I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.
A/N: first, to dbtiger63: Sakura isn't 'bullying' Naruto into doing anything. She's merely doing what is necessary to help Naruto at least make the date enjoyable for Hinata. Because you need to remember Naruto can be simple about things, and the finer points of dating and more intimate, personal interactions are amongst those things. As for her 'handling' of Naruto, its been shown as one of the best ways to get him to understand. And (as far as I know), Sakura is not being a know-it-all or a bully. She's merely doing what's been shown to work when getting Naruto to understand something, and she's helping Naruto in a topic she's spent much time thinking on and reading about (dating). If she appears to be a bully, I must apologize, that wasn't my intention.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto and Hinata walked down the brightly lit street arm-in-arm, both blushing lightly as they strolled in silence, niether at all comfortable with their current situation. As they walked, Naruto looked to the sky and smiled as he said "The moon's full, Hinata-chan!"
Turning pale lavender eyes to the glowing orb in the sky, Hinata smiled as she said "I-it's beautiful, Na-Naruto-kun."
"Yeah..." Naruto said, then, remembering something he'd seen in a movie once, added "But you're prettier."
At the sudden compliment, the former Hyuuga heiress' cheeks darkened, and she had to fight to not faint as she asked "Re-really?"
"Of course!" Naruto said with a beaming smile that, in Hinata's opinion, put the celestial body in the sky above to shame with its brightness. Hinata smiled softly back and moved closer to the blonde, holding his arm a little tighter.
As the young couple walked, both felt the hairs on the back of their necks bristle, a sign that someone was watching them. But, not wanting to ruin the moment, neither spoke of it, chalking it up to Sakura, Tsume, Shizune, or Tsunade watching them.
'Probably taking pointers from me.' Naruto thought with a sense of pride.
However, niether knew that they were targetted for assassination by order of Danzou and Hiashi.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hyena stood in the shadows of a rooftop, her hand on her mask, a thin bamboo blowgun with metal lining the inside in her hand. Watching the pair walking down the street, she pushed her masked up and brought the blowgun to her lips as she took a deep breath, aiming for Naruto's neck. However, before she could blow, her eyes widened, the deep breath released in a silent gasp as she dropped the blowgun, which rolled harmlessly away.
A gloved hand placed itself over her mouth, pulling her head back to allow a thin blade to cut deep into her neck. Allowing the corpse to drop, the cat-masked woman casually wiped the blood from her blade on the dead woman's shirt before returning it to its holster. With that done, she proceeded to take out a scroll and sealed the corpse into the scroll.
Pocketing the scroll into a hidden compartment, she performed a single handseal and disappeared in a burst of white smoke.
One down, two to go.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lion watched the pair continue their walk and entered a small restaurant, a frown hidden beneath his mask. The two hadn't so much as flinched during their walk, meaning that Hawk had either failed to hit her targets, or she didn't fair at all. He knew that Hawk was too good a shot to miss unaware targets strolling down the street, so that meant she hadn't fired, but why not?
His answer came as he barely dodged a hooked sword that was aimed to remove his head. Turning, he drew his ninjato and stared into the intricately-decorated mask of a wolf holding the sword that had tried to take his head, its brother in the assailant's other hand.
"What are you doing?" Lion asked, and Wolf replied "I should be asking you that question. On whose authority is it that you're trying to murder chuunin Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Danzou-sama ordered me to execute Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata." Lion replied, and Wolf raised an eyebrow behind his mask as he said "Danzou? That crippled, one-eyed son of a bitch is not now, never has been, and never will be the Hokage, whom is the only person a shinobi of Konoha should take orders from."
"Danzou-sama is a great man! What he does is for the good of Konoha!" Lion growled, and Wolf's eyes narrowed as he snarled "For the good of... What a load of bullshit! His actions are for the good of Danzou and Danzou alone! That man doesn't give a shit about Konoha or you!"
"Don't disrespect Danzou-sama like that!" Lion roared, charging Wolf. As soon as they met, the two were locked in combat, attacking, blocking, dodging. A carefully sharpened blade passing within a hair's width of slicing into flesh as hooks ghosted over skin, hoping to find purchase. As the blades moved, sandal-covered feet were in motion as well, kicking or countering kicks, not a single movement wasted as the other looked to end the other.
If one were to see the two fighting, they would swear it was a carefully coreographed ballet and not a fierce battle to the death, such was their skill. Their training so intensive, so complete, that even the slightest twitch of a muscle was carefully deciphered in moments, allowing each to avoid multiple strikes that would surely kill a lesser opponent.
But despite this training, they were human still, with tears in their clothes and thin cuts upon their bodies telling of exactly how close they came to ending the other. And finally, after several minutes of silent battle, they took several steps back from each other, resting in a defensive stance as they panted for breath.
"Give up this madness and return home! They don't deserve to die, and you know it!" Wolf pleaded, and Lion's eyes darkened within his mask as he growled "I know that Danzou-sama wishes for them to die, and that's all that matters!"
"I see... Well, then I pray you can forgive me for what I'm about to the do." Wolf murmured, dropping his swords as he began flashing through handseals. Lion's eyes widened as he charged Wolf, ninjato at the ready to end the other man before he could finish his seals.
But he was a moment too slow, because Wolf ended on the snake seal, calling out "Doton: Tsuchi no Shokushu!" Lion growled as tendrils of earth and stone rose from the ground, reaching and grabbing for him, his ninjato slashing through the attacking earthen arms. Looking toward Wolf, he growled and leapt, aiming to pierce the other ANBU's heart and end the jutsu.
Only inches from his target, his eyes widened, blood flowing from beneath his mask, dripping to the ground as his arms went slack, ninjato clattering to the ground beneath him. His body went limp, supported only by the earthen tentacle piercing his chest, allowing Wolf a sigh of relief.
Picking up the fallen ninjato, the living ANBU operative raised it above his head and brought it down, the sharp blade easily cutting through bone and muscle, the masked head of Lion thudding onto the ground. Dropping the bloody ninjato onto the ground, Wolf performed a single handseal, and watched as the tendrils returned to the earth, dragging their headless prize with them deep into its crust, hiding the evidence there ever was a second man there save for his blade and head.
Quickly sealing both into a scroll, Wolf sighed and performed another handseal, disappearing in a burst of smoke.
Two down, one to go.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto sat across from Hinata at the small table, staring at the menu opened before him as if studying it, unable to look at her without blushing, something mirrored by the former heiress of the Hyuuga clan.
Finally, Naruto looked at her with a bright smile as he said "You do look pretty, Hinata-chan." Hinata blushed, smiling softly as she said "Yo-you've said th-that se-several times already."
"But its true!" Naruto nearly yelled, and Hinata ducked her head, her smile growing wider as her blush grew darker, softly murmuring "Do-don't be s-so loud, Na-Naruto-kun."
"Sorry." Naruto said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head as he did so. A soft clearing of the throat caused the two to look up to see a woman with short red hair standing beside their table in black pants and a white shirt. She seemed perfectly normal, but something about the fact that her eyes were emotionless and her smile too fake to be real made Naruto nervous, causing his own smile to appear uneasy.
"Hello. What can I get our young couple today?" the woman asked, and both blushed as Naruto replied "I'd like some Curry Rice and Yakiniku with Mugicha to drink." Turning to Hinata, the woman asked "And for the young lady?"
"A-ano, I'd like so-some Tendon and ve-vegetable Teriyaki with Ku-Kukicha to drink." Hinata said, and the woman smiled as she wrote down the orders and said "Now you two relax while your order is being prepared."
As the woman walked away, Naruto looked to Hinata and asked "Wh-why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"O-Ok..." Hinata replied, and began telling Naruto about her teammates, sensei, and missions they completed. Despite how uninteresting she felt it was, she had Naruto's undivided attention as she talked, and the pale-eyed girl enjoyed the attention from her longtime crush.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The red-haired woman entered the kitchen and walked to one of the older chefs, handing the orders to the man with her unsettling smile. The man, uneased by the smile, took it and began working, not daring to look at the woman, thinking to himself 'Damn creepy woman. Where'd they even find her?' As she stood there waiting, she reached into her pocket and began fiddling with something, her smile never wavering.
He walked away to gather some ingredients, and as his back was turned, she pulled a small vial containing a muddy brown-colored liquid. Popping the topper, she moved toward the cooking food, but stopped as she heard a male voice call out "Hey! The boss wants to talk to you!"
She stoppered the vial and returned it to her pocket and walked away, heading to the boss' office as the man walked over to the cooking food. Ensuring the chef wasn't watching, he used a pair of chopsticks to grab some of the noodles, popping them into his mouth.
After a few moments, he nodded and swallowed, returning upright as the chef turned back. Blinking, he looked to the young man as he asked "Hey, who are you?"
"Temp." the man replied with a smile. The chef nodded, glad for the woman to be gone, and equally glad that, despite the fact he had a thick scar ran from the corner of his left eye to his ear, with a second running diagonally from his chin, across his mouth, and to the left side of his nose, the scars effectively marring his face, he seemed more.. human than the woman.
"Alright boy... Could you not stand so close to the food? Health reasons, you understand." the chef said, and the dark-haired man nodded, smiling sheepishly as he replied "Right, sorry..."
"I hope you don't find this rude, but that woman, she gives me the creeps. Something not right about her." the chef said with a shudder, and the younger man nodded as he said "Yeah, I know what'cha mean. Eyes look dead and smile is fake." with a shudder of his own.
'What's that monster done to you?' the young man asked, sadness in his eyes as he looked the way the red-haired woman left.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"No way! You actually defeated some Iwa nuke-nin on a mission?!" Naruto asked, eyes wide in shock as he stared at the Hyuuga heiress across from him in awe and admiration. The girl blushed, unused to having someone looking at her with such raw emotions in their eyes.
"Hai... Bu-but didn't y-you an-and your team de-defeat a former Sw-Swordsman of the Mist?" Hinata asked, and laughing softly, he said "Well, I didn't do that much. It was mostly Kakashi-sensei who did all the work." Hinata forced herself not to scowl at hearing the name of Kakashi, realizing that Naruto didn't know what the silver-haired Jounin had said concerning not only Naruto, but his apparent 'kaa-san' as well. And she didn't have the heart to tell him, knowing how much it'd hurt him to learn of it.
"So Hinata-chan, why'd you agree to come out with me anyways?" Naruto asked, and Hinata blushed as she replied "W-why? B-because your ki-kind, caring, a-and ge-generous. Anyone wo-would be ho-honored to go o-out with you."
"Really?" Naruto asked, and when the pale-eyed girl nodded shyly, the boy felt his eyes begin to water, a smile on his face. If the girl wasn't high on his nakama list before, she'd just jumped to number 2, right beneath his kaa-san Tsunade.
"Well now, isn't this sweet?" a new voice asked, and the two turned to the dark-haired man dressed in the restaurant's uniform, carrying a platter with two cups of tea, which were placed before their respective customer.
"Where's the red-haired lady?" Naruto asked, and the man merely smiled as he said "Oh, she had to go to a meeting with our boss, so I'll be your server from now on. My name is Miyamoto Schichigoro, and its a pleasure to be serving both of you."
"Oh... OK." Naruto said, mirroring the smile with one of his own. He felt rather glad that the red-haired lady wasn't serving them anymore, because something about her just made him uncomfortable, like she wasn't really human, just a puppet acting out the motions. Something fortunately the green-eyed man serving them didn't share.
"Well, enjoy your drinks, and I'll be back with your food in a little bit." the man said with a bow and walked away, leaving the teens alone once again.
Turning back to Hinata, Naruto smiled sheepishly and asked "So Hinata-chan, did you really mean what you said?"
Blinking, the girl blushed and said "O-of course, Na-Naruto-kun. I-I wo-wouldn't l-lie t-to you." She was awarded with another brilliant Naruto smile before he took a sip from his cup of tea, a motion mirrored by the midnight-haired girl across from him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The red-haired woman stood before the door, one hand behind her back clutching the handle of a kunai tucked into her waistband, prepared in case of an attack. Fake smile in place, she opened the door and swung it open, revealing the manager's office, in particular the oak desk with high-backed chair behind it, the chair facing the window.
"You wanted to see me?" the woman asked, and an unfamiliar voice replied "Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I've been wondering what happened to you, and now I know. And I have another reason to slit the bastard Danzou's throat."
The red-haired woman replied "Do not disrespect Danzou-sama like that, he is a great man looking out for the good of Konoha."
"Bullshit. He took you away from your newborn son, and did only God knows what to make you into... into this! That was not for the good of Konoha!" the voice replied and the chair turned to reveal Cat sitting there, her mask held in her hands, revealing the unmarred face and dark eyes of its wearer framed by short purple hair.
"I don't have a son,." the red-haired woman replied as she drew the hidden kunai and held it at the ready, to which Cat sighed as she said "Please don't make me do this! I don't want to have to hurt you... please don't force me to do so... Please."
The woman replied by performing a spin and throwing her kunai at Cat, which forced the purple-haired ANBU to turn, allowing it to fly past her face and smash through the window behind. Turning back to her attacker, she leapt forward into a roll as the woman landed on the desk, an unsealed ninjato slicing cleanly through the back of the chair.
Rising, Cat unsheathed her own ninjato as she watch the woman carefully, awaiting the redhead's next attack. Sadness filled her eyes as they locked with the dead ones of the woman, who suddenly leapt backwards off the desk flashing through one-handed seals, releasing a breath at the end of the seals.
Cat dodged, a hole being blasted into the wall behind where her head was moments ago by a compacted blast of air, and replied by throwing several senbon at the Ni operative, who blocked them with her ninjato, charging Cat with a slash of her sword. Cat brought her own blade up and blocked the slash aimed to split her head in two, spinning away and attacking with a slash of her own, which she dodged by moving back.
Facing her again, Cat scowled and began blocking as the redhead began a flurry of strikes aiming to quickly kill her purple-haired opponent. The elder of the two women suddenly moved forward with a straight punch, which Cat deflected with a backhand, and paid for it by recieving the tip of the ninjato piercing her thigh. Hissing in pain, she stumbled back from the redhead, who moved in to press her advantage, her sword flashing through the air in a blur.
Pushing back the pain, Cat began blocking the strikes, trying not to stumble each time she was forced to place pressure on her injured leg. Avoiding another downward stroke from the redhead, Cat fell to one knee as her injured leg gave out on her, watching as Kushina began flashing through handseals, taking a deep breath and releasing it as a gout of flame.
Cat leapt to the side and rolled to a crouch, barely avoiding being roasted by the flames as she pulled another set of senbon dripping with a clear liquid and throwing them at the redhaired woman, who easily dodged the throw before charging Cat again. As she closed in, she was forced to stop her charge as three shuriken flew at her, forcing her to block.
Lifting her head, she saw that it was the man who'd asked her to come back her, his hands in a seal. Before she could move, she found herself frozen, caught in a genjutsu, one which would last a few moments at best. But before she could break it and continue the attack, Cat drew a hypodermic needle filled with a clear liquid and leapt toward her, driving the needle deep into her bicep, pushing the plunger down and emptying its contents into her system.
Blinking as the pain broke the genjutsu, and the redhead blinked as the world became bleary and unfocused, spinning as she stumbled and collapsed, caught by Cat, who proceeded to lift her into her arms bridal style.
"What was in that needle Yugao?" Schichigoro asked, and Yugao replied "A powerful knock-out drug, it'll keep her out for a few hours. You stay her and keep an eye on Naruto and Hinata while I take her and meet up with Tsunade-sama and the rest of her team."
"Alright... Good luck Yugao-senpai." Schichigoro said with a nod, and Yugao exited the broken window and took off into the night as Schichigoro went to a nearby closet. Opening it, he removed a middle-aged, balding man and placed him into his chair, allowing him to lay across the desk. Quickly using a simple jutsu to fix the window and chair, he placed a half-consumed bottle of alcohol on the desk nearby.
Nodding, he exited the office, leaving the man to wake up soon with a headache, blaming both it and his 'nap' on the alcohol.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsunade looked to Tsume as the pair sat in their hotel room, both Sakura and Shizune already sleeping in the other one. Sighing, she said "Alright Tsume, time for us to have a talk."
"I don't want to." Tsume said, not looking to the blonde, who leaned back and said "Well, I don't care. We're going to have a talk whether you want to or not. It needs to be done, and chances are we're not going to have such a chance in weeks to come."
"Can't you just drop it?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade said "Honestly? I probably could... But I don't really want to."
"Why?" Tsume questioned, and Tsunade replied "Because I see someone whose hurting, and has been for a very long time... Honestly, I see a mirror of my younger self. Maybe... maybe if someone had done this for me when I was younger, I'd not spent so many years slowly killing my body with alcohol and gambling myself into a debt worth several million dollars."
"Well I'll have you know that I'm nothing like that!" Tsume replied with a scowl, and Tsunade gave a mirthless laugh as she said "Don't try and lie to me, I know the signs! You're one small step away from falling into depression! You're kids are the only thing keeping you from doing so, and they're quickly losing their need of you! And that'll probably become the catalyst for your depression!"
"Shut up! That's not true!" Tsume snarled, and Tsunade replied "Of course it is! You've never truly gotten over your husband's death, and until you do, you're going to always be on the edge of depression!"
"And you think Naruto can 'help' me?" Tsume asked skeptically, to which the blonde nodded as she said "I really do. He helped me, and I'd burrowed myself so deeply into depression, nothing short of a miracle would save me... And it just so happens that miracle is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed shinobi named Naruto."
"Well, my problem is different! I'm in love with a 13 year old boy!" Tsume snapped, and Tsunade answered "No you're not. You're in love with a strong young man, and you're scared. You're scared to let go of Kirou, scared that if you truly allow yourself to love Naruto, that you'll forget him or dishonor what the two of you shared."
Tsume's anger disappeared, eyes widening as she asked "What... how...?" This caused Tsunade to smirk as she said "Easy. I know because this is another thing I experienced firsthand. There are several men who I believed I could love, but refused to because I didn't want to dishonor Dan's memory."
"Let me guess, one of them's Jiraiya-sama, correct?" Tsume asked jokingly, only to stare in shock as she watched the blonde former Hokage blush slightly
"No way..." Tsume muttered, and Tsunade sighed as she said "That perverted baka can be really charming and caring when he wants to be... When he allows himself to be who he truly is."
"So the pervert isn't Jiraiya?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade answered "Well, it a little, but honestly he exaggerates it immensely. He is really an intelligent, caring person, he just hides himself behind that mask, scared to let people in."
"Sounds familiar." Tsume muttered, and Tsunade chuckled as she said "Honestly? Most of the older and more 'powerful' shinobi do hide themselves behind vices or a mask, one made due to paranoia and fear crafted from years of life or death battles and deceptions. In fact, the only people who don't do so are the current Raikage and his 'little brother', a jounin named Kirabii... Of course, both of them are a little 'off' mentally."
"But we're getting off-track Tsume." Tsunade said, and Tsume cursed softly, getting a chuckle from the buxom blonde as she said "I wasn't made Hokage because of my good looks."
There conversation was interrupted by Yugao appearing in the middle of the room, her captive still in her arms. As she appeared, both women leapt into a fighting stance, at least until they recognized her as ANBU, Tsume staring in shock at the form in her arms.
"What are you doing here?" Tsunade asked suspiciously, and Yugao answered "I and my partner are here on a mission for the Hokage, Tsunade-sama. We are here to protect Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto from an assassination plot by Hyuuga Hiashi and Danzou, and will remain with you to help protect both from any future attempts."
"I see." Tsunade said, turning as Tsume suddenly darted to Yugao, her attention on the red-haired woman in the ANBU's arms. Holding the woman's head, Tsume turned it so she could fully see her face. Though older and more battle-worn than before, she still easily recognized the person.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume replied, sounding as if she'd seen a ghost, "It's Kushina! I thought... I thought she was dead!"