that what he did was wrong, but he had to do something didn't he?
"I know Hitomi-san… But I needed to help Hinata-chan and I couldn't think of any other way. I just… I just really hate people who pick on others. I'm sorry." Naruto bowed his head and lowered his tail, fully expecting Hitomi to hate him for his horrible actions. Even if he was only five, he still knew that threatening someone was not the right thing to do. All three of the adults could easily see that he realised his mistake, the seeds of guilt were so visible within his ocean blue eyes. Hinata noticed his saddened face and put a gentle hand on his arm.
"It is good that you realise that you did the wrong thing, but in a way you also did the right thing by protecting your friend you just went about it the wrong way. Next time try to find a less threatening way to solve the problem, besides the surrounding villagers weren't to happy with what you did and that could cause problems for you." Sarutobi said in a wisdom wise grandfather tone. Naruto nodded his head accepting his 'old mans' words and his mood picked up again. 'Such a sea of emotions you are Naruto-kun, your emotions effect everything you are and do and they change so frequently… you may have to learn to control them a little better sometime in the future.' Sarutobi thought to himself, although Hitomi and Yugao were having similar thoughts.
Sarutobi them turned to Yugao and thanked her for her work looking after Naruto, to which she replied and said it was her pleasure and that she would always be available if ever Naruto needed some protection. After she was dismissed she turned to leave after saying goodbye but was stopped when she felt Naruto's clawed hands reach for hers.
"Thank you Yugao-san for looking after me and Hinata-chan… and um… I was wondering… if you would like to be my friend?" Naruto's face was bright and full of happiness much like it should be for a boy his age, but there was also something else. Yugao could easily see the hopefulness in his eyes almost praying that she would accept his offer of friendship. It had been a long time since someone had influenced her in such a short time before and she did find the little hanyou quite good to be with, But it was more the odd desire to protect him that was really influencing her, she didn't know why but she just knew that she should look after him and being his friend was the absolute least she could do for him, not that she minded one bit. So facing him with a smile she knelt down and lifted the little hanyou into the air and held him in her arms.
"Of course Naruto-kun, there is nothing I would rather be right now then your friend." Naruto's eyes lit up even brighter and he gave her a big hug and made another one of his 'yip' noises that Yugao had heard him make a few times. After he had finished his embrace she gently placed him on the ground before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, but not before telling him that she would visit him once he is settled in. Confused by her words he turned to Sarutobi and asked him what she meant by 'settled in'.
Sarutobi just gave a little chucked, he couldn't wait to see the little hanyou's face once he told him what he was getting. "Come with me Naruto-kun, I will show you what she meant, it's a surprise and believe me your going to love it." Naruto immediately started bouncing up and down, yipping, and saying over and over again that he is getting a surprise. Everyone around him laughed at the little hanyou's antics. After he had calmed down enough, Sarutobi beckoned for Naruto to follow him, and grabbing the little hanyou by the hand slowly led him towards his surprise.
They hadn't even walked ten meters before Naruto's ears twitched slightly. Naruto couldn't hear anyone following him, and turning around saw that Hitomi and Hinata were waving at him. "We shall leave you and hokage-sama alone so you can see your surprise, I promise to contact you soon ok Naruto-kun." Hitomi said while holding her daughters hand.
"G-Goodbye Naruto-kun… I-I will come and p-play with you soon… I p-promise. And thank y-you for saving m-me from the b-big bullies." Hinata said in her usual quite and shy voice. Although you could also hear in her voice that she already missed her friend, even though they were yet to leave.
Naruto waved a goodbye back, but he really wanted them to come and see his surprise too and so turned his eyes pleadingly to Sarutobi. Sarutobi didn't even have to wait for the question to know what Naruto was going to ask. "Yes offcourse they can come and see your surprise too." Naruto again jumped for joy and ran over to Hinata and grabbed her by her hand quickly pulling her along causing her to 'eep' once again. Hitomi just laughed as she watched her daughter practically lifted off the ground as Naruto ran with her towards Sarutobi while quickly explaining that the 'old man' said that Hinata could come too.
As the four of them left towards Naruto's surprise many of the adults who did remain were infuriated that their hokage was not only allowing the demon to live but also seemed to be befriending him. Everyone glared daggers into Naruto's back as he left towards his surprise, all except one. Instead of wishing him dead, a small girl with blond hair and blue eyes watched speechless, unable to even think straight as he faded into the distance. "… Naruto's… alive!"
Naruto continued to bounce and leap all over the place as Sarutobi lead them all to his surprise. He could barely contain his excitement as he tried to pry hints out of his 'old man' which, much to his dismay, learnt nothing but that he would love it. Naruto's excitement was also rubbing off on Hinata, even though she was still holding close to her mother, Hitomi could easily tell that her daughter was almost excited as Naruto even though the surprise wasn't for her. Hitomi and Sarutobi were also excited by more excited about seeing Naruto's face then anything, he was currently acting like a child his age should be allowed to act, happy and bouncy as if it was Christmas.
It took them a good half hour before they reached their destination, Hitomi and Sarutobi had watched with sad hearts as the villagers continued to glare at the little hanyou. Although for the first time in a long time, Naruto was too happy to care. When they arrived Hitomi and Sarutobi looked upwards towards a small apartment building and waited for Naruto's response. Which quickly came after about a minute of silence.
"Um… Hitomi-san… can we go to my surprise now I'm getting really excited!" Naruto proclaimed calmly, even if his voice was still filled with anticipation. Sarutobi and Hitomi just chuckled at his density and it was eventually Sarutobi who put Naruto out of his misery.
"We are here Naruto-kun, this is your surprise, your own home! Now you don't have to live in the orphanage or in the park anymore." Sarutobi explained with enthusiasm. Now that Naruto understood, it only took 1, 2, 3 seconds before he exploded.
"REALLY!" Naruto's voice boomed to volumes that could only be matched by an earthquake and he nearly deafened all those around him. Sarutobi and Hitomi winced while Hinata covered her ears and screwed up her face. Sarutobi and Hitomi wouldn't have even been able to see the trail of colour that indicated Naruto had moved if it wasn't for their advanced skills. Naruto had practically teleported across the front yard and through the open door in a blink of an eye.
As soon as Naruto burst through the front door he instantly began exploring and analysing the place to the smallest degree as he speed through each room. The apartment was simple enough. The kitchen/dining/lounge room was the main room with which the front door opened into, and it also had a small hallway which had one door on each side then one at the end. The door on the left led into a small bathroom with a toilet, bath, shower and sink, and the door on the right was an empty room with lots of space for storing stuff or turning it into a bedroom. Naruto didn't really know what he could put in their but his childish mind didn't really care that much either, besides he was far to excited to think straight. The door at the end was Naruto's favourite as it led into a rather impressively large room with a big bed and many toy boxes. Naruto was almost brought to tears as he leapt up onto the bed and bounced up and down yipping as loud as he could, he had never had a bed in the orphanage before as he was always made to sleep on the ground and he was incredibly surprised at how soft it was. As he leapt off the bed heading for the toy boxes, Naruto picked up the sounds of footsteps enter his house and speed off in their direction.
Sarutobi had barely entered the door before a small blur slammed hard into his chest knocking him down to the ground. Sarutobi just smiled as the little hanyou hugged him and cried happy tears into his chest while thanking him over and over. "Well I'm glad you liked your surprise Naruto, I assumed you have already spotted the boxes in the bedroom so why don't you take Hinata-chan with you and play for a bit while Hitomi and I make a snack for you both because I'm quite positive that you both are quite hungry after playing in the park." Sarutobi's response was a large rumble that Naruto's stomach made at the mention of food. Hinata stared wide eyes at her friend, wondering how he could possibly still be hungry after all the ramen he ate. She was never able to figure it out by the time Naruto bounded up to her, insisting that she come with him and see his new house. The two children had barely left the room before Hitomi and Sarutobi moved to the freshly stocked fridge to retrieve something for the children to eat.
Hinata was smiling brightly as she was led around her friend's new house, she was use to Hyuga standards as far as decorations go but still loved his house none the less. She was quite surprised however when he led her into his room, it was filling with many toy boxes, each labelled with their contents. Living in the Hyuga compound meant that only certain toys could be purchased for the children and seeing such a vast array of new objects that she had never seen before immediately caught her attention and so she was more then happy when Naruto asked if she wanted to play with him and also allowed her to pick the box to open first. After getting over her initial nervousness of being given the option of choosing, she led Naruto to a box labelled 'Plush toys'.
Hitomi and Sarutobi were busy in Naruto's kitchen making a few rice balls for the children and listening to the constant laughing, yipping and other such happy noises coming from Naruto's bedroom. Hitomi thought it quite weird that the Hokage himself was helping her make rice balls for two children, but she just passed it off as a 'grandfather' thing. After all it was common knowledge that Sarutobi had considered Minato almost like a grandson, so it was quite understandable that he would feel the same about Naruto.
After they had finished making lunch Hitomi called to Naruto and Hinata that lunch was made, well a second lunch considering that they had already gone to Ichiraku's. Naruto, hearing that the food was finished, quickly speed out of his room towards the kitchen while slowly followed by Hinata. Upon arriving at the kitchen Naruto quickly dug into the prepared food and easily devoured the rice balls made for him. Hitomi and Sarutobi watched in morbid fascination as the five year old practically inhaled his lunch, while Hinata delicately ate hers. However, Naruto stopped eating his lunch when he felt a familiar churn in his stomach and lower back and his face screwed up to show his discomfort.
"Naruto-kun what's wrong? You look a little sick." Hitomi asked with care, she had seen his sudden change and was wondering if he had perhaps eaten too fast. She watched his face tighten a few more times and even saw beads of sweat begin to form on his brow, her worrying at that increased exponentially.
"Urr… I just have a weird feeling in my stomach… I've been having it for a while now… but this feels a little different." Sarutobi lifted his head at this. He knew that Naruto didn't get sick and if he was feeling something weird about his stomach then might it have something to do with the fox or the seal? Yugao had reported to him that he seemed to rub his stomach in discomfort frequently while she took care of them but at the time he thought nothing of it. Hitomi and Sarutobi both watched in worry as Naruto continued to eat his lunch while periodically shifting in his seat because of his obvious discomfort. It wasn't long until Naruto's breathing slowly started to deepen and become noteably more drawn out. All the while sweat was slowly beginning to form on his brow. Sarutobi was really beginning to become concerned as to what was causing these odd fevor related symptoms and was about to stand and check on the little hanyou when he was stopped by the look in Naruto's eyes. They were wide and slightly paled, a slimilar look to when someones gets impaled by a small object. Sarutobi didn't have long to ponder though as Naruto suddenly began to thrash about, screaming while clutching his stomach and lower back, and the air slowly began to feel heavy with the presence of powerful chakra.
His screams echoed throughout the house and Sarutobi, Hitomi and Hinata were instantly at his side. The sudden turn of events were certainly unexpected and Sarutobi had little time to think of what was going on, but the heavy feeling of chakra was a good indication. Lifting Naruto's shirt Sarutobi found that the seal that kept the fox at bay had become visible and was glowing a bright red. Hinata noticed the strange pattern on her friend's stomach but didn't really think to ask as she was way too worried on why Naruto was in pain. After double checking the seal for any damage or wear Sarutobi had found that Naruto's body seemed to be drawing on more and more demonic chakra, which was probably even more concerning to him.
"Hitomi-san, I need to take him to the hospital! His body is drawing more and more of its chakra!" Sarutobi didn't even wait for a response before he quickly picked up the screaming hanyou and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
