I don't own Naruto or Ranma. I'm just borrowing the characters from their great stories to create something entertaining.

∼ Entwined Symphony ∼
by Tama Saga

Isn't the disclaimer supposed to go here?

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Chapter 9: Hanabi's a Child

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- The past -

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The first thing that Ranma realized upon waking was that she was a girl. The weight on her chest told her that much.

The next was that someone was standing next to her. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that the stalker had found her.

She immediately feigned sleep, stalling and hoping beyond hope that she would wake up soon. Or that feigning sleep would make him go away.

When the ground beneath her started to creak and bounce, she instantly realized that she was laying upon a bed. She promptly opened her eyes. Even though he had all of his clothes on, there was no mistaking his intentions.

"Pervert!"

Like always, he was already out of her attack range by the time her attack was supposed to connect.

Instead of waiting, Ranma rolled, taking a corner of the bed's sheets with her.

Flinging the sheet out the instant she reached the edge of the bed, she watched as it soared over her opponent's head. He made no move.

And then she hauled the sheet downwards. By now he was moving, but it was too late.

In moments, she had the sheets wrapped around his head. With a sharp strike to the neck, the guy went limp.

But she wasn't finished yet.

Bending down, she grabbed his waist and threw him upwards slightly so that she could get a firm hold of his legs. She wound up and threw him...at himself.

There was a grunt and her surprised opponent bent forward as he was struck in the gut by the incoming log. His uncontrollable flight ended with the wall.

Ranma was already there. Divesting the log of the bedsheet, she had her foe tied up in the very next motion. Once he was secure, she checked his pockets. Not finding anything, she grabbed the knapsack that was lying in the middle of the floor and escaped through the window.

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- A few months before the present -

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"No."

The abruptness of Naruto's response had Ranma gritting her teeth. She grabbed her son.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Dammit Kaasan, let me go."

She threw him onto the matted ground of the training room, several rooms in the apartment that had been joined together and set aside for training and fitness purposes.

"Defend yourself," she barked before she charged forward.

Naruto was still there when she let loose a punch. He let out a cry of pain before he crashed to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

Ranma just stood there, shaking. "That was pathetic!" she finally roared. He hadn't even landed right.

Naruto struggled to his feet, one of his arms hanging limply. It must have been sprained by the bad fall. "Are we done yet?"

Ranma's eyes narrowed as she crouched and entered a less offense-based stance. "No."

"Great." Naruto grunted as he stood up and began to head for the exit.

Ranma read his intentions and stood up. "Oi, class hasn't been dismissed yet."

"Who cares," Naruto carelessly replied. "The Hyuugas invited us over for dinner and I'm going to get ready."

"Class isn't dismissed yet." Ranma repeated frantically.

Naruto continued for the exit.

"Dammit Naruto, I'm tryin' ta help! Aren't you the one that keeps saying that he wants to grow stronger?!"

"Not from you."

Ranma immediately threw a punch at a dummy standing right next to her. A loud clang resounded throughout the training room. She slowly withdrew her hand, leaving a fist-sized hole in the training contraption. Her fist had easily passed through a 5 centimeter slab of solid steel.

"Fine," she calmly said after suppressing her rage.

But Naruto was already gone.

"Class is over," she continued quietly.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A few hours later, Ranma paused just as she was about to leave her room. Naruto was glaring at her again. Now what did she do?

When his eyes trended downwards, she instantly knew. Her clothes...

She smirked at him. "It's no one's birthday today. So I'm not gonna unless you can defeat me in a sparring match."

He instantly glowered at her and stomped off.

She watched him go before she sighed. She had so hoped he would at least try.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A small crowd of children milled around the ringleader, Naruto.

"Ninja?" he finally asked.

Hinata shook her head. "Father will not let us. That game creates too much noise."

"There's nothing to do then." Naruto growled as he assumed a thinking pose.

He finally stood up. "I got it. We're going to pretend to be ninjas."

"..."

"Okay then. I'm the Fourth."

"I want to be the Fourth!" Hanabi suddenly piped up.

All eyes turned to the soon-to-be three year old.

"I want to be the Fourth." she repeated.

"But I'm the Fourth!"

A scowl appeared on the small girl's face. "I want to be the Fourth!"

"Why don't we let Hanabi be the Fourth this time?" Hinata asked with an appeasing smile on her face.

"...Fine." Naruto finally said. "That makes me the villain and Hinata the damsel in distress." he finally decided before he pointed to the rest of the children. "And that makes you guys my minions." he said with a grin before he threw an arm around Hinata's shoulder. "So let's get started."

Hanabi had a confused expression on her face as Naruto led Hinata away. "Why is Oneesama with you?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder. "Don't you know? The villain always has the damsel in distress first." he patiently explained.

"...Then I want to be the villain."

"You can't change now, the game has already started!" Naruto argued as he waved a wooden dagger at the youngest child.

"Try and save me Hanabi," Hinata quietly encouraged as she handed her sister a training kunai.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Ranma stopped meditating and cracked open an eye. Naruto took that moment to run by screaming. A small group of angry children followed.

"It's not my fault, I'm supposed to be the villain!" he shrieked out.

A large group of guards soon passed by...it was obvious that they were also chasing her son.

Hinata brought up the rear. "It was a game!" she tearfully cried out as she struggled to keep up with the group, a difficult task considering the confining kimono she was wearing.

That looked familiar, Ranma thought wistfully as she reached for a teacup and suppressed the urge to save Naruto. A shadow passed over her.

"Your nephew struck my daughter." Hiashi coolly said. Hanabi stood behind him, wiping her eyes repeatedly with her free hand and sniffling from time to time.

"I'm sure it was just a tap." Ranma said with a small chuckle.

"Do not make light of the situation."

Ranma studied Hanabi for a moment and noted the small line-shaped bruise that was forming on her arm. "C'mon Hiashi-chan, it's not serious."

"You are pushing the bounds of my patience." the Hyuuga head growled, his voice dropping to a whisper.

The mirth instantly disappeared from Ranma's face. "This is a small matter. Drop it." she coldly warned as an aura of power slowly formed around her.

Several nearby branch members immediately tensed up. There was an unwilling look on their face as they waited for the two sides to attack each other.

The two stared challengingly at each other, neither willing to yield to the other. Ranma finally looked away, a carefree smile forming on her face as she snagged the teacup that she had wanted earlier.

"I expect your apology tomorrow." Hiashi immediately said as the guards silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Ranma paused midsip and innocently looked up. "Is the food ready yet?"

-o-o-o-o-o-

The three children were sitting at a table separate from the adults when Hanabi put down her chopsticks and turned to Naruto. "My Otou-sama and your aunt were arguing."

Naruto paused midbite to see how Hanabi was going to end that statement.

"Otou-sama won." Hanabi continued.

"..." It didn't seem like Hanabi-san was done yet.

"And now your aunt will have to apo-" Hanabi paused, her face screwed up in concentration as she struggled to say the word. "a-apologize to him."

Naruto scoffed when he heard that. "Kaasan isn't going to apologize."

Hinata had a thoughtful expression on her face. "But she lost."

For some unknown reason, that struck a bad chord. "Kaasan doesn't lose."

"Naruto's Okaasan lost to Otou-sama." Hinata pointed out.

"Kaasan doesn't lose," Naruto repeated.

"But Otou-sama beat her. She has to apologize." Hanabi argued.

Naruto shook his head. "She won't. And if your Father tries to force her, she'll beat him up."

"No!" Hanabi angrily denied. "Father would beat your aunt up instead."

Children argue all the time about who has the best parents. Despite the cold relationship between the two, Naruto was no different. "No way! My Kaasan is stronger than your Tousan! She'll beat him up, then she'll take down the rest the guards!" he blustered.

Hanabi vehemently shook her head and prepared to defend her father when a shout caught their attention.

"That's it! I've had enough of your high-and-mighty attitude!" Bowls were overturned as Naruto's mother leapt onto the table and slugged the Hyuuga Head.

More shouts started coming from all over as guards came streaming into the dining room to stop the assassin...

Soon there was a mass of groaning bodies scattered all around, with Ranma standing untouched in her spot, cracking her knuckles and waiting for more. From the swaying, it was easy to deduce that she was drunk.

After several moments of waiting and no attacks, Ranma collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

She started snoring loudly.

"..."

"Otou-sama!" Hanabi shrieked as she ran to a particularly large pile of bodies and tried to drag her father out from underneath.

"Naruto's Kaasan is so cool," Hinata whispered with a dazed look on her face.

Naruto had his face hidden behind his hands as he tried to make himself smaller and less noticeable. "Kaasan..."

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A/N:

The most beautiful things about posting online is the ability to change whatever's already there. This helps greatly because my current plan is to introduce the characters and the rules of this universe.

Once I have enough material for the present time period to establish that Naruto is bratty but not all that bad, I can and MIGHT reshuffle the chapters and insert transitions so that each time period is far more contiguous.

It depends on how difficult this story will be to read from the first chapter to the last with the abrupt changes in time period. So I want your thoughts on how easy it is to read from start to finish...and from just the last chapter.

Because I quite like this format. Not writing in a sequence allows me to present answers without appearing hasty, and bring up way more questions along the way.