[Otogakure]
There was a lone individual who was standing in the middle of what looked like some kind of arena and he looked a little winded from a fight earlier. All around him, there were bodies of his enemies who he had slain in battle. This was a common practice for ninja among the Sound Village. Ninja who wanted to advance themselves in rank and status would often fight one another to the death in a huge free for all so they could prove they were the fastest, strongest and smartest. After all, Orochimaru would settle for nothing but the best in whom would serve him. The man in the middle stood there while bodies were taken away where they'd be discarded later on or even be used in Orochimaru's experiments. It was then he saw his lord and village leader enter the room to speak with him.
"Orochimaru-Sama?" asked the lone shinobi to his lord who was now standing before him.
"First of all, congratulations on your brilliant performance just now." he said with his cold and dark sneer.
"Thank you Orochimaru-Sama." he replied. "How may I be of service to you?" he asked.
That was when he felt a dark and terrible chill run down his spine as his eyes met Orochimaru's eyes. He could feel his master looking into his soul and knew what he really wanted from him.
"Now, since you're willing to make this sacrifice I will grant you one wish and if it's within my power to grant it, then it's yours." he promised.
The shinobi realizing that that his fate was sealed took a deep breath before responding. "For many years now, you've used my Clan in many of your experiments and jutsu development. I ask that you free them." he told him.
"Granted." said Orochuimaru. "Once this is done, they will all be set free and I promise that they shall no longer be used in my research. This will be the trade off now that you're willing to let me have your body." he said before licking his lips.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
In a camera room, Kabuto Yakushi watched as Orochimaru used his jutsu to take possession of his body. 'And so it is done.' he thought. 'Orochimaru's Immortality Jutsu has been used now so it'll be two or three years before he can use it again.' he said to himself. 'Now I need to make preparations for the surgeries so that his new body will have all the necessary modifications to serve his needs.' he thought as he headed off to the ER where he'll begin his work which will take many hours of surgeries for his master.
In Otogakure, there were many such labs so that Orochimaru would have everything he needed for his research. Rather than just being one village in one location, Oto was actually dozens of different bases all over the Land of Rice. This way, if any bases were under attack it wouldn't be hard for them to send reinforcements and launch a counter attack against an invader. Each base had a barracks with hundreds of ninja ready for duty and for their master's orders. There was a top notch communications network they had set up and a special head quarters set up so Orochimaru would have everything he needed no matter which base he was staying at. He also made sure never to stay in any single base for too long and never have a set pattern for which one he would move to next.
[Konoha Market]
Kiba and Hinata were enjoying a nice lunch together and Kiba had just finished telling Hinata a funny story which got her to giggle. The truth was, Hinata was very happy to be in Kiba's company. They've been going out together after training for over a month now and he's worked wonders in making her feel better. When the Fourth Hokage told everyone that Naruto was gonna marry Temari, it broke her little heart. She actually spent many nights crying herself to sleep over losing any chances she had at being the one for him. She even lost some weight do to not being able to eat because of her depression. Of course, she had to be very careful not to let her father know because he wouldn't approve of her showing such weakness and would have to lecture her about the strength of the Hyuuga.
But these days though, it's been a whole lot more manageable. There were some days where it still hurt sure, but she's been making great progress in acepting the reality of it and being able to move forward. She's even able to start eating regularly and train harder just like before. Furthermore, she's been developing feelings for Kiba. He's worked wonders on helping her feel better and has been a really good friend. She was actually starting to have hope in finding love again.
"I'm telling you Hinata-Chan it's true." he said grinning as he watched her laugh which he thought was adorable. "The guy walks in after a skirmish only for the Doc to yank a porcupine quill out of his ass!" he laughed. "I mean, the guy's survived multiple battles and the first time he goes to the hospital it's because he sat down on a porcupine by accident while answering Nature's Call." he finished.
"Kiba-Kun, that's so funny. Where'd you hear this from?" she asked him.
He had a smug grin on his face when she asked him. "From my Mom." he answered. "The guy was under her command when-" he was cut off when Hinata started to panic.
"Oh my goodness! I'm late!" she freaked.
"Late for what Hinata-Chan?" he asked her.
"For a Clan meeting that we're having today." she answered as she stood back up. "Thank you so much for taking me out again Kiba-Kun, but I'm afraid that I have to go now." she told him.
"Wait a minute Hinata-Chan." replied Kiba, getting her to turn to him. "Let me walk you back." he offered with a smile.
"Oh...um...that's okay Kiba-Kun, you don't have to do that." she said with her hands up. "Thank you though." she told him with a smile.
"It's alright, I don't really mind." he replied with a smile. "Besides, I want to walk you back." he told her.
"Um, okay then." she said as they walked together. It didn't take long at all for them to arrive at the Hyuuga compound. Hinata then turns to Kiba when they see the front gates. "Well we're here Kiba-Kun. Thank you so much." she said as she tried to leave him behind.
She then felt him take hold of her hand to stop her. "Hinata-Chan, did I do something wrong?" he asked her.
"What?" she asked, turning back to him. "No of course not." she replied.
"Then why does it feel like you're trying to get rid of me?" he asked her.
"I'm not trying to get rid of you Kiba-Kun." she said, trying not to offend him. "It's just that-" she began before she was cut off.
"Hinata!" they both heard before turning to see her father Hiashi Hyuuga.
"Father?!" she asked, turning to see him with a disappointed look on his face.
"You're late." he replies.
"I'm very sorry Father." she said with a bow. "I'll head inside and get dressed and ready for our meeting right away." she promises.
"Very good." he replies before looking to see Kiba. "Hello Kiba." he greets politely.
"It's good to see you Hiashi-Sama." said Kiba.
"I've noticed lately that you've been spending a lot of time with my Daughter." he said as an observation.
"Oh yeah. That's because Hinata-Chan and I are-" he was about to answer before he was cut off.
"Friends!" she says over him. "Kiba-Kun and I are really good friends now. Even best friends." she tells him.
"I see." Hiashi replies. "Very well, now come along Hinata." he says as he turns to head inside.
There was a quiet moment between them before Hinata turns to Kiba. "Um, I'm sure you want an explanation Kiba-Kun." she says only to see a confused look on his face.
"What was all that about?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Um, well, I didn't know how Father would have reacted knowing that you and I are dating." she confessed.
"How he would react?" he asked back. "Why would it be such a bad thing if you and I are dating? Is it because he wouldn't approve? Are you afraid that he wouldn't think I'm good enough?" he asked back.
"No, Kiba-Kun it's not that." she answers. "I'm just not sure how to tell him." she told him.
"And that's why you lied to him in front of me." he said, looking a little angry now. "Do I embarrass you Hinata-Chan?" he asked her.
"No!" she freaked, worried that she chose her words very poorly. "I'm just not sure Father would...um..." she said, stumbling over her words and wondering how to defuse the situation.
"Oh no, I get it." he said now getting really angry. "Your Dad wouldn't approve of us because I'm from the Inuzuka Clan and he probably doesn't think that me or any of my kin are Hyuuga material. He probably doesn't think we're good enough." he finished.
"No, Kiba-Kun please!" she begged, reaching to take his hand only for him to pull away from her.
"You know what? I'll see you around later." he grumbles before calling Akamaru to him as they both walk away.
"Kiba-Kun, will please just let me explain?" she called to him as he turned and started walking away.
"Forget it!" he shouted back without even turning to look at her.
"Kiba-Kun, please come back." she begs only for him to keep walking. "Please?" she begs again with a sob. "Kiba-Kun please come back." she pleads as tears roll down her cheeks. She was now afraid that he was really mad at her. She even feared that he may wanna break up with her.
[Team 7 Training Ground]
Training that day was a lot like any other day but everyone was pleasantly surprised to see that Kakashi was actually on time for a change. This meant that the five of them could bump up their training schedule a whole hour. The first hour would be teamwork in battlefield combat with Naruto creating an army of Kage Bunshin and having them attack his team from several different angles at once. (Temari still couldn't get where Naruto got all the chakra and the stamina to make so many clones all at once.) The clones would attack and Kakashi would direct his team to defend, attack and counter attack at certain points while they were under attack as well as offer relief to a teammate who was getting overwhelmed. He was pleased to see they had improved in their teamwork.
After that, Kakashi would break them up into pairs based on sex for one on one combat. This was something he was glad to have a fifth member for the team for and her being another girl. In the past, he had to watch Naruto and Sasuke while they spared with Sakura so as not to hurt her too badly and he could tell that the boys also weren't too comfortable with getting real physical with Sakura. He was glad that Sakura now had another girl to work with on hand to hand combat because she's been needing help in the field for a while and having Temari who was not only female but also older and more experienced would be very beneficial to helping Sakura develop her fighting skills. It also gave her a chance to get to know her new teammate better which was great for team building.
While Temari and Sakura would spar, so would Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi would supervise both matches of course to be sure that neither of them would risk an injury that would impede on anyone's abilities for future missions. This was constant because a ninja had to be ready to go on a mission at the drop of a hat because you never knew when the Hokage would summon you to his office and send you and your team off on another mission. This new system of having both pairs spar based on sex proved very effective for Kakashi to analyze where his students needed to improve and where their strengths were at. He noticed that Sakura was executing the forms but hadn't quite got them down while Temari who was good at Taijutsu wasn't as used to fighting up close and personal.
He had a feeling that Temari's sparing sessions with Sakura would really improve her own skills in combat, not just her teammate's which was something that he was glad to see. And then there was Naruto and Sasuke. Both boys were very strong and very skilled in fighting. This actually didn't surprise him at all given that Naruto was being tutored by both his own parents while Sasuke received personal training from his brother Itachi. So fighting techniques weren't as much a concern for Kakashi that they had for them. His problem was that both boys had very conflicting personalities which would drive them a little too far. Naruto was a very competitive person while Sasuke had a real high and mighty attitude towards his teammates. He had to watch them real closely whenever they spared.
After an hour or so of that, they focused on Ninjutsu training. Kakashi would work with Sasuke and Sakura on this one because he did have some knowledge in both fire and water style jutsus. However, his real strength was in lightning because that was his main chakra affinity. Sasuke's was both fire and lighting but that was because he was born to the Uchiha Clan who carried a Kekkei Genkai in their bloodline. It was only natural for them to pass on two chakra affinities down the generations and always exclusively fire and lightning. He was able to help both Sasuke and Sakura with learning their main chakra affinities, despite his limitations thanks to his Sharingan and how many jutsus he's copied over the years. So far, the both of them have been doing fine.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Temari split off from them to work on jutsus together. This seemed to be the best because both of them had wind as their main chakra affinity. Naruto hadn't really had a chance to learn how to summon and use his wind chakra because neither of his parents were skilled in that field and of course wind was an uncommon affinity for anyone to have in Konoha or even in the Land of Fire in general. Temari being on Team Seven was now a great opportunity for Naruto to learn how to use wind chakra. She was not only a fellow wind user like him but also skilled in many powerful wind style jutsus too. Kakashi was confident that training with Temari would really improve Naruto's own skills as a shinobi as well as build a bond of companionship between him and his bride.
Naruto was currently sitting across from Temari with his hands held out in front of him while she watched. In his hands were several pieces of paper that were cut into the shapes of diamonds. This training exercise was to help Naruto first learn how to tap into his wind chakra. She told him that he will have mastered the first step once he can get all the pieces of paper in his hands to start spinning like pinwheels. So far, he sat there in front of her for over and an hour and the pieces of paper haven't even budged. Finally, Naruto had enough.
"Damn it!" he cursed before slamming his fist into the ground.
"Naruto you need to try and relax." said Temari with her arms crossed. "You'll never get anywhere if you're all tense and unable to loosen up a bit." she told him.
"I'm...trying." he replied, gritting his teeth while focusing really hard on the paper with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.
"But you're not relaxing though." she said while watching him. "It's good that you're able to concentrate which is a part of it, but you're not relaxing and that's what's crippling your ability to tap into your wind chakra." she told him.
"I know." he said hanging his head. "And I'm sorry if this is getting on your nerves too, but this is so frustrating. Up until now I've been able to learn everything in almost record time." he told her. "I learned the Kage Bunshin which is a Jonin level technique in just one night and I made Mom and Dad real proud when I broke Jiraiya's record and learned the Rasengan in just one month. It took Dad three years to develop and master that jutsu and even Jiraiya took a whole year before he mastered it. So why is it so hard for me to learn wind style jutsus?" he asked.
Temari took a second to think on that before responding. "Maybe you're better suited for shape manipulation than wind affinity." she told him. "Everybody has something that they're better in some areas and not as much in others. For example, I'm better with wind style jutsu and long range combat but I'm not the best at shape manipulation or close quarter combat like you or Sasuke are." she explained. "But please don't let that get you down." she continued. "Just because you have difficulty in this field of training doesn't mean that it's impossible for you to learn it. It's just gonna require more hard work and a little extra patience but I'm sure you can do it." she told him.
Naruto gave a sigh at that. "Patience isn't my strongest suite." he replied.
"I have faith in you." she said grinning. "Now let's try again and this time, try to relax." she told him. She watched as Naruto tried again and still got nothing. "You're still not relaxing Naruto." she commented which got him to sigh again in frustration. That was when she got another idea. "Naruto, I would like for you to try something a little different this time." she said, getting him to look back up at her.
"Like what?" he asked.
"It's a little trick I know." she answered. "It's the same trick I used to learn how to tap into my own wind chakra back home in Suna." she explained. "What I do when I wanna tap into my wind chakra for a jutsu and try and imagine a gentle breeze and try to picture it flowing through me and all around me." she told him. Temari watched as he closed his eyes and tried to imagine the same thing she described to him. "Remember, elemental chakra isn't the same as chakra shape manipulation. You can't force it, you can only let it flow through you and guide it." she told him. Naruto was really trying to think about how she described it and soon was really deep in thought as he pictured the wind flowing through and around him. He almost jumped when he heard her say "Naruto."
"I heard you Temari, I'm trying." he replied, still focusing on the image she told him to think of.
"Naruto." she said again.
"I'm trying to concentrate Temari, please." he said, still not opening his eyes.
"Naruto." she said a third time which finally got him to open his eyes.
"Temari I heard you and I'm trying but I just can't get the-" he was cut off when she held up one of her fingers and pointed.
"Look." she said grinning.
Naruto looked and was surprised to see the little pieces of paper in his hands swirling around in a mini tornado while they spun like pinwheels. He was then reaching a whole new level of excitement at his newest achievement.
"Temari look! I'm doing it!" he shouted with glee. "I'm a Wind User!" he proudly proclaimed.
"I knew you had it in you." she said which showed she wasn't surprised. This meant that she knew he could do it the whole time.
"Can you start teaching me some cool wind style jutsus now?" he asked standing back up.
"Not so fast." she said standing to her full height as well. "You've managed step one so now comes the really tricky part. Now you'll have to pass step two and that's way harder than what you've done just now." she explained.
The pieces of paper in Naruto's hand stopped spinning and fell down the moment he heard that and both his arms fell to his side. "Awww man." he groaned with a slightly defeated look. This was gonna get a lot more challenging from here on out. He could tell.
[With Kiba]
Kiba wasn't having a good day at all. It had been several hours now since he and Hinata had their spat and he's felt awful about it. He went on a couple of errands his mom asked him to take care of for her with the hopes he could just let it go but he still couldn't forget how upset he made Hinata. He also went for a nice long walk with Akamaru and it was fun for a bit when they dashed from branch to branch as they marked their territory but he wasn't fully into it. The whole scene where he got mad at her for lying in front of him and how that quickly escalated into a fight played over in his head the whole time he was walking his dog. Now he was just sitting on his front porch with Akamaru by his side and petting him with a totally bummed out expression. He felt pretty rotten right now.
Akamaru noticed this too and looked up to bark once to his master.
"No buddy, I'm not feeling so good." he told him. The little dog barked again in response to which he replied "I can't stop thinking about what happened between me and Hinata-Chan. I mean, I know she lied to her Dad about us not being boyfriend and girlfriend and she did that because she was afraid of how he'd react. And yeah, it hurt but I think I definitely overreacted." Akamaru barked up a third time at that. "I'm not sure buddy. She may want to break up with me now since I really hurt her feelings. Even if I did feel hurt by her lying to her Dad, that doesn't make it right for me to hurt her back. And now I think this will be the end of our relationship." he told him to which Akamaru whined a bit in response. "Yeah buddy, I really liked her too. Kami I really can be an idiot sometimes." he replied.
Kiba would hang out on the front porch for a little while longer before he figured that it was time for him and Akamaru to go back in the house. His mom would be home in a few hours and he had to help his sister with chores around the house before she got back.
[With Hinata]
There was an important meeting going on at the very moment among the members of the Hyuuga Clan. Such meetings were held regularly to update everyone on daily issues that would concern the clan, making sure everyone was caught up on important news involving the village as well as negotiating tactics when dealing with members of other clans. While various members talked with one another, Hiashi Hyuuga sat upon a high position looking over the clan so he could hear them all clearly and so they could all hear him loud and clear whenever he spoke. To his left and right sat both his young and lovely daughters Hinata and Hanabi Hyuuga. Shortly after the meeting began, he noticed that his eldest child seemed distracted. In fact, she even looked very distraught about something.
That was when he turned to everyone else in the clan. "It's been a few hours now and I think this would be a decent time for a brief recess." he announced which got everyone to look to him. "Take a few minutes to collect yourselves and then we'll pick up where we left off." he told them with everyone bowing their heads once they were excused. He then turned his attention to his eldest child. "Hinata, I would like to speak with you for a moment. In private." he told her.
Hinata followed her father outside where he closed the door behind them. "You wanted to speak with me alone Father?" she asked him.
"What's troubling you Hinata?" he asked her back.
"Troubling me?" she asked. "But I'm not-" she began before he interrupted.
"Hinata, I know you haven't been paying much attention since the meeting started and I've seen your expression all throughout." he said calmly yet sternly. "I will not tolerate lying so I want the truth right now young Lady. Why are you troubled?" he asked her.
She was quiet for a moment before responding. "Father, you're right. I've been thinking about Kiba-Kun." she told him.
"...What about him?" he asked, still waiting for an explanation.
"Father, I lied to you." she confessed. "When you came out to speak with us, I told you that Kiba-Kun and I were only friends. But that wasn't the truth at all. Kiba-Kun and I are...are boyfriend and girlfriend." she told him.
"I see." he said, not actually expecting that. "But why would you lie to me about that?" he asked her.
"I was scared." she replied. "I thought that you wouldn't have approved of Kiba-Kun and I, um, well, dating." she said with a slight blush. That was when she was starting to break down. "But now I think I've messed everything up. When you left, Kiba-Kun got mad. We had a fight and he ran off. I...I feel like he may wanna break up with me." she said as she started crying.
"Well you're right about one thing Hinata. I certainly don't approve of your choice in who you want to date and I'm deeply disappointed in you." he said which only seemed to upset her even more. "However, I'm more disappointed in you for your actions. You've brought shame and dishonor to yourself by lying to Kiba and since you're my Daughter, you've brought shame and dishonor upon the Clan as well. I want you to find Kiba and apologize to him." he told her.
"Father?" she asked him, stopping herself from crying.
"You heard me." he replied. "Go find Kiba, apologize and if he accepts your apology, I would like you to bring him back here so we can lay down ground rules for dating." he instructed.
She was surprised by that. But she smiled hopefully and bowed her head before running off to find Kiba. "Thank you Father!' she called back to him.
'That Girl needs to work on her confidence.' he thought before heading back to his house. 'So, Kiba Inuzuka. Tsume's young Son.' he said to himself with a small smile. 'Not my first choice, but she could have picked worse. He's certainly rough around the edges but I'm sure that overtime we can smooth out those rough ridges and shape him into something more acceptable. Still, I think this would be a good time to polish and sharpen that Hyuuga Family Katana.' he thought before returning to the meeting.
[With Naruto And Temari]
Shortly after they had finished their training sessions and Kakashi gave them permission to leave, they both headed back to the village. Naruto wanted to head on down to Ichiraku's for another bowl of their ramen but Temari instead had him follow her to the market district. She brought him to a clothing store and he was now in a changing room after she picked a few articles of clothing and gave them to him. She stood and waited while he got dressed inside the room.
"So why am I doing this again?" he asked her from inside the changing room while he took off his old jacket.
"I saw this a couple of days ago while out shopping and I wanted to see how you would look in it." she replied from the other side of the door. "Is that so bad?" she asked putting a hand on her hip.
"Not really." he replied while taking off his trousers. "I'm just not the kinda guy who's too much into cloths, y'know?' he said while putting on the cloths she gave him. Once he had finished getting dressed, he stepped out to see her. "How do I look?" he asked.
Temari smirked as she looked him over. "Look in the mirror and see for yourself." she replied.
Naruto looked and was surprised to see that he actually liked what he saw. Naruto was now wearing a blue jacket with a white trim on the end of the sleeves and down the middle where the zipper was. It also had an orange stripe that ran across his chest and the swirly red design on the back which was a common mark worn by Konoha ninja. He wore a pair of white trousers that went really well with the coat and a new Hitai Ate with white cloth instead of blue which perfected the look. Temari watched as he turned from side to side as he looked himself over in the mirror. He noticed that there were several pockets which were perfect for keeping his ninja tools and gear and he loved how the colors were bright and stylish but not overbearing which actually looked much better then his old outfit.
"I gotta admit, I really like it." he said with a big grin. "I can definitely see myself wearing this for many missions to come and I'll bet Mom and Dad are gonna like it as well." he added.
"I agree." she said with a satisfied smile. "I think it looks very good on you Naruto." she said which got him to blush a bit from the compliment. 'I'm also glad that I was able to get him out of something that had so much orange.' she thought to herself.
Once Naruto had bought the outfit, he stuck around while Temari picked out a few more casual outfits for herself. He noticed that she was really into short skirts and learned that her favorite colors were purple and green. She thought while he was there she would ask his opinion on the dresses and actually modeled a few of them for him. Naruto had to do his best not to blush too red when she'd come back out from the changing room because he thought she actually looked really pretty in those dresses. Once they were done, Naruto offered to help her carry some of her new cloths which she was grateful for. So both blondes would walk out of the store with several bags of cloths each and make their way through the market district. Temari was quite satisfied with her haul of new cloths.
"So, what do you wanna do now?" Naruto asked his young bride. "We have the rest of the day to ourselves." he told her.
Temari remembered something she was meaning to ask him now that he bought it up. "Actually, I've been wanting to ask you if there were any nice cafes near by." she answered. "I've been hoping to find a place where I can get a nice cup of coffee after a days worth of training or after returning from a mission." she told him.
Naruto smiled at that. "Actually, I do know a decent place that makes good coffee." he replied. "Come with me, I'll show you." he said, offering to lead the way.
Temari smiled back and followed her future husband to the cafe he mentioned and was glad when he said it wasn't too far. She was looking forward to sitting back down and relaxing with a nice hot cup of her favorite beverage.
[With Kiba]
Back on the Inuzuka Compound, Kiba was home now and in his dining room while moping and feeling really down about himself while Akamaru slept comfortably on his head. His mom wasn't at the house at that very moment. Tsume was away at a meeting with the Hokage and the rest of the village council so Kiba was home alone with his older sister Hana. Hana was currently in the kitchen and getting dinner ready for tonight. Hana did a lot of the cooking since they were both raised by a single mother who was away most of the nights doing clan business. So Hana would prepare a lot of the meals for everyone most nights since they didn't want to rely on eating fast food all the time. As ninja, a healthy diet and a home cooked meal was very important for a successful career.
But the Inuzuka heiress noticed her brother's mood and finally decided to address it. "Alright Little Brother." she said turning around to face him. "Why are you so down? What's up?" she asked him.
"It's Hinata-Chan and I." he said turning his head to face her. "We ran into her Dad today." he told her.
"Oh?" she replied while taking a seat at the table. "And how did that go?" she asked him.
"Hinata-Chan lied to him while we were talking." he answered. "She told him that we were only friends and that we weren't dating." he explained.
"i see." she replied.
"So then I got mad at her." he continued. "I told her that if she was really ashamed of us then she could have just said so. After that, I stormed off and left her behind without even looking back once." he finished.
"And how do you feel about it now?" she asked him.
"Awful." he relied. "I mean, it hurt that she would lie like that and I really wish she would have told him the truth right then and there so we could explain and he was going to figure it out sooner or later anyway, but I can't help but feel like I really hurt her back. And now I feel like I've ruined any chance of us making up and getting back together again." he told her while sitting back up straight in his chair.
He then felt a hand on his own and turned to his older sibling. "Kiba, I don't blame you for feeling hurt or angry with Hinata for what she did." she told him. "You're right, it wasn't right for her to lie to her Father in front of you like that. But please don't think it's because she's ashamed of you or anything at all like that. Remember that the Hyuuga Clan are a very old and powerful clan in Konoha. They're very proud and they're extremely selective of who they let their daughters date. And don't beat yourself up over what happened between you and Hinata either. The both of you had a little fight but that's okay, all couple do from time to time. That's a perfectly normal thing to happen in a relationship." she said with a gentle smile.
Kiba smiled back at that. "Thanks Sis, I needed to hear that." he told her. Kiba was real happy he had his sister to rely on from time to time. She could be a real pain in his ass sometimes, but she really was a cool sister to have.
"Anytime." she replied. She then got up and headed over to the cabinets. "Now, dinner should be ready once Mom gets back from her meeting. Why don't I make us both a nice hot cup of tea while we wait for her?" she offered.
That was when they heard a knock at the door. Hana's Ninken, the Haimaru Triplets got up and started barking at it. It wasn't a menacing kind of barking, more like them simply telling their master and mistress that someone has come to visit.
"I'll get it." Kiba offered. He walked over to the front door and was surprised to see Hinata. "Hinata-Chan, uh hey." he greeted while rubbing the back of his head.
"Kiba-Kun, can we please talk? In private?" she asked him.
Kiba nods and steps outside before closing the door. "You said you wanted to talk?" he asked her.
"Kiba-Kun." she says before her eyes began to well up with tears. "I am so sorry." she said while trying not to cry. "I'm so sorry for lying to Father like that and for hurting you. I never meant to do any of that at all and I should have come clean from the very beginning. I was just so scared of how he was going to react and while panicking, I said the first thing that seemed like the right idea at the time without giving any consideration towards your feelings." she said while bringing a hand up to wipe away a tear from her eyes. "And I know you're probably still angry with me and I'll understand if you just wanna end it here, but please. Will you give me a second chance? Will you forgive me?" she asked before she nearly lost it, feeling afraid at what he was gonna say next.
She was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her in a warm and loving embrace. "I forgive you Hinata-Chan." he said softly in her ear. "And yes, I'm willing to give this another try." he added which gave her such a sense of relief she could barely contain herself. She hugged him back as tears flowed down her cheeks. But these were tears of joy she shed from knowing she wasn't gonna lose her boyfriend. Kiba then let go to face her. "And I'm sorry too." he continued. "I shouldn't have overreacted the way that I did and I shouldn't have hurt you back either. Will you forgive me too?' he asked her.
Hinata gently giggled as she wiped her eyes dry. "I already have Kiba-Kun." she answered. The both of them just gazed into one another's eyes lovingly for a moment before they began to gently lean into one another. Their eyes began to close as their lips met in what was their very first kiss. Kiba and Hinata remained like that for a few moments before they finally parted. "Um, Kiba-Kun?" Hinata asked once they parted.
"What's up?" he replied.
"Father has invited you to our house." she told him. "He says he'd like to meet with both of us so he can lay down some ground rules while we're dating. That's something he wanted me to tell you." she explained.
"No problem." he replied with a smile. He then turned to call back to his sister. "Hey Hana!" he called.
"Yeah?" he heard her call back.
"Hinata-Chan and I are gonna stop by her place real quick. She said her Dad wanted to speak with me. We'll be gone for like ten or fifteen minutes and then we'll be back for that tea." he told her.
"Alright, I'll be here." she replied.
While they walked, Hinata looked to Kiba. "Kiba-Kun, I don't want you to feel nervous or anything when you speak with Father. Just be polite when you speak with him, he's very critical about first impressions." she told him.
"Yeah okay." he replied with a smirk. "But seriously, how bad can this be? We're just talking with your old man." he told her.
Hana watched from the window as the young couple walked hand in hand to the Hyuuga Compound. 'You have no idea how crazy fathers, especially Hyuuga fathers can be about their daughters dating Kiba.' she thought with a smile.
[With Naruto And Temari]
Naruto and Temari were relaxing together a cafe that he brought her to. Naruto wasn't as much of a coffee drinker like Temari was but he was able to enjoy a cup with someone. Naruto thought he'd be the gentleman here, let her take a seat while he went to order their drinks which she was grateful for. Naruto stood in line for about twenty minutes before returning with their cups. He'd take a seat across from Temari and hand her the drink she ordered. Then they took their cream and sugar packets and added the amount that they wanted before stirring them in and lifting the cups to their lips for a drink.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked.
"Mmm." she said as she tasted it. "This is nice. This is what I call a nice hot and fresh cup of coffee. It's not Land of Wind brand, but this is very nice." she said with a satisfied smile.
Naruto noticed that she'd been bringing up Suna quite a lot lately. Maybe this was a good chance to talk with her about it. "Y'know, I've never actually been to Sunagakure before. Would you tell me a little about it?" he asked her.
Temari thought it would be good to tell him about her village. Once they were married, the both of them would be making frequent visits together to Suna to improve village relationships and put up an appearance. "What do you wanna know?" she asked him.
"It can't all be a desert out in the middle of nowhere is it?" he asked back.
"A bit blunt, but a fair question." she replied. "Yeah the village can be very dry because it is in the middle of a desert true, but it's not all sand and rocks. And no, it's not overbearingly hot either. It's definitely warmer than here in Konoha sure, but for the most part it's actually very nice. At least once you get used to it." she told him.
"Well that's good to hear. I've tried thinking about Suna before and if I think about it too much I get very thirsty." he told her.
"Actually, it is very dry and during the Summer, it can get very hot so you do need to keep hydrated." she told him.
"I read that your village is built over an Oasis. Is that true?" he asked her.
"It is. Largest one in the whole desert." she replied. "There are many others hidden all throughout the desert which we know the locations to so we have a decent amount of water to sustain the village. Water just isn't a luxury like it is here in Konoha." she told him.
"What else?' he asked.
Temari smiled and thought back. "We have a gentle eastern breeze blow through the village everyday which not only really helps to cool you down, but it brings the sweet scent of Desert Lilies from the valley. Those are my favorite flowers. And I swear, the sunrises and sunsets are always so beautiful." she told him while looking out the window next to her.
"You sound like you really miss your village.' he replied.
"Yeah a little bit." she replied. "But I like it here." she added as she turned back to Naruto. "I'm really beginning to like it here and I really enjoy spending time with you and your Family." she said with a smile which got him to smile back.
Both blondes would talk and enjoy their coffee for a little while longer before it was time for them to return home for dinner.
[Otogakure]
The surgeries Kabuto had to preform for his master were done now after six or seven hours of work and now Orochimaru was resting in his bed covered in bandages from head to toe. The new body that he was possessing was a male body so it wouldn't take too long for the modifications to set in and for this body to fully recover for his use. That was one of the benefits of switching to a male's body instead of a female's. It's not that he had a problem with possessing a man or a woman if they were suitable hosts for his soul, but a man's body didn't require as much surgery or modifications as a woman's did so this was much easier for Kabuto to make the adjustments so that he could make full use of it in his quest to research and develop new and powerful jutsus to increase his knowledge.
Kabuto was washing up while his master was deep in thought. Before he was about to leave, Orochimaru called to him. "Kabuto." he said in a low and menacing voice.
"Yes Orochimaru-Sama?" he replied.
"I've been thinking about our last engagement with Konoha and how it all ended." he told him.
"I take it then you've thought of a new plan for Sasuke Uchiha?" he asked him.
"Sasuke-Kun can wait. I've actually been thinking more about Naruto-Kun." he replied.
"Naruto Namikaze? The Hokage's Son?" he asked him.
"Indeed." he replied. "Despite his heritage, I actually didn't think much about him. No Kekkei Genkai or reason to believe he was anything other than the Hokage's spoiled offspring and a loudmouthed little brat who only knew how to boast in the face of his enemies like any other child who's fresh out of the academy." he explained.
"And I take it you've come to a different conclusion about him?" he asked him.
"I've started thinking more about him after our last encounter with him, Tsunade and Jiraiya." he replied. "Even before your battle with him, I started noticing something special about him. During the Chunin Exams, I saw how he was able to achieve victory against opponents who were stronger and faster than him. Against opponents who should have won." he told him.
"I saw his matches. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that the Hokage's Son is this strong." replied Kabuto.
"It goes much deeper than that." he continued. "I found out that it was Naruto-Kun who defeated Suna's own Jinchuuriki, the Ichibi's Host, Gaara." he told him.
"Now that I didn't know." he said with some surprise.
"Through our resources, I learned why he's so powerful. He's a Jinchuuriki as well. He's the Host of the Kyuubi No Kitsune." he said which made his underling even more surprised than before.
"Clearly, we've grossly underestimated Minato and Kushina's Son." said the Shinobi doctor.
"And I believe this is something we can't ignore either." he replied.
"Do you plan to do something about Naruto then?" he asked him.
"In due time Kabuto." he replied. "Instead, I think we should try building our own village's strength. Perhaps it is time Oto had it's own Jinchuuriki." he said with a cruel smile from behind his bandages.
[Author's Notes] Good grief did this take me a long time. I would like to point out that updating old chapters or updating the stories with new chapters have been a huge pain in my ass ever since my laptop broke. I can borrow one from a friend every now and then and he's pretty cool about it, but I can't borrow it for any longer than a few hours because he still needs it for school and work. This has slowed my progress in updating my stories to a crawl and for that I apologize. I hope you all know that I'm not giving up on any of my stories at all, I just can't update regularly like I used to until I get a new laptop. I can buy one in the near future, but it's gonna be a little while because it's gonna cost me an arm and a leg. Trust me, I freaking hate it.
As you can see, I've changed the writing style from how it used to be like I've been doing with all previous chapters and I've lengthened the chapters so there's more to read and more details so things make more sense. I also felt it was important to have more scenes involving Naruto and Temari's developing relationship so I added the cafe date scene in this one.
As always, thank you all so much for reading my stories. Please send me either a Review or a PM as I love getting em and if you have any ideas you'd like to share, please lay em on me because I love hearing from my readers and if the idea is good, I'll use it for the story.
This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)