Chapter 7
Heeeeeey y'all! How goes it? Well...here it is! My latest chapter. I hope you guys like it! By the way, school starts for me in a week, so my time will be now split between work, writing, and school. So don't be angry if it takes a little bit longer for me to post a chapter.
By the way...a friend posted a very touching eulogy for Kakashi's Icha Icha book.
Friends, we are gathered together to remember a dear comrade. Kakashi's Icha Icha book was a loyal and true friend. He brought enjoyment to all and stood by Kakashi through some of the most difficult times in the Jonin's life. We cannot forget that tragic accident that took Icha Icha's life. Please, join me in a moment of silence for Kakashi's book... - Solvdrage
Thank you for those touching words. * wipes tear *
Also...I'd like to thank my Beta hinatasgreatestfan. Thank you!
Okay! Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. End of story.
It had been a week since Team Seven had passed Kakashi's bell test, and now they were a working team. There were a plethora of D-Ranked missions lately, so Team Seven, along with the other Genin teams, was doing three to four D missions a day. Team Seven was currently in the Hokage's office awaiting their second mission of the day.
"Well..." Iruka started. "Madam Shijimi has lost her–"
"NO! I am not finding that stupid woman's cat again!" Naruto screamed. "We've only been doing these missions for a week, and we've had to find her damn cat nine times already! We've had to look for that cat twice in one day...TWICE!"
"Naruto! How dare you call the Fire Daimyo's wife such a name!" Iruka scolded.
Hiruzen sighed at the teacher and student. He felt bad for any team who had to find that woman's cat. "Naruto, I understand your frustration. It's quite obvious why the cat runs away, but you can't call the woman stupid. She is a woman of power and deserves respect," Hiruzen explained.
Naruto folded his arms and puffed out his cheeks into his signature pout. "Fine. But it doesn't mean I have to like it."
Hiruzen chuckled and rummaged through the mission requests on his desk. He finally found one that would do well for this team. "All right Naruto. I have a good mission for you. It's a stepping stone towards being bodyguards in the future," Hiruzen said, handing the mission request to Kakashi.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Really?!" he said excitedly.
Sasuke instantly stood a little straighter when he heard the Hokage's description. "Will it really help us?"
"Yes. It will." Hiruzen smirked. "You three will learn about the safety of the clients, which is one of the most important lessons in a bodyguard mission."
Kakashi read the mission request and silently chuckled. 'Safety of the clients indeed.' Kakashi cleared his throat and spoke. "All right, team. Let's go."
"All right!" Naruto cheered. He then rushed out of the Hokage's office.
"N-Naruto-kun! Wait! We don't even know where the client's house is yet!" Hinata called as she chased after him.
Sasuke sighed. "How annoying..." he then shoved his hands in his pockets and followed his teammates.
Kakashi looked at his Hokage and chuckled. "I liked your method of catching their attention, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen chuckled as well. "This old dog still has some tricks left in him, Kakashi."
Kakashi nodded and bowed to his leader before following his students.
.
.
.
"I can't believe the Hokage tricked us..." Sasuke grumbled. He was sitting cross-legged with his hands over his chest and had a angry scowl on his face. Sitting next to him was a young boy about four years old who was copying Sasuke's position and facial expressions.
"Oh, Sasuke-san, don't be upset. In a way, Hokage-sama was right," Hinata said as she bottle fed an infant boy in her arms.
"How, Hinata? Because this," Sasuke motioned to the daycare where they were, "doesn't seem like any type of body-guarding job to me!"
"Doesn't seem type of job!" the young boy next to Sasuke exclaimed.
"Stop it, Harou," Sasuke grumbled.
"Stop it, Hawou," the boy grumbled back. This caused Naruto and Hinata to laugh.
The sound of crying echoed through the daycare and Sasuke grumbled, "Again?!"
"They're babies, Sasuke. They need a lot of attention." Hinata chuckled.
Sasuke groaned and walked towards the room where the sleeping infants were, Harou following him. Two infants, who had been sleeping, were now very fussy. "Hey, Dobe! Get in here and help me!"
Naruto rolled his eyes and walked into the room to help Sasuke. Naruto took an infant girl, while Sasuke took the crying boy. They both felt the diapers and Sasuke groaned when he felt the heavy load that was inside. "I hate kids..."
"You do realize, when you revive your clan, there will be babies. Lots of babies, right?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto in horror. He was right. If he was to revive his clan, he would have to deal with these little monsters for the rest of his life! Sasuke groaned and brought the baby boy to the changing table. Sasuke undid the diaper and grabbed some wipes to clean the boy's bum. He was hit with the horrid smell from the diaper and scrunched his face at it. He saw Harou making the face as well. Sasuke took a deep breath and turned back to the baby. As Sasuke began cleaning the infant, the baby then began to relieve himself onto Sasuke. Sasuke gasped in surprise and backed away from the changing table.
Harou started laughing hysterically at Sasuke being peed on. Naruto turned around from rocking the little girl and had to hold in his laughter so as to not scare the baby. Sasuke looked horrified and angry.
When the little boy was done, Sasuke had a large wet spot on his new shirt that he bought from Iwao's. Sasuke looked like he was about to explode. He quickly cleaned up the baby and put a diaper on him. Sasuke took another step back and took a deep breath. "Naruto...watch the kid," he ground out.
Sasuke marched out to the play area of the daycare center, where he found Hinata. Many of the kids ran away and hid when they saw the angry look on Sasuke's face.
Hinata looked up at Sasuke and blinked. "Sasuke-san? Why the–HEY!" Hinata's wrist was snatched by Sasuke, and she was led to the babies' room. "Sasuke-san! What are you doing?"
Sasuke let go of her wrist when they arrived back in the baby room. "You take care of these brats! I'm going for a walk!" Sasuke growled out. He then marched out of the daycare to take his walk.
Hinata blinked and turned to Naruto. "Did I miss something?"
Naruto nodded and chuckled, still rocking the baby girl. "The baby peed on Sasuke," he said, nodding his head to the baby boy on the changing table.
Hinata covered her mouth and laughed into her hands. "Poor Sasuke-san," she said as she picked up the baby boy. Hinata started to rock the boy to try to get him to sleep, her eyes traveling towards Naruto. She saw him wiggling a finger in front of the girl's face and making silly, but quiet noises. 'Wow...he's so good with her. Naruto-kun would be a wonderful father.' Hinata blushed at the thought. She then shook the thought from her head, returning her attention to the little baby in her arms.
When Sasuke came back the toddlers were sleeping peacefully. Naruto and Hinata were sitting against the wall watching the children. Sasuke blinked. "You got them all to sleep?"
"Shhhhh!" Naruto shushed. "It took us forever to get them down," he whispered harshly.
Sasuke walked over and sat next to Naruto. "Sorry. How'd you get them all to take a nap?"
"It wasn't easy," Hinata stated with a tired voice.
They all heard a yawn and three Genin turned towards the yawn with horrified looks. One of the kids was waking up!
It was Harou. He sat up and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He was holding a small teddy bear in his right hand.
"Go back to sleep Harou-kun," Hinata whispered across the room.
Harou blinked tiredly and crawled across the room. He stopped in front of Sasuke and rested his head on Sasuke's thigh. He put his thumb in his mouth and was asleep almost instantaneously.
Sasuke was staring at the toddler in complete shock. "Uuuuuuuuuh..." Sasuke's hands were up, almost like he was caught red-handed for something.
Naruto chuckled. "He seems to like you."
Sasuke still didn't know what to do. He was completely frozen in place.
Hinata giggled. "It's okay Sasuke-san. He isn't going to hurt you."
Sasuke looked at his teammates and slowly placed his hand on Harou's back. Sasuke was completely out of his element with this, but the Uchiha couldn't help but let a small smirk grace his lips.
The Genin heard the daycare center's front door open and saw the owner of the place and Kakashi walk in. Kakashi smiled at his team with his signature "U" eye. "Did you all have fun?" he whispered.
The three Genin glared at their teacher. Kakashi chuckled at his team. "All right, kids. Let's go."
The Genin stood up, Sasuke being careful not to let Harou drop to the floor. They all very quietly tip-toed out of the house, and when the door was shut, all three Genin turned to their Sensei.
"You lied to us." Sasuke frowned. "You said that this was a stepping stone to body-guarding!"
"Ah. Technically...I didn't say that. The Hokage said that," Kakashi corrected. "And remember what the Hokage said. You need to learn about the safety of the client. What better way than babysitting?" he said with a smile. Or what was considered a smile for Kakashi.
"I can think of a few..." Sasuke grumbled.
"Actually, Sasuke-san, Hokage-sama and Kakashi-sensei make a point with the babysitting. Babies and toddlers are at risk with a lot of things within a home," Hinata stated. "There are sharp kitchen utensils and toxic cleaners that, if they're inhaled or ingested, could prove to be very bad for their health."
Naruto smiled. "So that's why there were so many child safety locks on the cupboards."
"Exactly, Naruto. For toddlers, you have to keep your eye on them at all times. Just like a bodyguard would keep an eye on his client," Kakashi explained.
Sasuke and Naruto nodded, signaling they understood. Now, they had to report their successful mission to the Hokage and receive their pay for the day.
When they arrived, Team 8 was standing outside of the Hokage's office.
"Sasuke-kun! I haven't seen you in sooooooo long!" Sakura squealed and glomped Sasuke. When Sasuke ignored her and shrugged her off of him, she huffed. "Oh, Sasuke-kun, I'm so sorry you have to deal with these losers! They probably don't treat you like the strong shinobi you are. But I do," she said, gently touching his shoulder.
Sasuke frowned. "Don't touch me."
Kiba looked at Sasuke and sniffed him. "UGH! What the hell?!"
"What is it, dog breath?!" Sakura frowned.
"Shut up, banshee! And if you must know, your boyfriend over here smells like piss!" Kiba said, plugging his nose.
"KIBA! How dare you talk that way about Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled, then stopped as she was suddenly hit by a sour smell. "Uh..." Sakura slightly gagged. "Ugh...what is that smell?!"
"Heh. Sasuke over here got peed on by one of our clients," Naruto snickered. He then yelped when Sasuke's fist connected with the back of his head.
"How dare they! I should go over to them right now and give them a piece of my mind! How dare they do such a vile thing to my Sasuke-kun!"
"Sakura...our clients were children," Hinata stated bluntly. "A baby had an accident of Sasuke-san," she explained.
"...Oh." Sakura blushed and looked at her feet in embarrassment.
She looked up when she saw Kurenai, her sensei, walk out of the Hokage's office. "Oh, Team Seven, it's good to see you again," Kurenai said with a smile. "Here for more missions?"
"Yup!" Naruto smiled. "We just finished our latest mission of the day."
"Well done. We have one more mission and we shall be finished. Come on, team. Tora isn't going to come quietly."
"AGAIN?!" Kiba groaned. Akamaru yapped next to him, obviously not happy about finding the cat.
"Yes, Kiba. I know. Come on, team. Let's go." She then smiled at Kakashi. "Good luck, Team Seven." Kakashi nodded back to the Jounin in response.
"Yes, Sensei," the Genin said and followed their teacher.
"Bye Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed and followed her team.
Sasuke sighed. "I hate my life..."
A Chuunin poked his head out of the Hokage's office, then turned to Kakashi and his team. "Team Seven. You may come in now."
Kakashi nodded and led his team into the ruler's office. "Hokage-sama," he said with a bow. "We're here to report a mission success."
The Hokage smiled. "Well done, Team Seven. You can collect your pay from Iruka," he said, motioning towards said Chuunin. "Alright. Koiji...do you have any more missions for Team Seven?" Hiruzen asked another Chuunin in the room.
The Chuunin, Koiji, ruffled through the papers on the desk and shook his head. "No, Hokage-sama. I mostly have B- and C-Ranked missions. Team 8's mission was the only D-Ranked mission I had left for the day."
The Hokage nodded. "All right. Collect your pay and you're dismissed."
The three Genin bowed and walked to Iruka to receive their salary. Once it was collected the team bowed again and left. Kakashi stopped his team after they had left the Hokage Tower and spoke. "All right, team. Meet tomorrow at the bridge at eight. And don't be late," Kakashi stated before he shushined away.
"Sooooo...ten then?" Naruto suggested.
"At the earliest," Sasuke said with a sigh. "I'm going to train. See you tomorrow," he said with his monotone voice. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and walked down the street.
"So Naruto-kun, what do you plan on doing now?" Hinata asked quietly.
Naruto smiled. "I saw Karin yesterday by Ichiraku's, and she said that my special request should be ready by today. So I plan on going to pick it up and pay for it," he explained. He was rather excited to try his new outfit. "Want to come with me?"
Hinata smiled happily. "Of course, Naruto-kun." 'I wouldn't want to do anything else.' Hinata walked side-by-side with Naruto as they walked to Iwao's.
"So, Hinata-chan, after we pick up my clothes, would you like to grab some lunch?" he smiled happily.
"Of course, Naruto-kun. Are we going to Ichiraku's?" she asked.
"No...I think I want something different today. How about we get some barbecue?" he suggested. Naruto figured Hinata was getting sick or ramen, considering they went there every time they got lunch. So he suggested something different.
Hinata blinked. "You're not in the mood for ramen?" This never happened.
"Nah. Gonna try something different today. Besides," he said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I figured you'd want to try something different since we always have ramen."
'He's so considerate.' Hinata smiled at Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."
The two walked at a comfortable pace to Iwao's, happily chatting between themselves. When they finally arrived at Iwao's, they walked in and saw Karin and Ichirou behind the front counter. "Hey, Karin. Hey, Ichirou."
"Naruto! It's good to see you again." Karin smiled. "Your order is ready. We finished it this morning," Karin said happily.
"Uh...no! I finished it this morning!" Iwao called from the sewing room in the back.
Karin rolled her eyes and smiled. "All right. Here you go, Naruto," she said, pulling up a package for the blond.
Naruto smiled and opened it up. Naruto blinked as he stared at the package. "There's...two of them."
Ichirou nodded. "We figured you'd want a replacement in case one of them got destroyed or needed to be repaired."
Naruto smiled. "All right. Thanks, guys." 'I sure hope I can pay for two of them...' Naruto took out his orders and smiled. It's just like he pictured it. It was a trench-vest. The front was very much like a vest. No sleeves, a high collar, and it zipped from the waist up. But the back was so much different. The back cascaded down his back to his knees. It was almost like a cape was connected to this vest. And on the back was an orange Konoha Swirl.
"Oh, wow, guys! You included the Konoha swirl. And it's even in orange!" he said excitedly.
"Well Uzumaki-san," Ichirou started, "when you came in last week wearing your orange jumpsuit, I only figured it was your favorite color.
Naruto smiled. "Thank you so much. How do I look Hinata? Does it suit me?"
Hinata stared at Naruto and blushed. "Y-Yes. It looks very good on your Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled. 'I caught that stutter Hinata-chan. It's kind of a cute stutt...Was I really thinking that?' Naruto blushed at the thought of him thinking Hinata's stutter was cute. "Uhm...how much do I owe you guys?" Naruto said, taking out Gama-chan.
Ichirou rang up Naruto's trench-vests and smiled at him and Hinata. "That will be thirty thousand ryo." Ichirou smiled.
Naruto peeked inside Gama-chan's mouth and inwardly sighed. 'Thank God I got paid for the missions today...I think I still have enough for lunch too!' Naruto took out the ryo and handed it to the couple. "Thanks, guys. I really love the trenches." He smiled and grabbed his other jacket, which was still wrapped up.
"No worries, Naruto." Karin smiled. "Enjoy the new duds!" she called to the boy.
Naruto and Hinata waved goodbye and left to get lunch.
As they walked down the street, Naruto received many looks, most of which didn't go unnoticed to Hinata. Some were staring at Naruto in a new light. He didn't look like the moron in orange. He looked like a serious ninja now. Several girls suddenly looked more interested in Naruto. Now that the ridiculous orange jumpsuit was gone, Naruto looked a lot more attractive than he had originally looked. Hinata wasn't too happy at these girls looking at her Naruto. Hinata's cheeks reddened. 'My Naruto...? M-My Naruto...' Hinata smiled to herself at the thought of Naruto being hers.
But many of the villagers still looked down upon Naruto. Most sent hateful glares at the boy, others would whisper as he walked by, and a few women hurried their children along or into their homes. Hinata watched this and was confused as to why the villagers would act this way. She saw last week how many of the shopkeepers pushed Naruto out of their stores. She looked at Naruto, who didn't seemed to be fazed by the villagers looks. She saw him smiling like his usual self, and it made her heart swell. 'You're able to walk through this village with such a cheerful smile, Naruto-kun. You'll show these villagers you're a powerful, strong, wonderful person like I know you are.' Hinata smiled to herself as they finally entered the Korean barbecue restaurant.
As Naruto and Hinata walked in to take a seat at a table, they saw Team 8 eating lunch. Lucky for them, in Naruto's mind at least, Naruto and Hinata went unnoticed by the team. They sat down and waited for their server to come and take their order.
They only had to wait a few moments before the waiter approached. Once the man saw Naruto, he turned his nose up at him. "What can I get you?" he said with an almost disgusted tone.
Hinata blinked at Naruto, who looked at little disheartened. "Naruto-kun? What would you like?"
Naruto looked up at the waiter, who was glaring at him. "Uhm...some beef please?"
The waiter scoffed to himself and turned to Hinata. "And you?"
"Uhm...some pork please?" She watched the waiter scribble on his paper pad and storm off to the back.
Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I don't know why they act this way. If I knew I'd make sure they wouldn't treat you badly because of whatever's wrong with me."
"Nothing's wrong with you Naruto-kun." 'You're perfect to me...'
"Hey, Hinata!"
Naruto and Hinata turned their attention from each other to Kiba, who had called out to Hinata. "Check it out! Pretty much like...the second we got to the outskirts of Konoha, I totally caught Tora single-handedly."
"Nuh-uh, Kiba! That cat was scratching the hell out of your face when you jumped on it!" Sakura yelled. "I had to yank it off your face so he wouldn't claw your eyes out."
Naruto snorted. "Smooth, Kiba."
"What'd you say, Whisker-Face?" Kiba challenged.
"Naruto-kun. Kiba-san. Please. We're in a restaurant," Hinata tried to reason.
"Sorry, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, trying to relax into his seat.
"Why are you guys here anyway, Naruto?" Sakura asked with her arms folded over her chest.
"What does it look like Sakura? We're here for lunch," Naruto said bluntly. Hinata placed a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.
"It is kind of obvious, Sakura," Kiba said with a shrug.
"Can it, Dog Boy!" Sakura screeched. "Where's Sasuke-kun? Is he meeting you here?" she said with a hopeful voice.
"No. Sasuke-san left after we collected our pay for today," Hinata explained.
Sakura shrugged. "Well...I don't blame him. Why would he want to hang out with you losers anyways? I mean...all you'll do is slow him down," the pinkette said nonchalantly.
Naruto let out a loud growl, obviously angry at Sakura's comment. It was one thing to call him a loser, but no one called Hinata a loser. Before Naruto could voice his anger at the rude kunoichi, though, her teammate beat him to it.
"Hinata isn't a loser, Sakura! How could you say that about her?!" Kiba snarled. He then looked at Hinata and gave her a toothy, yet seductive, grin. Though Kiba's seductive grin made him look like someone had lathered some bad-tasting substance along his teeth, and he was making that face to keep from tasting it.
It was completely obvious to not only Naruto and Hinata, but Kiba's own team as well that the canine-like Genin looked completely deranged.
Sakura was the first to speak. "Kiba...shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."
Then Naruto spoke. "No, Sakura. You don't know what you're talking about. While I appreciate Kiba defending my teammate," Naruto ground out, "I don't appreciate you, Sakura, treating my friend like that." He was fine with Kiba defending her, but he didn't like Kiba's constant gaze upon his teammate.
Hinata looked at Naruto and smiled, her cheeks turning a slight pink. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."
"Hey! What about me?! I defended you against this banshee too!" Kiba retorted.
"What do you mean 'banshee'?!" Sakura yelled.
Naruto sighed. 'And here I thought Hinata-chan and I could have a peaceful and enjoyable lunch...' He turned to Hinata with apologetic eyes. She looked back at him with understanding.
"Sakura. Kiba. Perhaps we should depart," Kurenai suggested as she approached her students. "We should let Naruto and Hinata enjoy their lunch."
Kiba and Sakura wanted to rebel, but it was Shino who spoke. "Let us leave. You have already caused an unwanted commotion within the restaurant."
Kiba and Sakura looked around and saw many of the costumers looking annoyed at the two loud Genin. Kiba and Sakura then quickly left the restaurant to avoid the annoyed costumers. Shino sighed. "My apologies," he stated quietly and followed his louder teammates out of the restaurant.
Kurenai approached Naruto and Hinata and gave them an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about them, you two. I don't know why they act like that sometimes."
Naruto and Hinata smiled at the crimson-eyed Jounin. "It's okay, Kurenai-sensei. Some people just can't control their tongues," Hinata said with a nod. Naruto agreed with a nod.
"Thank you for understanding. Enjoy your date," Kurenai said with a smile.
Hinata blushed at the word "date." She couldn't help but like the sound of her and Naruto on a date. Naruto, who was also red, didn't have the same reaction as Hinata. "W-We're not on a date!"
Kurenai blinked at Naruto. She noticed Hinata looking a little upset. "You're not? I'm sorry. I just assumed you were on a date."
"Hinata and I are just friends! That's all!" Naruto exclaimed. It went completely unnoticed to Naruto that Hinata looked like she was close to tears.
Kurenai noticed that and sighed. She gently touched Hinata's shoulder and smiled. "I see. Well...I better be off. I need to tell my team where we'll be meeting." She gently squeezed Hinata's shoulder and left.
Naruto watched Kurenai leave, then turned to Hinata with a smile. "Weird how she thought we were on a date, huh?"
Hinata stared at the barbecue table with a slight nod. "Y-Yeah...weird..."
Naruto blinked. "Hinata-chan? Are you okay?" Hinata tried to say something, but she couldn't. She got up and started to walk away. "Hinata-chan! Where are you going? We haven't even got our food yet."
She didn't look back at him. "I'm not hungry anymore, Naruto-kun," she said softly as she left the restaurant.
Naruto blinked. "What'd I do?" he said to himself. He was about to follow Hinata when the waiter came up and practically dropped the meat on the table.
"Here."
Naruto rolled his eyes and got up to leave, but the waiter stopped him.
"I don't think so. You ordered this food and you're going to pay for it." The waiter growled.
"Pfft. Yeah, right. Why would I pay for crap service and rotten food?" Naruto scoffed. He could smell the age of the meat. He noticed that the waiter was shocked that he had found out that the food was spoiled. Naruto shook his head and followed Hinata out.
"Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan!" Naruto called, trying to catch up to Hinata, who seemed to be disappearing within the crowd of people. Naruto sped up, still calling Hinata's name. But he noticed that he wasn't getting any closer. Then it hit him. She was running from him.
"Hinata-chan! Wait! Please!" Naruto then took off into a run to get to Hinata.
The chase lasted several minutes as Hinata tried to run away from Naruto back to her home, where she knew he wasn't allowed. Naruto realized where she was going and frowned. "Hinata-chan! Stop!" he yelled. He was steps behind her. He reached out and managed to grab her wrist, which caused her to come to a stop. "Finally..." he said, out of breath. "Why did you run from me?"
Hinata didn't answer. Her shoulders slightly shook, an obvious sign she was crying. Naruto noticed this and slowly stepped in front of her. "Hinata-chan...what's wrong? If it's something I did...please tell me what I did, so I won't ever do it again."
Hinata took a deep breath and wiped her tears away. "It...it wasn't what you did...but what you said..."
Naruto blinked. "What'd I say?"
Hinata looked up at Naruto in shock. Was he serious?! Did he really not know what he said that upset her?! "You...don't remember what you said?" she replied, almost angry at the blond.
"I don't. I'm sorry," he said sadly, obviously upset that he had forgotten what he said that hurt Hinata.
Hinata took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled to calm herself. "You stated we weren't on a date."
Naruto blinked. "But we weren't..." Now he was confused.
"That...may be, Naruto-kun," Hinata said sadly. "But...the way you shouted that we weren't on a date to Kurenai-sensei, and for all the rest of the restaurant to hear, it upset me."
Naruto nodded. "Hinata...don't be upset with me please. I feel really bad for shouting that and embarrassing you."
"I wasn't just embarrassed Naruto-kun. I was hurt," she tried to explain.
Naruto ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Uhm...why were you hurt by me saying that?"
Hinata blinked. "You...really don't know?"
Naruto sighed. "Not really. I mean...I'm so sorry I upset you. But I've had to grow up without a lot of human contact or learning the proper ways of society. Or...society in general, really. I guess...you could say I'm naïve in a lot of ways," he said with a nod. "One of them being the ways of women," he added with a nervous chuckle.
Hinata stared at Naruto in disbelief. Although...she shouldn't have been that shocked at what she heard. Hinata sighed and stared at Naruto. "The reason I was upset, Naruto-kun...was because when you yelled out we weren't on a date, it made me feel like I'm not dating material. Like...you were disgusted with the thought of having a date with me."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh, my God, Hinata-chan...I so didn't mean it that way! Any guy would be as lucky as cheese to have you!"
Hinata blinked. "Lucky as...cheese?" she asked with complete confusion.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah...cheese," he chuckled. "But seriously. Anyone would be lucky to be with you Hinata-chan."
Hinata smiled. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry I got so angry. It was childish of me."
Naruto smiled back. "Don't be sorry, Hinata-chan. I'd be angry, too, if I were you. I know our lunch was ruined by my stupidity. Maybe we can have a rain check?"
Hinata giggled and nodded. "Of course, Naruto-kun."
"Want me to walk you home, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked a little sheepishly.
Hinata blushed and smiled at her crush. "I'd like that a lot, Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled at his friend and turned, walking Hinata to her compound. It didn't take the couple long to reach the Hyuuga compound, considering Hinata had been running towards it. When they arrived, Naruto turned to Hinata and apologized again for his stupidity.
"Naruto-kun...it's in the past now. Let's let it stay there," Hinata said, gently touching his arm.
Naruto smiled at the blunette. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. I'll see you tomorrow." Naruto then walked away to return to town.
Hinata watched her crush leave with a soft sigh. 'I wish I could tell you how I feel, Naruto-kun...'
Unbeknownst to the Hyuuga Heiress, cold Hyuuga eyes watched the scene with disgust. 'How dare she continue to associate with that...boy. Her judgment as heiress appears to be lacking. Perhaps a few lessons should be in order.' Hyuuga Hiashi slowly retreated back into his home.
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Naruto walked back into town, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. His lunch had been ruined because of his stupidity–and because he was served rotten food–so he decided to go grab some Ichiraku. As he walked towards his favorite hole-in-the-wall, he noticed a very bad disguise. Naruto blinked as he stared at a boxy-looking bush next to a fence. Naruto slowly approached and gently kicked the "hedge." Naruto heard a little crunching of the leaves, but a majority of the sound was hollow. Just as he suspected...a crappy disguise. Naruto knelt down and lifted the "hedge" and revealed a young boy.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" the boy yelled. The boy grabbed the edge of his disguise back and covered himself back up.
Naruto blinked, then pushed the whole "hedge" off the boy. "What are you hiding from?"
"Why do you care?" the boy said, going to grab his disguise.
"I've seen you before. Now where have I seen you before...?" Naruto said to himself. "I KNOW! You're the kid that the Old Man has a picture of on his desk!"
"Well, he should!" the boy said. "I'm Konohamaru, grandson of the Third Hokage!" he boasted proudly.
"Honorable Grandson! Honorable Grandson!" came a worried voice.
"Aw, man! Thanks a lot, Blondie! Now I got caught!" Konohamaru frowned.
The man came forward and grabbed Konohamaru's arm. "Honorable Grandson! You can't be running around out here! You have things to do! Lessons you must learn! Come. You are already late."
"Noooo! I don't want to!" Konohamaru whined as he struggled to free himself from the man.
"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "What are you doing?! Who do you think you are?" Naruto rushed towards the man, freeing Konohamaru from the older man's grasp.
"I am Ebisu, Jonin of Konoha and the Honorable Grandson's tutor," Ebisu said with a frown. "What business do you have with the Honorable Grandson?" the Jounin asked with a frown.
"Well..." Naruto started before he looked down at Konohamaru. He noticed the boy looked upset about having to go back to his studies. "I offered to buy him lunch for managing to outsmart a Jounin." Naruto grinned down at the boy. "After lunch, I'll bring him back for his lessons."
Konohamaru and Ebisu stared at Naruto in shock. Then Konohamaru turned to Ebisu with pleading eyes. "Pleeeeeaaaaase, Ebisu-sensei?! I really want to have lunch with...him!" Konohamaru had realized mid-sentence that he still hadn't learned the blond's name.
The Jounin stared at Naruto, then at the pleading Konohamaru. Ebisu sighed deeply, then adjusted his dark glasses. "Fine. You have one hour, Honorable Grandson. If you are not back by then, I will personally come and find you."
"Thank you, Ebisu-sensei! Come on! Let's go!" Konohamaru yelled.
Naruto chuckled and walked with the boy.
Once they were far enough away, Konohamaru looked up at Naruto. "Uhm...did you really mean that you were gonna buy me lunch?"
Naruto nodded. "Sure. I mean, I did say I was gonna buy you some in front of Ebisu. Besides...you seem like a cool kid. Why not?" he said with his signature toothy grin.
Konohamaru blinked. "Thank you. Uhm...what's your name?"
"It's Naruto." The blond said happily. "You like ramen?" Naruto asked.
"If it's Ichiraku's ramen!" Konohamaru smiled. "My grandpa brought me there a couple months ago, and it's soooooo good!"
Naruto chuckled. "It seems we have a lot in common then. Ichiraku's is my favorite place to eat!" Naruto looked ahead and saw the desired restaurant. "There it is. Go ahead and order a bowl of whatever you want."
Konohamaru rushed up to the booth and quickly took his seat. Naruto approached and smiled at Teuchi. "Hey, Old Man!"
"Naruto! Good to see you. Are you with the Honorable Grandson?" Teuchi asked.
"Yup! I'm treating him to lunch." Naruto said with a nod.
"Wonderful! What do you guys want?"
"I'll have pork miso ramen." Naruto beamed.
"And for you, Honorable Grandson?" Teuchi asked.
"Oh...uh...what Naruto's having," Konohamaru said quietly. Teuchi nodded, wrote down the orders, and went to the kitchen.
Naruto stared at Konohamaru, who seemed to look rather...upset. "Hey...you okay Konohamaru?"
Konohamaru stayed silent for several moments before he spoke. "I'm tired of everyone seeing me as the 'Honorable Grandson'. I'm not just the Hokage's grandkid. I'm Sarutobi Konohamaru! Future Hokage of Konohagakure!" The young boy exclaimed.
Naruto laughed. Konohamaru glared. "What's so funny?!"
"Nothing!" Naruto said, regaining his composure. "So you want to be Hokage, huh? Well...you better get in line. Because I'm going to be Hokage, too."
Konohamaru blinked. "Really? Why?"
"Well...part of the reason was I wanted to be recognized. I wanted them to stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody. But it's kind of selfish for me to think like that. I mean...being a Hokage isn't all about respect, right? It's about protecting the people you love and treasure, no matter what the cost. Don't you think that's a better reason to become Hokage?"
Konohamaru stared at Naruto in shock. Naruto wanted the respect like he did, but Naruto had seemed to really think about the real reason to be Hokage. Konohamaru looked up at the blond next to him and smiled. "Yeah...it is." The boy's smile grew larger when Teuchi came out of the kitchen with two bowls of pork miso ramen.
After eating and idly chit-chatting, Naruto had taken Konohamaru back to Ebisu, who was waiting at the Hokage Tower. "Here he is, Ebisu. Right on time, too."
Ebisu cleared his throat. "So it seems. Come, Honorable Grandson."
Konohamaru sighed as his title, then turned back to Naruto. "Bye, Nii-san!"
Naruto blinked, then gave Konohamaru a bright smile. "See ya later, Konohamaru!"
Konohamaru didn't admit it aloud, but Naruto had inspired him to become a great ninja so he could be a great Hokage one day.
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Weeks of D-missions turned into months of D-missions, and Team Seven in particular was getting annoyed with all the missions they were receiving. Once again, Team Seven was in the Hokage's office to receive their next mission, looking bored beyond belief.
"Well...let's see..." Iruka started. "Oh, here we go. There's a restaurant in town that needs its kitchen deep cleaned before opening tonight."
"NO!" Naruto frowned. "I'm sick of doing chores for villagers that are too damn lazy to do it themselves!"
"Naruto! How dare you?!" Iruka scolded. "You can't say things like that! It's disrespectful!"
"But seriously, Iruka-sensei! Yesterday we had to 'give a fish a bath'!" he growled with quotations. "Seriously?! This guy wanted us to frigging clean his tiny fish bowl that he was too frigging lazy to clean himself!"
Hinata agreed with Naruto. "Forgive me, Iruka-sensei, Hokage-sama, but I agree with Naruto-kun. Some of these D-missions are rather...absurd," she said with a slight blush. "That man grew rather angry when we missed one small spot on his goldfish's bowl."
Sasuke spoke next. "Some of these missions are pretty unreasonable," Sasuke said with a shrug. Truth was, he really did want a more challenging mission.
"Do you all feel this way?" Hiruzen asked. Team Seven nodded.
"If I may speak, Hokage-sama," Kakashi started. When he saw the old man nod, he continued, "My team has done just over the minimum requirements for a C-Rank mission, so...on the behalf of my team, I request a C-Rank mission."
The three Genin looked up at Kakashi with wide smiles. They could finally show what they were made of. They had been training really hard in between missions, and they wanted to show how much they'd improved.
"Do you three agree to this?" Hiruzen chuckled when he saw the Genin nod their heads rather quickly. "All right." Hiruzen began to rummage through some papers on his desk, before settling on one. "Here we go. I believe you have experience in body-guarding, do you not?" The old Hokage smirked. He could see Naruto and Sasuke glaring at him, and Hinata trying to keep a frown from appearing on her face. Hiruzen chuckled at the Genin. "Well, children, I believe it's time to see how much experience you've received. This mission is an escort mission. You will escort your client from Konohagakure to Nami no Kuni," Hiruzen explained.
"Will we encounter any enemy shinobi?" Hinata politely asked.
"I do not believe so, Hinata. If you run into trouble, it should be no more than your average bandit," The Hokage said with a nod. "Now...for you to meet your client. You may come in now," Hiruzen called out.
When the door opened, Team Seven turned around to see a gray-haired man step in. The man was wearing a dark, sleeveless, V-neck shirt with an obi tied around his waist, dark pants and sandals. He also had a white towel around his neck and a bottle in his hand. "These brats are going to be protecting me? Is this a joke? They look like they can't even tie their own shoes, much less protect me. Especially that midget blond one!" the man slurred.
Naruto's eyes widened. "M-Midget...? I AM NOT A MIDGET YOU DRUNK! I am Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of Konohagakure!"
The man scoffed. "Hokage? Pfft! Yeah, right! No village would want a short brat as their leader," he said, wiping his mouth.
Naruto growled and went to attack the older man, but Hinata held him back. "Naruto-kun...don't. He's just a drunken man who doesn't know what he's saying."
Naruto frowned and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Okay...thanks, Hinata-chan."
Hiruzen then spoke. "This is Tazuna. He will be your client for this mission. You will need to escort and protect him on the journey to his home. Are there any questions?"
"Can I have a different team?" Tazuna asked.
"No," Hiruzen said bluntly. "Anyone else?"
"How long will we be traveling? I want to be able to pack appropriately," Sasuke said without much emotion in his voice.
"Good question, Sasuke. It depends on how good time you make traveling to and from Nami no Kumi. My guess is...three to five days. So pack reserves and extra clothes just in case you take longer." The three Genin nodded at their Hokage's words.
"Good. You're dismissed." Hiruzen then handed Kakashi the mission scroll before the team left the office.
Kakashi walked out with his team and Tazuna. Once they were outside of the Hokage Tower, he stopped the other four. "All right, team. Go get packed and ready for this mission. While it is a simple escort mission, be prepared for the worst." He then turned to Tazuna. "It's just a little after noon, and my team needs to prepare for this mission. And I'm sure you still need to ready yourself for the travel home." Then he turned to face all four people. "Let's meet at the front gate tomorrow at eight am, sharp."
The quartet nodded at the Jounin. "Don't be late, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto teased. Kakashi merely shot Naruto a mischievous look. Naruto laughed, Hinata quickly joining in. Although Sasuke didn't laugh, a smirk did grace his lips.
Tazuna watched the Jounin shushin away in a swirl of leaves. He then turned to the Genin and scoffed. "I can't believe they'd give me a team of frigging toddlers. I'm gonna die for sure..." the man grumbled as he started to walk away.
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Naruto growled, his fists shaking at his sides "Man...that guy's a jerk..."
"Just ignore him, Naruto-kun. He doesn't deserve your attention," Hinata said with a nod.
"Thanks Hinata-chan." He then looked at both his teammates with a smile. "Lunch anyone?"
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After lunch, Team Seven went about buying extra weapons, rations, and extra first-aid supplies. It was their first time outside of the gates for a mission, and they all wanted to be prepared. After buying all of their supplies, they returned to their respective homes to pack and prepare for the mission ahead.
Naruto had arrived home at dusk and instantly began to pack. He packed four pairs of pants, six shirts, an extra pair of sandals, and his spare trench-vest. He packed additional kunai and shuriken sets, in case of danger, and some instant ramen cups for the road.
After he was done, he flopped on the bed and let out a sigh. "Our first real mission...we're totally going to kick butt tomorrow..." he said quietly as he slowly drifted off.
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The morning of the mission, Hinata was up bright and early, so she could eat a filling breakfast before departing on her mission. Hinata was currently in her room, making her bed. After she was done, she opened her closet to grab some clothes. She looked at the wardrobe she had hanging up, and locked onto one specific outfit. The ones she purchased from Iwao's shop. She took one off its hanger and looked at it closely. 'Well...it's our first real mission. It deserves a new outfit.' Hinata shed her pajamas and folded them up neatly and placed them on the end of her bed. Hinata changed out of her underwear and into new ones. She also bound her growing chest for travel and possible battle. She then slipped on some black spandex shorts before putting on her new ninja dress. She smiled as the cream dress hugged her body in all the right ways. She tied the violet sash securely around her waist and finally placed her ninja sandals on, completing the look. She smiled at her appearance in her mirror. She grabbed several extra dresses and sashes that she had purchased from Iwao's and placed them in her bag. She then smiled to herself and let out a soft sigh. 'I'm ready.'
She lifted her pack over her shoulder and approached the kitchen, where she would make her breakfast before leaving. Once she approached the kitchen, she was hit with a multitude of smells. She peeked her head in and saw the chefs smiling at her. "Good morning, Hinata-sama. We heard from Hanabi-sama that you had a special day. We made one of your favorites: a mushroom and bell pepper omelet."
Hinata smiled brightly and happily accepted her omelet. She ate to the sound of the chefs cooking her father's and the other Main House members' breakfasts. Once she was finished, she happily thanked the cooks and made her way to the front entrance of the Hyuuga Compound. She knew Hanabi would probably be waiting to say goodbye to her. As she approached the entrance, she saw that Hanabi wasn't alone. Her father was there with her.
Hinata inwardly groaned. She approached and bowed to her father. "I'm leaving Otou-sama."
"I can see that, Hinata. But...what are you wearing?" Hiashi said in disgust. The clothing was indecent for a Hyuuga heiress.
"I bought them, Otou-sama. They are practical clothing for a kunoichi and they give me ample flexibility," Hinata explained.
Hiashi frowned, nearly turning his nose up at his daughter's new attire. "Hmph. Why do you need a travel pack? Surely you are not traveling outside of the village so soon?"
"We are. Kakashi-sensei requested a high rank mission for our team. Hokage-sama granted his request. Today we are setting out," she explained. "Excuse me, Otou-sama...but I must depart. I fear I will be late."
Hiashi frowned, but nodded. "Indeed. Do not slow them down." He then turned from his daughters to return to the house.
Hinata sighed. She wished her father could at least wish her safety on the journey. 'It's not like it would kill him...'
"Be safe, Nee-chan," Hanabi said with a smile. She then quickly wrapped her arms around her sister's waist. "I'll miss you."
Hinata smiled and hugged her sister back. "I'll miss you, too, Hanabi. And thank you." After a few moments, the sisters let go of each other.
"By the way, Nee-chan...Otou-sama doesn't have any fashion sense. I like your new outfit," she giggled.
Hinata giggled as well. "Thank you again, Hanabi. I'll be back in about two weeks." She ruffled Hanabi's hair, then ran towards the front gates of Konoha.
Once Hinata was there, she saw her team waiting patiently by the gates. Kakashi was actually on time, which also shocked her two male teammates. The only person missing was the bridge-builder, Tazuna. They waited well past the supposed meeting time before Tazuna finally arrived.
He approached team Seven with a nonchalant attitude. "All right, you wimps. Let's go." He let out a belch before he began to leave the village.
"Wait a minute, you drunk old fart!" Naruto yelled. "Where the hell have you been?!"
"I was at the bar grabbing one last drink," he said with a bored tone before continuing down his path.
The Genin looked up at Kakashi, who looked slightly annoyed. While Kakashi tended to be tardy from losing track of time at the Memorial Stone, Tazuna was intentionally late. That was something that annoyed Kakashi: purposely making people wait longer than they should.
Kakashi sighed and shook his head, signaling his team to ignore Tazuna's attitude.
The team grumbled but followed Tazuna.
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The first night of the supposed three-day journey was uneventful. Quiet and easy. The second night was the same. Quiet and easy. On the third day, the group was getting restless. While there had been no attacks the first two days, Team Seven was a little anxious. Naruto, for some reason, felt like something bad was going to happen.
As they continued their journey, Tazuna was becoming far more rowdy. Constantly babbling on about how his building skills were going to bring economic stability to the village. Kakashi himself wasn't too invested in Tazuna's rambling, but something did catch his eye: a small puddle along the path. Kakashi quietly disregarded the puddle and continued on.
The puddle rippled slightly before claws shot up and wrapped around the Jounin. Team Seven and Tazuna turned to the Jounin, only to watch Kakashi be torn into shreds.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled. Hinata and Sasuke looked shocked to see their sensei murdered in front of him. Naruto frowned at the puddle. He made a quick hand-sign before preparing himself.
The group watched as two men appeared out of the small puddle. The two men had long, shaggy, black hair and Kirigakure hitai-ate's with horns.
"Wh...Who are you?!" Hinata ordered.
"Heheheh...look, Brother. The young kunoichi is questioning us," one stated.
"Rather amusing. If you must know, little kunoichi, we are the Demon Brothers: Meizu and Gozu," Meizu stated with a dark chuckle. "Now that you know our names, we'll have to kill you."
Naruto frowned. "Hinata-chan! Make sure Tazuna is protected. Sasuke, you and me will be taking these brothers down."
Sasuke nodded at the blond, and the team took their positions. Naruto and Sasuke stared down the brothers for several moments before attacking. Naruto and Sasuke attacked the brothers with synchronized combinations. While the brothers were able to easily counter their attacks, they were finding it difficult to attack. As Sasuke and Naruto continued their attacks, another Naruto came up from beside the demon brothers and kicked Gozu, causing him to crash into his brother.
"Quick thinking, Naruto," Sasuke complimented.
"Thanks. Get ready. They're coming again." Naruto frowned again, taking his Dragon Style stance.
Meizu and Gozu growled at the Genin. They then ran toward the boys, but, to the Genin's surprise, the brothers leapt over them. They then rushed Hinata, who was standing in front of Tazuna with her Byakugan activated. Hinata then quickly took her Juuken stance, ready to fight. She gasped when she saw the demon brothers shoot their chained claws at her. She then refocused herself and struck two of the claws precisely, causing them to veer off into a different direction. She turned back to the other two claws. Realizing she wouldn't have time to deflect them, she braced herself for the impact.
But it never came. Hinata saw the claws were lodged into the ground by two kunai. The quartet, along with the Demon brother's stared in shock. "Where'd that come from?!" Gozu shouted.
"Here," came a very familiar voice. Gozu and Meizu felt the impact of a swift but hard kick to the face. Kakashi had jumped down from a branch above and his feet happily landed on their faces. Kakashi frowned at the unconscious Kiri Chuunin. He then quickly tied them to a large tree, breaking their chained claws and taking all of their weapons.
"Kakashi-sensei! You're alive!" Naruto shouted happily.
"Yes, I am, Naruto," Kakashi said with a slight chuckle.
Sasuke sighed. "Dobe. He was alive the whole time. He merely used a clone to substitute himself."
Hinata blinked after she deactivated her Byakugan. "But why didn't you intervene sooner, Kakashi-sensei?"
"You three were doing wonderful. I didn't want to interrupt," he chuckled. But his chuckle quickly faded, and a dark look came through in his visible eye. He turned to Tazuna, who looked rather scared. "Now...tell us why they attacked."
End Chapter
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