Disclaimer: don't own Naruto or anything related to it. Only the idea for this fic.
As Naruto walked through the gates to Konoha again, he couldn't help but make a remark.
"I've gotta say, that was one eventful homecoming. It's definitely a week to remember."
Next to him, Sakura, Neji, Lee and Tenten decided not to make any cutting remarks towards the blond. They where tired enough as it was, although not having to travel with their teachers for the last day was nice. Gai had taken it upon himself to bring Kakashi to the hospital as quickly as he could, which resulted in the two teachers leaving behind their squads.
The past week, as Naruto had sad, was more then a little eventful: just after Naruto finally got home, Gaara had been kidnapped by Akatsuki and Team 7 had been send out to assist the Sand with the rescue. Because of the damage done to the Hidden Village of the Sand, the Konoha team had been the only one to actually give chase to the Akatsuki and fight them, with some assistance from a retired Sand Ninja. Within mere days, Naruto had seen, fought and defeated Uchiha Itachi, although it was actually a fake, and two new members that he had never seen before. One, a hunchback with a half-masked face, was defeated by Sakura and Chiyo, although both had suffered their share of injuries in the fight, and the other was a male with long blond hair who used bombs. A LOT of bombs
Naruto had spent the better part of an hour chasing after the bomber, with Kakashi helping as best he could. With their combined efforts, they had brought the bomber down and freed Gaara. When Gai and his team appeared, along with Sakura and Chiyo, it seemed the cloak-wearing missing-nin realized he was outclassed and killed himself. Although Naruto was relieved he hadn't revealed all his techniques in one fight, he had some serious doubts about whether or not the suicide was real.
In quick succession his friends left after entering the village. Lee had to prepare for his next mission, which he had later that same day, Tenten was going to stock up on weapons again and Neji was going to report to the Hokage in case Gai, in his enthusiasm, had forgotten. Sakura excused herself to go and change her outfit, because her current one was torn, dirtied and otherwise ruined because of her fight.
So, an hour after re-entering Konoha for the second time in a week, Naruto was strolling the streets on his own as he slowly made his way to Ichiraku Ramen. Trusting his memory and nose, he quickly found it and ordered his favorite Miso Ramen.
"Well, well, look who it is." The old man said as Naruto entered. "I heard you last week, what happened? Forgot where to find us?" the last question was more of a joke then an accusation, but Naruto still started to apologize.
"No, it's not like that, honest!" he quickly said, waving his hands in front of him as if he where batting away a physical attack. "I just got back last week and before I even got a chance to go to my place I was ordered on a mission to the Sand! I just got back a little while ago and I got here as fast as I could!"
"Haha, relax Naruto, I was kidding." Ichiraku said with a laugh. "So, you got send of to the Sand right away huh? What'd you have to do?"
"I can't say, its top secret!" Naruto claimed, knowing full well that it was not a secret.
"Oh really, a top secret?" Ayane asked from the back of the kitchen, happy and playful tones in her voice as always, "How about I give you this one ramen for free? How much could you tell me about it?"
"Well it was really awesome!" Naruto said as soon as she placed the extra-large bowl in front of him. "We had to go and rescue Gaara, he's the Kazekage now, and fight these really strong but weird guys!"
Within ten minutes, Naruto had already devoured the second helping of Miso Ramen and was eagerly telling a detailed description of his fights with the Akatsuki members to his favorite chefs.
XxX
Half an hour after she had gotten home, Sakura was done with her bath and ready to change into her new outfit. There was only one problem: Sasori had ruined her favorite outfit and she didn't have a spare set of it. And, since the outfit had actually been a gift from her parents for her birthday, she had no idea where she could buy another one.
'Well… this is as good a time as any to try out that outfit that Tsunade-shishou gave me…' she thought as she pulled it out of the closet.
Another ten minutes later Sakura looked at herself in the mirror and was shocked, but pleasantly surprised, by the change.
Her hair, now at shoulder-length, was kept mostly loose with the two bangs framing her face as always. But other then that, there was nothing of her outfit that was similar to her old one. Unlike before, when red or pink had always been the main theme of her clothes, this suit was mostly green, Tsunade's preferred color.
She wore the same high-heeled shoes that the Slug Sannin used, with a few straps around her shins to make sure they wouldn't get stuck somewhere. Instead of the hot pants she wore before, there was now only a fish-net stocking that reached halfway to her thighs that covered her legs, complete with a green short skirt to protect her modesty, all finished up nicely with a belt to keep the skirt in place from a rogue gust of wind while also providing a place for the kunoichi to hold her kunai, shuriken and medicine.
Her abdomen was left naked, also a first for her, with a green sleeveless zipper jacket protecting her chest. Right over her heart, the symbol of Slug Sannin was engraved, leaving no doubt about whom her teacher was. She considered leaving the zipper half-open, like Tsunade had told her, but quickly closed it up: she didn't have the… figure for that just yet. Keeping her neck and shoulders warm was a piece of black cloth that had the marking of the Land of Fire on the shoulders. It extended a little bit to wrap her upper left arm into the trademark bandages of a shinobi, where she actually had a couple of special medical scalpels hidden in case of emergency. The only real piece of defensive equipment was a bracer she wore on her right arm, which she could use to safely deflect most blades and punches. Rounding the outfit off was her forehead protector, which as always, was tied around her hair like a ribbon.
The outfit looked more then a little scandalous, but that had been the point. Sakura, who was quite modest when it came to dressing herself, needed to look as sexy as possible to distract her enemies, as Anko had taught almost all the kunoichi.
'Well… it'll be a change, but it's no worse then the outfits that Anko-sensei or Kurenai-sensei wear… I'll get used to it… I hope'
XxX
As Naruto was now bragging, over his seventh bowl of free ramen, about his training trip with Jiraiya, a shadow appeared before the Ichiraku shop. In a sudden, totally silent move, one of the three figures that created the shadow dashed forward, attempting to storm the small restaurant. But before he could even make three steps towards the building, a chopstick flew out directly towards his face. The young man could barely evade the stick in time by slipping his head to the left. In one fluent movement, he quickly continued in a dodging roll and then jumped up, preparing to attack from above.
But again his plan was diverted before he was even halfway there. In a blur, an orange shadow shot past the attacker and pushed him in the back, sending him flying into the ground headfirst. Naruto landed right next to his assailant, a grin on his features.
"That should teach you to try and attack your leader, Konohamaru!"
Konohamaru, who was still lying on the ground, quickly got up and retorted. Naruto noticed that he had changed his outfit quite a bit. He no longer whore the goggles or helmet, but now he had a forehead protector just like the blond. Neither did he wear his two long shawls and a light-green jacket had replaced his old shirt with the Konoha-symbol on its back. Beneath that, he wore dark-green pants and the same black sandals that almost every Konoha Shinobi wore. Tied to his back was a staff that was almost as long as the young genin was tall, with both ends being significantly thicker then the rest of the weapon.
"I didn't expect any less of you, our Leader and the only man we look up to! Now, we'll show you just what I've learned in the three years you where gone! Behold the power of the next Hokage!"
As he jumped up, Konohamaru quickly grabbed his staff and launched another attack on Naruto. Naruto did not return the offensive, instead being content with simply dodging all of the young Sarutobi's attacks with ease: compared to some of the other weapon-fighters he had encountered during his trips, Konohamaru's movements where slow, predictable and full of openings.
"Since when do you use a staff?" Naruto enquired as he ducked under a full-length swing. "And who taught you how to use it?"
"I've been using it for almost two years now!" the genin exclaimed as he stepped back to regain his breath a bit. "And uncle Asuma trained me on how to use it. Impressed?"
"Very." Naruto said, lying a little to sooth Konohamaru's ego. "But you still have yet to hit me."
"That's change now!" as he boasted, Konohamaru charged forward, aiming to attack Naruto's head. As he charged, one of the weighted tips suddenly began to glow in an aura of chakra, surprising Naruto. He raised his left hand, intend on parrying the staff before counter-attacking Konohamaru, but was surprised when his hand didn't hit its mark: the tip of the staff was removed from the weapon!
Instantly, Naruto spotted a small line of chakra that was emitted from the tip of the staff and, following it, saw it was attached to the weighted end that was now swinging towards him. Without time to completely evade it, Naruto did the next best thing: he swung his head back just enough for the weight to touch his forehead protector instead of his unprotected head, and as soon as it bounced off the metal plate grabbed Konohamaru's staff with his right hand. From there, he pulled the genin off-balance and punched him in the gut with his left hand.
Konohamaru fell down to the ground with a groan of pain.
"You should know better then to attack a superior shinobi in brought daylight without back-up." Naruto lectured the young Sarutobi as he laid the staff back on the ground. "Your next opponent might not be as kind as I am."
"I told him not to attack the Leader, but Konohamaru-chan just doesn't listen to advice." A girl's voice suddenly sounded from behind the two. Moegi and Udon stood some distance away from the fight, content with simply watching instead of helping. Not that they could have helped if they wanted to: Udon's right arm was heavily bandaged and hang in a sling around his shoulder, while Moegi was using two crutches to stand. Her left foot was also packed in heavy bandages that ran all the way up to her knee.
"What happened to you guys?" Naruto asked in surprise as he saw them.
"On our last mission, we encountered a team of enemy ninja." Udon explained. "We tried to fight them, but they outclassed us severely. Konohamaru-kun managed to hold his assailant off without getting any serious injuries, but Moegi-san and I weren't so fortunate. Before Ebisu-sensei could defeat them, they broke my arm in three places as well as dislocate my shoulder. Moegi-san had her ankle broken as well as her shin; all of our injuries should take around a month more to fully heal."
Without anything better to say, Naruto told them he was sorry for what they had to go through, before attempting to invite them to join him at Ichiraku. Before he could fully make his request, however, Neji walked up to him.
"I thought I'd be able to find you here." the Hyuuga Jounin said. "I've finished reporting to the Hokage and Hiashi-sama has requested that you meet him at the Hyuuga estate. If you want I can show you the way, I don't think you've ever been there before."
"Thanks Neji, I'll come and see him soon. Right now I want to talk to these three some more first if you don't mind." Naruto suggested. This, in turn, caused Moegi and Udon to protest and say that Naruto should go with the black-haired man right away: it was not everyday someone received a summon from the head of the Hyuuga Clan.
With the insistence of the trio that he should go, Naruto ended up following Neji to the mansion after all.
XxX
"Hey Shino…" Kiba suddenly said as he sniffed something in the air. "Can you smell that?"
"Kiba." The bug-user started his tone as monotonous as always. "You know that neither my bugs nor I have your sense of smell. We cannot notice scents like you do."
"Yeah, yeah I know, I know." the Inuzuka said with annoyance. "It's a habit to say it's a smell, but I think you should be able to feel this particular presence. This stench is without a doubt-"
"Naruto." Shino interrupted as he finally located the person that Kiba was revering too.
"Yeah and it looks like he's heading to the Hyuuga's place." Kiba added. "Wanna go and meet up with him or shall we wait a bit and catch him later?"
"Let's wait for now." the Aburame suggested. "Right now he is going to the Hyuuga mansion, so Hinata will see him again for the first time in a long while. We should let her meet with him in some manner of piece, without us interrupting their time."
"Yeah, maybe we should." Kiba agreed with his best human friend. "Hey, Shino." He suddenly added after a second. "How long do you think Hinata will last before she faints? My money is on twenty seconds!"
The Aburama looked at his friend over his sunglasses for a second before speaking up.
"Kiba, you of all people should know that Hinata is stronger then that." he scolded the dog-user. "She'll be able to last for at least a minute in front of him before fainting now."
At that, Kiba let out a loud barking laugh.
XxX
As Naruto followed Neji through the gates of the Hyuuga mansion, he mentally prepared himself for his meeting with Hiashi.
'Come on, this shouldn't be so difficult.' He assured himself. 'I've been in the face of royalty, nobles, fallen nobles and criminal lords before, just act like Ero-Sennin taught you: play it cool and be polite.'
While Naruto was busy re-assuring himself, Neji was met by another member of the Branch family who quickly informed him of something. Naruto could have sworn he saw the shadow of a smirk appear around the Hyuuga genius' mouth.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but it seems Hiashi-sama is still occupied with his work right now; I'm afraid I found you quicker then he had expected. Would you care for a small tour of the mansion while we wait?"
"Yeah, sure." Naruto replied, folding his hands behind his head.
"Then, follow me." The white-robed jounin stated.
Neji walked the familiar path to the gardens behind the mansion, which where filled with flowers, trees, bushes, vines and many other sorts of plant-life of all colors. Combined with the rocks, small pools and waterfalls that filled the area, it looked nothing short of stunning.
"Waauw…" Naruto uttered in amazement as he viewed the place.
"This is the Garden of White, one of the prides of the Hyuuga clan." Neji explained. "Most of the Hyuuga members spend their free time here, and those who do not become shinobi often busy themselves taking care of the Garden. Currently, Hinabi-sama, the wife of Hiashi-sama and mother of Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama, oversees the Garden, with much success. There is not a trace left of the damages that where done three years ago during the One-Day-War."
"It's really beautiful." The hyperactive blond replied, still at a loss for words.
"Yes, it is. The Hyuuga often come here when they wish to clear their minds or enjoy the tranquility of this place. It is also used as an area for meditation and a training ground for the young Hyuuga to learn how to use their Byakugan; it is a task for the younger ones to identify all the flower kinds at once, without turning around. Shall we proceed to the training area?"
"Yeah, sure."
XxX
As Tsunade was sitting in her office, finally finished with her paperwork for the day, she leaned back in her chair.
"How long do you intend to sit outside my window?" she suddenly asked.
"I was just about to come in, didn't want to interrupt you in your hard work of course." Jiraiya answered as he climbed through the window. As always, the Toad-Sannin sat himself down on the window rather then a chair. "So, how'd it end up?" he asked.
"Better then we feared, but worse then we had hoped." Tsunade replied. "Sakura and Chiyo managed to defeat Sasori of the Red Sand, a prominent member of Akatsuki, but were unable to learn anything about the other members before he died. Nothing at all. The only thing he was kind enough to share was that Orochimaru was his former partner, but aside from that he kept everything to himself."
"Well, at least there's one Akatsuki we don't have to worry about. That's already quite a feat. It's even more impressive that it where only two people who defeated him; among all of Akatsuki, Sasori was probably the best when it comes to fighting multiple opponents. I've received some more information about the Akatsuki while they where busy too."
"Oh? Do tell." Tsunade said, interested in learning more about her enemies.
"It looks like Akatsuki has prepared itself to move out of the shadow now: they've already gathered no less then five of the Tailed Demons, including the One-tail. But aside from that, I think they've also managed to acquire a few other demons that I'm not so familiar with. They're about ready to declare open war; otherwise they would have never chanced attacking the Hidden Sand. But more importantly, in the time I was gone one of my agents discovered the identity of most other Akatsuki members, although he wasn't too sure of their abilities yet. One of them goes by the name of Kakuzu and is one of Akatsuki's oldest and most powerful members. The other is his partner, someone by the name of Hidan. This Hidan guy only just joined Akatsuki after Kakazu's formed partner was killed. Other then that, he couldn't get any more information without risking himself. Besides that, I'm now completely sure of another member's identity and ability. Kouba Zetsu is a member of Akatsuki that acts on his own, and serves as their spy and scout."
"So what's his ability?" the Fifth Hokage enquired
"He's a master of Earth Elemental techniques, up to the point where he can travel several kilometers underground in a matter of seconds. Besides that he also appears to have an ability that allows him to bond himself to plant-life and use that to scout ahead or spy. I'm not so sure about his combat abilities, but it's best to assume that anywhere other then in the middle of the ocean is a dangerous place to fight him; he can control the earth and plants around him well enough to defend himself from the assault of a jounin." Jiraiya summed up, adding some of his speculations to his information.
"A true member of Akatsuki then." Tsunade said. "Abilities the likes of which are hard to imagine, even in the shinobi world. You still don't have anything on the last two members?"
"No, the leader of Akatsuki and his or her partner are quite adapt at keeping themselves hidden."
Before Jiraiya could talk any further, there was a nock on the door and Shizune entered. At a nod of the two Sannin, she spoke up.
"Tsunade-sama, it is almost time to leave for the meeting. Do you wish for Jiraiya-sama to take my place and accompany you?" there was a tone of nervousness and hope that Jiraiya did not miss.
"No, taking another Kage-level shinobi with me would only appear uncertain and threatening to them. You'll go with me, just as we had planned." Tsunade replied, much to the disappointment of her assistant.
"Who're you meeting?" Jiraiya finally asked; his curiosity spiked. "And why is Shizune so nervous?"
"It's a secret meeting that's planned for midnight tonight." Tsunade answered, looking at her teammate directly. "It's a meeting between the Five Kage's about what we're going to do about Akatsuki."
XxX
"And here are the training grounds." Neji said as he showed Naruto to a large area behind the main building. Scattered around it where various pieces of training equipment, ranging from weights to rotating poles to enhance dodging. And, in the middle of the area, two people where sparring together.
They where standing in a small circle, probably to limit the area where they where allowed to move, and their hands where rapped in some sort of gloves that Naruto couldn't recognize.
"They're Chakra-absorption gloves." Neji answered as he saw Naruto's questioning look. "They're used by members of the Hyuuga when they spar and wish to use the true Jyuuken, instead of only going through the forms. They stop any and all chakra from flowing through them, allowing the user to fight with Jyuuken without injuring his or her training partner."
But Naruto had stopped listening to Neji half way through his explanation. From where he was standing he had a perfect view of the sparring and, with some effort, could see the combatants well enough. Both where female and there was a clear age difference between the two. Still they seemed to be evenly matched.
The elder female, an adult with long black hair, was currently on the defense, stepping back to evade a strike to the temple. But as she stepped back, the younger shinobi continued in the movement and performed a low spinning kick, sweeping the older fighter off her feet. As the teenager downed her opponent, Naruto had a clear view of her breasts, bouncing rather heavily. Like always did when shown a sight like that, Naruto's cheeks turned a bit red. Even after all of Jiraiya's attempts at seduction training and reading half of the Icha Icha series, he would always blush in the presence of an ample bosom.
While the elder Hyuuga recovered, Naruto had a clear shot at the teenage fighter as she turned around.
She had long dark-blue hair that fell down her back, not quite reaching her shapely behind but enough to draw his attention all the way down. She wore a fishnet-shirt, a piece of clothing that always provoked his worst thoughts, covered by a black top to hide her breasts and abdomen from sight. It still showed just a hint of cleavage, enough to distract any male's thoughts some more. Off course, the forehead protector that was sewed into the shirt, just over her chest, didn't help stop his thoughts any. Below that she wore the more standard blue shinobi pants, which Naruto thought looked great on her, and the always-worn blue sandals.
But before Naruto had any chance to ask a question or ogle the girl more, the other Hyuuga had recovered and went on the assault. A straight palm strike, aimed at the teenager's chin, was dodged by bending over backwards. That move, especially the 'jiggling' that it caused went straight to Naruto's pants.
'Not good!' the blond realized, stuffing his hands in his pocket to hide his dilemma. It wouldn't do to be caught with a near hard-on simply from watching a girl spar; Ero-Sennin would never let him hear the end of it!
'Orochimaru naked on a cold day! Orochimaru naked on a cold day! Orochimaru naked on a cold day!' He chanted in his head desperately. As soon as he had formed half a mental image he had to resist the need to puke, which would also be considered quite an insult, but it had severed his purpose: there was no sign of his previous dilemma left.
Only problem was now, he had the image of a naked Orochimaru in his head.
Just when he considered it safe to look up again, he could see the female teenager evading a blow intended to her head once again and countering by striking her opponent in the abdomen. However, the means by which she evaded once again caused Naruto a lot of uneasiness: she had performed a perfect split, widening her legs so far that she was hovering only a few centimeters above the ground, with her legs still fully extended. Again the pose sent his mind into overdrive.
'OLD MAN SARUTOBI NAKED IN A POND ON A COLD DAY! OLD MAN SARUTOBI NAKED IN A POND ON A COLD DAY! OLD MAN SARUTOBI NAKED IN A POND ON A COLD DAY!'
XxX
Hyuuga Hiashi was standing some distance away from the sparring grounds, checking up on the status of the mock duel between his oldest daughter and his cousin, knowing his presence would distract them. His mere presence, even without making himself known, always made any other member of the Hyuuga family very formal, stopping them from performing as they normally would. But seeing their actual performance, without additional pressure, was not all that difficult with the Byakugan; he could simply stand some distance away and look at them through the walls of his estate.
As it was he could clearly see Hinata defeat Hisana. It was no surprise: Hinata had been trained as a scout, which meant her movement and combat skills where of crucial importance to her survival. On the other hand, Hisana was a specialized Genjutsu-mistress who had never really mastered the use of Taijutsu in her fighting. It was one of the reasons that the Branch-family member, despite almost twenty years of service as a shinobi, had never progressed past Chuunin rank. And more then that, Hisana relied on her Byakugan to aid her in Genjutsu. Hinata had learned to survive without her bloodline limit because it could be detected or could give away an identity. Using a Transformation Technique did not stop the trademark blood vessels from appearing. And now, the two woman where sparring without using their Byakugan so as to improve their fighting skill in situations where they could not use their advantage, or when they would be too low on chakra to rely on it.
As it was, Hiashi was more then a little pleased: both kunoichi where obviously trying their bests and the match was quite good, although Hinata was dominating the fight quite a bit. He was pleased to see that his daughter had finally managed to incorporate the seductive movements of a kunoichi into her fighting, even if she was fighting another woman. It had been the suggestion of her teacher, Kurenai, that she always uses those techniques when fighting. They would not hinder her movements, nor would they drain any chakra that she could otherwise use to her advantages; they would only serve to distract the enemy, even if they were a woman. Women, as Kurenai had said, could become jealous of other women very quickly.
And Hiashi thought that Hinata, like her mother, was growing into a young woman that would be very envied by other woman.
It was in the middle of their spar that Neji walked in with Hiashi's expected guest: Uzumaki Naruto. It was the first time that Hiashi had seen the boy since he left nearly three years ago, and his presence blinded the Hyuuga Clan Leader temporarily. The boy was giving off as much chakra as ever, which was already an annoyance to a Byakugan-user, but his right arm was so filled with chakra it nearly blinded Hiashi.
But, after a second, Hiashi had no trouble to watch the spar anymore. As a master of the Byakugan, he could simply reduce the amount of visual input he received from Naruto. a few seconds later, while Hinata and Hisana had still not noticed the new arrivals, Hiashi noticed that he was not the only one pleased with Hinata's progress…
While he did an admirable job of covering it up, Uzumaki Naruto's body left no doubt that the boy was pleased with how Hinata fought.
Realizing the time, Hiashi turned around and moved to the dining room: it was nearly lunchtime and he still had to check up on the gift he had prepared. As he turned, he saw Naruto's body once again react to Hinata's movements. He did not even try to hide the smile that graced his lips.
Hinata has always wished for his attention, although Hiashi was not sure whether to call it 'love,' a 'crush' or simply 'adoration' but he knew she had worked hard for the blond to recognize her. And now, it seems, he was taking notice of her, although maybe not in the way she had wished for.
Oh well, Hiashi wouldn't mind it in the slightest. The mere thought of Naruto had allowed his daughters to advance quite a bit in three years. If he where actually present, they could perhaps improve even further. And, should he truly come to love Hinata and marry her, then it would improve the Hyuuga clan as well. During his absence, Naruto's existence had been raised to a nearly legendary level and having him as a relative to the clan or, even better, a member of it would certainly strengthen the Hyuuga.
Yes, Hiashi would give his blessings to Naruto should he choose to pursuit his daughter. He knew Naruto to be a good, trustworthy man, even if he was still a teenager, and a capable shinobi. As both a father and clan leader, Hiashi would welcome Naruto with open arms.
It was another thing that the lunch with the blond would be good for: he would give him the gift he had prepared, formally inform him that he would be welcome at the Hyuuga should he ever need anything, learn more of his abilities and bring him closer to Hinata.
No matter how much she had grown, Hiashi did not give Hanabi much chance in winning Naruto's heart when her opponent was her very own sister.
XXXX
Half an hour later Naruto was sitting at the table with Hiashi and his family, feeling extremely nervous. Hiashi and his wife where sitting on the opposite end of the table, while Hinata and her sister where each sitting at a side.
Neji had told Naruto that the teenage babe he watch fighting was, in fact, no one other then Hinata herself. Needless to say, it didn't help Naruto feeling as nervous as was possible. Still, it hadn't been that bad so far.
Upon entering the room Neji had quickly excused himself, leaving Naruto alone with the Clan Leader and his family, and Naruto had quickly excused himself for appearing in his worn, torn and dirty cloths, and thanked Hiashi for the invitation. Hiashi had replied that he was invited as a guest of the Hyuuga clan and not a political ally, so he wouldn't have to act any different then normal. At least that was one thing Naruto was glad for: acting formal was a lot more difficult without Ero-Sennin around.
But ever since sitting down at the table, Naruto had forced himself to lock his eyes on the table. With Hinata sitting next to him in her shinobi outfit he had little doubt where his eyes would wander. He could feel the strange looks that Hinata was giving him, which didn't help his worries any.
'Oh great, now she's going to think I'm some kind of pervert. My teachers don't exactly help with my reputation…' he desperately thought. However, unknown to Naruto, Hinata and Hanabi where just as nervous as the hyper blond, if not more so.
'Wow, Naruto-san looks really cool like that!' Hanabi thought as she peaked another look at him. She had to stop herself from starring at him, but she couldn't really help it. He just looked so awesome, so cool, so powerful and so… so manly! When she closed her eyes, she thought she could smell him too and he smelled exactly like she had though he would: a small hint of sweat from all his hard work, but for the most part his scent was dominated by the smell of a forest in the early morning, or the Gardens of White in the beginning of spring.
All in all, she couldn't stop herself from inching closer to him every chance she got, while appearing as inconspicuous as possible. Before long she was able to touch him if she would only extend her arm just a little, so she could 'casually' touch his hand when reaching for some of the food on the table. Already her feet where shifting nervously under the table, unsure of where to go, until she bumped into something- or rather, someone. Realizing that her feet had just brushed with Naruto's, Hanabi instantly turned a shade of red that even her sister had rarely managed before quickly pulling her feet back.
'I touched him! I can't believe I touched Naruto-san!' she all but screamed in her head.
On the other end of the table, Hinata wasn't sure what to do. She had met with Naruto-kun again for the first time in years and she had so say he looked better then ever: his hair was a little spikier, he was taller then before and his shoulders and chest where broader then she had imagined. It looked like she could perfectly fit into his arms, being hugged tightly to his chest.
The thought colored Hinata's cheeks a bit red, already quite an advance since three years ago. Back then; she would have resembled a tomato as much as Hanabi was doing now. Hinata was well aware of the crush that Hanabi had on Naruto-kun, but she wasn't sure what to do now: should she try to use Anko-sensei's lessons to make Naruto-kun notice her, or should she let things run their natural course and hope for the best? If she followed Anko-sensei's lessons, she was sure to get Naruto-kun's attention, but he might think about her in the wrong way, that would do more harm then good! But if she let things run their natural course, there could be a repeat of all those years ago when he barely noticed her.
Although she thought that maybe, just maybe, Naruto-kun had noticed her. She had never forgotten that he had saved her life no less then two times in one fight, against Shundei Ikorosu. He had appeared as their – her - savior in their greatest hour of need and had never looked more impressive as he had back then. Hinata could well remember how he was brimming with confidence, how his blue eyes where even brighter then ever before. And how she had been impressed when she saw Naruto-kun fight! No one who had seen it could stop talking about it for half a year, some even more. His incredible actions had earned him a lot of respect, and more then a few of the young girls he had saved had taken a liking to him. And more then that, all the boys had started to look up to him as their newest hero, along with Gaara-san. Hanabi was but one of very, very many young girls that had developed a crush on Naruto and his legend while he was gone.
But, back to the matter at hand, how was she going to win Naruto-kun's heart, without breaking her sister's in the process? Just then, she was hit by a wave of inspiration; Anko-sensei's lessons where a bit much, but one thing she had been sure to teach all her students was not to lay it on too thick, since that would be suspicious. So, she would take her teacher's words to heart and only use the practical application in moderation.
'Come on, Hinata… this is why you took all those extra lessons with Anko-sensei! You can do this; you can do this! Just ask the question! DO IT!'
"Ehm, N-Naruto-kun," she stared, shocking Naruto and Hanabi, both of whom where looking at the table very determined, into looking up. She could have sworn that she saw Naruto's face change color a little bit, but she discarded it as a trick of the light and her imagination.
"W-would you like some tea?" she asked, raising the teakettle she was holding. It took Naruto a few seconds to respond, but finally he muttered a very quick "Y-y-yes please."
Steeling her confidence, gathering her courage and ranting inside her head 'don't stop now, you can do it! Go for it!' over and over again, Hinata slowly leaned forward at the hip to pour some tea for Naruto. While she was pouring the tea, she had to fight with all her will to keep her cheeks from reaching an all-time new record of red-ness; she was giving Naruto a clear peak at her cleavage, just as Anko-sensei had taught her to do, and she was overcome by a heat that had nothing to do with the steaming tea she was pouring. With the cup finally full, Hinata leaned back and placed the kettle back on its place.
'I can't believe I did that!' she mentally shouted, still trying to keep her face near her normal white color. 'I really, really did that! I can't believe it!' a quick peek from the corner of her eye showed her that Naruto was once again forcing his eyes back to the table, but she was sure his eyes shot up towards her once or twice.
Meanwhile, Hiashi and Hinabi where having one of the most amusing lunches they had ever had. Both where trying very hard not to burst out laughing at the antics of the three teenagers.
Naruto had obviously not yet recovered from his encounter with Hinata in the training grounds, and he was desperately trying not to let his eyes wonder. He was, after all, a fifteen year old boy who's hormones where raging inside his body.
Hanabi was apparently caught between being as straightforward as she normally was, and not appearing too pushy in Naruto's eyes. The ten year old girl was experiencing her first ever crush, one that she had carried for nearly three years now, and was desperately attempting to let the person of her affection notice her. But, in that regard, she had a very, very powerful rival in her sister.
As for Hinata, Hiashi was surprised to notice that his daughter used the lessons of Anko in such a way. Surprised, but pleased. Hanabi on the other hand was fuming with rage when her sister poured Naruto a cup of tea and Naruto's eyes where glued to something a little further away then the teakettle.
"Understandable," Hinabi whispered in her husband's ear, "Hinata is doing something that Hanabi can't do yet; she's using her body."
"Yes she is." Hiashi whispered back, "I think it's a good thing for Hinata that she has inherited your figure; that would certainly help her out with making this boy fall in love with her."
"Yes, that's for certain, but give Hanabi a few more years and I'm sure she'll also grow up into a fine young woman." The soft reply was. From there on, Hiashi and Hinabi where silent, simply content with watching the children in front of them act like, well, teenagers.
Finally, when everyone was done eating their lunch and it was all cleaned up by some of the aids from the Branch Family, Hiashi spoke up again.
"Uzumaki-san, I have invited you over for more then mere lunch." He started. Instantly all three teenagers looked at Hiashi, his own two children knowing what was going to happen.
"As I said on the day you left, the Hyuuga clan is in your debt and we have considered you a friend since then. As is our habit to a friend of the Hyuuga clan we would grant you a gift on your birthday as well, but due to your absence these last years, that has not been possible. For that purpose, we have arranged this gift to you: a birthday gift for the years we have missed."
With that, Hiashi quickly clapped his hands and Neji, along with two other Branch family members walked in, carrying something that Naruto would never have expected as a birthday gift.
XxX
Tsunade quietly say down, with Shizune sitting behind her. Sitting in the same room, forming a star-pattern between them, where the four other kage's. Gaara was sitting on her left, by far the youngest in this secret gathering. Behind him stood his brother Kankuro, now fully recovered from his fight with Sasori.
Finally it was the Raikage who spoke up.
"With this, we open for the Second Shadow Council since the foundation of the Five Great Ninja Nations!"
As always, much thanks to my beta Kushin eX (insert name).
The very first chapter post-timeskip. As you noticed I skipped the saving Gaara arc, because nothing noteworthy happened that's different from canon. And I swear, this is the absolute last thing I'll use from canon. You'll come to understand why I used it later. And i must say that now that i read over this chapter once again, it is HUGE. I'll try to keep this size constant, but i can't make any promises
Please leave me a review telling me what you think. If you're confused about the new outfits for Sakura and Hinata I found the pictures that inspired me on Deviantart (dot)com, so search on it and you'll find them.
