They say ignorance is bliss.
Naruto's grin was practically splitting his face and Kurama was wagging his tails in anticipation, both hoping for the girls to be behind the door. They did not even care why they had returned. Just the sight would have been enough.
Normally, one would have to turn a doorknob in order to unlock said door and open the frame for passage.
*Screech*
The ex-wanker forgot the one important step in opening a door and ripped it open, effectively breaking the lock.
He did not know how to feel at the sight though. It could not be said that the person he saw did not make him happy but he had such high expectations that the sight was rather disappointing.
He quickly regained his composure and flashed a smile at the terrified girl.
"Hey Hanabi-chan. already kicked out of the house?" he asked as he pointed at the basket in her hands with his chin.
Struck by his extreme sense of humor, a chuckle slipped her and she calmed down.
"Is that how you greet everyone? By almost breaking the door open and asking if they ran away from home?"
'She…tolerated your joke?' Kurama asked himself incredulously. It was the first time the Bijuu had seen a woman respond kindly to Naruto's sick sense of humor.
"Yes, Hanabi-chan. I'm the famed monster of Konoha-"
'And not because of me.'
"So I think it's fairly normal to ask such questions of my visitors."
He looked at the door and opened it completely before returning his gaze to her with a grin.
"I'm a bit of a tinker so I think I'll be able to fix it."
'Let's hope she doesn't ask what you tinker with.'
"Would you like to come in?"
"Of course." She said before striding in.
'Huh…would you look at that? She isn't afraid.'
'I'm out. You're on your own.'
He created a clone and put him in charge of door repair before making his way to the kitchen to make some refreshments for his guest, who was currently resting on the couch, making herself at home by putting her feet up on the couch.
"Coffee?"
"Tea, please."
"Ah. How rude of me. Forgive my insolence, your Hyuuga-highness." He mocked with a bow and received a cushion to the head. He put the kettle on the stove and began cutting some apples. That was when she asked the grim question.
"Where are the girls?"
There is an underrated saying that one must never speak of rope in a hanged-man's house. While it is true that no one was hanged (to death) in the house but for Naruto, their departure was a hanging of his happy times and she had asked about ropes.
"They…left." He said in a less joyous tone.
All she could see was his back as he was busying himself with cutting fruit. She brainstormed for ideas on how to deal with the situation but it was fruitless.
Naruto was not exactly the type of person you could console when he was down because basically, no one had ever seen him feel down ever since he started his reign of disgusting terror.
Right now, she felt like she was walking on a tight rope and one wrong move could bear terrible consequences.
Under any other circumstances, Naruto would have been enigmatic and try to speak cryptically and in riddles to throw people off track. Ever since he met the girls, however, he had changed.
"They left a while ago."
His voice showed his mood for once. It was a welcome sight for the Bijuu too.
"Naruto…"
He felt her voice behind him and sighed as quietly as he could.
"This might be a bad time to say this but I brought some ingredients so we could cook lunch together."
To say it was an awkward situation would have been…a good guess.
Naruto however spontaneously laughed out loud, startling the girl once again.
"Sorry…haha…I was just imagining what Fuka would do if you said that to her."
*Clap*
The smile on his face disappeared and he stared blankly at the heap of cut apples.
"Hanabi."
"Yes?"
"I…miss them."
"Well…I'm not very good at this since you're my first boyfriend but…"
She slid her slender arms under his and hugged him warmly from behind. She would have liked to push her breasts on his back and kiss his neck from behind, the way she had seen in her ecchi magazines but their height difference did not allow for such things.
Formerly, Naruto would not have allowed such softness into his personal space. He would have overreacted or done some other extreme thing but right now, he knew he needed that softness to soothe the aching he felt from missing the girls.
In return, he did what he considered normal and not borderline perverted.
He put down the knife and caressed the back of her hand.
'Thank you…'
Intriguing dark room
"There you have it." Sasuke said with finality after his explanation was finished.
He looked at the other person in the room with anticipation. His mission was to annihilate the Kitama family but the unexpected fact that the Hokage herself was paying them a visit made things difficult. He knew he would have no problem in keeping the Kage busy but that was about it. He would have been locked in a stalemate, unable to lay a hand on the family. That's where he needed a partner.
"So let me get this straight."
'Please don't repeat everything I just said.' Sasuke thought with frustration. He would have sighed exasperatedly but he settled for a blink of the eyes.
"…I get half the share?"
'Typical sandbag moron.'
"Yes. Just kill everyone in the family while I keep the woman busy."
"Fair enough."
Fairly simple road
Currently seated in the carriage was none other than the Hokage herself, Fuka and her little sister.
Tsunade somehow wished Kimiko was awake so Fuka could keep busy with her.
After a brief greeting and a few happy moments, an unbearably heavy atmosphere reigned in the carriage. She could see it in Fuka's eyes.
She missed Naruto and there was nothing she could do. She chastised herself for not bringing him along with an excuse like a mission or something but it was too late now.
She was too buried in her paperwork to think clearly and the only thing on her mind was one question.
Why did Kitama insist on meeting the Hokage in person?
They must have had a grave problem if they had sent their children away so why call them back now? And why ask to meet the Hokage in person for that matter?
For now, all she could do was try to predict what would come next. One thing she knew was that whatever danger threatened the Kitama, she was there to protect them.
"Fuka-chan." she called out, finally thinking of a way to cheer her up. "Would you like to know how I first met Naruto-kun?"
Konoha
The concept of normal is, ironically, very controversial. No two people will agree about normalcy when details are involved. General facts, definitely but when it comes to opinions and ideas, normal is simply what you are comfortable with.
For a man and woman to bathe together, the standards would of course involve intimacy and a marital relationship. Right now, however, Naruto and Hanabi lay in the tub and to the average person, this situation met none of the general standard and was, in fact, an abnormal situation.
'Naruto my nightmare.'
'Yes honey?'
'Remember when I said I'm out?'
'Yes dear.'
'What happened?'
'hmmm…'
'Fuck.' It whispered as it recognized the all too familiar thinking sound. He was going to give the Bijuu another heartburn.
"Hanabi my lady." He said cheekily.
"Yes, my man?" She replied, equally cheeky.
'oh god…'
"How did we get here?"
"Well, you looked down so I asked if we could bathe together to make you feel better."
'There's two of them now.'
"And what made you, the Hyuuga heir, say such an outrageous thing to Konoha's famed monster?"
'Naruto.'
"Well, I thought about the ecchi magazines I have hidden in my room…"
'What are you doing?'
"And I remembered that in one of them, the girlfriend mended her heartbroken boyfriend's feelings with a couple's shower."
'Naruto.'
"Is it working?" she asked with a grin as she sank a bit lower in the tub in order to reach her feet forward and rest them on Naruto's right shoulder.
'Stahp!'
"Have I told you how I love the way we sync on the same wavelength?" he asked as he reached his left hand forward on the edge of the tub and held her hand.
"Well…" she paused when he began caressing the back of her hand. "Considering how I didn't run away when you told me the truth about why mattresses are so comfortable, I'd say I've already answered your question."
'Perfect…' It gave up
Being the gentleman he was, he inquired further about her fetishes to know the extent of her knowledge in the esoteric art of Ero. The situation, of course, to the normal person was outrageously abnormal. However, to a person who has experienced loneliness and the lack of someone whom we can be honest with, without making them run away, their situation was perfectly normal and even enviable.
It was the proverbial unconditional love.
Indeed, ignorance is a blissful thing. To not know at all means to be free of the critical mind's chains.
Once you've seen the truth, it'll be nigh impossible to unsee it and it will haunt you until you either see something worse or die.
If Naruto, Tsunade, Sasuke or even Fuka knew about what was coming, could they so casually enjoy their calm before the storm?
