The Yin Yang Twins
/-/ /-/ /-/
Disclaimer: Naruto and its universe \ canon are property of Kishimoto... And whoever owns Kishimoto I guess.
/-/ /-/ /-/
12. The Chunin Exams: Visits and Meetings
In which Naruto becomes the focus of more unwanted attention
The Chunin exam proctor coughed as he faced the winners.
"Now that you all know your opponents for the final part of the Chunin exams, you may leave the tower. You will have one month to prepare for the finals. You will be noticed of the location a week in advance. Please come on time. The people watching these fights are people you definitely do not want to keep waiting…"
Naruto ignored the proctor until he saw people starting to leave. He was looking forward to a quiet evening after his intense fight with Rock Lee, but that would have to wait. He had invited Uchiha to his Chunin finals celebration instead. His team had been more than decent during the exams – even Pinky. He still wanted nothing to do with his female teammate, but …Sasuke was alright. Personally, Naruto thought the guy needed to find himself a girlfriend or a shrink, but friends couldn't hurt.
Plus, he wanted to annoy Aniki.
Naruto met Sasuke at Ichiraku's that evening. Shikamaru arrived a half-hour late.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to visit my teammates at the hospital. …Uchiha," he greeted after a pause. He looked at Naruto, before speaking to Sasuke again. "Whatever you do, don't split the bill with him. He can easily eat between five and ten bowls when he's hungry."
Naruto cursed under his breath. "Why the hell did I invite him for then?"
His teammate snorted. "To ask me out," he answered smugly. "Honestly Naruto, it's normal to fancy me; even I fancy myself."
"Ha, ha, laugh it up you assholes. You guys are nothing but haters."
They ate their bowl of ramen – three in Naruto's case – while he and Shikamaru talked. Sasuke added a snarky comment here and there. All in all it wasn't so bad. After a while, Sasuke put his game face on and turned to Naruto.
"Why am I here?"
The blond slurped the last of his broth before asking Ayame for a chicken flavored bowl. He then faced Sasuke. "You need an update on what really happened during the exams."
He told him about Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru, and Oto. He could tell Sasuke was glad to be kept in the loop. Unfortunately, Naruto and his brother had no idea what all these incidents meant in the long run.
"Only one thing's sure," Shikamaru concluded, "something is going to happen during the finals."
After a moment of silence, Sasuke spoke up. "Naruto told me you helped him become stronger.
Naruto felt Shikamaru's stare, and decided to focus on his bowl of ramen. "Yes, I did," Aniki answered.
Sasuke frowned. "What if I asked for... advice?" Naruto could clearly see his teammate's struggle to even ask this.
"I would ask whether it's about becoming stronger or about the Uchiha incident."
For the first time since he met him, Naruto felt murderous intent coming from Sasuke.
"You better shut up about things you know nothing about."
Shikamaru's smile held a secret Naruto couldn't decipher. "You know, life-changing events like that make me curious – especially when they're not consistent. They make me ask all kinds of question.
"Questions like: Why did a good and extremely loyal shinobi like Uchiha Itachi turn rogue? Why did he only spare his little brother and no other children? Why were all of the Uchiha in their estate that night? Why were the ANBU nowhere near the estate? Isn't it fascinating?"
Sasuke went through many facial expressions and Naruto wondered if the boy hadn't heard too much, too fast. He hoped nothing bad would come of the information overload.
"How do you know there was no ANBU that night?" Uchiha finally asked.
Shikamaru gaze became unusually sharp. "I think the real question here is, 'how do you not know there was no ANBU that night?' You're a clan heir now; this is something you should have wanted to know."
Naruto agreed. Maybe it was because it didn't happen to him, but if his whole family had been killed off, he'd want to know how, and more importantly why so he'd have a better grasp on who he was going to kill and how painful it needed to be.
"I... suspected there was something off," Uchiha admitted. "It didn't matter to me since it didn't change my ambition."
Naruto frowned. "To avenge and rebuild your clan, right?"
Sasuke looked at him like he had suddenly burst out of thin air and Naruto rolled his eyes. "Why are you telling me this?" the Uchiha wondered.
"Because I am curious – and because you're a bit like Naruto."
Said blond looked at Sasuke with the same skepticism he could see in his teammate's eye.
/-/ /-/ /-/
The next morning, Naruto had the displeasure of accompanying his team to visit Pinky. He had told Kakashi he was busy and would visit his teammate later, but the perceptive bastard nearly dragged him out of his apartment. Better yet, Uchiha was there to witness the display and mock him all the way to the hospital.
The three males entered her room to find their teammate awake.
Hatake was the first one to speak. "Hello Sakura. Finally better, I see. How are you?"
She smiled weakly at them. "I could be better. They told me I should be able to leave in a few days with no lasting damage."
"Good. You did Team Seven proud. The fact you all got so far within six months surpassed my expectations."
"Thank you Sensei." The silence was awkward. "So, I suppose Naruto won his match as well?"
As if there was any doubt! "Of course I did. Who the hell do you think I am?"
Pinky cocked her head to the side. "Who did you fight?"
Naruto eyed his other teammates. He had expected the question, but hadn't found an answer that would comfort Pinky. In the end, he decided to be blunt. It's not like he cared if he hurt her feelings anyway.
"Rock Lee."
She gave Uchiha an incredulous stare. He didn't look as jealous as Naruto expected. In fact, Naruto thought Sasuke looked more excited than angry. His fight probably gave the Uchiha more motivation to become stronger than any other negative feelings.
"That match was inspiring on many levels. I can't wait to assimilate what I've seen."
Right. Asspull doujutsu. He wasn't even mad – the asshole had probably Rock Lee's speed and technique in mind.
"Congratulations Sasuke-kun, Naruto. You'll definitely make it to Chunin." Naruto could practically see the clouds of depression over Pinky's head. It was pissing him to no end.
"Do something about it!" Naruto snapped, startling his whole team. "If you're angry, or sad, or jealous, that Uchiha and I trained our asses off and finally got rewarded for it, do something about it! Fuck, why do you think I got so far? Because I'm awesome? Well I do look fucking fabulous in shinobi clothes…" he started to preen, only to be interrupted by Uchiha.
"Please, you have absolutely no fashion sense. The only thing you have is strength."
Naruto slowly turned towards his teammate. "Did you just diss my clothes, Uchiha?"
"Well, I think that's all the time we had to visit," Kakashi interrupted. The Jonin pushed him out the door and out of the hospital, but Naruto kept his eyes on the asshole. He dearly wanted to tell the Uchiha what he thought about the boy's fashion sense, but once again, the man intervened.
"So, do you boys have something in mind for the finals?"
"Yes," Naruto replied drily. He heard Kakashi sigh.
"Somehow I should have known. Right then, since you have a plan, I'm taking Sasuke with me for the next month.
"Ok. When?"
"Tomorrow, I think?"
Naruto found he didn't care about Kakashi's announcement, so he shrugged. He had his own training and his own plans – plans he had only shared with Aniki so far. This only meant he had more time to for his own training and none of that fucking waste of time they called 'team-building exercises' to deal with.
"Actually, Naruto I—"
Naruto waved him off. "Don't bother, I don't need help, I'm fine on my own."
"Naruto—"
"Piss off, Kakashi!" he warned.
Kakashi frowned. "Naruto, need I remind you whom exactly you're talking to?"
Naruto clenched and unclenched his fists. "'Those who abandon their mission are trash, but those who abandon their friends are lower than trash.' Those are your fucking words, yeah?" He turned around to face Kakashi, who was looking at him wide-eyed. "If you're going to spout bullshit like that, you better walk the walk, sensei."
Said Sensei scratched his chin nervously. "This wouldn't have anything to do with what happened during Akimichi Choji and Aburame Shino's fight would it?"
"What do you think!?" He snapped. "In case you didn't notice, Choji and Shikamaru are my friends." Kakashi had been on the wrong side of that standoff – he should have been near Shikamaru's sensei. Choji would have died if not for Aniki.
Naruto kept his glare until his sensei sighed. "I suppose I could visit Choji before my trip." Naruto kept glaring. "And apologize to Shikamaru."
Naruto snorted before he left. The least the Jonin could do was admit he fucked up. And with any luck Kakashi would forget he wanted to load him with some bullshit training he didn't need.
/-/ /-/ /-/
Later that day, he met with Aniki, and they went to visit Choji. Shikamaru's best friend was nearly recovered and would be released the next day. They joked about the exams for about an hour before they left to visit one more patient.
Naruto's apprehension rose as they headed towards the elevators. "Do I really have too?" he asked one last time.
Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow. "You brought her flowers."
He snorted, "Because she nagged you about it."
"She wanted you to bring them. In this rare case, it's every man for himself."
"…Fuck you, Aniki."
Aniki grunted. "I dare you to look at me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't have done the same damn thing if you could."
Naruto looked him straight in the eye and said, "I would've done the same fucking thing if I could." He chuckled when he heard Shikamaru sigh.
In the floor below Choji's, were Haruno's, and unfortunately, Ino's rooms. They made sure to sneak past Haruno's room without being seen and paused in front of his destination. Shikamaru ignored his pleading and added to his torment by waiting for him to open the door to Ino's room.
Naruto gulped and squared his shoulders. "Right, let's just get this over with."
Ino beamed when she saw them. "Naru-chan! You came to visit me!"
He didn't know if he cringed because of the nickname or because of Ino's genuine happiness, but he did hear Shikamaru cough and knew the asshole was laughing at him. He made a visible effort to not throttle both members of Team Ten, and greeted Ino instead. "Hey Ino. How are you?"
She sighed dramatically. "I woke up with a migraine. And then I was told I lost against that Yoroi guy." She let out an annoyed groan. "I can't believe this! I was almost there!"
Naruto saw Shikamaru's encouraging motion. He glared, but sat besides Ino and patted her hands. "You did great Ino. I was surprised by how strong you became since the academy."
Ino smiled at him. She glared at Shikamaru. "What about you, my teammate? Anything you want to add?"
"We've been through this – I was in the exact same spot Naruto was yesterday." Naruto froze and tried to move away when he heard that, but once again, Ino's chakra glue prevailed. "By the way, Choji is fine now; he'll be leaving tomorrow as well."
The young girl's smile brightened. "I'm happy he's okay. He nearly gave me a heart attack."
Naruto pulled as hard as he could, but failed to detach his hand from Ino's. Meanwhile, he heard Shikamaru sigh and say, "You and me both. But, since you're both leaving tomorrow, how about we head to the usual place with Asuma-sensei?"
Ino nodded with a smile. "Sounds great. Can Naru-chan come too?"
Naruto balked while he struggled. "Ah, well, this sounds like a Team Ten thing. I don't want to intrude."
Ino waved him off. "Nonsense! Asuma-sensei sometimes comes with Kurenai-san from Team Eight, so it's no problem.
An excuse to spend time with Aniki? Hell yeah!
"She wants to use you as an escort."
Naruto stiffened. "... Excuse me?" He glared at the kunoichi.
Ino's glared at Shikamaru, who pointed at Naruto and said, "Just tell him what you wanted to do, Ino."
Ino opened and closed her mouth. "Remind me to never plan anything against you." She then turned to him in order to explain. "See, I think Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-san are dating, but they're denying it. I want to call him out on his bullshit,"
Naruto's frowned. "You want a pretend boyfriend to trick your Sensei into admitting he has a girlfriend?" He mulled over it for all of two seconds. "I'm in – sounds fun."
Ino looked vicious. "Asuma-sensei won't know what hit him. No one runs away from Ino's rumor mill."
Seeing Ino this happy, he nearly forgot what he wanted to ask her. Maybe it would drudge up bad memories, but he was curious as to how Ino had lost. Even Shikamaru couldn't understand how it happened – granted, Aniki hadn't been there, but his Jonin-sensei had given him the byplay. He opened his mouth and shut it when he saw his brother's warning glare. He tried sensing the area around him and quickly understood.
He turned to Ino and asked another important question instead. "Hey Ino, do you have any tips about Hinata?"
Ino shuddered. "For all our sake, marry her Naru-chan."
Naruto grew a tick mark. Shikamaru had told him the same thing many times. He'd like to see them do the same thing; Who the fuck married their stalker!? T"Yeah, I think it's time for me to go train."
Ino look upset. "What? No! Stay a bit more! It's boring and stuffy in here."
"You don't need to tell me that," Naruto muttered. He hated hospitals.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before the two boys left. As they left the floor, they bumped into a familiar face. Shikamaru looked pleasantly surprised. "Kabuto-san? You work here?"
"Surprised? I may be mediocre when it comes to combat, but my medic skills are top notch."
Shikamaru grinned. "They must be. I heard that the medics in the hospital are all Chunin and up. I'm impressed."
Kabuto fixed his glasses with pride. "Well, I may not be all that when it comes to combat, but I'm quite adept at medical ninjutsu, if I say so myself."
Naruto nodded. "Well, we'll be going now. Be sure to check on Choji and Ino if you're that good. Are you going to watch the finals?"
Kabuto grinned knowingly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Shikamaru and Naruto excited the hospital. Only once they were out of sight of the hospital, did Naruto let out a shudder. Shikamaru let out a breath. That guy was way too creepy.
"What are the odds of that fucker listening to both our conversations?" Naruto asked conversationally.
"Pretty high. Also take note, Otouto – Ino faced his teammate."
Something was very wrong here. The higher-ups really needed to do something about that man.
/-/ /-/ /-/
When his mother told him he had visitors that morning, Shikamaru frowned. Half of the month had gone relatively trouble free. A visit wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he had seen his team yesterday, so it couldn't be them. Naruto would have come alone, so he was out as well. That left girls and maybe Kiba. Of course, if Shino had any sense of self-preservation, then he wouldn't dare come here after his fight against Choji. In the end, logic told him that whoever were these visitors, they would end up being troublesome.
Sadly, he was right.
"Kakashi-san, Kurenai-san," he greeted with a hint of curiosity. "Should I expect Asuma-sensei as well?" He then blinked and glanced at the male Jonin. "Shouldn't you be training somewhere with Uchiha Sasuke?"
"Ah, well, it's more of a coincidence really," the man replied, totally ignoring his last question. "I suppose we're here about the same reason. Anyway, I would like us to talk about what happened during the preliminaries."
Shikamaru nodded politely. "Choji's fight? I don't regret what I did and will act in the same exact manner should it come to that in the future."
Kakashi sighed. "Right. You obviously did what you had to do to save your friend."
Shikamaru arched an eyebrow. "And you guys did your job as Jonin. I knew the rules when I interfered. I'm surprised none of you actually touched me."
Kakashi's eye smiled. "Asuma was on your side; besides, I trusted you." Shikamaru doubted that, but did not show his disagreement. "Which brings me to my problem – Naruto… doesn't agree with what happened."
Shikamaru smiled. "He didn't tell you? Of course he didn't tell you; Naruto is vindictive like that." He could have let the man search the answer for himself, but most of the Rookie Genin knew already, so it was only a matter of time until the higher ups learned, if they didn't know already.
He waved politely. "I'm Aniki; pleasure to finally meet you."
He saw Kakashi's surprised expression for the first time and would treasure the memory forever. The Jonin slapped his forehead, muttered a curse, and sighed. Shikamaru ignored him. The man would get over it. He turned to his other guest.
"Kurenai-san?"
Said woman was eyeing Kakashi dubiously. "What's wrong with Kakashi?"
He waved it off. "He'll be fine."
The beautiful Jonin gave him an appraising glance. "You're not angry with us?"
He looked at her with a deadpan. "I was extremely angry with you. Obviously I've cooled down since then." Who wouldn't be upset? His best friend nearly died because of those idiots blindly following protocol, not to mention the medics. In fact, he was still angry; he simply chose to focus on more important matters, however his lack of emotion did nothing to soothe the Jonin.
In fact, Kurenai's expression tensed slightly. "What about Shino?"
The question brought a twitch of his lips, despite his best efforts. "I think whatever happens during the Chunin Exams should stay buried there."
Kurenai frowned. "What happened to Choji was unfortunate, but things like that happen, even between members of the Leaf."
Unfortunate? Shikamaru blinked twice, before his gaze sharpened. "Do you think I'm stupid, Kurenai-san?" She looked surprised, but he went on before she could answer. "Shino did not call off his insects when I asked him to; he still didn't when all of you Jonin interfered. He only stopped being hostile when Gekko Hayate called the match."
He and the Abarame weren't close, so he understood the boy's thoroughness. He couldn't have known how dire was Choji's situation was – at first. He might have even approved if his target wasn't another Leaf shinobi. Shino's eagerness to use excessive force against a comrade left a bitter taste in Shikamaru's mind. That even Kurenai tried to excuse Shino made him see red. And Kurenai was excusing him; seeing the red-eyed woman flinch confirmed that she knew exactly what her pupil had done. The fact that she knew didn't surprise him; the fact that she thought he didn't…
"You actually do think I'm stupid," he concluded aloud. Let it be known that Shikamaru hated being thought as stupid. That went double for people that should know better. He hid his anger behind a perfectly bored expression. "I think we're done here. Kakashi-san, Kurenai-san."
Of course, Kurenai being the troublesome woman she was, tried to warn him once more. "Do you really think the Aburame clan will stay silent if you retaliate during the finals?"
He shrugged. "I bet you they won't do a thing about it. Why, you ask? Because of status quo." Also known as, you really don't want to mess with the Sarutobi-Nara-Akimichi-Yamanaka alliance.
Kakashi gave Shikamaru a weary look. "You're not lazy at all."
Shikamaru snorted. "Believe me, I'm trying. But between Otouto and my old man, and my best friend nearly dying, did you really expect that would be possible?"
Kakashi's reply was a groan. "Today's kids aren't cute at all."
Once he made sure the Jonin had nothing else to add, Shikamaru excused himself and closed the door. He went to his room, picked up his shinobi gear and headed out to train – and to skip his chores. He opened the front door and his mind froze. He repressed the desire to slam the door and hide in his room. Instead, he greeted his new guests with perfect politeness.
"Hyuga-san, can I help you?"
He knew there would be repercussions from the bout with Neji, but he didn't think it would warrant a visit from the Head of the Hyuga and his daughters. He could only hope they were here to meet his dad.
"We would like to meet with your father."
"Please, come inside." Shikamaru led them to the tearoom and headed to the back of the house. He warned his mom of their visit and went outside to fetch his dad, who was busy helping a deer who had trouble giving birth. He waited for him to finish before calling out to him.
"Dad, mom says you have guests."
The man looked up. "I wasn't expecting anyone. Did she say who?"
Shikamaru shrugged. He turned to leave but suddenly his father caught him in a one-armed hug. "Tell me, son of mine, you wouldn't try to ditch your old man when those troublesome Hyuga guests are here because you, would you?"
Sometimes, he hated his dad. He might be the best liar ever, but it was useless because his father had somehow found the secret of omniscience and refused to share.
Father and son reluctantly entered the tearoom and sat opposite of Hyuga clan.
"Hiashi-san."
"Shikaku-san."
The Jonin commander and head of the Nara clan sighed. "If you could spare me the political jargon and just get to the point please? I already have an idea of what led to this meeting," he said, throwing a pointed at Shikamaru who barely muffled his groan.
Seriously, how was he supposed to know that the Hyuga would fall for such a simple trick! Neji was the top of his class for crying out loud.
"As you already know of the potential message the… ease with which your son defeated my nephew would send," This time Shikamaru did groan, "We would like to prevent such an occurrence during the finals."
Shikamaru blinked in confusion. In response, his father cuffed him. "Stop playing the fool," he chided.
He sighed in frustration. "The Hyuga daughters didn't get it," he argued back, "plus I thought you said no political jargon".
"You're not taking the lazy way out." If I can't went unheard between the two of them.
Great. Now both the stalker and the miniature Hiashi were glaring at him. He rolled his eyes. "Hyuga-san is saying that he doesn't want the Hyuga to be embarrassed in the finals, since important clients will be watching and assessing Konoha's power as a whole."
He frowned in Hiashi's direction. "You do know whom I'll be facing in the finals, right?"
"That is precisely what I'm here."
His father gave him a look. Only Shikamaru could see the amusement behind the older Nara's eyes. Nara Shikaku then turned to his peer. "In other words, you want my son to help your daughter, even though they'll be facing each other in the finals." In the first round, mind you. "You'll forgive my bluntness, but what's in it for him? Or us, for that matter."
"An alliance."
Shikamaru thought there wouldn't be any political jargon, yet the Head of the Hyuga kept doing just that. He couldn't blame him for that last one, however; the Hyuga girls would have reacted badly to what he was offering.
Shikaku snorted. "You'll forgive me if I'm not jumping at the opportunity. We're already allied with the Yamanaka, Akimichi and Sarutobi clans."
"I will let you reflect on that. In the meantime, you will set up a schedule."
Huh?
"I'm sorry, but it sounded to me like I'd still babysit your daughter, regardless of the outcome of these negotiations."
"Training, not babysitting." demanded the youngest person present. A long pause. "And it's daughters."
Shikamaru opened and closed his mouth twice. In front of him, Hiashi Hyuga was glaring at both him and Hanabi. The third time he tried to say something his father burst into laughter next to him, and the young Nara decided he had quite enough.
"I'm not doing this; too troublesome. Ask someone else to do it." The ridiculous faces made by all of the Hyuga only managed increase Shikaku's humor. Finally, Hiashi frowned, but before he could say anything, the Nara clan head spoke.
"Unfortunately for you, Hiashi-san, my son has made his decision and I agree with him. I see nothing good coming from two contestants training together. Besides, I don't like bullies."
Hiashi's frown deepened, but he remained quiet.
"What if you were guaranteed a promotion?" This time Hinata spoke,
Shikamaru's face grew serious all of a sudden. "No." He wasn't entering Konoha's politics. Not if he wanted Naruto's hapiness.
Before she could propose something as equally outrageous, his father betrayed him. "How about you take in the backyard and assess her skills?" Shikamaru glared at his dad, but the man continued. "She can't train with us, but at least we can offer advice. Would that be enough for now? Hiashi-san"
Hiashi frowned. "Hinata."
Hinata blinked twice and bowed her head. "Yes. Thank you, Nara-san"
Shikamaru returned to his glaring. He had told his old man, repeatedly, that the Nara brand of chivalry was troublesome to the n-th degree. And now this happens! And what does said father do to defend himself? He shrugs and smiles. It's not like he has to deal with the troublesome kunoichi. He stifled a groan under gritted teeth. There was no way for him to get out of this.
"Let me show you our training area."
He had expected Hinata's sister to follow, so his expression did not change when he noticed that two girls were currently observing him with their Byakugan active.
He pocketed his hands and slouched like he usual did.
"I'm going to have a spar with one of you. To decide which one, you will face each other.
"A fair bit of warning – if I notice either of you holding back, I'll assume you don't need my help and I'll just leave – I have better things to do." Like sleeping, or cloud gazing, or hanging with Choji or Naruto.
Hinata paled. He guessed she was afraid of her father noticing.
"Hiashi-san won't use the Byakugan while he's with my old man."
The heiress looked dubious, but took her stance and faced her sister. The bout was shorter than expected. They had started poking each other for about three minutes when Hinata called the fight.
"The Tenketsu points in her arms are sealed; she can't fight or use Jutsu anymore."
Hanabi looked like the sky had fallen. "You can close the Tenketsu points. You can see the Tenketsu— he was right; you were holding back, onee-sama."
Even Shikamaru could feel the sting of that last remark. Hinata flinched violently. "P-please Hanabi, d-don't, it's not l-like that. I'm doing this for you."
Shikamaru decided to speak now, before he judged this whole Hyuga business troublesome and left. The idea was tempting, but his mom would kill him. "For what it's worth, she's not lying, you know."
"What would you know? You're nothing but an outsider," the youngest sneered.
Shikamaru shrugged. "Yet I'm the only one who figured out Hinata was faking." He ignored the glares and went on. "You should have been branded a Hyuga branch member five years ago now, but mysteriously, Hinata started to underperform right around then."
Dead silence. He had to hand it to the Hyuga; even young, they knew how maintain composure when it came to clan matters. Unfortunately for them, he didn't need confirmation. During his stay at the academy, he had kept tabs on all the students, the Genin graduates, even some of the teachers. Needless to say, he knew a lot about Konoha.
"You shouldn't know about the Cage Bird Seal."
"Then stop sending your branch members to the academy." Before she could try to find more holes in his statement, he turned to the older sister. "If you need to comfort your baby sister, I'll let you leave; I still have better things to do."
The two girls glared again, but only one stepped forward taking the traditional Juken [Gentle Fist] stance. He thought Hinata would have left by now; she must've really wanted that Chunin promotion. Unless… was this only about the Chunin exams, or was this really about the Nara-Hyuga alliance? Then everything fell into place, and what she had just told her sister made a frightening amount of sense. He wanted to groan, or slap someone – preferably Naruto. He would have to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.
Hinata rushed forward. Shikamaru closed his eyes and took a gamble.
"I won't be the Nara heir."
Hinata tripped over her own feet. Shikamaru blinked. He was right. Why was he always right when it came to troublesome situations? He watched her rise with annoyance.
It was now the eldest sister's turn to fall into despair. "I… I… Why?"
Did he look like that when his plans fell into tatters? Shikamaru frowned. "Wrong question; the question you should be asking is – why am I telling you this?"
Hinata paled. She probably realized he'd figured her out. "I… Shikamaru-kun, Shikamaru-san… I can explain…"
Funny, her stutter was gone, he noted absentedly. He sighed. "Sure you can. It's a bit too late for that though." He sighed again, looked at the clouds with undiluted envy, and rubbed his shoulder. "Seriously, your plan was so full of holes that I managed to foil it twice in the span of five minutes."
She glared at him in response. "And why aren't you the heir? Just to spite me?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "You were banking on me not liking you, and on Naruto becoming influential enough that the Hyuga would want a alliance with him instead. Frankly, your first plan of becoming Chunin to form a cell with Naruto had more merit. I'd commend you for making the most of a bad situation, but that wasn't much of a plan, was it?"
Hinata blushed at the admonishment. Shikamaru's rolled his eyes. "I don't care about you; you've always managed to screw yourself even when I tried to help you. I'm not the heir because it prevented me from helping Otouto."
Hinata opened her mouth and closed it. She suddenly looked miserable. "Otouto? You love him that much?"
He didn't think about the answer. "As much as you love Hanabi."
Let's hope she finally got it. Maybe Naruto would have a new friend. He looked at Hinata again and saw tears. "Your sister has been observing us with her Byakugan for a while now. Are you going to be okay?"
She dried her tears and nodded. Shikamaru sat down and let her compose herself. He knew she would need time to think a new plan – one that hopefully didn't involve him. "I'm fine. She has no idea what just happened."
Shikamaru shrugged. She shouldn't underestimate her sister, but that was none of his business.
Hinata got up and smiled politely. "You still owe me a spar, Nara."
He huffed, but stood up.
"And whether you want it or not, I will be coming every week to get your help. I'm sure your mother will help you set up a schedule."
Shikamaru groaned. Hiashi had told her. There were rules among men to be respected.
"Oh, and I'll be bringing Hanabi with me as well."
Shikamaru glared at the troublesome woman in front of him. This is it what happened when he helped people. If she thought he'd simply let himself push around, she didn't know one Nara Shikamaru. "You do that and I'll bring Naruto here under the pretense that you're bullying me."
Hinata squeaked. "Y-you wouldn't!?"
Shikamaru looked at her; three seconds later, she crossed her arms, and pouted. "F-fine, maybe that was a bit cruel," she admitted, before starting to poke her fingers timidly, "but I will still h-have you h-help me with N-Naruto-kun."
Shikamaru smiled for the second time today. Hinata shivered.
"O-on s-second thought..."
"Too bad. You already asked."
Hinata let out a small whimper.
/-/ /-/ /-/
Naruto's time without his team went very well. He had time to train whatever the hell he wanted to train with no fear of being doubted, or envied, or copied, or nagged into teamwork exercises. Besides his own training, he sought advice from Lee's sensei, and Shikamaru's sensei. They had been professional enough to answer his questions and even give him some tips. On top of that, his samurai training was going well. The only downside he could come up with was that he rarely saw Aniki anymore.
Which was probably why he was wandering through the village bored out of his mind.
He usually avoided public areas because of his reputation, but today he was almost looking for a fight. It must have shown on his face somehow, because no one was willing to meet his eyes today. Usually they couldn't help but glare at him with steely eyes, glance in his direction with disdain, or maybe watch him when they thought he couldn't see them. This time they were doing their best efforts to pretend he didn't exist – not out of hatred, but out of fear. It couldn't be him though; if there ever was a time they would have feared him, it would be when his pranks had become more… creative.
He used his sensor abilities and picked up a potent chakra coming from his left. …Huh, the chakra felt familiar, but he couldn't put a name on the source – an acquaintance maybe? He followed his sixth sense and landed somewhere near the hot springs. The familiar chakra belonged to man older than most active duty shinobi, but younger than the Hokage. Naruto had to admit the man had style – not as great as himself of course, but close; the Kabuki-style get-up was quite flamboyant. A guy dressed like that must have the power to back his lack of stealth, and his chakra attested to that. He could only see his back and white hair. The figure was familiar as well.
"Excuse me—"
"Not now brat; can't you see I'm busy?" The man snapped, before a perverse giggle soured Naruto's impression of the man.
With a glance, he could see the man was obviously spying on the outdoor hot springs nearby. He had researched the area for his now infamous Oiroke no Jutsu. The clientele for this particular bath was mostly kunoichi.
"You got guts peeping on kunoichi, I'll give you that; but aren't you a bit old for that? Haven't you heard of the red light district?"
The man snorted. "I'll have you know, that I wasn't peeping; I was researching."
Naruto frowned. "Huh uh. Ok, I'll bite; You're some kind porn artist or something?"
"Porn art— do you even know who I am, kid?" The man suddenly whirled around. "I'm the author of the best-selling series – Icha Icha [Make Out]."
Naruto snapped his fingers in triumph. "I knew Kakashi-sensei was reading porn while on duty! I can so blackmail him for this." He got a good look of the man and startled. "Eh, aren't you Jiraiya of the Sannin?"
The man shrugged. "That too."
"…Right then. I'll leave you to your 'research' I guess." Naruto left as he scratched his head in confusion. He had met Orochimaru in the Forest of Death; so why was Jiraiya's chakra familiar? Had they met before? This was confusing as fuck, but in the end shrugged. He had other shit to deal with.
As he left the area, he was completely oblivious to the Sannin's thoughtful stare.
/-/ /-/ /-/
A/N: Hi! It's been two months already! Time flies when you're busy -_-'. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I put something more relevant to the last two chapters for this Omake. As always, thanks for the reviews; they are greatly appreciated.
Many of you asked for parings, mainly as to Naruto. I'm open to suggestions. I have only one condition: she must be older than Naruto. Oh, and Kurenai is out, for obvious reasons.
Omake
Here were the fights for the preliminaries
Sasuke vs. Rin = see chapter 11
Temari vs. Misumi Tsurugi = see chapter 11
Choji vs. Shino = see chapter 11
Shikamaru vs. Neji = see chapter 11
Kiba vs. Kankuro: This fight was fairly interesting. Kankuro tried to confuse Kiba by having his puppet take his place, unfortunately Kiba noticed by the smell and landed a clean hit on the real Kankuro with a well timed feint. After that, Kiba and Akamaru led the fight until they decided to blind Kankuro with a smoke bomb. The puppet used the smoke screen to mix in some poison gas. Kiba and his partner noticed too late. After that it was only a matter of time before Kankuro won. Everyone did admit that Kiba put out a great fight.
Ino vs. Yoroi Akado: This fight was weird. Ino noticed belatedly Yoroi's ability. Still, she had a bit more stamina and speed than her opponent so she managed to trap him in the same way she had trapped Haruno Sakura. She then used her Mind Transfer Jutsu to finish the fight. This is when things got weird. As Yoroi lifted his hand to forfeit, he suddenly screamed and fell unconscious. Meanwhile, Ino never woke. The proctor had no choice but announce a draw, meaning both participants would not participate in the finals. Now why did that happen?
Sakura vs. Hinata: That fight was one-sided. Hinata took a page out of Neji's book and thoroughly thrashed Sakura. The spiteful kunoichi didn't give Sakura chance to attack or even defend herself. She did not miss the opportunity to remind her opponent she had only managed to come this far because of her teammates. The beating was so severe, that the medics feared for her life for her while. Thankfully Hinata is still kinder than cousin; The wounds looked worse than they really were. Sakura would make a full recovery in only two weeks.
Tenten vs. Dosu: This fight turned out similarly to the Tenten-Temari fight. The only difference was Dosu used sound instead of wind to repel Tenten's projectiles. It took some work for him to close the distance, but once he did, the match was over. At least this fight wasn't as one-sided – Dosu got out of that fight with a severe wound to the side.
Gaara vs. Zaku: Think of the Shino-Zaku fight, only much more one-sided. Gaara never moved or lifted a finger. His sand never attacked. The only thing that happened was Zaku's arms blew up because the holes for his jutsu were clogged with sand. After that Gaara left, stating the weakling wasn't even worth killing.
Naruto vs. Rock Lee = see chapter 11
So that leaves us with the fights for the finals.
1. Temari vs Dosu
2. Sasuke vs Shino
3. Shikamaru vs. Hinata
4. Kankuro vs. Gaara
Naruto is to face the winner of match 1
