Jiraiya's Last Student
Don't own Naruto. Enough said.
Sarutobi sat behind his desk, signing some paperwork, while Hinata and Tsunade sat in the chairs in front of his desk. Jiraiya was sitting on a window sill while Shizune was standing behind Tsunade holding Tonton.
"So, have you decided to take up the mantle of Hokage?" asked the current Hokage, looking through the stacks of papers on his desk.
"Well, I did beat up a thirteen year old for the job..." Tsunade muttered, slightly embarrassed.
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and asked, "What was that?"
Tsunade let out a nervous laugh before replying, "Nothing, all I said was yes." The female member of the sannin looked at Hinata and back at the current Hokage. "I've also agreed to fix her heart and take her on as an apprentice," she added, referring to the Hyuga heiress.
The old man smiled. "Ah, very good. It's been some time since you trained someone."
Tsunade noticed that her old sensei was sweating for some reason. "Shizune, would you take Hinata to the hospital and get her checked in?"
Shizune bowed. "Of course, lady Tsunade. Come on, Hinata." Hinata nodded and followed Shizune out of the room.
Tsunade watched the two leave and as soon as the door closed, her head instantly turned towards the old man. The slug princess looked quite upset with him. "So you used it again," she growled.
Sarutobi looked off to the side and whistled. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Jiraiya took this as his cue to leave the area and made his way out of the room via the window.
Tsunade stood up and slammed her hands down on the desk. "Don't play stupid with me, old man! I can see it on your face! You used that Kami-forsaken technique again, even when I told you after the last time it could kill you if you used it again! Especially at your age!" She pinched the bridge of her nose and calmed herself down. "You're too old to be using something like that anymore, and you know it! I mean, Jiraiya was here! He could have dealt with the snake!"
"It was my problem to deal with, Tsunade. A problem I should have dealt with years ago." The Hokage quickly changed the subject. "So, what did you think of their son?"
Tsunade smiled fondly, remembering things long since past. "He's just like them. He's definitely got both his parents' talent. He's pretty good at holding back, too. Jiraiya at least taught him that much."
"Yes. During the Chuunin Exams, he used nowhere near his full potential. He trained night and day when he left with Jiraiya. So he says."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Why hold back? If it were me, I'd show off or something around those lines." In her younger days, she would show off her power whenever possible.
"He's not a normal young man, and you know this quite well. I think he's afraid of really hurting someone or losing control of himself." Hiruzen sounded very concerned about the possibility that Naruto was afraid of his own strength. "He hasn't had the easiest life, Tsunade. All of his young life he's been ignored, he's overheard people talking about him, and he's had other children picking on him. He has a lot of built up anger and resentment. I'm sure you know it's not always easy to hold back."
"I should have come back." Tsunade looked at the pictures of the former and current Hokage on the wall. "Well, at least he seems to have a little girlfriend. She'll be prettier than her mother."
The old man smiled. "Yes, well I had told Jiraiya to be discreet in telling Naruto about Hinata liking him, but being subtle is not something he was ever good at."
Tsunade smiled. "True. But that's not always such a bad thing..." she said softly, thinking of the past. "Anyhow, we'll talk more later. There is a certain Hyuga I have to have a chat with."
Hiruzen sighed. "Don't take it out on him too badly. There was nothing he could do."
Tsunade smiled and cracked her knuckles. "Of course. I'll only hurt him a little bit," she replied as she made her way out of the room.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"What if she finds out? We'll surely be killed!" a Hyuga elder shouted.
Four of the Hyuga elders sat in a room, talking about something that seemed very serious. One of the four was freaking out a little since Tsunade Senju had come back to the village. The room they sat in was secure. No one outside could hear what was being said.
"Calm yourself. There is no way she can pin the blame on us. There just isn't any proof of our actions. The doctor we paid off is now dead, thanks to some bandits we hired. Even if she suspects anything, there is no proof, and therefore, we are free and clear."
"Our plans to keep Hinata from succeeding her father will be undone now."
The eldest of them smiled. "No. With this unprecedented display of weakness, even if she's healed, she will not succeed her father. He long ago tried to spare his second born by asking to wait until we decided which would be the rightful heir." This elder obviously had a plan for everything.
Hiashi had wanted to spare his daughters the hardship that he and his brother had experienced, but in the end, it was only a temporary measure. The elders had hatched a plan to hasten the verdict of the head of the clan one way or another, and that was by making Hinata look far too weak to recover from some simple injuries. If she had died instead of looking weak, they more than likely wouldn't have lost any sleep over it.
These four elders were trying to hasten the decision of who will ultimately be chosen to succeed as the head of the clan. Suddenly, the very building they were in shook. The four stood up and ran out of the building to see what was happening.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Out of my way!" Tsunade roared, attempting to back hand one of the Hyuga guards at the gate who had tried to stop her. The guard, however, ducked, and her back hand destroyed a good portion of the wall. Many Hyuga came running out, though one of them walked out casually.
"It's been a long time, Tsunade. Do come in for some tea," the Hyuga patriarch said, turning around and walked back into the Hyuga family home like nothing had happened.
The two sat in his office waiting for the tea to come. "So, Tsunade, please tell me why you've decided to destroy part of the wall outside."
Tsunade shrugged her shoulders, brushing off the incident. "Well, I was just going to swat the guard who was being quite rude to me out of the way, but he managed to duck." Tsunade's eyes fell on a picture that was face down on his desk. She picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of three pregnant women, and three young men directly behind them, smiling. "Why didn't you send me a message about your wife?"
Hiashi leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "By the time anyone realized the severity of her illness, it was already too late. It would have taken days to find you, and at least a day for you to arrive back here. The doctors kept telling me she would be all right, but all of a sudden, her health took a tremendous turn for the worse." Hiashi looked out the window of his office at the garden his wife had him put in. "Now, on to the main reason why you came."
"Why didn't you take care of his son? You were his best friend. At the very least, he kept you and Fugaku from killing each other." Tsunade thought about what she had said. "Well, I suppose your wives helped with that one too, but that's beside the point."
"She wanted to adopt him. My wife would argue day and night with the clan and the village council in order to adopt Naruto, but she grew very weak during her pregnancy with Hanabi." As if on cue, the door swung open and a young girl came bounding into the room.
"Dad! Where have you been? I thought you were going to train me today." The young girl had run up to her father, completely ignoring the fact that he was speaking with someone.
Neji walked into the room. "I'm sorry. I told her you were in a meeting, but she didn't listen to me."
Hiashi nodded. "It's all right, Neji. You may return to what you were doing earlier."
Neji bowed and left.
"Hanabi, what have I told you about rushing into my office without at least knocking first?" Hiashi was upset, but it really didn't show in his facial expression nor could you hear it in his voice, but if you knew him, you'd know Hiashi was very irritated.
"Sorry," she replied. "Who's this?" she asked, finally noticing the woman sitting in the chair across from her father.
"This is Tsunade Senju. Within a week or two, she'll become the next Hokage, and she'll be operating on your sister before that."
Hanabi's eyes seemed to light up. "Really?" she asked excitedly. "Where is Onee-chan?"
Tsunade smiled. "She's at the hospital right now, more than likely checked into a room by now. You should go and see her."
"I will!" Hanabi bolted out of the room and down the hall, leaving her father and Tsunade to speak alone once more.
"Well, I see at least one of your children had to be like you, seeing as Hinata is exactly like her mother. Though you've grown into a spineless man in your old age. It's sad how you've changed from a man full of energy and the readiness to argue with the elders of your clan to this." To say Tsunade was disgusted would be an understatement.
Hiashi chose to ignore Tsunade's comment. "She's been acting out a lot more lately since Naruto came back to the village." He let out a long drawn out sigh before continuing. "Nothing has gone right since their mother died."
There was a moment of silence before a knock at the door disturbed the silence.
"Come in," Hiashi called out.
The door slid to one side and Kakashi stepped in. "Yo," he said with a little wave.
"What do you need, Kakashi?" asked the Hyuga patriarch.
"I just got back from my mission, and Naruto got pretty beat up. I require Tsunade's presence."
Tsunade stood up. "It seems we'll have to have that cup of tea at a later time, Hiashi."
He nodded.
XxXxXxXxXxX
All of Naruto's friends were standing at the doorway to his room. The only reason they were at the door instead of in the room was because Shino wasn't allowing anyone inside. Hinata was the only person he had allowed to enter the room. She sat on a chair at Naruto's bedside. Hearing that Naruto was in the hospital as well, she rushed to his room to see him. Hinata had never seen him in such a state before.
Naruto had only been in the hospital for about an hour now. The bandages that Kakashi had wrapped around Naruto were covered in blood from the holes put in him by Hidan.
"What is with this crowd?" Tsunade asked, rather annoyed that her entry to the room was blocked.
Everyone turned to see a woman with rather huge breasts standing behind them. The boys couldn't help but stare at her chest, for which they got smacks to the heads from their girlfriends.
"All right, everyone who isn't part of his team, leave!" she commanded.
The group looked to Kakashi, who was standing right behind her. "Just do as she says," replying to their questioning looks.
The group didn't ask who she was. They just complied and left. They knew arguing about it wouldn't get them very far.
Tsunade stepped into the room to check Naruto's wounds. She cut the bandages off to find that the wounds Kakashi had described were about halfway healed. However, his body was riddled with scars. That was something she'd have to talk to Jiraiya about. "These are some pretty serious wounds, Kakashi. Where were you when this happened?"
"We'd decided to split up in search of our targets because of how wide the area was. I sent Sasuke and Naruto together, while Zabuza and I took separate routes."
Tsunade covered Naruto's wounds back up. "I see. Do you know exactly how he got these wounds?"
Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke said that the man stabbed himself, and the same wounds appeared on Naruto."
Tsunade looked down and thought about what Kakashi had just said. "I remember something from the war. There was a man who seemed to be immortal that could do the same type of thing. However, we were never able to get a name or find out how he was doing it. Did Sasuke tell you anything else?"
Kakashi put a hand to his chin. "Hmm...he said something about the man cutting Naruto's cheek and ingesting the blood, then making a circle of some sort out of blood on the ground around himself. Somehow, that man made a link with Naruto."
Hinata had stood silently the entire time. "Will Naruto-kun be all right?" she spoke for the first time in the last twenty minutes.
Tsunade turned and smiled. "Of course he will. Even a normal person could survive these kinds of wounds. However, the fox will make him heal much faster than normal. He'll probably wake up soon." Tsunade's expression grew serious when she heard a sound come from the door to the room. Turning towards the door, she motioned for Kakashi to follow her. "Let's go. I need to have a talk with Jiraiya." She opened the door to find Shikamaru standing there. "You know, your father had a bad habit of eavesdropping on others' conversations when he was younger, too."
"Is it true? That's why most of the adults avoid Naruto?" the genius Nara asked, never thinking that was even a possibility.
"Ask him yourself," she replied before walking off, Kakashi following closely behind.
Shikamaru entered the room to see Shino standing between him and the bed. Hinata sat in a chair beside the bed.
"Shino, you can let him by," came Naruto's voice.
"Naruto-kun, you're awake!" the Hyuga princess exclaimed, hugging him.
Naruto smiled and hugged her back. "You know, as much as I like hugging you, it kinda hurts right now."
Hinata let go and sat back down in the chair. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun."
Naruto sat up. "It's all right." The blond glanced at his male teammate
Shino nodded, taking the hint. "Hinata, we should get you back to your room now. I'm sure Shikamaru would rather talk to Naruto alone."
"But I..." she began to say, but was cut off.
"It's alright, Hina-chan, I'll visit you later."
Shikamaru waited until the door shut behind the two to speak. "Do they know?"
Naruto smiled as he always did. "Of course. They're my teammates. How could they trust me if they didn't know something like that? They'd find out eventually. Would they trust me if they found out any other way?"
"You took a huge gamble. What if they had a bad reaction to hearing that?" Shikamaru didn't exactly care what was sealed inside Naruto. He knew that Naruto was still Naruto, and not the fox. However, he had no idea that Naruto and the fox were on friendly terms.
"Yeah, that could have happened, but I didn't exactly have a lot to lose. What about you?" Naruto was curious to hear what Shikamaru thought.
"You are the same happy-go-lucky idiot I met when we were six. You haven't changed, and I honestly doubt you ever will. However, I will say that you know when you have to be serious now." Shikamaru pulled up a chair and sat down on it. "That does bring me to my next question. Why do you hold yourself back?"
XxXxXxXxXxX
Sasuke was walking back to Naruto's room. There was something he wanted to ask him. He had just arrived at Naruto's door when he heard Shikamaru's voice.
"Why do you hold yourself back?"
He stopped and waited to hear the answer. He was also curious as to why Naruto had been holding himself back.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, trying to avoid the question.
"You beat Neji, Sasuke, and Gaara in one day, all within a few hours of one another. How strong are you? Every time they upped their speed or power, you matched them blow for blow. Eventually, you increased your speed and power to beat them. You could have done it at the very beginning of each match, couldn't you?" Shikamaru knew he was right when Naruto shifted his gaze for a moment.
"Do you know what's its like to grow up and have everyone hate you?" Naruto looked out the window towards the Hokage monument, then back at Shikamaru. "Of course you couldn't understand something like that. You've always had your parents, other family members, and friends. When I trained by myself before I left the village, I'd get so angry. I didn't understand why almost everyone hated me and why I had to be alone..." Naruto smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "That wasn't the question you were asking me..." the blond sighed. "I'm afraid I'll lose control of myself. During my match with Neji I lost control and almost killed him. If I hadn't adjusted the course of my last jutsu, I would have removed his head from his shoulders."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Sasuke walked down the hall, more curious about the blond than before. 'How strong is he?' he wondered. Sasuke always thought of himself as the strongest in his age group. That was until Naruto came back to the village. Sasuke, to say the least, was irritated that Naruto had toyed with him during their match.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"So, you and Hinata, huh?" Shikamaru asked, changing the subject.
Naruto smiled wide. "Yeah...She was the reason I trained so hard the past few years. I finally had something to look forward to. I trained all day every day, and most nights. I learned everything the pervy sage and the toads had to offer." He thought for a moment and wondered if Shikamaru would tell everyone. "Do you plan on telling anyone?"
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Tell everyone and have them ask me a million questions I can't answer? Nah, I'm good. That would be far too troublesome, and it would cut in on my cloud-watching." Shikamaru loved his free time. It was a crying shame he got promoted, because that cut in on a great deal of his day-dreaming time. Telling everyone about Naruto and Hinata's relationship would kill the rest. "You know, me and everyone else talked about that earlier, but we all figured you were still oblivious."
Naruto grinned. "That was the idea."
The door to the room opened and a nurse walked in. "Excuse me, but it's time to change Naruto's bandages," she said sweetly.
"Well, I guess I should take my leave then." Shikamaru gave a little wave as he left the room.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Itachi was kneeling in front of the graves of his family. He had been doing this for some time now.
"Yo, Itachi! How long are you going to be doing that?" Kisame asked, annoyed by the fact that Itachi hadn't spoken or moved in an hour.
"I told you not to bother me right now, Kisame. Go bother Zabuza or something," he replied.
Kisame brought his right hand to his chin. "Well, that's an idea." Kisame made a hand seal, transforming himself to look more like a normal person. He'd never look completely normal, mainly because he was a psychopath and it showed on his face.
"Be sure to behave yourself while you are in the village. Be aware of what may happen if you cause trouble in my home," Itachi commanded.
Kisame started to sweat a little. "Don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior!"
"Yes...do that."
"Itachi-kun!" came a female voice from inside the house.
Itachi raised his chin and turned his head to the left. "Well, it seems I'm done here for now."
"Oh, is that how it is?" Kisame muttered.
Itachi's gaze shifted towards Kisame.
"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Kisame disappeared in a splash of water.
Itachi sighed. "I really wish he wouldn't do that on my porch..."
The door opened, and there stood a smiling Ayame. "Ah, there you are," she said happily, holding up a wooden box. "I brought some food. I'm sure you haven't been eating well."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Jiraiya was peeking at the women's bath, writing notes for his next book. "This is perfect!" he whispered loudly. All at once, he felt a murderous intent behind him. "That's odd. Why do I have a really bad feeling right now?" he wondered to himself. Jiraiya turned slowly to see Tsunade standing behind him. "Oh...Well...That explains that..." he took off like a shot.
"You perverted bastard! Get back here!" Tsunade picked up a hefty stone and threw it at her old teammate. The stone flew true and crashed into Jiraiya's head, causing him to face plant into the ground.
Jiraiya dug a ditch with his face for a good two meters before coming to a stop.
Tsunade crouched down beside her former teammate; she had a tick mark on her head. In a low, threatening voice, she asked, "What happened to that boy's body? You didn't think I wouldn't find out what kind of hell it's been through?"
Jiraiya turned over onto his back and sighed. "I never thought it would turn out like that."
"What are you talking about?" Tsunade inquired.
"Halfway through the training, we decided to work on the use of the Kyuubi's power."
XxXxXxXxXxX
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Six chakra tails had sprouted from Naruto and massive shock waves shot out in all directions.
"No...This wasn't supposed to happen," Jiraiya whispered as he stood watching the scene unfold, a massive gash across his chest from Naruto's attacks.
The boss toad and several others landed next to Jiraiya. "What happened?!" yelled the elder toad.
"It doesn't matter what happened! We just have to stop him quickly!" Jiraiya replied.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Tsunade looked down at Jiraiya. "So the fox took control of Naruto?"
The toad sage shook his head. "No...It wasn't the fox. It was Naruto. All the built up hate and resentment for the villagers that shunned him was released, and the Kyuubi's powers amplified those feelings he had buried deep inside of him. He lost control of himself and we had to stop him."
XxXxXxXxXxX
An army of toads stood behind Jiraiya. Their job was to subdue Naruto, if that was even possible anymore. Jiraiya had a huge gash across his chest that was bleeding profusely.
"Don't hold back! Use whatever means you have to stop Naruto! You have to hold him for at least one minute while I prepare the seal! Remember there is almost nothing you can do to hurt him at this point!" Jiraiya yelled as several large scrolls lay unraveled around him.
"Alright, you heard him! GO!" ordered the boss toad. The mass of toads charged forward.
Naruto looked lazily to the side at the army of toads. Three of his tails shot out, sweeping away many of the toads. Gamabunta and the other large toads jumped, avoiding the tails. The possessed blond launched himself into the air to meet the toads. The toad boss drew his massive dagger and swung downwards at Naruto, hitting him and sending him back to the ground. The others drew their weapons to strike Naruto once they hit the ground. However, just as they were about to land, several of Naruto's tails shot up, batting them away as if they were nothing.
Toads of all sizes came at Naruto from every side with weapons drawn. None, however, could get very close as Naruto's tails lashed out at them.
Eight large scrolls suddenly burst from the ground surrounding Naruto. "Finally, I'm finished! Eight-sided Seal!" Jiraiya shouted, slapping his hands together. The fabric from the scrolls unraveled and wrapped themselves around Naruto. At first he was able to fight it and tear away the seal, but soon it became too much and completely engulfed him.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Tsunade opened Jiraiya's shirt to see the scar left over from the event. "I don't think you've ever been injured so badly before..." her voice was soft and concerned for what happened to her former teammate.
Jiraiya smiled. "I think it's been about twenty five years since I've heard your voice hold any real concern about something that happened to me." To hear real concern for his well being in Tsunade's voice was a nice change of pace.
She simply ignored his comment and closed his shirt. "So what happened after that?"
"Naruto asked me to completely seal off the Kyuubi's powers until we came back to the village. During his training he injured himself so many times, I'm honestly not sure how he is still alive. He'd often go out in the middle of the night when no one was around to train on jutsu he was making from scratch. Even though the fox's power could help him heal, he was honestly too afraid to let what happened before happen again." Jiraiya looked up at the sky and sighed. "Naruto hasn't really been the same since that all happened." The old toad sage stood up.
Tsunade felt bad for the boy even though he easily got on her nerves. "Come on old man, lets get a drink," she said, walking off.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"What was Mom like?" Hanabi was curled up next her sister, she had never been able to really meet her mother, as she had died when she was still just a baby.
"She was a very kind and caring individual, I wish she was still here." Hinata really missed her mother. Nothing in her life had stayed the same since she passed away. "Perhaps everything would have turned out differently for all of us if she were still here."
"I've never even seen a picture of her."
"Really?" Hinata never knew he little sister had never seen a picture of their mother. "When you get home, look under my bed, you'll find a family photo of us."
"Was Dad different than he is now? Back then I mean?" Hanabi was curious as to whether or not her father once acted differently than he does now.
"Dad used to smile back then." Hinata thought about those times. They were the only fond memories she had of her father.
"Father, smiling? I can't even imagine what that would look like."
Hinata looked towards the window in her room. "Yeah... seems like another life now," she said distantly.
"What are you talking about? When you get older you'll be head of the clan, things will be different."
The elder Hyuga sister hugged her younger sibling. "No...I'm sure I won't be the next clan head. That job will be yours once you're older."
Hanabi slid out of bed and walked towards the room door. She stopped just short of the door. "Are you really alright with the way things are? Aren't you angry"
Hinata smiled. "Other than being stuck in here, I'm very satisfied with how things are."
XxXxXxXxXxX
The sun had begun to set. Naruto stood looking out of his hospital window. He wondered if everything would go back to normal once Hinata was out of the hospital.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Man, that mission was boring!" Naruto whined.
"Oh, quit your complaining..." Sasuke deadpanned.
"Shino, you agree with me right? You have to agree with me on this!" Naruto continued.
"I have no opinion. A mission is a mission," he replied in monotone.
Naruto's head fell and he sulked all the way to the Hokage tower to turn in the mission. The three of them had been put together for the past two weeks since Tsunade had returned to the village. The trio had been sent out on one mission after the next, sometimes receiving multiple missions at once. They had been praised by their peers as a very effect team even though Naruto and Sasuke argued constantly.
As they were about to enter the Hokage's tower, Naruto stopped. "Hey you guys give the report I'm going to grab something to eat!"
"Don't you dare do this to me again Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. However, his words fell on deaf ears as Naruto disappeared in a swirl of leaves, a grin on his face.
"Dammit! I'll get him for this..." Sasuke mumbled.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Hiashi was sitting in his office going over recent events, like the invasion of Suna and Oto. Hiruzen had stepped down as Hokage, and Tsunade's coronation to be the fifth Hokage had just ended the other day. He now had some time to reflect on what had happened up until now.
'Why was Naruto looking at my daughter like that in the stands? It's as if...No...Those two couldn't be...Wait! That time at the hospital! I did see him!' Hiashi was brought out of his thoughts when the Hyuga elders walked into his office.
"Well this is unusual, seeing you all here in my office," Hiashi stated plainly.
"We are here to inform you that we have come to a decision on your daughter's fate in this clan. In the past we agreed to see which of your two daughters would be the best leader of the clan. And with Hinata's poor performance in the Chuunin Exams, we have finally come to a decision on the matter." All the elders but the one that had been talking remained silent.
Hiashi knew this was coming. In the past he had made that excuse, just to save his second daughter from being sealed. Now, because of that, it had come back to haunt him in the form of his first daughter being sealed.
"Just as your brother was sealed, so will be you first daughter Hinata. We have voted unanimously that Hanabi will be the next clan leader, and Hinata will be sealed and banished to the branch family." The elders only nodded in agreement, showing it had actually been agreed upon.
Hiashi showed no outward emotion, but inside he wanted to kill them for even saying that, let alone planning on doing it. He may have not been the best father to his eldest daughter, but he never wanted this for her, either. At the moment, with the village in the shape it was in, he could not start a conflict within the clan. It would hurt the village and the clan. But what was he going to do? He couldn't just leave his daughter to such a fate.
"I see, so you all agreed. Very well, as her father and leader of the clan, I will inform her of what is to come," Hiashi stated. He was doing his best to try and not show any emotion, or leap over the desk and kill someone.
"As it should be. We will leave everything up to you then." The elders slowly left the room one by one.
The elders were finally gone. Hiashi opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a picture, the same picture he had looked over a countless number of times when he was alone. He sighed; Hinata had just finally been healed of all the injuries Neji had given her, seeing as Tsunade was the only was one skilled enough to fully heal the damage inflicted upon Hinata's heart when she and Neji fought. At least that's what everyone thought.
'What am I going to do...' Hiashi thought. Hiashi activated his Byakugan, looked towards the hospital where his daughter was. She was still recovering from the surgery Tsunade had performed the other day. He expected to see only his daughter in the room, but there was one other person in the room with her. There was a young boy in the same bed as her.
'What is Naruto doing in the same bed as my daughter?!' he thought. Naruto was sitting next to Hinata in the bed holding her. Hiashi began to think about what that could mean. He saw there might be a way for his daughter to escape from the elders' decision. 'Maybe this boy can help me,' he thought. In the past, he had not liked the boy much because of the demon within him, but the dedication he had shown during the invasion had gained Hiashi's respect, along with many others within the shinobi village.
The Hyuuga patriarch stood from his seat and left the room. He headed for Naruto's apartment. Hiashi figured Hinata and Naruto had probably been sneaking around with one another for a while now. With that in mind, he knew the boy wouldn't stay long and would soon return to his own home.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Naruto had just arrived at Hinata's hospital room. He watched her face brighten up as he entered through the window. He had heard through Kurenai that her surgery had been a complete success and she would only be stuck in the hospital for a few more days.
Soon after Naruto came into the room, Hinata tackled him to the floor. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest. "Thank you," Hinata whispered, thanking him for all that he had done.
Naruto smiled and picked her up bridal style, kissing her on the cheek. "Anything for you, Hinata-chan," Naruto said in a cheerful voice, Hinata giggled. He walked over to the bed and laid her down on in it. After he laid her down, he got onto the bed and sat next to her.
Hinata wrapped her arms around him and cuddled against him. She sighed happily. This was one of the few times Naruto was able to come to visit her since they returned to the village with Tsunade.
"So, has Tsunade been nice to you?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, she was very nice!" Hinata said happily.
Naruto had a big foxy grin on his face. "That's great, Hinata-chan! When do you finally get out of here?"
"Tsunade said it would be a few days till I would be fully recovered from the surgery and be well enough to leave and do normal everyday activities."
"That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. Naruto suddenly felt like he was being watched, he dispelled most of the clones that were watching the building itself and the door to the room. When he gained their memories, he found no one was watching them.
"So, Naruto-kun, how have you been?" Hinata asked. "You never really visited much while I was in here."
Naruto sighed and tightened his grip. "I've been fine, and it's not like I didn't want to come. There were just too many people coming in and out of the room, then all the missions...I just couldn't," Naruto replied.
Before she could reply the two heard someone coming. "Naruto, you've got to go! Someone's coming!" Hinata whispered hurriedly.
Naruto kissed her quickly on the lips and ran to the window. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata-chan." Naruto disappeared out the window just as the door opened. Tsunade walked into the room just as Naruto disappeared; she had no idea he was there just now.
"So, Hinata, how are you feeling?" Tsunade asked.
XxXxXxXxXxX
'Man, why does Baachan have to ruin the moment,' Naruto thought.
Naruto was walking back to his apartment. He didn't feel like training right now, so he just walked through the streets of Konoha. Most of the buildings were still damaged from the invasion by the Sound and Sand village. Many of the civilians were more afraid of him than anything now, since he beat Neji, Sasuke, and Gaara of the Sand village. Thankfully, though, the shinobi of the village respected Naruto now, because of the dedication he had shown during the conflict.
Arriving at his apartment, sighing as he walked up the steps. When he arrived, he noticed the door was partially opened. He gripped the hilt of his sword, just in case he needed to use it.
He opened the door to see nothing was missing or thrown around. Quietly shutting the door behind him, he walked to the kitchen area. He found Hiashi Hyuga sitting at the kitchen table, drinking some tea.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Naruto asked in a sarcastic tone. Naruto didn't like the man one bit, mostly because of the way he treated Hinata.
"I've come to ask you a question, and maybe even ask a favor of you, Naruto Uzumaki," Hiashi stated, taking a sip of his tea as he waited for Naruto to respond.
"I'm not sure I want to do any favors for you, Hiashi," Naruto said, disgust evident in his voice.
"This request has nothing to do with me boy, but everything to do with my daughter, Hinata," Hiashi said in a calm tone.
Naruto stiffened slightly at hearing Hiashi's words. "I see."
"I'll get straight to the point, Naruto. The clan elders have decided that Hinata will be sealed and banished to the branch family for her poor performance in the Chuunin Exams." Hiashi saw Naruto face go from neutral to angry in a quarter of a second.
"What do you mean?! How can you do that to your own daughter?!" Naruto shouted, slamming his hands down on the table.
"This was not my choice, Naruto; I've made up many excuses over the years to keep this from happening. However, with Hinata's recent performance in the exams, as I've stated, and the invasion that occurred and left our ranks diminished, the elders found it the perfect opportunity for them to go through with this idea." Hiashi sighed, and took a sip of his tea. "However, the fact is that it's Hyuga law that there be only one successor born from the head, while any other child is sent to the branch clan. Normally that would be the second born. Naruto, this is where my request to you comes in. I know you do not see my daughter as just a friend and teammate, but as something much more. In addition, I know she sees you as more than that as well. Earlier today, after the elders gave me their decision, I saw you two in the hospital room with my Byakugan."
"I knew someone was watching us," Naruto mumbled. "Yeah I've been seeing your daughter since I got back from my training with the pervy sage."
"Normally, I would kill someone for such a thing. But seeing as she most likely trusts you more than anyone else, I want you to take my daughter away from this place, far away from this place, where the elders cannot possibly find her."
"What? Why would you trust me with your daughter?" Naruto asked. "I am a monster to most people, after all." Naruto was honestly confused by Hiashi's words.
"Because you are the only one I can ask such a thing from. Would you not like to have an open relationship with my daughter?" Hiashi asked in a somewhat amused tone.
"Of course I would! I would like that very much, and so would she...It's just..."
"Naruto, I did not come here as a clan leader, a ninja, or any such thing. I came here as a father, who wants to save his daughter from a cruel existence as nothing more than a slave. So will you take my daughter away from this place?"
"Of course! Hinata is everything to me," Naruto replied. "When I'm gone, will I be made into some type of criminal?"
"More than likely, yes. They will most likely think you kidnapped her and considering your tenant label you an S class criminal. But if you decide to return in a few years or so when the village is not in dire straits, I will see to it that the charges are lifted."
"You do realize if I do and we do come back, I might be calling you Otou-san." Naruto was highly amused at that aspect of Hiashi calling him son.
Hiashi smirked, "Even if you marry my daughter, don't ever call me that." Hiashi took out three scrolls from his clothing and handed them to Naruto.
"What are these for?" Naruto looked at the scrolls. "I see they have blood seals on them."
"Very astute of you to notice, Naruto, Yes, these are blood seals; these are the last things I can give to my daughter. They are the main house jutsu; my personal copies to be exact."
"I see."
"So, Naruto, do you have any place where you two can go where we can't find you?"
"Yes, I do," Naruto replied, not saying where.
"Just as well I don't know." Hiashi stood up just as he finished his now cold tea. "I do have one more request for you, Naruto."
"What might that be Hiashi?"
"Do not tell my daughter I was the one who gave you those, or the one to tell you anything of this."
"Why? I think that would make her happy."
"Maybe so, Naruto, but I've never been much of a father to her, and it's probably for the best that she never knows. It will make it far easier for her to cut her ties with this place."
Naruto sighed; he could understand what Hiashi was trying to say. "I understand. I'll make up a story in case she asks."
"I've said this to very few people, Naruto, but thank you. Now I must go inform my daughter of the elders' decision." Hiashi disappeared from the room.
"Do you finally understand what I was trying to say a few months back?"
"Yeah, I understand, and it was the easiest decision I ever had to make, actually. One question, though. How did you know this was going to happen?"
"I did not know this exact situation would occur, I merely took into account the fact that you have me inside of you and she was basically a princess. Jiraiya also understood this. Why do you think he gave you so much money and told you to use it when you were older? However, I doubt he thought things would happen so quickly, though."
"Why does it seem that everyone knows what's going to happen in my life before I do?" Naruto let out a long drawn-out sigh. "I might as well start to pack."
"Indeed you should," came a voice from his living room.
Naruto poked his head around the corner to find Hiruzen the former Hokage sitting on his couch sipping tea. "What is with people and randomly drinking tea in my apartment..." he mumbled.
"So, headed off I see."
Naruto slowly walked over to the place he stored all his valuables. He pushed the bed aside and opened the floorboard that hid all of his stuff. He quickly put a few changes of clothes in his backpack along with all the jutsu scrolls Jiraiya had given him. Naruto had jutsu scrolls on all elements; fire, wind, water, earth, and lightning. He looked at the three scrolls Hiashi had given him for Hinata. 'Seems like both of our fathers are trying to do what's best for the village and not us,' Naruto thought sadly. However, in a way, what Hiashi was doing was best for both of them. They could start a new life where no one knows who or what they are.
"Yeah, well I'm sure you heard everything. Do you plan to stop me?"
"I'm retired now, it is none of my business anymore." Standing slowly, he pulled a scroll out of his robe. "This jutsu is not something a normal human can withstand without causing irreparable damage to their bodies. You can choose to learn it or burn it. I leave it with you. Only you could possibly make use of this jutsu and you're the only one I'd trust with it. Well, aside from Jiraiya or Tsunade, perhaps, but you could get the most use out of it."
Naruto took the scroll and put it with his things. "Thanks old man," he replied, giving him a hug.
Hiruzen made his way to the door. "Perhaps I'll see you again before I die," he muttered under his breath before leaving.
Naruto finished packing, slung the backpack over his shoulder, grabbed his father's sword, and disappeared from the room in a swirl of leaves. Arriving atop the main house building, he entered Hinata's room.
'They must be all out around the compound perimeter or something like that,' Naruto thought. Either that or Hiashi had done some quick reordering of the guard to give Naruto some time.
He looked around for her backpack so he could pack some things for her. Opening the closet to find her backpack, he quickly put a few changes of clothes into it. Naruto found Hinata's photo album, and put it in the backpack as well. He opened a drawer in her desk to find she had pressed the first flowers he had ever given to her. He looked at them for a moment before smiling and putting them in the backpack as well. Naruto then vanished from the room, with Hinata's things in hand.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Hinata was happy. Naruto had come to see her and Tsunade wanted to train her to be a medical ninja. Tsunade had even given her a few medical ninjutsu scrolls to read while she was still in the hospital. Some of them she could probably practice, since medical ninjutsu weren't really destructive in nature. She was happy, at least until her father walked into the room. Her face showed no emotion as she saw her father enter.
"What do you need father?" there was a touch of anger in Hinata's voice.
"I have come to inform you of the elders' decision. Because of your poor performance in the Chuunin Exams, you are to have the seal placed upon you and be banished to the branch family. This will take place once you are fully recovered and released from the hospital." Hiashi turned around and began to leave the room.
Hinata just sat there in the bed, her happiness long gone. She watched him walk out of the room. There had been no emotion on his face. She had hoped he would show something. Anger, remorse, anything! But there was nothing. Just that emotionless face he always showed to everyone.
Hiashi walked out of the room. He told a nearby nurse that Hinata was not to be disturbed for the next few hours, as she needed time to think. The nurse, of course, obeyed the clan leader's request, and posted it on the door.
Night had fallen, and Hinata had just stared at the wall the entire time, never touching the dinner that had been brought to her hours earlier. She heard a noise, and looked towards the window to see Naruto walking towards her. She didn't notice the backpacks he had with him. Her eyes began to tear up. She jumped into his arms and began to cry into his shirt.
Naruto looked at her sadly. He knew exactly why she was crying. He hated it when Hinata cried. It felt like someone was stabbing him in the heart repeatedly. He picked her up bridal-style and sat down on the bed holding her, letting her cry to her heart's content.
"Naruto, they're..." Hinata was stopped by Naruto.
"I know, Hinata. I heard all about it from some main house member who couldn't keep his mouth shut." Hinata finally looked over at the window to see her backpack and his, ready to go. Naruto looked into her pale lavender eyes. "To answer your question, Hinata-chan, yes, we are leaving the village. For how long, I really don't know. I'm not allowing them to harm you anymore than they already have. I promise."
Hinata stopped crying after hearing Naruto's words. She trusted him more than she trusted anyone else, and the promises he made were absolute.
"But N-Naruto, they will mark you a criminal!" Hinata said, concern evident in her voice.
"Eh, could be worse, I guess," Naruto replied jokingly. There was great confidence in his voice, which managed to relax Hinata. "I told you I wouldn't let them harm you anymore. If that makes me into a criminal, then so be it."
"What about becoming Hokage? Wasn't that your dream?"
"I'll just have to put that dream on hold for now. My priorities have changed." Naruto had a smile on his face as he spoke to her.
"But where will we go?"
Naruto created a clone that grabbed their bags "Don't worry Hinata I know of a place where we can go, but it won't be easy," he replied before they disappeared in a swirl of leaves from the room.
End chapter
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and yeah it's been a while since I last updated. I know some will probably have some giant issue with the how the chapter went, but I hope the majority think it was a good idea and such.
Do take the time to tell me your thoughts on the chapter.