H for Hokage
He walked downstairs and found his leading medical ninja passed out in an armchair, the crowd laughing at nothing, and his top ANBU tending a bruise on his elbow.
"What the hell happened? I was gone for twenty minutes!" He angrily reacted, noticing the absence of his assistant as well. The crowd fell silent, each one feeling guilty as hell.
"Hokage-sama! It was the Hyuga and the Nara." Said a stumbling blonde Yamanaka. The young man was startled with the formality Ino regarded her friends with. Wasn't she on good terms with Hinata and Shikamaru? He paid close attention to her. The young woman's purple dress was wrinkled at the bottom and her eyes were full of tears. She was too drunk to notice her formality pertaining the two.
He glanced around and caught sight of his enemy. The handsome blonde with whiskers on his face. His former best friend, Naruto Uzumaki, his subordinate, and yet his equal. Naruto had taken his time with his apology, and though Sasuke knew he was lying straight through his teeth, Sasuke accepted Naruto's plea of forgiveness. The blonde man pinpointed his blue gaze at the sixth Hokage and the depth of Naruto's eyes swallowed his like an ocean that was doing its best to drown him to death. As quickly as the feeling of drowning washed over him, the retreated along with Naruto, who made his way out.
The young blonde man knew that his mission was to find the only two guests that were directly invited by the Hokage himself. Even he, the Hokage's former best friend, was not directly informed by the Hokage of the celebration that was forced upon him. Naruto sighed, feeling regret for causing his only really deep friendship to break and fall apart. Maybe he could back to the Land of Ogres, and just live out his days helping Shion. It sounded nice to him. However, his heart lied with Sakura, the exotic pink haired medic ninja.
In his contemplation, he stumbled upon a hairpin that could only belong to Hinata. It was lavender and a relic of the Hyuga family, as small and insignificant as it looked. It belonged to the Hyuga-Senju-Uchiha creator's wife. The Senju inherited a will of fire, the Uchiha a curse of jealousy and pain, and the Hyuga received a hairpin that enhanced skill in every aspect the family associated themselves with, which was fighting techniques that could only be passed down by someone of the same blood.
Naruto looked around, only to find a wrapper and a cigarette butt. The young man called upon his demon to help him track his friends. The kyuubi decided it would be fun to hunt for a small bunny and a lazy wolf. Naruto rolled his eyes at the nicknames his demon gave his friends, even if they were sometimes good representations. The kyuubi stopped his jest and quickly concentrated on the chakra signatures resonating from the the two targets. They were in a bake shop in the southern corner of Konoha. It was well known as the Amegureama, a place prized by the Akimichi family.
At top speed, Naruto floated among the tops of buildings, lightly grabbing edges or corners to swing his momentum in the direction he wanted to go. In no time, the blonde man found himself at the entrance of the bake shop and proceeded to walk in.
"...for right now, I think it should be kept under wraps," Shikamaru said, his voice softening like butter towards the Hyuga.
"That's what I thought as well. Thank you for the advice, Shika-kun." Hinata's quiet shaking voice ceased and a smile graced her lips. "We better get going, the Hokage will be looking for us," her features changed from sweet innocence to worry before his eyes.
"Remember, you don't have to tell him right away, however, I suggest you say something before the next big clan meeting," Shikamaru softly reminded her. The young woman before him bent her head towards the ground and nodded.
Naruto coughed awkwardly and the two's heads snapped up immediately.
"The Hokage is upset that you two weren't there when he came back down stairs." Naruto told them bluntly. Hinata's eyes widened, knowing that Naruto knew exactly why she chose to leave.
"I'd give a 'sorry' or something along that line, but frankly, Sasuke-san's a big boy, he can handle two people being missing from the party." Shikamaru's bored tone bore into Naruto, who was used to it now.
"The Hokage requests you back at the Tower." Naruto challenged back, knowing that Shikamaru would win the argument anyways.
"Well, the Hokage should apologize for the guests' treatment of Hinata." Shikamaru bit back at the other young man who coiled back in surprise.
"Its okay, I forgive them. They're all drunk. I'm so sorry, but going back to that treatment is just not who I am now. I will report to the Hokage tomorrow, but I won't go back to that party." Hinata's soft words held a backbone that was ready to strike, if need be.
The blonde man did not hesitate to return to the Hokage and report what the two guests had to say about returning.
