Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any properties in this work that I did not make myself.

Before the redemption

Chapter ten: Full circle

Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi were heading out to grab lunch somewhere. The students of the late Asuma weren't alone, either; joining them were Ino's boyfriend Sai and Choji's girlfriend Karui. "You know, I bet that if Temari was in Konoha right now, we'd be able to get her to tag along as well," Ino remarked, "And make this something of a triple-date instead of a double-date with a third wheel."

"Gee, thank you so much for your brilliant insight, Ino," Shikamaru remarked sarcastically.

As the group of five shinobi walked, a group of regular citizen villagers on the other side of the street from the shinobi threw some empty cans of soda and crumpled up bits of trash at the shinobi, specifically aiming at Karui. "Go back to Kumo where you belong!" one of the villagers shouted in a jeering tone.

"OI!" Choji exclaimed angrily at the villagers, "You all leave Karui alone! She has nothing to do with them!"

"Why are you Konoha shinobi even defending the witch?" the only woman that was in the group of villagers shouted, "Do you know what her kind are up to?"

"Whatever it is that Kumogakure is up to," Shikamaru replied, "Karui has nothing to do with it, just like Choji says. Besides which, you lot should be more concerned about yourselves."

"What are you talking about?" asked a second male villager in the group.

"The lot of you just threw garbage at my companions and I," Shikamaru explained, "Keep in mind that four of us are shinobi. Pelting us with garbage is technically considered assault. It's a crime for villagers to assault shinobi here in Konoha, so if you all don't want to get arrested, I suggest that you make yourselves scarce." (1)

Realizing that Shikamaru had a point, the villagers made themselves scarce. After the villagers were gone, Choji turned to face Karui. "I am so sorry that those villagers decided to be a bunch of jerks to you, Karui," the Akimichi chunnin apologized.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that something like this hasn't happened before now," Karui remarked. With a mildly upset look on her face, Karui added, "Although that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt me."

Sighing, Shikamaru remarked, "Forget them, Karui. Folks like them are small-minded cowards who only feel good by putting down someone else for whatever reason they can find to justify their actions. You should see how the villagers currently regard the Inuzuka clan, Kiba especially."

"You should have seen how they treated Naruto before he had a major role in ending the Fourth Great Ninja War," Choji added, "That dude save their sorry rear ends, and the rear ends of… pretty much everyone else, if you think about it. And that was all before Naruto was promoted to chunnin."

"Didn't your father try to offer your cousin to Naruto in marriage a while ago?" Karui asked Choji.

"Yeah, pa tried to bring Naruto into the house of Akimichi," Choji replied, "But Naruto politely turned down pa's offer, although I think that it was mostly due to Naruto being so overwhelmed with practically every father in Konoha asking him to marry their daughters."

"I guess that's why he asked me to scrap the list I was using to keep track of all of the offers for him," Shikamaru said, "He must have decided to put the whole business on the back burner for the time being." (2)

"Naruto has come a long way, hasn't he?" Ino said.

"I'd certainly say so," Shikamaru replied, "I mean, it wasn't too long ago that the villagers treated Naruto worse than how those five villagers had treated Karui just now."

"Naruto was actually treated worse than Karui was just now?" Sai asked, looking mildly shocked and appalled.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Shikamaru remarked, "On a consistent basis. But now that Naruto had made such a reputation for himself that men want him to marry their daughters, I think that Naruto's got nothing to worry about from here on out."

"Well I certainly hope so," Sai replied.

"Heh," Shikamaru said in a casual tone, "Trust me, dude. Naruto's pretty much set. He has no worries whatsoever."

Naruto Uzumaki was worried. Very much so, in fact.

The blonde jonin was thinking about where to take Hinata Hyuga, his fiancé, out to dinner that night. Due to the pay jump that Naruto has been seeing ever since he was promoted to jonin, Naruto could afford to take Hinata to any restaurant in Konoha. This was part of the cause for Naruto's worrying; he had NO idea which one to take the Hyuga chunnin to.

Hence why Naruto decided to consult Sakura Haruno for advice; not only was Sakura a longtime friend of Naruto's not to mention a fellow member of Team Kakashi, but Sakura and Hinata were also each other's best friends. Sakura also had the added benefit of (currently) being the only person outside of Hinata, Naruto and the Hyuga clan who is aware of Hinata and Naruto's engagement, so she would know why Naruto would ask her for advice on where to take Hinata out to dinner that night.

"Let Hinata pick where you guys go," Sakura suggested.

"Yeah, but what if Hinata picks some place that requires a reservation?" Naruto replied, "Or if she picks one of those places where you have to wait to be seated."

Giggling somewhat, Sakura said, "Wow, you've got more to learn about Hinata than I thought, Naruto. Chances are that she'll pick a place that's known for sweets, like that cake café that Kurenai-sensei always used to take her, Shino and Kiba to back when they were all genin, or that Cinnamon roll specialty shop she likes so much. Those places I just mentioned have the added benefit of being rather inexpensive, and knowing Hinata, she'd hate for you to have to spend too much on her."

"Sweets, huh?" Naruto remarked. After a few seconds, Naruto said, "Well that makes sense. I mean, Hinata's a really sweet person, so I guess her liking sweets has something to do with it."

Giggling somewhat, Sakura replied, "That's not quite how it works, Naruto." Regaining her composure after her brief giggle fit, Sakura regarded Naruto. "But yeah," the pink-haired chunnin continued, "Hinata is the sweetest person that you'll ever know. Thanks for choosing to marry Hinata out of all of the girls who were offered to you, Naruto."

A confused look on his face, the blonde jonin said, "You're thanking me for marrying Hinata? What for?"

Shaking her head gently, Sakura replied, "You have no idea how much Hinata had tried to make herself a better person in the hopes that you would at least notice her, how hard she had hoped that you would eventually ask her out. And now you and Hinata are going to get married. Do you have any idea how much all of this means to her?"

A knowing smile on his face, Naruto replied, "Well, I have the rest of my life to figure that out. A life I'll be sharing with Hinata."

Smiling back, Sakura said, "Yeah."

As the two friends talked, they heard a familiar voice call out, "Oi, Cherry Bug! Fancy seeing you here!"

Sighing in an exasperated tone, Sakura muttered to herself, "You have got to be kidding me."

Turning around, Sakura and Naruto came face-to-face with Sakura's uncle, Harold Fisher. With Harold at the time was his best friend Inoichi Yamanaka, who is the father of Sakura's friend Ino. "Is there anything I can help you with, Uncle Harold?" Sakura asked as she tried to sound as polite to her idiot uncle as possible.

"Well it concerns your friend here," Harold began as he pointed to Naruto.

"Huh? What did Naruto do?" Sakura asked, a confused look on her face.

"It's not something he did, but rather something he hasn't done yet," Harold explained, "Sakura, I am acting as a messenger for your father when I ask that Naruto here accepts you as his bride." Turning to face Inoichi, Harold said, "Dude, I am SO sorry about acting against your interests, but my brother-in-law is really keen on getting Naruto to marry little Cherry Bug here! I'd totally have your back with getting Naruto to marry Ino otherwise!"

"I cannot hold your actions against you, my good dude," Inoichi replied as he turned to face his best friend, "A true man puts family first. You, Harold, are a true man."

"Does this mean we're still friends?" Harold asked hopefully.

"Uhh, best friends!" Inoichi replied as he and Harold threw their arms around each other and hugged while crying prolifically. (3)

"Uncle Harold, I am not marrying Naruto!" Sakura snapped in an annoyed tone, "How many times do I have to tell that to you and dad?!"

"Oh, does that mean he'll marry Ino?" Inoichi asked in a curious tone. (4)

"No!" Sakura snapped.

As the pink-haired chunnin began to chew out the two adult jonin, Ko Hyuga came jogging up to the scene. "Ah, there you are, Naruto!" Ko greeted in a friendly tone as he came to a stop, "I was just sent to find you so I could get your opinion on something that Lord Hiashi wanted to do for the clan banquet next week." Noticing that Naruto was with Sakura, Ko asked, "I didn't interrupt you hanging out with your friends, did I?"

"Oh, I was just asking Sakura for ideas on where would be great places to have dinner dates at," Naruto explained.

"Ah, I see why Naruto's not wanting to accept either Sakura or my precious little princess as a wife," Inoichi remarked, "He's already got a girlfriend."

"Oh no, it's bigger than that," Ko replied to the two adult jonin, "Lady Hinata is engaged to Naruto after he had accepted Lord Hiashi's request to marry her." Looking around, Ko noticed that all four of the others that were present wore stunned looks, all four of them having been stunned into silence. "…Umm…What did I say?" Ko asked innocently in a confused tone.

"Ko…" Naruto began, "You were supposed to keep that a SECRET!"

"Uncle Harold, Mr. Yamanaka, don't either of you two even dare tell anyone about this," Sakura said as she pointed at the two adult jonin, "Or else I will break the both of you, even if it's only one of you who spills it." (5)

"I'll…tell your father that Naruto has a girlfriend," Harold replied to his niece in a humbled, understanding tone, "I'll also tell him that it would be kind of a real dick move on his part if he continued trying to push you onto Naruto."

"I'll…also tell Ino that Naruto found a girlfriend," Inoichi replied in the same tone as Harold, "I'll also tell Sai that my foot wants to score a critical hit." (6)

"And YOU!" Sakura exclaimed as she turned to face Ko, "How DARE you reveal that Hinata and Naruto are engaged. You knew full well that Hinata wanted to keep it a secret until she had the chance to get all of our friends together so she and Naruto can tell all of them together!"

"I forgot, okay?!" Ko exclaimed, looking like he was going to panic.

"How could you forget?" Naruto asked as he regarded the cadet Hyuga with a disappointed look, "Hinata couldn't have stressed her point enough."

"Wait, how does she know?" Ko asked, pointing at Sakura.

"Hinata told me about it in confidence," Sakura explained, "She was also about to ask me for advice, but that's when Neji came in to pick her up, and that's a whole other can of worms I don't really feel like opening right now."

"I will be sure to remember Lady Hinata's request in the future," Ko replied, "But that's not the main point here. I was sent to get Naruto's opinion for Lord Hiashi."

"I'll come along to tell him face-to-face," Naruto replied, "It'll also give me the chance to ask Hinata where she'd like for me to take her to for dinner tonight."

"I recommend that pasta place," Inoichi remarked, "Finest spaghetti in the Land of Fire. I took my wife Michelle to dinner there last week."

"I'll be sure to bring it up, Mr. Yamanaka," Naruto replied with a nod, "Thanks."

After Naruto took his leave with Ko, Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "And to think," thought the pink-haired chunnin, "I thought that Uncle Harold was the dumbest person alive." (7)

(A FEW WEEKS LATER)

Six kunoichi from the Inuzuka clan were standing on one side of a one-way mirror in a police line-up. They had no idea who was looking at them on the other side of the mirror, but one thing that they were all certain of is that all of them were annoyed as all get out that they're being paraded around like this. On the other side of the one-way mirror were two standard Konoha shinobi accompanying Hiashi Hyuga, the leader of the Hyuga clan, along with Hiashi's nephew Neji. It was Neji who was putting in the most effort at trying to differentiate between all of the Inuzuka kunoichi.

"I really wish that we had been able to arrange for this sooner," Hiashi whispered to the two Konoha shinobi, "I don't think that the woman who tried influencing my nephew due to politics between the Hyuga and Inuzuka is in that line-up."

"There is the chance that the woman may have altered her appearance some," the first Konoha shinobi whispered back, "Maybe dyed and/or cut her hair, used make-up to cover up or alter the appearance of her wider-than-normal red facial markings. If it wasn't for some of Konoha's clans raising a big stink about that Kumo kunoichi who's been granted political asylum here in Konoha, then Lady Tsunade would have been able to arrange for this line-up sooner."

"You…you don't say," the Hyuga lord replied, looking mildly embarrassed, and for a very good reason; the Hyuga is one of those aforementioned clans who's been raising a big stink about Karui's stay in Konoha.

"Excuse me," Neji interrupted, having turned around to face his uncle and the two Konoha shinobi, "I'm sorry, but the woman who planted doubts in my mind about the Hyuga clan isn't in the line-up."

"Those are the only women who fit the description, young man," the first Konoha shinobi pointed out, "Are you absolutely sure?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Neji continued, "I'm sorry, but I am positive that the woman we're looking for isn't in the line-up."

Sighing in a resigned tone, the second Konoha shinobi said, "Alright. I'll let those women know that they can return to their clan's compound if they wish." As the second Konoha shinobi left to go inform the Inuzuka kunoichi that they can leave, Neji turned to face Hiashi.

"Lord Hiashi, I…" Neji began, "…I am so sorry. About every-" Hiashi cut his nephew off by holding up his hand in a gesture meaning to tell Neji to be quiet.

"No, Neji," Hiashi replied in a mildly somber tone, "It's not really your fault. The messy business between the Hyuga and the Inuzuka…I should have explained things to you from the get-go, from when things started looking really bad for the Inuzuka in recent events."

"Is there anything that the Hyuga clan can do to try salvaging what little relationship it has left with the Inuzuka clan?" Neji asked.

"I have actually been working on something along those lines since before the Chunnin Tournament," Hiashi explained, "It's taking a very long time, however, due to how the elders of the Hyuga clan, one of which being my own father, being adamant about not changing how the Hyuga does business with the Inuzuka. Moves like the one I want to make cannot be done unless a majority of the Hyuga elders vote for it." Sighing in a regretful tone, Hiashi continued, "My father is one of the many Hyuga elders who does NOT agree with me."

"You did mention how callous grandfather can be," Neji pointed out.

Nodding in agreement with his nephew, Hiashi continued, "Your grandfather and I have…not been seeing eye to eye on a number of things in recent events. In fact, the only thing that he and I have agreed upon since before the Inuzuka clan's recent troubles have started is offering Hinata in marriage to Naruto."

"Really?" Neji asked, arching an eyebrow in piqued interest.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Hiashi said, "He was the elder that was leading the group of elders who proposed the idea to me."

Sighing, Neji remarked, "Grandfather and the other elders probably think that Naruto would be an invaluable asset to the Hyuga clan, given the reputation that he's been making for himself, along with the fact that it was Naruto who defeated Kiba in the Chunnin Tournament."

Nodding in agreement, Hiashi replied, "Your grandfather does have the Hyuga clan's well-being first and foremost in mind. He's led the charge on some rather hard line decisions that have help to contribute to his reputation of being callous." Sighing, Hiashi continued, "If he and the other clan elders who are of a like mind weren't so hardline, then many of the troubles between our clan and the Inuzuka would not even exist. Tsume's son may not have even attempted to kill my sweet little sunshine." (8)

"We have to deal with the cards that we are dealt, Lord Hiashi," Neji remarked. With a slight smirk, Neji remarked, "Naruto's pretty good at dealing with the cards he was dealt, you know."

Smiling, Hiashi said, "You got me there, Neji. Come, our business is done here." Nodding in obedience, Neji followed his uncle out of the station.

(TWO DAYS LATER)

Hanabi Hyuga was walking through the Hyuga clan estate. In recent events, the Hyuga genin had recently befriended Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi. Although the bonus of Konohamaru and Moegi was nice, Hanabi had truthfully only been wanting to be with Udon, as she had a crush on him and wanted to make him her boyfriend.

Hanabi hadn't quite yet reached the point where she felt comfortable trying to bring up the subject of her feelings for Udon again; sure, Udon and the others knew as they had found out the day they were introduced to her, but none of them had made mention of it since (although Udon had been considerate of her since introduction day). Hanabi had tried to bring it up on at least a few occasions, but she wimped out before she could even get a word out. Hanabi had come close one time a few weeks back, but the Hyuga genin had to cut things short when she heard that Neji tried attacking Hinata.

The series of pranks that Neji was on the receiving end of over the ten days after his attempt to attack Hinata were Hanabi's way of getting back at that jerk for daring to hurt her Onee-sama. Hanabi had to call Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi in for help, though, as pranks aren't the Hyuga genin's forte. (9)

But back to the subject at hand; Hanabi's inability to try and bring up the subject of her feelings for Udon. Hanabi was walking through the Hyuga clan estate in an effort to find Hinata. The Hyuga genin knew full well that her Onee-sama had consistently dealt with confessing feelings to a boy that she like for the longest time, so with that in mind, Hanabi figured that Hinata was an expert in this field, and would be able to give her some helpful advice.

Reaching the den, Hanabi found Hinata sitting on the love seat, watching a movie. From the sounds of it, it was that older fantasy movie about that barbarian guy and a group of adventurers going on a quest to rescue some girl. To Hanabi's surprise, Naruto was sitting next to Hinata on the love seat, watching the movie with her. Hanabi knew that she'd be seeing Naruto quite a lot, as her dad said that Naruto will be doing something for the Hyuga clan (he didn't go into much detail, though), but what Naruto was doing caught the Hyuga genin's attention.

His right arm was over Hinata's shoulders. Also, Hinata was smiling and blushing at the same time.

"Are you two dating?" Hanabi asked, getting Naruto's and Hinata's attention.

"Oh, Hanabi!" Hinata remarked as she saw her little sister, the blushing on her face becoming somewhat more prolific, "Umm, yes, that would be accurate to say. Why do you-"

"His arm is over your shoulder," Hanabi pointed out, "Also, the look you had on your face before I got your attention clearly showed that you were enjoying every bit of it." Looking down at the floor with a mildly downcast expression, Hanabi remarked, "All of that is actually part of the reason why I was hoping to find you."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked in a kind tone as she used the DVD player remote to pause her movie.

"Umm, it's about Udon," Hanabi began as she continued to look down at the ground, although now she's poking the ends of her index fingers together.

"Go on," Hinata replied.

"You see," Hanabi continued, "I've been trying to work up the courage to bring up my feelings for him again. Sure, Udon and the others know how I feel since I started hanging out with them a couple of weeks ago, but they've just left the subject be. I really do like him, and I've been wanting to tell him how I feel again. I'd like to eventually be able to, umm…" Pausing for a bit, Hanabi pointed to Hinata and Naruto. "…Do this with Udon. Sit with him, probably with his arm over my shoulders like that. You know, just be together with him." Lowering her arm, Hanabi said as her eyes started to water up a bit, "But I just can't bring myself to ask."

"I can understand how you feel," Hinata replied to her younger sister in a gentle tone, "I myself had trouble making my feelings known to the guy that I love." Reaching over with her left hand, Hinata gently laid her fingers on Naruto's right hand. "In fact, I'm still not quite sure how I had managed to get him to notice me."

"I finally realized everything," Naruto remarked when he turned to face Hinata, "Although that confession of yours during Pain's attack on Konoha a few years back did help a lot."

"So…Udon and I have to be in a life or death situation for me to finally have the courage to tell him about my feelings for him?" Hanabi asked.

"Oh no, Hanabi," Hinata said with a slight laugh, "There's no need to go that far."

"Then what do I do?" Hanabi asked.

"Try starting with simple gestures," Hinata replied, "You know, words of kindness, being helpful, that sort of thing. Maybe even a few small gifts."

"I tried getting Udon one of those special mini cakes from the sweets shop," Hanabi remarked, "You know, the ones that come in the little plastic containers. But Moegi ate it before I could bring it to Udon."

"Yeah, I'll talk to Moegi about that," Naruto remarked, face-palming with his left hand.

"Hmm…" Hinata said, a look of consideration on her face. After a few seconds, the Hyuga chunnin said, "Aha, I got it!" To her sister, Hinata continued, "Why don't Naruto and I try to set it up so that you and Udon can spend some time together?" Turning to face Naruto, Hinata asked, "What do you think, Naruto-kun?"

"Sounds kind of cute," Naruto remarked, "So I don't see why not."

"Then it's settled," Hinata said, "Tomorrow when Naruto and I meet up for lunch, I'll bring you and he'll bring Udon. It'll be perfect!"

"I certainly hope so," Hanabi replied in a mildly nervous tone.

Smiling gently, Hinata said, "Hanabi, dear, trust me. Tomorrow will be perfect."

(THE NEXT DAY)

It was around mid-to-late afternoon when Hiashi's father, one of the Hyuga clan elders, found himself alone in an alleyway, facing off against two opponents that he would rather not have to face at all.

The first opponent was a large Ninkin; somewhere between Akamaru and Kuromaru in terms of size, this Ninkin had a darkish orange fur, pointed ears, a tail about as long as Kuromaru's, and the same kind of closed-eyed face as Akamaru. This Ninkin was currently scowling at the Hyuga clan elder, its lips pulling back into a snarl.

The second opponent was Pirate Inuzuka, who was the partner/owner of the large Ninkin. "Well, well, well," the Inuzuka kunoichi said in a taunting tone, "Who do Bakamaru (10) and I run into as I'm taking him for a walk but one of the head honchos of the Hyuga clan!" With a smirk, Pirate added, "How did you enjoy my nephew's performance during the Chunnin Tournament?"

"That savage monster is your nephew?!" Hiashi's father snapped angrily, "Do you know what he tried to do to my granddaughter?!"

Bakamaru barked angrily at Hiashi's father in a snapping tone, warning him against insulting anyone belonging to the Inuzuka clan. "Yeah, you tell him, Bakamaru," Pirate laughed, "No one gets to put down anyone belonging to house Inuzuka!" As Bakamaru started issuing a deep-throated growl at Hiashi's father, Pirate cracked her neck a bit. "I know full well what Kiba tried to do," Pirate remarked coolly to Hiashi's father.

"Then why haven't you looked into having that boy punished?" Hiashi's father demanded.

"Punished?" Pirate repeated in a mock-confused tone, "Why would I look into having Kiba punished?" Assuming a more serious tone, Pirate continued, "After all, Kiba was only doing one of his chores."

"Chores?" Hiashi father repeated, his tone a mix of anger and confusion.

Glaring at the Hyuga elder, Pirate said, "My nephew was only taking out the trash."

His temper flared by the Inuzuka kunoichi's taunts, Hiashi's father dashed forward to strike, his Byakugan active. He thrusted his right palm forward, intending to strike at Pirate. The Inuzuka kunoichi was easily able to dodge the attack by leaping to her left; as Pirate made her dodge, Bakamaru leapt forward, snarling angrily at the Hyuga elder and making him jump back to avoid being bitten.

Hiashi's father realized that he was at something of a disadvantage in this fight. The Hyuga elder was getting close to reaching his mid-seventies, with age and a lack of any consistent physical conditioning since he retired inhibiting his fighting abilities. Pirate, on the other hand, had barely scratched her forties and was clearly keeping herself in great condition. Additionally, whereas Hiashi's father was on his own, Pirate had her large Ninkin backing her up.

"Don't even try to use the excuse of 'oh she started it'," Pirate sneered as she ran forward with a kunai in her hand, "You attacked us first!"

"I won't stand for anyone who would even dare to taunt my clan, my family!" Hiashi's father exclaimed as he made another palm thrust at Pirate. His second attack missing, the Hyuga elder said to Pirate as he jumped back to avoid getting bitten by Bakamaru, "To hell with your taunting, and to hell with you! Someone needs to put a leash on you and your bastard kinfolk, to reign you all in and keep you in check!"

Her brow furrowing in anger, Pirate snarled, "NO ONE puts a leash on an Inuzuka. Not now, not ever." Crouching down, Pirate said, "Human-beast mimicry!" Bakamaru ran up and jumped onto Pirate's back; not one second later, the large Ninkin had transformed (with the customary white smoke poof) into a double of his owner. (11)

"A good thing you have that old man smell," Pirate taunted, "Because that'll make things easy for Bakamaru and I!" With both her and her Ninkin partner spinning forward, Pirate shouted, "Fang Over Fang!"

…

Kiba Inuzuka, with his Ninkin partner Akamaru at his side, was hopping from rooftop to rooftop; after having just spent some time hanging out with the guys (although Naruto was missing, for some strange reason), Kiba and Akamaru were making their way back home to the Inuzuka clan compound. "I think Choji and Shikamaru have a point about that Karui girl," Kiba remarked to Akamaru, getting the loyal Ninkin to regard him, "She ain't a bad person at all. Her species doth protest too much is all."

"Woof!" Akamaru barked in a tone of agreement; the large Ninkin didn't quite understand what Kiba was talking about, but Akamaru's agreeing with it anyway because if Kiba says it, then it must be true. When Kiba and Akamaru were about halfway between where they were hanging out with the guys and home, Kiba heard the sounds of battle taking place in an alleyway somewhere off to his left. Specifically, the Inuzuka chunnin had heard someone using the Fang Over Fang technique; that meant that one of Kiba's fellow Inuzuka clan members was locked in battle against someone.

"You hear that, dude?" Kiba said to Akamaru, drawing an affirmative woof from the large Ninkin. "Yeah," Kiba remarked as he faced the direction the sounds of battle were coming from, "Someone in our clan is caught up in a fight." Changing course to head in the direction of the fight, Kiba said, "Let's go back them up, Akamaru! We'll teach whoever is messing with one of our own that if you attack one Inuzuka, you attack the whole pack!" Akamaru let out a bark of affirmative obedience as he followed his owner towards battle.

…

Hiashi's father was not in good shape at the moment. There was a kunai cut on his right side; although it wasn't outright nasty or fatal on its own, the wound was bleeding enough to warrant some medical attention. Additionally, his left shin had received a slight fracture, and he believed that he had at least two broken ribs. And that's not counting the mild bite wounds that Hiashi's father had received from Bakamaru. As he held his left hand over his kunai wound in an attempt to stem the bleeding, Hiashi's father regarded his opponents.

Pirate was holding her right hand over the left side of her body to stem some bleeding of her own; at some point in the fight, Pirate threw a kunai at the Hyuga elder, with the latter barely able to dodge it. Acting quickly, Hiashi's father managed to pick up the kunai, allowing him to arm himself for this fight (he had entered the fight without any weapons to speak of). With the aforementioned concerns of age and lack of consistent physical condition, Hiashi's father was barely able to inflict a cut on Pirate's left side.

Other than that, the Hyuga elder hadn't been able to hit Pirate at all. Bakamaru hadn't even taken any hits yet, as the Hyuga elder was more keen on ending Pirate first.

"You are *huff* one tough old bastard *huff* to put down," Pirate panted in exhaustion and mild pain. A cocky grin forming on her face, Pirate added, "At least you're making things interesting here! The folks of my clan hate boring fights!"

"Y-you're enjoying this," Hiashi father managed to cough out, wincing in pain, "Aren't you, you *huff* monstrous harlot?"

"Takes a monster to know a monster, huh?!" Pirate replied, giving the Hyuga elder a rather rude gesture with her free hand. Bakamaru, who had transformed back to normal at this point, took a step forward as he gave off a deep-throated growl at Hiashi's father. The Hyuga elder knew that he was in serious trouble here, and that he had to get away.

This encounter with the Inuzuka kunoichi was further proof that he and his fellow Hyuga clan elders were in the right for keeping the leash that their ancestors had put on the Inuzuka clan. A leash that Hiashi's father knew that he and his fellow Hyuga clan elders were going to be pulling on all the more tightly. Assuming, of course, that the Hyuga elder would be able to get out of this encounter against this Inuzuka kunoichi and her large Ninkin alive. And assuming that he would be able to tell what happened as he recovered from this ordeal.

Hiashi's father knew full well that if he were to get out of this alive, both of his granddaughters would be keen on wanting to care for him while he recovers. They're both real sweethearts, those granddaughters of his.

Suddenly, the Hyuga elder, Pirate and Bakamaru all heard a young adult male voice call out, "Oi, Aunt Pirate! Bakamaru! What's going on here?!" Looking in the direction the calling out came from, all three combatants in the fight saw Kiba and Akamaru standing on the rooftop of one of the building surrounding the alleyway. Seeing her nephew with his Ninkin having just shown up, Pirate had a sudden idea.

"Kiba! Sweetie!" Pirate called out in a mock-panicked tone (neither Kiba nor Akamaru noticed that it was faked). Pointing to Hiashi's father with her free hand, Pirate continued in her mock-panicked tone, "This here jerk-waffle attacked me for no good reason whatsoever! The bastard even managed to take one of my kunai and used it to cut me!"

"He's doing WHAT?!" Kiba exclaimed angrily, his brow furrowing in anger.

"This woman is a liar!" Hiashi's father exclaimed at Kiba as loudly as he could while pointing at Pirate, "She had-"

"HUMAN-BEAST MIMICRY!" Kiba snarled in rage, crouching down to let Akamaru jump onto his back and sub-sequentially transform into a double of Kiba. It was then that the Hyuga elder realized his mistake; he had just said something rather unflattering about Kiba's aunt, right to Kiba's face. With both Kiba and the transformed Akamaru spinning at Hiashi's father, the Inuzuka chunnin shouted, "FANG OVER FANG!"

It was around six in the afternoon when Naruto, Hinata, Udon and Hanabi were walking from where they were grabbing a bite to eat back to the Hyuga clan estate. "So yeah," Udon said to Hanabi, "I'm really sorry, Hanabi. I was wanting to bring up what you said the day that Konohamaru, Moegi and I met you, but Moegi kept telling me to shut up about it. I think she's still in denial that any girl at all would actually like me. (12) Anywho, I was about to bring up what you said a few weeks back after Moegi left to go home for the day, but then you left when you were informed that your older cousin tried attacking your older sister."

"Yeah, Neji-niisan is still on my brown list for that stunt he pulled," Hanabi remarked.

"So Udon, Hanabi," Naruto began, "Now that the two of you have had a chance to spend some time together, what do you both think? Do you both think that things can work between you?"

"Well I don't see any reason why things shouldn't work between us," Udon replied, "Although me and Hanabi dating might catch Konohamaru and Moegi by surprise. Moegi's head may even literally explode from sheer shock at the fact that out of her, Konohamaru and I, that I was the first to get a date."

"Moegi's head will not literally explode, Udon," Naruto remarked with a slight chuckle. As the blonde jonin and his companions turned the corner, they were surprised to see some medic shinobi milling about the place. An Inuzuka kunoichi was laying on a stretcher, a large Ninkin with dark orange fur sitting at her side. Sitting on a bench a few feet away from the Inuzuka kunoichi on the stretcher was Kiba. Akamaru was sitting on the ground next to Kiba. The Inuzuka chunnin's right hand was also stained heavily with blood. None of it was his blood, though.

To the alarm of Naruto and the others, a body was laying on another stretcher, a sheet completely covering it.

Off to Kiba's left was his mother Tsume, with her talking Ninkin Kuromaru at her side. Tsume was talking to one of the medic shinobi. "Are you frigg'en kidding me?!" Tsume snapped at the medic shinobi she was talking to, "You mean to tell me that my son is going to be punished?!"

"With all due respect, ma'am," the medic shinobi replied in a nervous tone, "Your son did kill a rather important individual."

"That quote unquote 'rather important individual' attacked Pirate, who is my sister," Tsume pointed out, "Which makes her Kiba's aunt. You seriously expect that Kiba would just stand by and let some 'rather important individual' attack his aunt?!"

"Well the only witness to the events are your sister, your son and their respective ninja dogs," the medic shinobi remarked in his same nervous tone, "Relations between your clan and the victim's clan are somewhat well-known here in Konoha. Those who are in the know will be drawing some rather unflattering assumptions about-"

"Okay, let me cut you off right there," Kuromaru interrupted in a clearly annoyed tone, "Because if you're going to say something along the lines of what I think you're going to say, then it's best if you shut the hell up right now. Otherwise, Tsume here will try to score a critical hit on you." Giving the medic shinobi a knowing look, the talking Ninkin continued, "My owner is already riled up emotionally due to what's going on here with Pirate and Kiba. I don't need Tsume getting herself arrested just because some medic shinobi pissed her off to the point where she struck him between his legs."

Pointing to her Ninkin, Tsume remarked in a casual tone, "He's got a point. If push comes to shove, then I will not be opposed to the idea of scoring a critical hit on your hidden treasure."

Sighing in a resigned tone, the medic shinobi said, "I'm just trying to warn you all of what to expect here. An officer shinobi will be coming by to see you and your family, so just be ready."

Over where he stood with Udon and the Hyuga sisters, Naruto said, "You guys wait here. I'm going to go ask what the hell's going on."

With Hinata keeping an eye on the genin, Naruto ran over to the scene, meeting up with Tsume and Kuromaru. "Oh, Naruto," Tsume greeted in a friendly tone, "Yeah, thanks for beating some sense into Kiba a while back. Made snapping him back to normal loads easier for me." Her slight smile fading somewhat, Tsume continued, "That being said, I've probably got a major load of talking to Kiba that I have to do, given what happened."

"What happened, exactly?" Naruto asked, a concerned look on his face.

Sighing, Tsume said, "Someone dude from the Hyuga clan tried attacking my sister Pirate. Pirate and her Ninkin Bakamaru fought back, but Pirate got a kunai wound on her left side. At some point, Kiba and Akamaru came up to where the fight was happening." With a mildly unsure look on her face, Tsume continued, "Pirate told Kiba what was happening, and…well…"

"Kiba killed the Hyuga in question," Kuromaru said to Naruto, "He had full reason to believe that Pirate and/or Bakamaru would have gotten killed otherwise."

Brushing the long golden spikes over his Konoha headband away, Naruto said, "You have got to be kidding me."

"What's worse is that the Hyuga that Kiba killed was one of the clan's elders," Tsume pointed out, "The Hyuga clan's elders are pretty much off limits as far as everyone in Konoha is concerned. They're more or less untouchable, so even scratching them is a big no-no. The remaining elders will undoubtedly insist on some sort of severe punishment for Kiba, despite the fact that he was trying to save his aunt."

As Naruto talked to Tsume and Kuromaru, Shibi Aburame came walking up to the scene. "Are you three the only other jonin that are here on the scene?" asked the Aburame patriarch, drawing a thumbs-up from Tsume for remembering to include Kuromaru (as he is Tsume's Ninkin partner, Kuromaru has whatever shinobi rank that Tsume has).

"Yeah Shibi," Tsume replied as she arched an eyebrow while lowering her hand, "Why do you ask?"

"We're going to be needed in identifying the deceased," Shibi said as he gestured for his fellow jonin to follow him, "I hope none of you have weak stomachs." The Aburame jonin had lead Tsume, Kuromaru and Naruto over to where the covered body was laid. Bending down, Shibi grabbed the top edge of the sheet then pulled it back. Shibi knew that it was going to be a Hyuga, but it was one he did not recognize. Tsume, Kuromaru and Naruto, however, all recognized who it was, Naruto especially.

"You have got to be kidding me," Naruto remarked in a defeated tone.

That evening, Kurenai Yuri had gathered her three students at her place, knowing full well that there had to be a discussion. Anticipating some shouting during the discussion, Kurenai had asked Sophia Fisher to babysit Mirai for her. The illusionist jonin did not want her young child exposed to emotional shouting. "HOW COULD YOU, KIBA-KUN?!" Hinata screamed at her Inuzuka teammate as tears ran down the sides of her face, "HOW COULD YOU KILL MY GRANDFATHER?!"

"WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO, HUH?!" Kiba shouted back angrily at the Hyuga chunnin, "JUST STAND BY AS SOMEONE ATTACKED MY AUNT AND HER DOG?! SHE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED, DAMNIT!"

"Could we try to lower the volume here?" Shino asked politely, getting the attention of his teammates.

"Yes, Shino has a point," Kurenai remarked, "Besides which, both sides have valid reasons for being upset. Kiba's right to be upset because his aunt was attacked, not to mention the fact that Kiba had rushed in to defend one of his family members." Turning to face Kiba, Kurenai added, "Kiba, you acted to defend a close relative of yours when you had reason to believe that she would have been killed otherwise. No one can fault you for that. Regardless of all of that, however, you did kill Hinata's grandfather. You could at least apologize to Hinata for-"

"Apologize?!" Kiba nearly exclaimed at his jonin instructor in an incredulous tone as he cut her off, "You want me to apologize for defending the life of one of my loved ones?!"

"Because you took the life of one of Hinata's loved ones to do so, yes," Kurenai replied, a sympathetic look on her face.

"Yeah, screw that noise," Kiba spat bitterly as he and Akamaru made their way to Kurenai's door, "I am not apologizing for protecting my family!"

"Kiba," Kurenai began in a warning tone as she walked quickly to catch up to her student. Kurenai put a hand on Kiba's right shoulder, making the Inuzuka chunnin turn to face his sensei; Kurenai was startled when she saw the look of venomous rage on Kiba's face, stopping short of finishing her warning.

"Do you know how many of my clan's members have died so far this year, Kurenai-sensei?!" Kiba snapped, his eyes wide and wild with anger, "Do you know how many times within the last few months I've heard my clansmen, human and canine alike, mourn someone dying?! I was able to prevent that from happening today, Kurenai-sensei! I was able to prevent my clan from suffering two deaths today! And yet I'm expected to apologize for it?!"

Turning back around, Kiba said, "No. I won't be giving anyone any apology just because they don't like the fact that I kept my aunt and her dog from getting killed." After Akamaru walked out before him, Kiba walked out the door himself, slamming it as hard as possible to emphasize his point.

Sighing in a mildly frustrated tone, Shino said, "Damn it, Kiba."

At that point, Naruto came walking out of one of the hallways, having just come out from using the bathroom; it was Naruto, one of the jonin at the scene earlier, who had to inform Hinata (and by extention Hanabi) that her (their) grandfather had been killed. Naruto accompanied his fiancé to Kurenai's place, intending to act as Hinata's support in case she needed a shoulder to lean/cry on.

Seeing Hinata look down at the floor as her tears flowed freely, Naruto sighed in a resigned tone and said, "I'm guessing Kiba didn't apologize."

"I'm afraid that's the case, Naruto," Kurenai replied. Shaking her head in disappointment, Kurenai continued with a defeated expression, "Given what's been going on in Kiba's clan as of late, along with the reasons why what's going on in Kiba's clan is even happening, it shouldn't really come as a surprise that Kiba refused to apologize."

"I'm going to go and try to talk some sense into Kiba," Shino said, running out the door before anyone could even stop him.

After Shino was gone, Naruto and Kurenai both looked to regard Hinata, who was still looking down at the floor and crying. Naruto approached Hinata, placing his hands on her shoulders. Turing Hinata around so that she was facing him, Naruto gently wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to cry into his chest; sure, cleaning the tear and mucus stains out of his flask jacket later would be a bit disgusting, but in all honesty, Naruto couldn't care less. Hinata needed him right now, and if she had to use his entire flask jacket as a tissue, then so be it.

(A FEW MONTHS LATER)

It was raining one afternoon in the village of Konohagakure, and Lady Tsunade was running through the streets, having been told that a young adult male had just been found having collapsed a few feet into Konoha from the front entry gate. "Ah hell!" Tsunade exclaimed as she raised her right forearm to try and block the rain from hitting her face, "Why did I forget to bring an umbrella? This rain is-"

The lady fifth stopped midsentence when she saw, to her shock, that Sasuke Uchiha was being loaded onto a stretcher for transport to Konoha General. (13)

THE END

Author's notes:

(1) Well Shikamaru and his friends ARE technically part of Konoha's military. Regular citizens assaulting military personnel is a big no-no.

(2) That's what Shikamaru believes.

(3) Think Might Gai and Rock Lee.

(4) This would be really awkward down the line if it happened.

(5) Not only is Sakura serious, but she's capable of doing it, too.

(6) If he does score a critical hit on Sai, Inoichi will cause more pain and damage than when Hanabi scored a critical hit on Kiba.

(7) He's still plenty dumb, though.

(8) According to the wiki, Hinata's name means 'place in the sun'. Also, I figured that it was about high time that Hiashi had an affectionate nickname for Hinata, like how Harold and Inoichi respectively have ones for Sakura and Ino.

(9) Surprisingly, it's Moegi who is the trio's mastermind when it comes to pulling pranks.

(10) Another reference to the lore I made for the Inuzuka clan.

(11) …This is actually a rather good question, if you think about it. What if an Inuzuka shinobi and their Ninkin aren't the same gender as each other? Does the Ninkin transform into what their owner would look like as the opposite gender, or do they just assume their owner's appearance as is? I'm assuming it's the latter, but I'd like to actually find this out for real.

(12) Moegi legitimately believed that Udon would never score a girl (Moegi herself doesn't like Udon that way).

(13) The circle is now complete.

With this, 'Before the redemption' has finished. I wonder if anyone would get a kick out of how the end of this chapter sort-of bleeds into 'Guess who's back?'. Anywho, I hope that this story provides at least some people with some entertainment. That's what most writers hope that their work will accomplish, if you think about it.