Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter 35: A Simple Misunderstanding

Thursday, September 04, 2003, Early Morning
Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni

Naruto slid out of bed with a loud yawn and noisily stretched as he stumbled towards his closet to grab a clean uniform to wear. He then blindly made his way to his private bathroom to take a shower. As he turned on the hot water faucet, Naruto silently thanked every deity he could think of for the existence of magic and fuuinjutsu as a burst of steam immediately warmed up the shower stall. During the renovation of his old apartment complex, Takeshi had spent hours carving all kinds of runes and seals over everything to protect their new home and provide certain amenities.

Such as hot water from the tap the moment the tap was turned on (no more waiting for a faulty water heater to heat the water), lightly warmed floors (no more freezing your feet when you get out of bed), and an assortment of special runes that allowed him to keep his window open all year round without having to worry about pests, the weather, or intruders.

That was on top of the fact that the living quarters had been designed in such a way that each one of them had a private suite of rooms that included a roomy bedroom, walk in closet, small study, balcony, and private bathroom. Even the guest suites had been set up with the same floor plan; some of them with a second bedroom attached for those guests with children. Takeshi's room was the only exception and that was only because he had a large office on the main floor of the living quarters and therefore hadn't needed or wanted a private study attached to his room.

As Naruto stepped beneath the shower head, his thoughts turned from the awesomeness of their home to the short C Ranked mission that Kakashi-sensei had picked up for their team the previous evening. The mission was to deliver a bunch of legal documents to a Konoha research facility outside of the village. Kakashi-sensei had estimated that it would take them around a day and a half to reach the facility, an hour to hand over the document (and exchange gossip), and another day and a half to get back to Konoha. So, an estimated three day trip.

All three Genin were really looking forward to getting out of the village again. Naruto because he had grown to love traveling during the time he'd spent in the Outer Countries and Housei and Midori because they had never spent any time outside of the village until after they'd been assigned to Team Kakashi. Taking another C Ranked mission also meant they'd have at least another three days guaranteed free of those annoying and thankless chores disguised as D Ranked missions.

Excitement flooded Naruto as he hurriedly rinsed himself off, shut off the shower, dried himself off, and hurriedly dressed in his uniform. He then hurried out of the bathroom, grabbed his utility pouch and pack, and made his way to Housei's room in order to wake the older boy up. Once his teammate was moving, he headed to the kitchen to grab breakfast where he would find Midori already seated at the table eating. He'd barely sat down at the table to join her when a muted wave of suppressed moodiness hit the blond.

The source of the muted negative emotions was quite obvious to Naruto due to how attuned he'd grown to his favorite cousin's moods. That and Takeshi had been in a rather grumpy mood for several days now; though the green eyed man took pains to hide it from the rest of the family. Takeshi could never hide his emotions from Naruto completely though; that was especially true when it came to his negative emotions.

Naruto had no idea who or what had put his cousin in such a foul mood though. All he knew was that Takeshi was angry, frustrated, depressed, regretful, and resigned; a mix of emotions that made absolutely no sense to Naruto. If Naruto knew who it was that had put the wizard in such a grumpy mood, he'd have pranked them until they begged for mercy.

Takeshi's emotions became muted a moment later when he stepped into the kitchen and absently greeted, "Ohayou."

"Ohayou, Keshi-nii!" all three Genin called in return and Naruto felt pleased when he sensed his cousin's emotions take a small upswing in response to their warm greeting as he shot the trio a fond smile.

"Are the three of you ready for your mission?" Takeshi inquired as he dug a couple of peaches out of the fruit basket and snagged a couple of bacon slices from the platter on the table.

"Yes!" all three Genin once again crowed out in unison.

"Good to hear, I prepared each of you a small storage scroll of meals that I left by the front door; make sure you don't forget them on your way out."

"Thanks, Keshi-nii; you're the best, dattebayo."

"You're welcome, squirt," Takeshi replied as he ruffled Naruto's hair on the way out of the kitchen. "Good luck on your mission and make sure the three of you watch each other's backs; I will see you when you get back."

"Bye niisan!" all three children called out as Takeshi left the kitchen.

Naruto cringed two seconds later when he felt Takeshi's negative emotions return the moment he was out of sight. He then scowled at his half eaten breakfast as he tried to figure out who it was that had upset his itoko. Whoever it was, they were going to pay and pay dearly for whatever it was they had done to put Takeshi in such a foul mood for so long. Naruto almost wished they weren't leaving the village on a mission that morning because it meant he wouldn't have any time to do any digging to find out why Takeshi was so grumpy lately.

"Oi, earth to Naruto; we've got a mission, you can space out and brood when we get back," Midori teased as she flicked him on the ear.

"What has you so down anyway?" Housei inquired before he shoved one last piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Takeshi-nii has been moody for days now and I haven't yet figured out who I need to prank for it," Naruto replied as he rolled some eggs and bacon into a pair of thin rice tortillas so he could finish his breakfast on the move.

"Didn't he have some big hush-hush meeting with the Hokage the other day?" Midori asked as she dumped her dirty dishes in the sink, stuffed a couple of apples into her utility pouch, and headed for the front door.

"Yeah, but he was grumpy before he even went to that meeting."

"He could have just been grumpy about going to the meeting. Maybe he was given some super hard task to do and he hasn't been able to get it done yet because it was harder than excepted or something like that," Housei suggested as he snagged something to snack on as well before he followed Midori to the front of the apartment.

"Maybe but he doesn't usually get grumpy over work. He only ever gets moody and grumpy when someone does something mean or stupid," Naruto countered as he trotted over the two teens. "It was probably that Mitarashi woman again; she's always making Takeshi grumpy."

"You're going to prank her again, aren't you?" Midori demanded as she slipped on her sandals and snagged the storage scrolls of food that Takeshi had prepared for them before she opened the door.

"Yep, I've got three days to come up with a proper new prank," Naruto agreed with a laugh as he finished putting on his shoes and slipped out the windows instead of using the door (a clear testament of the influence that Kakashi had had on his life and training).

"Well, at least you're not having us collect slugs from under rocks again this time," Housei quipped as he closed the door behind him. "Although, the look of horror on Mitarashi's face when she ate one of the slug-filled dango we had spiked her order with was pure gold."

"That was so gross," Midori countered with a grimace of disgust as her face turned a little green.

Naruto just snickered as the three of them took to the rooftops to save time. In his mind, Mitarashi Anko had earned and deserved each and every prank Naruto had played on her over the past two and a half years. His thoughts then turned to their upcoming mission once more as they approached the gate. There would be more than enough time to plan his next prank when they made camp later that night; for now, he had be alert and focused on the mission since they would need to keep an eye out for bandits or enemy shinobi the moment they stepped outside of the village.

Even though their mission was rather simple and relatively easy when compared to some of the lower ranked missions they'd been on, he'd been taught not to let his guard down no matter what because there was always a chance that something could go wrong.

Takeshi's recent mission to Nami no Kuni was proof enough of that.

So was that C Rank they'd taken to Kubisaki Castle.

Monday, September 08, 2003, Morning
Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni

Yuugao mentally heaved a sigh of relief as the walls of Konoha rose up out of the forest in front of her. She'd been gone for far too long as far as she was concerned. She was still rather irritated with her captain for the unexpected mission that had pulled her away from Takeshi's side just when she'd finally gotten confirmation that he was definitely interested in her. In fact, her captain had rudely waylaid her on her way to Training Ground Sixteen to meet up with Takeshi for the spar he'd all but promised her (and the perfect opportunity to talk about their mutual attraction) and then he hadn't even given her any time to tell Takeshi that she'd been called away on an urgent mission.

She only hoped Takeshi wasn't angry over her ditching him without any warning. Or worse, that it had driven him off for good because it didn't take a genius to see that the man was rather skittish when it came to the fairer sex. That was especially true when it came to any girl that showed even a modicum of interest in pursuing a relationship with the green eyed Chuunin. There were actually very few women that Takeshi was relaxed around; Eri, Tsunade, Shizune, and herself were the only ones that she could name off the top of her head if she didn't count the children.

Yuugao felt privileged to know that she was one of them and that she was (as far as she knew) the only kunoichi that Takeshi ever sparred against or trained alongside since he'd arrived in the village.

Pushing her questionable love life out of her mind, Yuugao focused on the here and now as her team passed through the gates and headed for the AnBu Facility hidden up behind the Hokage Monument overlooking the village. She would have plenty of time to deal with Takeshi and their mutual attraction after her team had given their report to Kasai. Or at least she would so long as Takeshi didn't avoid her like the plague thanks to her unavoidable and unplanned vanishing act.

An hour and a half plus a quick shower and a change of clothes later, found Yuugao hurrying towards the Namikaze Wheelhouse by way of rooftop. A warm curl of anticipation sprang to life in her belly at the thought of finally getting a chance to pick up where she'd left off with Takeshi. The memory of their first kiss was enough to make her feel uncomfortably warm as a wave of desire rushed through her. His response to her bold move had been encouraging and rather thrilling because of how unexpected it had been; she'd actually expected him to freeze up and pull away from her the moment she had pressed her lips to his.

She knew from talks with Eri, that Takeshi had had two girlfriends when he'd been younger and that he'd been on the verge of proposing to one of them; though she had no idea why either relationship had ended – Eri had told her that those were Takeshi's stories to tell. All she'd really learned from those talks was that Takeshi liked athletic girls, that he had some experience with kissing and possibly light petting, and that he had not dated since he'd broke things off with his almost fiancée. She also knew that he was a virgin.

Actually, she was pretty certain that the entire shinobi force knew that the green-eyed Chuunin was a virgin since he'd openly spoken about his refusal to bed any of the vapid fan-girls that had propositioned him on more than one occasion.

His virginity was something that actually made him rather appealing to a good number of unattached women and girls. A number of them saw his abstinence as rather romantic (choosing to believe that it meant that he was saving himself for a special someone) and the rest saw it as a challenge. Unfortunately, that also meant that there were a number of women trying to catch his attention; a good number of them just looking to bed the Head of the Namikaze Clan in order to claim his virginity and put another notch on their bedposts. Others were looking to marry the man in the hopes of acquiring a portion of the Namikaze wealth for themselves.

So far, Takeshi had ignored all attempts made by any woman to entice him into their bed and easily resisted the charms of those ladies hoping to marry into the prestigious clan.

Yuugao cleared her mind of what she considered useless clutter (her ruminations on the behavior of the other women that were vying for Takeshi's attention) as she finally reached her destination. She dropped down onto the stairs leading up to the Namikaze apartments above their restaurant a heartbeat later and took a moment to school her emotions (and confirm that she looked presentable) before she knocked on the door. There was a brief flurry of near running footsteps approaching from the other side of the door before the door was opened by a bewhiskered blond.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Naruto-kun."

"Ohayou, Yuugao-chan," Naruto greeted with a beaming smile. "Are you here to visit with Eri-neechan?"

"Actually, I'm looking for Takeshi; is he home?" Yuugao corrected as she returned the boisterous pre-teen's infectious smile.

"No, he left about two hours ago," Naruto replied with a brief head shake.

"Do you know where I can find him? Or when he'll be back?"

"He should be at the Ranch; he just started training the two year olds and some of the older yearlings. He usually comes back for lunch before he meets up with his team to train."

"Arigatou…"

"Naruto, who's at the door?" Eri's voice inquired as a second, softer set of footsteps approached the entrance.

"It's Yuugao-chan; she was looking for oniisan."

"Ah, why don't you go see if the boys are finished with their math assignments?" Eri suggested as she gave Naruto a gentle push down the hall as she took his place at the door. The normally friendly woman watched the blond disappear before she turned back to half frown and half scowl at Yuugao as she asked, "Why are you looking for Takeshi?"

"I need to talk to him…" Yuugao began, only for Eri to cut her off.

"Don't you think you should have done that over a week ago instead of avoiding him all of this time?"

"I haven't been avoiding Takeshi; I was called out of the village on an urgent mission and didn't even have time to say goodbye before I had to leave. Why would you think that I was avoiding him?"

Eri pursed her lips and eyed Yuugao for a moment before she slowly replied, "For the first four days after he returned from his last mission, he constantly asked me whether or not you had stopped by looking for him each time he walked in through the door. After the fourth day, he just stopped asking. He's been moody ever since and the one time I asked him if he'd seen you, he growled at me and stalked off without answering. What exactly happened between the two of you that he was so desperate to see you?"

"I kissed him after Satoshi-kun spilled the beans about his apparent crush on me the day he returned from Nami and I had been unable to meet up with him the next afternoon as agreed because my teichou pulled me away for our mission."

"And he would have automatically assumed that you regretted kissing him because you didn't show up and he couldn't find you. You're lucky that Naruto never realized you were in any way connected to Takeshi's moodiness or you'd have found yourself being pranked for who knew how long the moment you returned," Eri sighed as all traces of her anger disappeared. "Did you wish to come in and wait for Takeshi?"

"Iie, Naruto-kun told me that Takeshi has been spending his mornings at the Ranch; I'll try and catch him there."

"Don't let the inevitable cold shoulder that he will give you when he first sees you stop you from telling him why you didn't come to see him sooner. He will choose to be angry with you at first to hide the hurt he is feeling but he should give you a chance to explain so long as you don't let him push you away."

"Thank you for the advice, Eri," Yuugao murmured as she nodded to the shorter woman before she took to the rooftops once more to make her way to the Namikaze Ranch.

As she approached the sprawling ranch where Takeshi housed the majority of the Namikaze herd, Yuugao slowed down and dropped down to the ground to avoid activating the complex barriers she knew surrounded the place. She also began rehearsing what she was going to say in order to convince Takeshi that she had not been avoiding him and that she in no way regretted the kiss they had shared. There were more than a few curses interspersed with her mental rehearsal as she fully blamed her teichou for the current situation.

If the man had just given her two minutes to say goodbye, then Takeshi wouldn't have automatically assumed the worst when he couldn't find her. It was times like this that she wished that Inu or rather Hatake Kakashi was still her teichou; Kakashi would have been more than happy to give her time to say goodbye. Unfortunately, Kakashi had resigned from the AnBu Corps the moment he'd been notified that one Namikaze Naruto had earned his hitai-ate. Yuugao hadn't really been surprised when she'd heard the news; she knew Kakashi had been very close to Minato.

His replacement, Herajika-teichou, was a competent enough shinobi but his personality left much to be desired. He also tended to be rather short with her since she'd spurned his advances eighteen months ago. So, his reasons for not giving her time to say goodbye had probably stemmed from jealousy; the man had walked in on her when she had been talking to Hayate about her growing attraction to Takeshi. It would not surprise her if the man turned out to be that petty.

Yuugao made a mental note to have Naruto prank the snot out of her captain for her as she reached the large gate leading into the Namikaze Ranch. She slowed to a stop as Takeshi appeared in front of her in a swirl of leaves; he'd obviously sensed her passing through the barrier. It took all of Yuugao's self control not to flinch when Takeshi's eyes filled with a brief flash of pain before they turned cold the moment they landed on her; his face closing itself off as an emotionless mask slid into place. Seeing that look on his face and knowing it was directed at her hurt far more than she had expected it to.

"Was there something you needed, Uzuki-san?"

The cold tone combined with the use of her surname cut even deeper and if not for Eri's last minute advice, Yuugao probably would have just slunk away to nurse her wounds (metaphorically speaking). As it was, Yuugao straightened her shoulders and stubbornly lifted her chin as she coolly replied, "We need to talk."

"No, we needed to talk ten days ago but you made it perfectly clear that you wanted nothing further to do with me when you studiously avoided me over the past week and a half. I am sorry that you wasted your time coming all the way out here now because I no longer have anything to say to you."

"That's fine; you can listen while I talk and if you still have nothing to say once I am finished, then I will leave," Yuugao declared firmly as she held Takeshi's gaze. "The first thing you need to know is that I have not been avoiding you; I was sent on a high priority mission on the afternoon we were supposed to meet and did not have time to say goodbye before I had to leave. I've barely been back in the village for two hours now and the only reason I did not track you down sooner was because our team had to hand in our mission report."

Takeshi's stony mask slipped a bit as he searched her eyes intently for several minutes in complete silence; a small frown pulling the corners of his mouth down. Yuugao resolutely held his gaze in order to convey the truth of her words and for a moment it felt like his gaze could sees straight into her soul. She knew the moment he'd accepted her explanation as truth; the tension bleeding from his frame even as his eyes thawed completely.

"Sumimasen, Uzuki-san; I should not have assumed the worst of you just because I could not find you in any of your usual haunts."

"No apology is necessary, Takeshi," Yuugao countered as she relaxed her stance in turn. "I can't fault you for jumping to the same conclusions that I probably would have jumped to had our positions been reversed. And you don't have to address me so formally… we are still friends, after all; at least I hope we are. Of course, I also wouldn't be opposed to being more than friends."

Yuugao was filled with a combination of amusement and trepidation when Takeshi tensed up and began frowning once more. She was just starting to worry that she might have been too bold in declaring her interest in being more than just a friend to the green eyed Chuunin when he finally broke the silence.

"Nande…?"

"You have to be a little more specific than that, Takeshi," Yuugao pointed out as she settled on being amused.

"Why would you want to be more than friends? What could you possibly want with me when you're so… so you and could have any guy you wanted. I'm not blind; I've seen the way a good number of the shinobi behave around you. For that matter, why did you kiss me?"

"Do you really think so little of yourself that you find it so hard to believe that a woman could be interested in you?"

"No, I'm just fully aware of the reasons why ninety percent of the women interested in me are actually interested in me and I have no intention of being another fan-girl's conquest. You, on the other hand, are different. And I can't for the life of me see what an intelligent, beautiful, and highly skilled kunoichi could want with me."

"If you were any other man I would swear you were just fishing for compliments to feed your ego," Yuugao replied with a soft snort of amusement. "I know you better than that though. To answer your question, there are many things about you that would draw any women, and not just the little fan-girls, to you. For starters, you are a rather handsome and physically fit man with striking features; the unique color and intensity of your eyes are breathtaking. On top of being attractive, there is a presence about you that draws the eye. You carry yourself with confidence but without arrogance and it makes people sit up and take notice of you."

"Then there is the fact that you treat everyone with respect until they do something stupid to earn your disdain. You also don't treat or see women as inferior or weak. You are good with children and it is obvious that your little cousin and son think you hung the moon and stars. Your parenting skills are phenomenal; even if they are a bit unorthodox. Naruto and Satoshi are both well behaved though, even if they do tend to frequently prank people. And that's not even covering your obvious intelligence, your strong morals, your family values, your twisted sense of humor, and your skills. So, tell me; why wouldn't I be interested in dating you?"

"I'm moody. I have a nasty temper. I tend to jump to conclusions. I am disrespectful to people who annoy me. I have a hard time trusting others so it is not easy for me to make friends or open up to the friends that I have made. I am reckless and tend to rush into things before I think. I am very stubborn. I tend to hold grudges against those that slight my family. I attract trouble just by existing. And I have a horrible track record with relationships."

"So you have a few quirks and flaws; how does any of that make you different from any other person?" Yuugao inquired as a small smile played about her lips.

Takeshi opened his mouth to retort before he closed it again as a brief look of confused amusement crossed his face. He then let out a quiet snort and dipped his head in acknowledgement as he quietly stated, "I suppose I can't argue with you on that point."

"Good. Does that mean that we can go someplace to talk about the kiss we shared?"

"I suppose I could say no but that would just make me look like an ass of epic proportions," Takeshi quipped as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Was there some place in particular you had in mind for our discussion?"

"No, not really but it would be nice to have this conversation in a place where we will be both comfortable and have a little privacy."

"Privacy…? Should I fear for my virtue, Uzuki-san?"

Yuugao felt a shiver race down her spine over the way Takeshi's voice caressed her last name as he spoke it even as a satisfied grin pulled the corners of her mouth up over the fact that he felt secure enough to flirt with her so soon after the small misunderstanding her leaving had caused. She then licked her lips in anticipation as she let her eyes slide down the length of his lean frame and recalled how wonderful it had felt to press herself up against his body. Her grin only grew wider when she glanced back up and caught sight of the flush coloring the Chuunin's cheeks and neck.

"No, there is no reason for you to fear for your virtue; I will take very good care of it."

Takeshi's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before the flush on his face darkened even further as soon as the meaning behind her words registered. Yuugao gave a throaty laugh in response to his reaction to her blatant insinuation before she moved to separate the distance between them. As she reached his side, Takeshi gulped nervously; though she was pleased to note that he was stubbornly held his ground.

"So, would you feel more comfortable if we went back to your place for our talk or should we head over to my apartment instead?" Yuugao inquired mischievously.

"We'd have absolutely no privacy at my place because of all the kids that would be underfoot there," Takeshi pointed out in a slightly strained voice.

"I guess that means we'll be going to my place then, ne?"

"I'm not sure that is a good idea either…" Takeshi replied as he shook his head before he muttered, "Too many damned perverts with loose tongues running free through the village."

"Where would you suggest we go then?" Yuugao asked with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

Takeshi pursed his lips in thought as he pulled his eyes from her and stared at the ground for a moment. He then bit his lip in uncertainty as he glanced back up at her and Yuugao was unexpectedly struck by the vulnerability she could see in his eyes. Seeing him so insecure, made her wonder who had cut him so deeply that the mere idea of dating again could inspire such fear in a man who had not hesitated to take the Hokage to task over his cousin's former mistreatment at the hands of the villagers. The brief glimpse into Takeshi's soul vanished a heartbeat later and Yuugao felt an urge to maim the person responsible for hurting the man she'd fallen in love with.

"I could open up the family retreat," Takeshi hesitantly offered at that point. "It's bound to be a bit dusty because we rarely ever use it with how busy we always are but it's close by and you'd be hard pressed to find a more secure place for a private conversation. It's also rather isolated…"

"Sounds perfect," Yuugao agreed when Takeshi trailed off a bit uncomfortably.

"Okay," Takeshi replied with a tentative nod before he gestured towards the road that wrapped around the Namikaze Ranch and added, "it's this way."

Translations: Japanese to English

Demo – but
Hai – yes
Herajika – moose
Iie – no
Nande – why
Obasan – aunt
Ojisan/jisan – uncle
Otousan/tousan – father
Sumimasen – I'm sorry (formal)

AN: I had hoped to have this up sooner but kicking my cold/flu thing to the curb took most of the week and then I really didn't feel like working on anything. That's also why you didn't get to read about Ibiki's meeting w/ Harry, Kushina, & Mito regarding the Kyuubi. I ended up cutting that chapter out because I was so unhappy with it and my muses just weren't cooperating - I think they were still doped up on NyQuil.

Anyway, never fear, the extracted bits will make a reappearance after the epilogue as an omake. In the mean time, there's only one or two more chapters in this arc before the Chuunin Exam Arc and most it will be moving Harry's relationship w/ Yuugao forward. There'll be a bit of other drama in there as well.

Anywho, I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow. For those of you who sent me PMs over the past seven days, I'll be answering those tomorrow as well since I was not up to even reading them while I was sick. And for now, I'm going to go snag me another bowl of nacho soup and curl up under an electric lab throw and kick my muses back into gear so I can get back to writing. Or at least doing something other than staring blankly at the monitor while my nose runs. ~ Jenn