The Hidden Leaf Village Part 2

The next morning…

Naruto woke up to the intense light that shone down on his face through the curtainless windows. Never before had he appreciated the importance of curtains in his life and the difference they could make. The light made it very difficult for him to go back to sleep. However, when he tried to flip his body around the other way to escape the said light, that task turned out to even tougher given Hinata's tight grasp. This was nothing new to him, not anymore at least. By the end of the night Hinata would always be using him as a body pillow, wrapping her hands and legs around him almost like an octopus. Escaping her hold was ill advised as any sign of struggling would only result in the grip intensifying, almost like one of those predator-prey situations often shown in documentaries. As such Naruto gave up trying a while back. However, as strong as Hinata's hold could be, her body was equally soft and blissful. Thus he did not mind the situation one bit as it was arguably one of the best ways to wake up in the morning.

Naruto opened his eyes only to find Hinata's face inches away from his. She seemed to be muttering something in her sleep, also nothing uncommon.

"Naruto-kun…not…there." She whispered almost inaudibly.

Naruto understood instantly that she was currently dreaming and he was involved in it somehow. But he wondered in what way. He was curious.

"Ahhh no…you can't touch me there." She moaned a little bit loader this time.

Naruto realised he had inadvertently placed his hand on her waist and he instantly yanked it back in response. His heart was beating strongly after seeing Hinata's facial expression change to an anxious one in her sleep.

"Y-You want me to...take that position?" She asked with an expression of disbelief on her face. "I c-can't. That's too embarrassing."

Naruto gulped incredibly hard wondering what kind of situation she was in with him in her dream.

She continued her whispering. "B-But, if t-that is what you w-want, then I'll do it…just for you Naruto-kun."

Before Naruto could fully understand what Hinata was saying or what was happening, she suddenly slid over him and sat up on top.

"I've done w-what you asked me to. I can't wait a-any longer. Can we please continue now?" She asked with a tone of desperation.

"Continue from where?" Naruto questioned back without even thinking, his heart almost about to burst out of his chest.

His question however broke Hinata out of her sleep and she found herself in a truly compromising situation, sitting right on top of Naruto. A few seconds passed as the two looked at each other and their faces got ever brighter, after which a loud "KYAAAAAAAAAA!" shriek followed as Hinata jumped ten feet away from Naruto.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I'M REALLY SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" She repeated multiple times out of embarrassment.

"I-It's okay Hinata, calm down." Naruto replied while trying to keep his cool. "It's just the two of us anyway. I thought we got over getting embarrassed over these small things."

"Small…I don't think it's small." Hinata replied while vividly imagining the dream she just bad. She quickly stopped before her head did a complete double take. "A-Anyway, I'll go get refreshed."

Thus she quickly rushed off to the restroom leaving Naruto on his own. It turned out to be quite an eventful start to the day so far. Once the commotion settled down a bit, he himself got up to get refreshed, finding that the door to the bathroom was still left open. Thus he walked in to find Hinata getting ready to brush her teeth.

"Can I join?" He requested ever so politely.

"Of course." She replied instantly, having calmed down a little from the previous exchange. "P-Please don't ask me about my dream."

"Why? Was it that bad?" He showed genuine concern.

"No, that's not it. If anything it was a good dream."

Naruto was quite surprised to hear that. "Is that so? Then you could just tell me what you wanted me to continue with in your dream and I could try to do so now."

"OH NO NO NO! That won't be necessary. M-Maybe someday though…soon." Hinata's voice petered out at the end.

"Is that so? If that is what you want then alright." Naruto couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at not finding out what she was dreaming of. "In any case there's quite a lot we need to buy for our new house. Maybe we should make a list before heading out."

"I think the better question would be what we don't need to buy. The house is practically empty. We need to get almost everything imaginable."

Naruto chuckled lightly at the comment. "I guess you're right. But it's kind of fun. We're starting our own little family here. It's quite the different feeling from living in a clan where everything just kind of happens since there are so many people that can be designated to a task."

"I couldn't agree more. I'm looking forward to this new life of ours." Hinata replied with a feeling of excitement. "Let's get refreshed and head out soon."

Naruto extended his toothbrush to Hinata and she squeezed out some paste on to it. As such the couple brushed their teeth in an odd yet amazing harmonious sync with one another. After some more preparation and getting changed, the couple set off to visit meet the Sarutobi for the first time after arriving at Konoha.

As the two walked through the winding road, they enjoyed the beautiful scenery while making small talk.

"So you mentioned you've been to Konoha before?" Hinata initiated with a question.

"Ah yes, I used to visit Konoha with my dad quite a bit as a kid. The Uzumaki clan has had a very good relation with this village and the Sarutobi clan for generations. As you know already my dad's pretty big on creating alliances, being the Kazekage and whatnot. So he visits Konoha quite frequently and used to bring me over with him on trips so that I could get to know this village and carry on our alliances in the future. To be honest I've been to other places in the Land of Fire for clan related purposes, but Konoha was somewhere I used to visit most often as a child."

"What made you stop coming over?" Hinata now asked curiously.

"It was the time when I got lost in the hidden leaf forest leading to the two of us meeting. Ever since then after dad found out what happened he stopped bringing me with him. I know it wasn't his fault for me getting into trouble, but he was genuinely worried back then. Plus I'm sure he didn't want mom to find out. In any case, that was the last time I came to this village."

"I didn't quite realise the aftermath of our unorthodox meeting. I'm sorry for causing such trouble."

Naruto shook his head in disapproval. "Come on now. You think I was troubled by our encounter back then. If we hadn't met that time we wouldn't be here together now would we? That would have been one of the greatest losses I could ever suffer. Saying that I'm glad about everything happening the way it did back then would be a big understatement."

Hinata nodded emphatically after hearing his reasoning. "I feel the same way too. I'm glad with the turn of events that occurred back then, not only because you saved me but also because I got to meet my future husband."

"Who would have known I would stumble across my future wife like that?" Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. "Perhaps we should try going out into the hidden leaf forest and finding that place once more where we first met. I think it'd be fun. Who knows, we might even get lost again?"

"That's a great idea! We should definitely go out there together at some point." Hinata was ecstatic at the idea. "But I highly doubt we'd get lost now though. Not with all the abilities we possess."

"Yeah I was just kidding. I mean we can both fly now for crying out loud. Plus you have that crazy Ascendant Byakugan that can see for miles and I have a pretty beefed up sage mode that I can use to sense things afar. The only way we're getting lost is if we get sucked into some inter-dimensional vortex, which funny enough did end up happening to us at one point. But I digress. It will definitely be fun if we could find the place we first met. Let's try that soon."

After coming to an agreement to eventually explore the hidden leaf forest together, the couple asked their way around Konoha to reach the Sarutobi's residence shortly. They were currently standing in front of the clan's complex. It wasn't anything as spectacular as either one of their previous residences, but it was certainly bigger than any other place in Konoha. One of the residents of the place escorted them directly to the dining area to be met by the leader of the clan himself – Hiruzen Sarutobi, a very old yet wise man who appeared to be in his 70s.

"Welcome, WELCOME! We've been anticipating you two!" Hiruzen greeted the two with a generous smile. "I hope your journey has been well. Please take your seats."

"Yeah everything has been great so far. Thanks for having us." Naruto replied as he and Hinata took the two seats next to one another.

"It is our pleasure." Hiruzen replied while glancing over to the two people sitting around him, then looking over to Hinata. "Just to get the introductions out of the way for the young lady who is visiting us for first time, I'm of course Hiruzen Sarutobi, the leader of the Sarutobi clan. I'm joined by my younger son Asuma and also my grandson from my elder child, Konohamaru."

Naruto looked at Konohamaru and had some vague memories float through his head. "WHOA! You're that little kid that followed me around when I came over to Konoha."

"I did?" Konohamaru was surprised to hear that. "I don't recall much since I was very young back then."

"I definitely remember you constantly pestering me to make you my subordinate or something. You were quite the persistent kid." Naruto recalled.

"I'm not the same kid anymore!" Konohamaru asserted in his defence. "Although I do vaguely remember admiring someone as my role model when I was a younger. It must have been you."

Hiruzen burst out laughing at the exchange. "Look what we have here. A reunion between master and student."

"I would hardly call us master and student." Naruto gave a deadpanned response.

"Yeah…no." Konohamaru agreed.

While the three exchanged some small talk, Asuma and Hinata waved at each other as greeting.

"How have you been Hinata?" Asuma asked the Hyuga's princess ever so politely.

"I've been well." She replied just as politely. "I hope you've been well too Asuma-sensei."

It was a simple exchange but the other rest were left wide eyed our of surprise

"YOU TWO KNOW EACH OTHER?!" All three of them yelled at the same time.

"I guess I didn't mention, but Asuma-sensei is married to my teacher, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata explained. "He visits us in Kirigakure often and I've known him ever since because of how close I am to my teacher."

"She is Kurenai's student?" Hiruzen was quite surprised by the information. "I didn't quite know this even though Kurenai stays with us so often."

"Yes the Hyuga's princess is indeed Kurenai's student. I guess it is quite a big piece of information I never mentioned." Asuma said while rubbing his head before turning to Hinata. "I hear the Mizukage has decided to place Kurenai in Konoha as part of her duty. Is she coming soon?"

"Indeed that's what father has decided upon, so the three of you can finally get together permanently. I'm happy for you all." Hinata replied with a smile.

Asuma didn't want to show it in front of everyone, but he was truly happy inside.

"Wait wait wait! Take a step back. How the heck are you, a Sarutobi married to Hinata's teacher?" Naruto asked Asuma in a very confused tone. "That's crazy."

"It's a long story but it's still not as crazy as the Uzumaki's heir marrying the Hyuga's princess. If that union can happen despite the age old hatred between the two clans, I think almost anything is possible." Asuma replied.

Naruto sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right about that."

"Well in any case we're glad to have two shinobi of such amazing status and calibre here in Konoha." Hiruzen said to the two. "I know this village is nothing in terms of its scope or power when compared to your home villages, but I hope we can work together to bring Konoha back to its former glory. I don't want to go into the technicalities yet as the two of you just arrived, so you should get settled in first. We can talk about that later. My grandson can help show you around the village and help in buying whatever you need."

"Thank you Konohamaru-kun." Hinata expressed her sincere gratitude. "We'll be counting on you."

"Leave it to me!" Konohamaru said with a grin.

"In any case, we've been talking for a while. Let's get on with our breakfast." Hiruzen suggested to which everyone nodded and dug into their food.

Once they finished their breakfast, as promised Konohamaru joined the couple in taking them around Konoha for whatever they may need. The three of them currently stood near the gates of the compound, about to set out.

"So, where do you guys want to go?" The young Sarutobi asked the two.

"Actually there's something I've been wondering if you could help us with." Naruto pulled out his phone and tapped the screen to show it to him. "We've been getting no reception ever since we got here. Any idea why?"

Konohamaru's eyes though were glimmering. "W-What's this?"

"What do you mean what's this? It's a mobile phone. You use it to communicate with others." Naruto explained nonchalantly, thinking the younger boy was joking.

"How is that even possible without connecting it to the phone line?" He asked back.

"Are you serious?" Naruto now had a bad feeling. "You don't need to connect a mobile phone to the land line. That's why it's called a "mobile" phone. Don't tell me you've never actually seen one of these."

Konohamaru shook his head.

At this point Naruto and Hinata looked at each other wide-eyed with looks of disbelief. However within just a few moments those looks turned into that of fear.

"If you don't have any mobile phones…then could it mean that you have…no internet?" Naruto asked in a shaking voice.

Their fears became reality when the boy gave them an alien look and asked, "What's an internet?"

The couple dropped down to their knees in utter despair, holding on to each other for dear life.

"Where have we come to? A place without internet? Is it even possible to live here?" Naruto asked some truly legitimate questions.

"My…my cat videos…" Hinata sobbed tears of sorrow of what was no longer.

Naruto held his head with both hands when he realised a loss of even great magnitude. "Without internet how am I meant to play online anymore? That game just came out – Duty Calls: Dark Operatives 3. All those newbs running around online. All the bodies waiting to be dropped. How am I supposed to do all of that anymore?"

Naruto's pain reminded Hinata of yet another calamity of the current situation. "OH NO! It's the season premiere of my most anticipated show this year! What's going to happen to Mikasa's love for Eren? Will he ever notice her?"

"I'm more worried they might get nommed on." Naruto expressed some deeper concerns. "That show is brutal."

"NOOOO, don't say that! They'll both live through the power of love and friendship."

"You mean plot armor…" Naruto corrected her.

"Whatever the case may be, we'll never find out." Hinata concluded and the two of them went back to being devastated.

"Well, at least we'll be able to play offline games." Naruto breathed a small sigh of relief.

However, Hinata quickly realised that they didn't have a TV yet and enquired Konohamaru about a bad hunch she had. "Wait, if you don't even have mobile phones, do you by any chance still use those big old CRT TVs? We won't be able to connect our consoles to those things."

Konohamaru was confused at what was happening thus far but at least he knew the answer to this question. "There are TVs other than that?"

"Alright that's enough. There's no way I'm going to able to live here like this. I need to contact dad to tell him to send my TV over along with some other essential stuff." At this point Naruto realised an even bigger issue. "Wait, if you guys only have phone lines inside of this village how do you contact others outside?"

"That's a silly question. We use pigeons of course. Tie the message to their legs and they carry it to the other villages. They are pretty well trained to travel very long distances" Konohamaru gave a simple reply.

But Naruto and Hinata just stared at each other with their mouths agape before looking back at Konohamaru.

"Are you kidding me? Sending messages with pigeons? What is this, the dark ages?" Naruto was now getting frustrated. "Messages should be transmitted through electromagnetic waves, not a bird that could get eaten!"

"Well in that case we do have hawks that can also do the trick." Konohamaru suggested an alternative.

"I give up." Naruto sighed in defeat. "Do you at least have a mailing service? Like one where I can send a letter?"

"Of course we have that. I still think the birds are pretty reliable though. But in any case I'll show you where the post office is. Are you ready to head out finally? We spent an awful lot of time standing here. I'm sure you have a lot of things to buy for your house."

"Yes, let's head out." Naruto agreed and with that the three set out to explore the village of Konoha.

Hope you liked the chapter. Mostly just some silly stuff this time around. But it was fun to write for that reason. Hinata's dream though...lol.

Since I haven't done them in a while, two references in this chapter. Let's see if anyone recognizes them.

I do have say I'm glad some of you picked up on Boruto and Himawari's origin. We'll delve into that a bit later on so I won't disclose too much. Well that's about it for now. Let me know your thoughts and I'll see you all next time.