22. The Start of Something Big
Time passes. Yesterday has gone forever but tomorrow never comes. Let's make the most of today. - Robert Ashby
Hello to all! I present to you chapter 22, and I apologize about getting this chapter out so late, but I had a serious case of writer's block and OCD with this one. And I know it's smaller than the previous chapter, but I wanted more normal sized chapters going forward. The last one took a lot out of me with how big it was, and it made it more difficult to write - considering how obsessive I am about things.
As always, I'd like to thank fellow author Titokhan for helping me out, as well as my anonymous beta for his continued efforts and support. I appreciate you both keeping me on the straight and narrow.
Also, a HUGE amount of appreciation to fellow author gigiree123 who I offered to beta read this chapter as a favor for allowing me to help with the latest chapter of A Reluctant Return. This was done while doing clinic work at an orphanage in Mexico. You are a shining example of what humanity should aspire to be - thank you so much!
Only a few shout-outs to give this chapter - guess my readers are running out of ideas to suggest! Seriously though - everyone should know that great ideas can come from anywhere, and if you have one don't be afraid to send me a private message. If I use it, you'll get full credit!
A BIG thank you to MattWilson83 for drawing Hinata (in two poses) in the lingerie from last chapter. He stepped up and did this because I didn't get anyone else from DeviantArt to bite on doing it for me. Head over to his Tumblr account to check it out - just google *mc-studiox tumblr* and you'll find it in the Matt Cave.
Also, MattWilson83 gets credit for the placement and general outline of where Freyja placed her hitai-ate and how she handles it. Wicked suggestion, Matt! Thank you!
Hektols: The part of the upcoming conversation with Freyja where she says she's a genin and the idea about getting promoted were his idea. Another stroke of genius! And if you haven't checked it out, his story New Chance is one of the more followed and reviewed stories on this site. Give it a read if you haven't done so already!
(Note: The above two paragraphs were changed from the original release of this chapter. I screwed up and got the credit for the ideas wrong for both Hektols and MattWilson83. They both pointed out my mistake - and rather nicely, I might add - so I went back in and fixed it. My apologies, gentlemen - and I'll be more careful in the future.)
There is also a small part in the section with Kakashi that was inspired by KingKakashi and his story Naruto vs. Sasuke The Aftermath. I've recommended it before, and it's one of my favorite stories on this site. If you haven't read it, you don't know what you're missing!
I would like to mention that I DO have other ideas from my readers in the vault, but I'll give thanks when I actually use them. No sense in tipping people off as to what's going to happen!
This chapter is dedicated to the following people:
Nube de Cristal for leaving me a review, and being so kind in letting me adopt this story and allowing me to be so creative with the plot and characters. I'm eternally grateful to you and your generosity!
Percy zoe and artemis fan who gave me the most reviews last chapter. Thank you!
Lu Lu-Chan25 and her story Change is Good Right?
And Chewie Cookies for all the great stories he writes.
I'm also dedicating this chapter to comedian John Pinette, who died a few weeks ago at the age of 50. I had tickets to go see him next month, which puts this little episode on my 'life sucks sometimes' list. I'm glad I got to see him on stage two years ago. I say nay nay!
So here's this chapter's disclaimer. You may not know the movie, and it might be a bit obscure but I think this is the funniest quote in the whole thing by far:
Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. And you said you wanted to show me your amplifiers, because there's something special about them?
Marty – Yes, I did. You see the knobs on these amps? They all go up to eleven.
Disclaimer – Oh, I see. And most amps only go up to ten?
Marty – Exactly.
Disclaimer – Does that mean the music is louder? Is it any louder?
Marty – Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. Most people will be playing at ten, but when we're playing and we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? We put it up to eleven.
Disclaimer – Why don't you just make ten louder, and then make ten the top number? Then ten will be the loudest setting.
Marty – [Pause]. That doesn't make any sense. These amps go to eleven. (+1 if you get the reference).
Chapter 22 – The Start of Something Big
Hiashi emerged from the office still chuckling and walked over to Mina's desk, the smirk from before present once again on his lips.
"I barged past you earlier without asking your name. Would you mind telling me what it is?" Hiashi asked.
"It's Mina, Hiashi-sama." Mina said, a bit intimidated at being around the Hyūga clan head.
"Mina, I'd like you to do something for me. When I leave, please bring a pitcher of cold water into the Hokage's office. You'll know what to do with it when you get there."
Mina watched Hiashi walk away, confused at the odd sight she'd just witnessed. From everything she'd heard Hiashi Hyūga was a cold, calculating and oftentimes unemotional human being, but the person she'd just seen actually hadn't been that bad.
She grabbed a nearby pitcher that was used to water plants in the waiting area and filled it with cold water, just as Hiashi had instructed. Once done, she went back to the Hokage's office and tentatively knocked on the door.
"Hokage-sama?" she asked hesitantly, not wanting to intrude on anything private the Hokage might be working on. "Hiashi-sama asked me to bring you a pitcher of water." When she didn't get an answer, she turned the doorknob and opened the door slowly. "Hokage-sama? Are you in here?"
She peeked into the office, and was a bit taken aback to find it empty. But she knew it wasn't; Hiashi wouldn't have asked her to bring a pitcher of water in here for no reason. She looked around, and noticed that where the Hokage's chair should be there were two feet sticking in the air. And they weren't moving.
"Hokage-sama?" she asked again, walking hurriedly over to look behind the desk. She saw Naruto lying on the floor, his eyes rolled back into his head and a look of absolute bliss on his face. It was obvious to her that he'd fainted, and now she knew what the pitcher of water was for. Smiling, Mina upended it all over Naruto's face and chest.
The effect was immediate. Naruto jerked and sat up suddenly, sputtering and coughing to get the water out of his lungs. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Mina, who was still standing there with an empty pitcher in her hand.
"Mina?" Naruto asked, looking confused and disoriented. "What…What happened? Why'd you pour water on my face?"
Mina took on a slightly embarrassed look and said, "Well…Hiashi-sama asked me to bring a pitcher of water into your office. He said I'd know what to do with it when I got in here, and when I noticed that you were passed out on the floor, I used it to wake you up."
He absently stared at her for a few seconds, water dripping from his face. Then the memories came rushing back and his eyes grew wide. "I'm gonna be a dad." he almost whispered.
Now it was Mina's turn to be confused. "Excuse me Hokage-sama, but aren't you one already? Hikaru is your son, if I'm not mistaken."
"No, you've got it all wrong!" Naruto said excitedly. He scrambled to his feet pointed towards the Hokage monument. "Look!"
Through the window, Mina could see Naruto's face on the Hokage Monument, with the words 'WE'RE PREGNANT!' painted above his head in bold black letters.
"We're pregnant! I mean, Hinata's pregnant! I'm gonna be a dad again!" he yelled, whooping and hollering in delight as he ran around the room, pumping his fist in the air like a little kid. Mina laughed at his antics; slightly embarrassed at the sight but happy for the elated Hokage.
"I'm taking the rest of the morning off. If there's an emergency, send one of the ANBU to find me but I want to spend a few hours with my wife."
Not wanting to wait another second to see her, Naruto fixated on the Hiraishin seal that was inscribed on the inside of Hinata's ring and vanished in a flash of yellow light.
Across town, Hinata was sitting with Freyja at a table outside of her favorite tea house. Since Freyja was now a kunoichi of Konoha – as well as still living in their house for the time being – she thought it might be a good idea to get to know someone who knew a bit about the life Naruto had led for the almost eight years he was gone from the village.
As for Freyja, she accepted the fact that she was now tied down to Konoha, but decided that it wouldn't stop her from being herself. Naruto had asked her to display the hitai-ate she received in a prominent place so she did just that, wearing it right below her cleavage, across the front of her breasts.
It might be crude and unconventional, but it also had its benefits…
***Flashback – Lunch, Two Days Ago***
"Are you staring at my tits?" Freyja asked the waiter accusingly.
"Uh, no! No, ma'am! I was just noticing your…hitai-ate." the waiter said, petrified that she'd caught him staring.
"You mean the hitai-ate that you've seen a million times on every other shinobi of this village? What's so special about mine that you have to stare at it? Or is it my tits that you think are special?"
"No, ma'am! I swear I wasn't staring at your…umm, you know…"
"Oh, so you don't think they're special?" she asked curiously, slowly pulling a kunai out of her pouch and casually pretending to clean her nails with it.
"Well…I guess they are, but…"
"Ha! So you WERE staring at them!" she said, pointing the kunai accusingly at the waiter. "PERVERT!"
"I'm not a pervert! I'm just trying to take your order! You're insane! GAAH! Please don't kill me!" he shouted, running away from the table in fright.
***End Flashback***
The scene had repeated itself a few times in the last week, and Freyja laughed her ass off every single time. Moments like that were great stress relievers and right now, she had a shitload of stress in her life. She always had the option of taking out her frustrations on one of the training grounds instead, but damn if she didn't think this way was a lot more fun.
"So Freyja, how are you enjoying being a kunoichi of Konoha?" Hinata asked politely.
Freyja grunted. "Frankly, it sucks so far. That Shinobi Management Office decided to make me a genin, since I really don't have an official rank in any village. Gabriel's kept me from getting any of the real shit duties like painting houses and stuff, but that hasn't stopped him from making me supervise the brats that actually have to do it."
"Maybe you can talk with Naruto-kun about that. I'm sure if you set up a spar with one of the jōnin in the village and performed well, the council would have no choice but to use a special exception and promote you." Hinata offered helpfully.
"Yeah, that's not a bad idea. Maybe I can fight the scarecrow, since he's been following me around the village since Gabriel got back and probably won't stop unless he gets a good ass-whipping."
Hinata seemed surprised at that. "Kakashi-sensei's been following you around? How do you know?"
"I can sense him." she said, jerking her thumb over her left shoulder. "He's about two blocks over on one of the rooftops. I'm just wondering why the hell he's been doing it."
A slight smile played across her face as Hinata sipped her tea. "Maybe he likes you, Freyja. What he's doing sounds very much like how I was with Naruto-kun when we were younger, and he's probably afraid to talk to you. You CAN be quite intimidating, you know."
"That's by design, Hinata. I don't give myself up to just anyone. I only offer my body and my respect to someone who can beat me in a fight. So far, that's been all of two people…and Gabriel was one of them." Freyja snorted. "Shocked the hell out of me when he turned me down, though."
And you have no idea how grateful I am for that, Hinata thought. "Well, Kakashi-sensei IS pretty strong. There's a reason why he was the Hokage of Konoha before Naruto-kun. Give him a chance, Freyja. He just might surprise you."
Freyja took a sip of her tea and then stared into the cup, watching the ripples flow across the surface. After a few seconds, one corner of her mouth turned up in a sad smile. "No offense Hinata, but people in my organization are on a whole other level than the Kage of the five nations. And your husband ranks among the strongest of us all."
The words, and the way Freyja said them had two effects on Hinata. First, she was overjoyed that the man she loved since she was little – and who she was now married to and carrying his child – was so powerful. She'd always known Naruto was special, and Freyja just proved it.
And second, she was frightened that there were people out there who made the power of the Kage seem minor by comparison.
Just as she was about to ask another question, she felt an overwhelming wave of euphoria come through the seal. She smiled happily at Freyja and said, "It appears that Naruto-kun just saw the message I had Hikaru leave for him on the Hokage Monument."
"Really? How can you tell?"
Hinata held out her right hand and pushed some chakra into it, making the seal visible and showing it to Freyja. "You probably recognize this. Naruto-kun gave it to me the night before we got married."
The tea was halfway to her mouth when Freyja froze; her eyes staring blankly at the seal. She set the cup down and pulled Hinata's hand forward, in order to examine it more closely.
Hinata was a bit taken aback by this but kept pushing chakra into the seal, wanting to know why Freyja was suddenly so curious about something she should have already seen before.
After half a minute of tracing her finger over several specific symbols, Freyja raised her face and gave Hinata a surprised look, before letting go of her hand. "You must really be special to Gabriel for him to do this version of the seal with you."
"This…This version of the seal?" Hinata asked curiously. "What are you talking about?"
Freyja sipped her tea again, then furrowed her brow and sighed heavily. "You know those tattoos I have on my body? The same ones Gabriel has on his arms?"
Hinata nodded her head.
"They're the most basic forms of that seal you have. We use them to communicate with other members while on missions, but they only allow a few things, like keeping track of each other and alerting us if someone is in danger. Saladin can also use them to summon us, but even then the range is limited. He can probably reach the east end of Suna, but the rest of us can only make it work around a five or six mile radius at best. He says it's because he's more in tune with it than everyone else."
"Now the version you have? The range is unlimited because you actually give a piece of your soul to the other person. You know how certain animals mate for life? This kinda works like that, however the two of you are bound by something stronger than just emotions." The tone of Freyja's voice turned bittersweet. "But like it always does, something that powerful comes with a price."
"A price? What do you mean?" Hinata asked apprehensively.
Freyja gave another sigh, but this one seemed much heavier. "The piece of your soul you give to the other person? If they die, that piece – along with the one you hold – dies as well. You…basically live the rest of your life with an emptiness inside you. You can still interact with other people, but you'll never find anyone else who'll fill that gap and make you…for lack of a better word, whole."
Freyja stared off into the distance. "There's only one other person I know that had your version of the seal, and that's Saladin. He and his wife had them and when she died – he doesn't talk about it and members know better than to ask – he went into seclusion from most of the world. Some of us think that's the reason why he created our organization…to keep whatever happened to her from ever happening to anyone else."
"So I guess what I'm saying is that…Gabriel loves you. And there will never be anyone else for him but you." She shrugged her shoulders and took another drink of her tea before finishing, "I just hope you feel the same way about him."
Hinata stared at the seal for a few seconds more, finally realizing the significance of what Naruto had given her all those months ago. She let it fade and placed the hand over her heart, oddly reminiscent of the day when he'd left the village for two months and a radiant smile appeared on her face. "Yes, Freyja. I've loved Naruto-kun since I was little, and I'll never stop loving him. He's the only one I've ever wanted, or ever will. And I'm overjoyed to know that he's given me his heart and soul, because he's always had mine."
Freyja wondered if she'd ever feel the same way about someone that Hinata did. According to Reira, that's only if I find the man whose chakra feels like comfortable shoes, she thought. And what're the odds of something like that happening?
Hinata saw the depressed look on Freyja's face and quickly decided to change the subject. "Freyja, I've been meaning to ask – how's Reira enjoying school? I know she has to go now that you're a citizen of Konoha, but I'm curious if she likes her classes, or her classmates."
"Yeah, she seems to like both. At the very least, it gets her out of the house so she can focus on something else besides 'Hikaru-kun' and how 'special' his chakra is."
Just as Hinata was about to ask what she meant by that, two things happened in a fraction of a second. Naruto suddenly appeared next to the table, soaking wet from the waist up – and Freyja had drawn a kunai as a defensive reflex, and was holding it against his throat.
Hinata had never seen anyone move as fast as Freyja just did in her entire life. And it made her earlier statement about the Mienai Segi that much more believable…
"Jeez Gabriel, what's wrong with you? You know better than to startle me like that." she said accusingly, putting the kunai away. "And why the hell do you look like you just put your clothes on after taking a shower?"
But he wasn't listening to her, or even looking at her for that matter. There was only one person he was interested in at the moment, and he stared at her, his eyes full of wonder and amazement while Hinata stared back, her eyes filled with undying love for her husband. A tidal wave of happiness and joy washed over each of them, the seal feeling as if it would almost burst from the force of the emotions being pushed through it.
Both were oblivious to the world around them. Their eyes remained locked, even as Naruto fell to his knees in front of her and his left hand slowly reached out, gently coming to rest on her stomach. The corners of his mouth had turned up in a small smile.
"When?" he asked, conveying so much meaning with one simple word.
Hinata smiled warmly back at him. "Yesterday. I noticed a tiny fluctuation in my chakra with my Byakugan, so I went to the hospital for a checkup. They confirmed I'm pregnant, and I'm due in early October."
That's around my birthday, he thought absently. His gaze dropped, and for a few seconds he watched his hand absently caress her stomach. A thought came to mind and he asked, "Is…Is that the reason why you've been so…umm, energetic lately?"
Hinata chuckled softly. "Well, partially. I had many nights to think about this while you were away, and I…I wanted to give you the experience of raising a child from the beginning. It was just a happy coincidence that when you came home, it happened to be three days before my ideal time to become pregnant, and I…I didn't want to let the opportunity pass us by." Hinata blushed a bit and added, "Although, I did enjoy the process very much."
His gaze traveled back up to meet hers, but his hand never left her stomach. His other hand came up to trace the outline of her jaw and as it always did, he was amazed at how pale and smooth her skin was. It reminded him of a china doll, except she was anything but fragile. She literally took his breath away, and he often wondered how someone so beautiful and perfect could ever love someone as flawed as he was. He cupped the back of her neck and brought her lips forward to meet his in a tender, loving kiss.
"Kami, there's enough sugar here to put anyone in a diabetic coma." Freyja said tartly, slapping some money down on the table. "I think I'll get going before I vomit."
Naruto and Hinata continued kissing, barely noticing Freyja as she walked off. As their lips finally parted, Naruto pressed his forehead against hers and said, "I love you, Hinata-hime. And thank you. For everything."
"I love you too, Naruto-kun. And there's no need to thank me, because you deserve this. You've given me more than I ever dreamed possible, and I thank Kami every day for bringing you back into my life."
They remained that way for another minute, enjoying the moment and everything that came with it. But then her curiosity flared, as she remembered what Freyja had asked only a few minutes earlier.
"Naruto-kun?"
"Yes, Hinata-hime?"
"I…I just realized that you never answered Freyja's question. Why is the top half of your body soaking wet?"
Naruto smirked, thinking about his meeting with Hiashi earlier that morning and how it had ended. He gave a short laugh before saying wryly, "Well…you know how people say that couples start to take on each other's quirks after they've been together awhile? This morning in a meeting with your father, I impersonated you so well that I'm willing to bet even HE was impressed."
The two of them spent the next few hours sitting on top of Naruto's head on the Hokage Monument; right below the words Hikaru had painted for his mother to let everyone know she was pregnant. Naruto had his back was against the mountain, and his arms wrapped protectively around Hinata as she snuggled against his chest, the rays from the midday sun warming them both.
Every so often she would sigh contentedly, reveling in the moment. There wasn't another time in her life she could remember being so happy, and as she listened to the steady rhythm of her husband's heartbeat, the mistakes she'd made over the last few months and the trouble they'd caused all seemed to fade into the background. Her every thought centered on him, and what he meant to her.
Naruto was here, holding her in his powerful arms. They were married, with a son they loved and another child on the way. He was the Hokage, the most influential person in the entire village. And from what Freyja had said, he'd willingly given up a part of his soul for her, essentially binding their lives together forever.
There were no words to describe how absolutely perfect the moment was…and she wished it would never end.
But then Naruto apologized, saying he had to get back to work. Kumo was sending a delegation to Konoha, wanting to congratulate him on being named Hokage and they were due in the village that afternoon. It would be extremely rude not to be at the front gates to welcome them. But he promised to be home as soon as possible, and he playfully reminded her that he never breaks a promise.
Besides, he said to her…he still needed to have a talk with Hikaru about something private. Hinata scrunched her face worriedly, telling him that she was the one who asked Hikaru to write the words on the Hokage Monument and she would accept full responsibility for his actions. Laughing, he assured her that he wasn't upset about that, and was so elated that he planned to leave the announcement up for at least another week. He simply said the topic of discussion would be more of a father/son thing.
And so, despite her pout of disappointment, he used the Hiraishin no Jutsu to take her home before returning to the Hokage's office for the rest of the day. Freyja was already there, and Hikaru and Reira came home around three o'clock but it still wasn't enough. Because even though the house was filled with people, it still felt lonely without the one person Hinata most wanted to see.
.
.
As great a morning as Naruto had experienced, the afternoon had been that much worse – or at least it seemed that way, probably because he was eager to get home and the day stretched far longer than he'd wanted.
The delegation from Kumo was delayed almost two hours, and then several merchants had been caught trying to smuggle goods into Konoha to avoid paying import tariffs. To make matters worse, they were actually weapons which worried Naruto enough that he confiscated the entire shipment until he could talk with Shikamaru the following day, and develop a strategy to find out not only where they came from, but who the potential buyer in the village might be.
Finally, right before he was planning on leaving for the day Ibiki Morino had shown up in his office with information that had been 'volunteered' by several prisoners the ANBU border patrol had apprehended near Amegakure while he was visiting Suna. It wasn't much, but apparently there was a growing renegade faction in some of the outlying villages in Earth Country that Ibiki felt should be investigated further.
And if there's one thing Naruto learned during all those months of Hokage training, it's that when Ibiki Morino thought something was serious enough to warrant further investigation, you didn't question it. So he sent three of his best ANBU to gather additional information, hoping they could bring back something – or someone – who would provide them with additional insight.
By the time he got back to the house it was pushing seven o'clock and he'd missed dinner, which was a real shame since Hinata had gone out of her way to cook something special for him. But as hungry as he was, and as much as he wanted to try the food Hinata had made, he decided to talk to Hikaru first since he had classes tomorrow. Plus, he needed to make sure Hikaru didn't pull another prank on Hiashi tonight.
He walked upstairs to Hikaru's room, noticing that the light was on and the door was open just a crack. Peering in, he was surprised to find his son sitting at his desk, making notes from a couple of books that were open in front of him. More books and scrolls were stacked on the floor, and a large drawing that went almost end to end was spread out across the top.
Wondering what could possibly be THAT interesting to an almost nine year old boy, he knocked on the door frame. He watched as Hikaru flinched in surprise at the sound, and then began scrambling around his desk, shoving the papers into one of the drawers as fast as he could.
Yeah, that isn't suspicious in the least. He opened the door just as Hikaru finished cramming the papers into the drawer and slamming it shut, before spinning around to see Naruto standing in his room.
"Dad! Hey! Umm…glad you're back! How was Suna?" Hikaru said with feigned innocence.
"Suna was fine, thank you very much. It was hot and dry, and I'm glad to be home for a number of reasons. But that's not why I'm here right now." Naruto closed the door and walked over to sit on the bed, since there were no other chairs in the room. "You and I need to have a little talk."
"Uh, sure Dad. What about?" Hikaru asked, his eyes darting around nervously.
Wow. I know I'm not good at lying, but even I'm impressed with how bad that attempt actually was. Naruto thought. I'll get to whatever he was hiding in a minute, but I need to address the Hiashi situation first.
"I'm talking about your late night excursions to the Hyūga compound, and disguising yourself using the Sexy Jutsu your Uncle Konohamaru taught you. Ring a bell?"
"Er, no! I didn't…I mean, I don't…" Realizing he was failing miserably at lying and that if he continued it would only make things worse, he slumped his shoulders in defeat. "How'd you find out?"
Naruto looked smugly at his son. "Your grandfather showed up at my office today with hair stuck to his palms." He snorted once in laughter. "Not a very creative prank and rather childish, but I'd still give it an eight out of ten on the funny scale. It wasn't hard to put two and two together after he explained to me what's been going on, and figure out you were behind it all."
Hikaru gave his father a hard stare and crossed his arms in front of his chest defiantly. "I'm not sorry about what I did. He apologized to mom because he felt bad about things, but he still doesn't think I'm family only because mom didn't give birth to me. That's a stupid reason as far as I'm concerned, and I should be getting an apology as well."
"And that's the only reason why your punishment will be mild, and not severe. As far as the rest, you probably won't get an apology from Hiashi, but give it a few days and I'm pretty sure you'll get what you wanted in the first place." Naruto leaned forward and his eyes bored into Hikaru's. "But as of now, you're going to stop pranking your grandfather. I'll keep what you've been doing just between you and me, but if I find out you've pulled even one more prank, I'll have no choice but to tell your mother what you've been up to. And if that happens, we both know your mom's smart enough to figure out I've been keeping this a secret and she'll punish both of us. I'd like to avoid that if at all possible."
Hikaru nodded solemnly, but still couldn't help but wonder about what his father just said. He knew why HE was afraid of his mother and her punishments, but it was simply staggering to him that his father – who, if the stories and rumors were true was one of the strongest shinobi in the entire elemental nations – was THAT afraid of his mother as well.
It's gotta be something that happens when you get older, he reasoned to himself. If only there was someone I could ask about it without being too obvious…
"Now, how about we discuss what you just finished hiding when I walked into the room?"
Hikaru was broken out of his musings when he heard the question, and the color drained from his face. His eyes went wide in fright and he stammered, "I... You… I didn't… I don't… I mean, what…"
"Every minute you keep avoiding the question, I'll double your punishment." Naruto said candidly. "Now, let's try this again. What exactly were you stuffing in your desk drawer just as I walked into your room?"
Hikaru was caught and he knew it. And if he tried to lie his way out of it, there's no telling what sort of horrible things his father could punish him with, since he was the Hokage and could make almost anything happen. Still pale as a sheet, he pulled out the stacks of paper and spread them out across the top of his desk, his hands trembling with every movement.
Naruto glanced over Hikaru's shoulder. The papers were filled with notes, theories, diagrams and drawings all relating to fūinjutsu. He shuffled through them, amazed at the level of detail shown and how the symbols seemed to effortlessly flow together. Naruto knew he was no novice, but he couldn't even come close to matching the skill level being displayed here, and it was clear from looking at them that Kakashi wasn't exaggerating when he said that Hikaru was a fūinjutsu prodigy.
But there was still something missing. "I also saw a large drawing that went across the entire length of your desk. Where's that?"
Hikaru hesitated for a moment and then reached back into his drawer, pulling out the item in question and unrolling it across the top.
Naruto was stunned, and his mouth hung open like a fish out of water. There in front of him was a large scale recreation of the caged bird seal used by the Hyūga clan – every stroke; every symbol was visible, down to the most minuscule detail. He stretched out his hand and traced his fingertips along the lines, amazed at what he was seeing.
"Hikaru, this…this is absolutely incredible." he said, astonished. No one had ever been able to reconstruct one of the most closely guarded, complex seals in the elemental nations before. Closely guarded…
Something clicked in his brain and he asked, "Where…Where did you get the data to make this? As far as I know, no one in the Hyūga clan has the design for this seal – it's been lost for generations. So how'd you happen to get it?"
After another moment's hesitation, Hikaru reached into his bottom drawer and pulled out two more things – a high powered microscope, and the brand used by the Hyūga clan to apply the caged bird seal.
Naruto stared at the object, his eyes wide in shock and his mouth agape. "Hikaru! Is that what I think it is?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Did you steal that from Hiashi's office?"
Hikaru could only nod mutely.
"Do you have any idea how serious this is? How much trouble you're in right now? At the very least, if your grandfather wanted to he could have you banned from being a ninja for life, and I wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop him!"
"I know Dad, I know!" Hikaru shouted defiantly. "But I had a very good reason for taking it, I swear!"
Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'll give you one chance to explain yourself, young man. And you'd better make it good."
Hikaru sighed heavily and looked at his father, his eyes pleading for understanding. "You know that Aunt Tenten is pregnant, right?"
Naruto nodded at his son. "Yes. I found that out last week."
"Well, Uncle Neji is part of the branch house. And since Aunt Tenten isn't a Hyūga by birth, what do you think's gonna happen to their baby when it's born?"
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, angry that he'd missed something so obvious. Now he knew exactly what Neji was hinting at last week when he asked that the information be kept confidential. "He or she will be branded, just like Neji."
"You got it." Hikaru said boldly. He could tell by the look on his father's face that he'd hooked his curiosity, so he pressed forward with his explanation, hoping it was enough. "So I figured if I could find a way to remove the caged bird seal, not only would their kid be safe but it would help out Uncle Neji as well. But I needed to see the seal up close, which meant that I would've had to ask someone with the seal already in place for help. I'm trying to make this a surprise for Uncle Neji's birthday, and other than him I don't know who else I can trust, which left me with only one option, and that's taking the brand from ojii-san's office."
Naruto was embarrassed, angry and impressed all at the same time. Hikaru might act a lot like Naruto did when he was younger, but he was obviously a lot smarter. And Hikaru was right about the fact that this little project of his was far above S-rank, because if several of the Hyūga elders found out he was working on a way to remove the caged bird seal, Hikaru's life – and possibly other people living in the house – would be in danger, and he knew the Hyūga clan wouldn't be stupid enough to leave evidence behind tracing it back to them. The only flaw in the whole plan was not involving Neji, but Hikaru even had a somewhat plausible explanation for that.
However, he realized he might be able to turn this to his advantage. He remembered his promise to Neji all those years ago at the chūnin exams to end the use of the caged bird seal, and if he convinced Hiashi to retire in order to spend more time with his grandchildren and name Neji the new clan head, then Neji would be able to abolish the use of the caged bird seal once and for all, uniting both houses – and Naruto would be there to support him.
Naruto created a shadow clone and sent it out of the room, before looking gravely at his son. "You're lucky you gave me a decent enough reason for what you did, Hikaru. And while I'm not happy as to how you went about it, you were right that what you're doing is above an S-rank secret. But it doesn't mean I'm going to let you off scot-free. So tonight, you will sneak back into the Hyūga compound one last time and put the brand for the caged bird seal back where you found it, before anyone notices it's missing. And you won't do any pranks, other than using the Sexy Jutsu to disguise yourself. Understand?"
"Yes, Dad." Hikaru said timidly.
At that point, the shadow clone came back into the room carrying a chair. He set it down and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, before Naruto moved the chair over to the desk and sat down next to Hikaru.
"Okay, now tell me what you've found out." Naruto said bluntly.
Hikaru let out a nervous breath he didn't even know he'd been holding and began to explain. "The reason why no one's been able to see how the seal is constructed is because they weren't looking close enough. If you see it on someone's forehead, it just looks like two lines and a Manji." He pointed towards the microscope sitting on his desk. "But if you look at it through this, you see that it's actually made up of hundreds of tiny seals that flow together so well, it gives the illusion of being something simple, but really isn't. That's why I had to make this drawing so big – it's so I could see everything that went into making it up."
He pointed to the lines on either side of the Manji and said, "These two groups here are what protect the Byakugan from being stolen, but the problem is that it only works if the person dies. Whoever did this was probably more interested in controlling the branch house rather than protecting the Byakugan, because there's several ways around it. You could just knock someone out and surgically remove their eyes, for example."
"Now, this…" he continued, pointing towards the Manji in the middle, "…is the part that the main house uses to control the branch members. It really doesn't have a name, but I call it an Infinity Loop. From what I can tell, the entire seal is charged with chakra when it's applied to the clan member's forehead, and it's sustained by siphoning off a really, really small trickle of that person's chakra for the rest of their life – I'd be surprised if someone with the Byakugan could even notice it – which is why when they die, the seal disappears. When it's activated, it takes the stored up chakra and amplifies it over and over again. The amount of pain it causes increases each time it goes through the loop, until it gets to the point where it's so severe, the person dies from it. It's kind of like someone boring through your skull with a drill."
"The way the seal matrix is set up is pretty tricky – if you mess with it from almost any angle it'll activate and kill the person who's wearing it. That leaves only four points where you could possibly drive a wedge, and that's here…" He pointed to the four curved ends of the Manji, "…where you see these infinity symbols, surrounded by the boar, snake, tiger and dragon seals."
Hikaru rubbed his forehead in frustration. "I'm thinking that if I can find some way to crack one of those symbols and suck out the chakra, the caged bird seal will collapse and just fall apart." He gestured towards the stacks of books and scrolls surrounding his desk. "But there was nothing in any of those that helped. And the bigger problem is that if I actually DO find a way to break one of those symbols, it'll activate the seal and since the gap will be so small, it'll kill the person before I can get the chakra out and make the seal collapse."
He slammed his hand down on the desk, his frustration boiling over. "And that's the problem, Dad! I've got no way to test anything out, because if I'm wrong – even a little bit – someone could die! And Uncle Neji is counting on me, even if he doesn't know it… and so's their baby… and… and…"
Naruto could see that his son was on the brink of having a panic attack. He reached out to grab his shoulder, trying to give Hikaru a point to focus on. "Calm down and take some deep breaths before you start hyperventilating, Hikaru. I can tell how important this is to you, and I'm very proud of the fact that you've taken it upon yourself to try and help your aunt and uncle with their problem. Besides, you've gotten farther on this than anyone I've ever heard of – that's very impressive, especially for someone who'll be nine years old in a couple of months."
He looked slyly out of the corner of his eye at Hikaru. "But I think if we play our cards right, we can spin this to our advantage."
Hikaru knit his brows in confusion. "What do you mean 'we'? And what advantage are you talking about?"
"Well, I know your mom told you about how I fought Uncle Neji in the chūnin exams a long time ago. But what you probably don't know is that I promised him that day to stop the Hyūga clan from using the caged bird seal once I became Hokage. And between the two of us, I just thought of a plan to make it all happen."
Hikaru perked up a bit upon hearing that. His father had a plan? And he wanted HIS help? However, before he could what the plan was or get any of the details, his father decided to mete out his punishment.
"Hikaru Uzumaki Namikaze," Naruto said with an air of authority, "Despite your good intentions, you took a clan artifact from the Hyūga compound without permission. And even though he probably deserved most of it, you also constantly belittled and humiliated Hiashi Hyūga, the leader of that clan. You need to accept responsibility for your actions – even though you're my son, I'm the Hokage and I can't just let something like this slide."
Naruto smiled impishly. "So, my decision on your punishment is that every day, for a minimum of at least two hours you'll continue to work on finding a way to safely remove the caged bird seal. And as much as I can, I'll help you out – because even though I've got a decent grasp on fūinjutsu myself, I'm thinking you can teach me a thing or two – since you're way better at it than I am."
"Your punishment will end when either Neji's birthday gets here in six months, or you figure out a solution that's safe." Naruto stuck out his hand and asked, "Is that a deal?"
Hikaru realized it was the best he could hope for under the circumstances. He'd have to spend at least a few hours a day working on cracking the caged bird seal – which in truth he would have done anyway – but that also probably meant no trips to the park. No fun time just for himself. And no extra training with his friends, his father or Hokage-sensei. Or was it Former Hokage-sensei now? He wasn't sure which one it was.
But his Uncle Neji was counting on him. His father needed his help with whatever his plan was – plus, he'd promised himself that he'd find a way to remove the caged bird seal. And since he'd adopted his father's nindō, that meant he never gave up, and never went back on his word. He wanted to protect his precious people, just like his father. And he knew this was his chance.
Brimming with anticipation of doing something important for the village and his family, Hikaru smiled and shook his father's hand eagerly. "You got yourself a deal, Dad. And I won't let you or Uncle Neji down. I promise."
Satisfied that he'd given his son enough motivation, along with a punishment that in light of the circumstances seemed very fair – even though it was a bit self-serving – he reached for Hikaru's notes. "Okay. I think we've got about an hour before you need to get going and sneak into the Hyūga compound. So how about we spend that time together doing a little work?"
And for the next hour the two of them did just that, reading notes and discussing ideas. And even though it wasn't for very long and it was technically work, both of them privately enjoyed spending some time together as father and son.
While this was happening, half a continent away just outside the western border of Suna, a man in a jackal mask was asleep in the branch of a tree. Per the instructions from his Hokage, he'd pushed himself to reach his destination as fast as possible while making sure he went undetected. Exhausted, and with only a day of travel left he'd decided to get some well needed sleep and continue in the morning.
It's too bad every effort he'd made to conceal himself was all for naught, because he'd unknowingly been followed for the past couple of days by two members of the Mienai Segi. They were both extremely skilled at hiding their presence, and they knew that there was only one possible destination in the direction this man was traveling – and that was the cave where Saladin currently lived.
So Jackal couldn't really be blamed for not sensing anyone within miles of his position. There was no trace of chakra, no sound – not even the slightest breeze to alert him when a woman separated herself from the shadows, on the branch right above the ANBU's head.
She was short; barely five feet tall – it was apparent to anyone who saw her that she wasn't built for physical combat, since she looked as if she weighed a hundred pounds at best. Her skin was dark brown, and the centers of her eyes were similar to those of the Hyūga clan – only instead of lavender, hers were solid black.
But anyone who'd heard of the Mienai Segi knew there was a reason why people were admitted. You didn't need physical prowess in order to be considered dangerous.
Her name was Nyx – named after the Goddess of the Night, she was far more proficient at crafting illusions and sculpting minds than anyone in the elemental nations. The skills of both the Yamanaka and Uchiha clans were amateurish when compared to hers, and the thrill she felt when she used them on the unsuspecting or weak minded could almost be described as…sexual.
She reached out and lightly pressed her fingers against the top of Jackyl's head, and almost immediately his body went slack, his arms falling limp against his sides.
"Gilgamesh." she said, the sound of her voice a cross between a cold winter wind and the crackling of dead leaves. "He's unconscious. Come over here and catch him."
The man she'd referenced stepped into the moonlight at the base of the tree. And for everything Nyx wasn't, Gilgamesh was.
Standing six feet ten inches tall, he was a giant hulk of a man that towered over everyone else. His rock hard body looked like it had been sculpted by the finest artisans, every layer of muscle and sinew defined. If one could imagine the living embodiment of an immovable object, it would be him. He was strength personified; brute force made real. And because of an injury many years ago to his throat, he could speak to people in halting responses of only a few words at a time.
He'd been a soldier of fortune in the countries to the west when Saladin had found him, hoping to change his moral compass and make him into something more than just a mindless killing machine. He'd succeeded, but only barely – mainly because behind the scenes, Gideon had exploited that weakness and stoked his fire for bloodlust – and the promise of glorious battle coupled with a warrior's death had been the final push the behemoth of a man needed to change where his loyalties lie.
Nyx gave Jackal a shove and he listed to the side, falling out of the tree. Gilgamesh caught him and set him down, then began rummaging around in the ANBU soldier's pockets. Nyx hopped down to stand beside him on the ground.
"It looks like Gideon's idea of sending us to the western border of wind country to keep an eye out for anyone trying to contact Saladin was a stroke of genius. We've caught a fly in our web. Where'd this juicy little morsel come from?"
With one hand, Gilgamesh pointed at the Jackal mask while the other continued rifling through his pockets. "Konoha."
"Konoha?" Nyx asked, her voice grating. "Isn't that where Gideon sent that idiot Anubis to do a job a few months ago?"
Gilgamesh grunted, agreeing with his associate before pulling a scroll from one of the vest compartments. He broke the wax seal and unrolled it, skimming quickly over the contents.
"Taking on an entire village by himself – especially one in fire country – was pretty egotistical on his part. It looks like Gideon was right when he said Konoha found a way to kill him without too much effort." Nyx grinned, and then cackled sadistically. "Good riddance, anyway – I never really liked that stuck up prick."
Once he was finished, believing that he'd committed the most important pieces of the message to memory Gilgamesh locked eyes with Nyx, his gaze just as cold and piercing as his associate.
"We should leave." he stated, simultaneously rolling up the scroll.
"Leave?" Nyx sneered, her eyes never breaking their stare. "Gideon sent us out here for a reason, Gilgamesh – and we both know disobeying him isn't a good idea. Where exactly would we go?"
"Back to Gideon."
Her derisive look disappeared, only to be replaced by one of mild surprise. "Back…to Gideon? Why? What was so important in that message that you think we need to go back?"
Gilgamesh wiggled the scroll in front of him and simply said, "Gabriel."
Hearing the name was enough to change Nyx's mind in an instant. "Fine – you win. That's one thing Gideon's gonna want to know about as soon as possible." She motioned a finger towards the sleeping ANBU. "What should we do with him?"
"False memories." He said, tapping his right temple suggestively. "Two days."
"Ah." Nyx said, baring her teeth in an evil grin. "Make him THINK he made the journey when he really didn't. Konoha will be none the wiser; and it'll give Gideon time to plot against them. I would have preferred to rend his mind to the point of insanity, but this works much better. Excellent idea."
"Naturally." the man said, a bit more smug than usual.
Rolling her eyes derisively at the man's ego, Nyx once again placed her fingers on top of Jackal's head, sowing the seeds of illusion. It would take about thirty minutes to implant a false memory in the ANBU's head, but after that he'd sleep for two days straight. When he woke up at the base of the tree, he'd think he completed his mission and delivered the message – when of course in reality, none of that had ever happened.
And by then, they'd be well on their way to where Gideon currently was – in the mountains on the border between Amegakure and Iwagakure.
The following day had started off busy – Shikamaru appeared in his office promptly at nine o'clock, oddly enough eager to get started on his new job. When Naruto asked him why someone who was known as habitually lazy was suddenly so excited about doing actual work, Shikamaru simply replied…
"If you were me, would you rather be here – or in the Nara compound with my mother and Temari all day?"
There was no need to discuss the matter further after that, because Naruto knew he'd chosen the lesser of two evils.
Naruto then showed Shikamaru his new office – which happened to be the one Koharu and Homura had used when they were the advisors for Konoha. And while it might sound a bit morbid, he was happy to hear that the two of them had passed away while he was gone for eight years. They'd been well known supporters of Danzō and his militant beliefs, and besides – they'd never been very kind or supportive to him anyway, preferring to see him as a weapon, rather than a person.
Shikamaru thanked him, and then asked for one more thing – a customized Shogi set, with the names of prominent and important people inscribed on the pieces. Since the expense was relatively minor, Naruto approved it and they got down to the business at hand.
They breezed through the last of the paperwork Naruto held onto from the previous day, and then discussed the weapons shipment he'd confiscated. Realizing he couldn't offer a suggestion without additional information, he promised to meet with Ibiki Morino as soon as they were done talking, and have him 'gather' more intel.
The last major issue was the council meeting scheduled for tomorrow, where Naruto was going to try and give the Uchiha compound and clan funds back to Sasuke. After showing him the research notes Mina had put together, Shikamaru agreed that the plan was sound, but felt that it could benefit from some misinformation that was conveniently 'leaked' out into the village – possibly tipping things in his favor with those on the council who were truly ignorant and self-centered.
Naruto agreed and gave Shikamaru the go ahead to do it, since there was no way it could do anything but help his cause. And he liked the odds of Shikamaru's plan succeeding better than anything he could think up.
Needless to say, it worked almost to perfection.
At the council meeting on Wednesday, Naruto made the proposal – reasoning that Sasuke had proven himself many times over since returning to the village, and that his birthright had been kept in the hands of Konoha for far too long. Now that Mikomi had been born, Sasuke needed more space to raise his now expanding clan, as well as have access to the Uchiha clan scrolls and artifacts, so that Mikomi could be properly trained and learn about her ancestry.
As expected, the proposal was defeated by a vote of 11 to 5.
But then a civilian council member, who thought he was more cunning and far smarter than his Hokage, brought up the idea of placing everything into the Konoha Affairs Trust, which was established during Tobirama's time as Hokage to permanently take possession of assets. One example would be a clan where it had been proven beyond a doubt there were no further heirs, and had died out.
The special thing about the Konoha Affairs Trust is that under current law once assets were placed into it, they became permanent property of the Trust – and could never be distributed back out.
And so, a vote was called on the proposal and it had fallen directly down the middle – with the civilian council members voting for it, and the shinobi council voting against it – leaving Naruto as the deciding factor.
And then, grinning like a fox he cast his vote…and surprisingly enough said yes, passing the measure. Everyone on the council was shocked at this – especially Sasuke – until Naruto produced a document, explaining the reason why he voted like he did.
Up until now, the Konoha Affairs Trust had remained empty and unused. But when Tobirama created it, he also gave complete authority and control of all the assets in the Trust to the current Hokage – or whoever he decided could act in his stead as trustee, completely bypassing the village council. What he was waving around was the original document Tobirama had signed many years ago. He'd brought it from the village archives to prove his point – and then promptly put Sasuke in charge, giving the person he considered a brother full control of the trust to use as he wanted, without actually giving him the assets.
The civilian council was furious at having been outsmarted, raising their voices in an uproar and yelling about deceit and trickery – until Naruto raised his killing intent, making everyone go silent instantly. The document was valid, Naruto stated – and being sore losers wasn't going to change the vote, or him appointing Sasuke to manage the assets on his behalf.
And thus began a very long morning for the council. Several proposals were made, but at every turn Naruto outsmarted them, citing obscure laws and provisions. Things Naruto wanted were approved, and any that were selfish or one sided were dismissed. When the meeting was adjourned, Shikamaru could tell from the angry stares and sullen tones of the civilian council members that he was going to have his hands full in his new job.
And with Naruto making good on his promise, Sasuke made good on his and offered Naruto the chance to be Mikomi's godfather – which he gladly accepted. Of course, this led to a very heated exchange between Sasuke and Sakura later that night…
***Sidestep***
"Why is this bothering you so much?" Sasuke demanded, glaring at his wife. She was angry with him again. Since returning to the village from his mission, he'd been trying to be calm and understanding with Sakura – especially considering what she'd gone through while he was gone, and then with the birth of Mikomi – but today, things had finally hit a boiling point and he decided he wasn't leaving until he got to the bottom of it.
"Because it's HIM! It's always about HIM!" Sakura practically screamed in his direction.
"How do you think this is all about Naruto? I'm only making him Mikomi's godfather, for Kami's sake. It's an extremely small, almost insignificant thing compared to everything he's done for us. Why are you railing against it?"
"Because I don't want him involved in our lives any more than necessary!" Sakura said, as if trying to explain something obvious to a child. "It's OUR marriage, OUR daughter! Things should happen between us because of what WE do for each other, and not because Naruto made it happen. But now you can add getting your clan assets onto to the list of things we owe him for, just like everything else. Good or bad, why can't it be one of us that inspires change for once? Why does it always have to be HIM?"
Sasuke blinked a few times, as he stared at his wife in disbelief. "So let me see if I've got this straight – the main reason you're upset and angry… is because you can't stand the fact that Naruto's been involved in almost every major event in our lives, and you think he's running up a list of things we owe him for?"
"I don't know if he's keeping score or not Sasuke-kun, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. I want to you to be a better person because you love me. I want you to get your clan birthright because it rightfully belongs to you, and you fought for it. I want our family – our REAL family, not what you consider Naruto – to be your first priority. I want…"
"Hold on, Sakura." Sasuke said, interrupting her forcefully. "I just heard you use the words 'I want' four times. What that tells me is that it's not really about Naruto at all, but rather a selfish desire to make everything about YOU. All Naruto has done – all he's EVER done – is try to help us. He's been kind, generous and forgiving – which is far more than we deserve, considering our history with him."
Sasuke's look became stern and unforgiving. "The offer to Naruto about being Mikomi's godfather will stand. But I think it's best for you to find someone to talk with about this – perhaps Lady Tsunade would be a good choice. I care about you very much, Sakura…and I don't know where this self-centered attitude of yours stems from, but it only reminds me of how I used to be. And you need to get rid of it, because I don't think it should be part of our lives going forward."
***End Sidestep***
Of course, the drama in the village was far from over. On the other side of Konoha, Kakashi was sitting in a bar, drinking cups of sake while reading one of his favorite Icha Icha novels.
Drinking the sake was the only thing real about the scene – the Icha Icha novel was just for show, because he wasn't really paying attention to the words on the page in front of him. Instead, his thoughts were about the same thing as it had been every other day for almost the past two months – Freyja, and her daughter Reira.
Since the two of them had arrived in the village, they'd been constantly on his mind.
Reira…well, the reason he thought of her so much was because she looked so much like Rin. He held no illusions that she was the reincarnation of his childhood friend – that would be insane, to put it mildly – but it brought up memories of his failure to protect her from Kirigakure.
They'd made her the jinchuuriki of Isobu, the three tailed turtle against her will. And because of that – and her fear of losing control of the beast once they returned to Konoha – she'd jumped in front of his chidori he'd been attacking the Kiri-nin with, impaling her through the heart and killing her almost instantly.
She'd sacrificed herself for the good of Konoha – for the village and the people she loved so much.
Even though it had been many years, he still saw her face in his nightmares. Her final expression haunted him still. He remembered her whispering his name as the last thing she'd ever said. There were more than a few reasons why he visited the Konoha memorial stone every morning, but Rin was by far the first on the list.
He felt grief and sadness for those of his friends he'd lost over the years, but with Rin there was also a layer of guilt on top of that – he'd failed to protect one of his most precious people, and she had paid the price.
Now, Freyja – she was a different story entirely.
He'd never had someone fill his thoughts so much as the former member of the Mienai Segi – probably because she reminded him of every woman he'd ever had romantic feelings for. She was brash and outspoken, like Anko had been. In his opinion, her flawless skin and striking beauty could only be compared to Kurenai.
But while Kurenai's beauty seemed feminine and soft – despite the fact that she was an extremely accomplished and deadly jōnin kunoichi – Freyja's features were more angular and somehow…exotic. She'd cut her teeth among some of the strongest ninja out there, and survived the harshest of conditions. It actually made her more desirable in a way – she was a piece of low hanging fruit he'd been forbidden to touch.
Anko had died before he'd had the chance to ask her out, and Kurenai – well, he'd thought about it on several occasions but somehow, it didn't seem right for him to pursue her…especially after what had happened with Asuma. It would have been too much, too soon – and her giving birth to Asuma's son only cemented his decision as the right one.
Bad things happened to people he got close to in his life. The theory had proven itself time and time again... Rin. Obito. Minato. Yamato. Anko. And even though they hadn't died like the rest, he could still add Naruto and Sasuke to that list. As far as he was concerned, he was doing Kurenai and Asuma Jr. a favor by staying away from them. But somehow, with Freyja those fears didn't matter – the urge to be with her overrode his fear of what might happen to her.
Actually, he didn't know if he was afraid FOR her or afraid OF her. The line was blurred at this point, mainly because of who Freyja was and her background.
He was a former captain of the ANBU black ops – a legend among their ranks. He was known far and wide throughout the elemental nations for his skills as an elite jōnin, with countless missions and even a war under his belt. He'd been the Rokudaime of Konoha.
And yet, Freyja scared the living shit out of him – and that feeling was only made worse when without warning, a hand slapped some money down on the bar right next to him.
"You and I need to talk. Now." Freyja growled menacingly, as she grabbed his collar and jerked him off the bar stool, dragging him forcefully out of the bar. The action had been so sudden, that the book he was supposedly 'reading' fell out of his hands and onto the counter.
Everyone in the bar watched the scene, dumbfounded at what just happened. The bar was filled with chūnin and jōnin, most of whom were seasoned veterans – and the woman who'd just dragged the former Hokage out of the bar was clearly a genin, but no one had felt or seen her enter the bar in the first place. It didn't make any sense, because something like that should have been above her skill level.
The patrons looked at each other in stunned confusion, before the bartender decided to break the silence.
"I don't care who gets what's left of the sake he bought," he said, reaching his hand out to pick up the book, "but I'm calling first dibs on the Icha Icha novel he dropped."
Still dragging Kakashi by the scruff of his neck, Freyja pulled him into the nearest alley and shoved him up against the wall, her forearm braced across his chest.
"Why?" she asked, her face inches away from his.
Kakashi sweatdropped. "Umm, why what?"
"Why have you been following me around for the past two weeks?"
Kakashi paled visibly. "You…You knew I was doing that? How could you tell?"
Freyja rolled her eyes, annoyed and a bit insulted. "I can naturally sense people within about a half mile radius – especially when I know their chakra signature, like yours. Most of the time, you were only a couple of blocks away so you weren't that hard to spot."
"Oh." Kakashi was at a loss for words. He was disappointed that he'd been found so easily, especially when he'd put a serious amount of effort into making himself undetectable. But in all honesty, it really wasn't that surprising, considering who he was dealing with.
"So you never answered my question. Why have you been following me around?"
"Er, well…I-I was…you know, umm…wondering if you might…ah, like to – maybe – go out to dinner sometime?" Kakashi asked haltingly.
Freyja narrowed her eyes and gave him an impassive look. "Dinner." she said flatly.
"Uh, yeah. Dinner."
"With you. Like a date."
"S-Sure. L-Like a date." Kakashi stammered, clearly nervous about what he was doing.
Freyja continued to stare at Kakashi, as he squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. After a minute, she removed her forearm from his chest and took a step back. "Fine. On Friday at noon, I'll meet you at training ground twenty-six."
"Friday? Noon? Training ground twenty-six?" Kakashi parroted, clearly confused. "Uh, there are no restaurants near training ground twenty-six, Freyja. And that's not dinner time, either."
"I'm aware of that, but you know the rules – you want a date? Then you gotta beat me in a fight." An eerie smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Besides, I think I'll take Hinata's advice and make this a two-for-one special. When you talk to Gabriel – and I know you will – tell him to provide a couple of impartial judges for the fight. I figure if I beat your ass bad enough, he can use a special exemption and promote me to jōnin. That way I won't have to do any of those shit D-rank missions anymore."
"If I were you, I'd spend all day tomorrow doing some serious training – even though I know it won't make a damn bit of difference." She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "See you Friday, Scarecrow. Don't be late."
And then she vanished…there was no swirl of leaves, no cloud of smoke…nothing. She had simply moved fast enough to disappear instantly from his sight.
Kakashi stared at the spot Freyja had been standing for a solid minute, unmoving as he processed what just happened. Then as the realization finally hit him, his lone visible eye grew wide and he asked himself, "What the fuck did I just get myself into?"
That night, just after dusk when the shadows stared to lengthen, Nyx and Gilgamesh appeared at the front of a cave that was imbedded in the mountains between Iwagakure and Amegakure. It was an odd sight; the current hideout bore an uncanny resemblance to that of the man Gideon was planning to kill. Torches lined the walls of the tunnel, and after about a hundred yards of walking it opened up into a small alcove, barely thirty feet in diameter. It was sparsely appointed with a desk in one corner, just like the one Saladin occupied – the only difference being that instead of bookshelves filled with scrolls of knowledge, these were filled with intelligence reports and maps.
And sitting behind the desk was the leader of the renegade faction of the Mienai Segi. His heavily muscled frame stood 6' 2" tall. His jet black hair came down just below shoulder length, he wore burnished steel arm and leg bracers - and the color of his eyes was an angry, piercing red.
When Nyx and Gilgamesh walked up to the desk, he stopped what he was doing and stared at his associates – and anyone who'd ever come face to face with Gideon would say that it was the look in his eyes that unnerved them the most.
Twisted intelligence. Borderline insanity. Controlled madness combined with a massive God complex. And anyone who questioned his reign of authority was dealt with in the most sadistic manner possible.
"You two were sent to the far end of Suna to keep watch over Saladin's cave, and yet here you stand." Gideon said, his voice deep and resonating with power. "What reason could you possibly have for disobeying me and abandoning your mission?"
Without hesitiation, Nyx stepped forward and firmly slapped the scroll on the desk. "Gilgamesh found this on a messenger from Konoha that was going to see Saladin. He said you should see it as soon as possible."
Gideon picked up the scroll and unrolled it, peering over the top of the document at Nyx. "You've read it?"
"No, Gilgamesh did. He said it has to do with Gabriel." she said, her voice dry and rasping. She knew the mere mention of the name would peak her leader's interest.
Gideon quirked an eyebrow and began to read, quickly scanning the contents. After a few seconds his eyes narrowed, focusing on a specific part that appeared to be more important than the rest. "Well, well, well…" He sneered, "It appears that sacrificing Anubis to see what Konoha is capable of was indeed the correct move. Gabriel has put the village under his protection – and Freyja has decided to join him, forgoing her allegiance to me."
"Freyja is in Konoha as well?" Nyx hissed, bewildered at the statement. She turned to look accusingly at Gilgamesh. "Why didn't you mention that?"
Gilgamesh shrugged indifferently. "You didn't ask."
"That doesn't mean…"
"QUIET." Gideon said menacingly, interrupting Nyx and silencing her instantly. "I don't care if you knew about it or not. The fact that we intercepted this information before Saladin could read and benefit from it is the only thing that matters."
He casually rolled up the scroll and placed it on his desk, and then steepled his index fingers in front of his face as his eyes focused on the scroll, digesting what he'd just learned. After a minute, he tapped his lips with his fingers a few times and glared at his associates, coming to a decision.
"Konoha and Suna can no longer be considered viable options for our future base of operations. Due to its status as the strongest of the five major villages, Konoha would have been the most ideal choice but now that Gabriel - and by extension Freyja, since she has taken up residence there – has placed both villages under his protection, the operation only becomes much more difficult. Attacking Konoha right now would thin our ranks, and our first priority – as it always has been – is to eliminate Saladin by any means necessary, since he is the largest impedance to us achieving our goals."
"Our timetable regarding Saladin will have to be stepped up to within the next three months, at maximum. However, once that has been achieved, we can focus our efforts on taking control of one of the other major villages." Gideon's eyes burned with maniacal conviction, as his gaze bored into his two associates. "When that happens, we can use their resources to create an army so powerful, there will be no one – not even Gabriel or that unfaithful bitch, Freyja – who can stop us from ruling the elemental nations."
A/N: Well, this should give you a setup for what's coming in the next few chapters. Not a lot of hidden innuendo or subplots, unless you count not knowing 'the plan' regarding Neji. But that's not really hard to figure out.
We now have the name and full description of three of the Mienai Segi characters. We know what Hikaru is working on with his fūinjutsu, Hinata is back to her more reserved self (now that she got what she wanted) and Freyja wants to kick Kakashi's ass to instantly make jōnin. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really looking forward to next chapter!
As usual, I'm reminding everyone that Mina Mikon is the OC of MattWilson83. 'Nuff said.
So what's coming next? Well, of course the fight between Kakashi and Freyja. Naruto manipulates things with Hiashi for Neji's benefit. Sakura starts to get help from Tsunade for her 'problem', and Tsunade will also have some interaction with Naruto and Hikaru. Also, be prepared for some dark twists and turns coming up.
Recommendation time! Once again, I'm trying to continue my theme of paying it forward to stories that don't have that many followers or favorites, despite the fact that the authors are incredible writers and do excellent work. This is one that was recommended by Ayrmed (I hope you're feeling better! Please update soon!) and I'm very glad she did. So take some time and check out Brighter Future by hopeisahorizon. Very touching story that's NaruHina centric - Hinata has some issues with PTSD that Naruto helps her out with but there's a twist with Neji and then the Hyūga family. There's even a wedding between our favorite couple in chapter 18! It's rated T, so it's a bit more tame but if you like the story, please put the story on your favorite/follow list and leave the author a review. I'm sure she'd appreciate it.
Here's the link, as usual remove the spaces and you know what to replace the stars with:
www . fanfiction . *** / s / 9940022
REVIEWS! So, I got over ninety reviews last chapter. That's almost a record - I got a bit more for chapter 14 but I'm very happy for every one that was left, both the good and the bad. I'm certainly hoping to continue that trend with this one. So here's my push, as usual - reviews translate to motivation and dedication for writers to keep going. I know many great stories on this site that never got finished because they lost their will to write.
I always appreciate when people take some time and leave me a review, and I do my best to reply personally to each and every one...although sometimes there are a few that slip through the cracks (sorry about that!). And the same rules apply for this chapter as every other one I've written - the more reviews you leave the faster the next chapter gets out.
That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.
Serious Sam