Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
CHAPTER 12
An aura of trepidation followed every Branch servant as they went about their tasks on the chilly spring day. Hinata was not immune to the anxiety that each person felt as the hours crawled by and they waited and waited. She found herself eyeing the clock more often than her charge for the day.
Hanabi snapped her attention back to the present when she threw a small stuffed toy at her face. "I talk to you!" her tiny voice was filled with annoyance at the lack of attention her "guest" was giving the little pretend tea ceremony.
"Sorry Hanabi-sama. What did you say?" Hinata quickly answered as she bent to retrieve the small plushie and place it back on its assigned cushion. She was not usually the one who stayed with the little heiress, but with Ane-sama's condition, everyone was shuffling duties to cover for the servants who were occupied with her care.
"More tea!" the girl demanded, brushing a stray lock of dark brown hair from her eyes with a chubby hand.
"Say please," Hinata automatically responded as she reached for the expensive miniature teapot.
The two-year-old crossed her arms and stuck her tiny nose into the air in a remarkably accurate portrayal of her mother, "You a Branch people. Mama says you have to listen to me."
Hinata paused and looked at the child, weighing the risks of continuing to simply scold the spoiled girl and having her throw a fit, or once again making an attempt to reach out and give her impressionable mind a different perspective of her clan, and having her blab to her mother. If she was ever going to reach her goal of uniting the Hyuga, having the support of the Clan Head's daughter would be very helpful. Deciding to take the high road and stick her neck out for the sake of the future, Hinata responded gently as she poured the cold tea.
"Yes, but people always listen better when you ask nicely. Kindness will get you more help when you need it."
"I a big girl. I no need help. I pick my own clothes and everyfing," Hanabi stated matter-of-factly as she shoved up the sleeves of her rich red kimono with little finesse.
"Everyone needs help sometimes," Hinata prodded, reaching over to neatly roll up the sleeves before the expensive fabric was dragged across the table top full of tiny pastries prepared especially for the playtime, per her mother's request. "And when that happens, the friends we make by being nice will always be there for us."
Hanabi held her arms out while eyeing the older girl rather suspiciously. "Mama says I can't be friends with Branch people."
"Is that right," Hinata mumbled flatly. This was not going well. Ane-sama was definitely ensuring her daughter was good and brainwashed. With her limited contact with Hanabi, no doubt also due to the Honorable Wife, she would never be able to sway the child away from the biased teachings of the Main House.
Hinata sighed and was contemplating her next possible statement when the door slid open and the woman who was usually tasked with watching the little ball of sass stepped into the room.
Hinata quickly went to her and asked in hushed tones, "Well? The baby?"
The Branch maid shook her head sadly, and Hinata sucked in a sharp breath. That made this Ane-sama's second miscarriage. Everyone knew the immense amount of pressure that the increasingly unstable Clan Head was putting on his wife to produce a male heir. Already rumors were circulating among the Branch servants that his attentions had begun to stray from his young brood mare to another woman. Unless she was able to deliver a healthy boy, Ane-sama's position was seriously in jeopardy in the eyes of the fickle Hyuga leader.
As a result, every Branch member would be walking on egg shells for the foreseeable future, as the Honorable Wife was not known for her patience even on the best of days.
The lack of male progeny put Hanabi-sama under intense scrutiny of her own, from the ever watching Council of Elders, who were always looking for assurances of her ability to take over the role of Clan Head if needed. So far the small child had displayed a strong personality that was the exact opposite of Hinata's. She was willful, sharp, and bursting with self confidence. Should she ever activate her Byakugan, she would have little problem forcing her way out of the role of 'demure husband bait' that Hiashi believed to be the only purpose of a daughter.
And she was also, very much her mother's daughter.
This fact was reinforced as Hinata turned to look at the only child, to find her upbraiding a stuffed teddy for spilling his tea in the half babbling language of a toddler. The lecture was concluded when Hanabi clapped her hands together is terrifyingly accurate mimicry of the seal her mother frequently used to subdue her servants, while glaring at the unfortunate toy. The maid next to her pressed her hand to her mouth but Hinata still heard her whispered words, "Kami save us all."
With her attendance at the academy, Hinata was rarely around the strong-willed child, and even if she were present, Ane-sama would never approve of her being anywhere near the girl. Observing the way that Hanabi dominated her own little make believe world, Hinata couldn't help but be glad for that fact, despite the small twinge of guilt that niggled at her conscience. But right now, the best she could do was succeed in her own goals at the academy, and continue to chase her dream of becoming a strong kunoichi. Believing that someday, she could become strong enough to change not only her own fate, but the fate of those around her. Naruto-kun seemed to think it was possible to make people change, but what if they didn't want to?
Hanabi looked up and noticed the arrival of her normal caretaker and held up her empty little plate. "Hungry!"
Hinata placed a hand on the tired woman's arm, telling her with a small nod to stay put while she fetched the lunch herself. She felt more comfortable around the kitchen than in the Main House quarters anyways. Casting one more glance at the vibrant future heiress, she quickly left to spread the news of Ane-sama's latest misfortune, and warn the others to keep their heads down.
Naruto flew out of a tree down to the unofficial training grounds that the small group of friends had long ago created away from the Hyuga compound and their ever-seeing eyes, with Hinata landing lightly right behind him. The late summer sun was warm and bright, a perfect day for some serious training.
"Is Neji coming today?" he asked, turning around and walking backwards with his hands clasped behind his head.
"No, he has training with his new genin team," Hinata replied, already starting to stretch her arms in anticipation of the work out. Second year had ended and quickly transitioned into the third and final round of the Academy, leaving her with a growing sense of self confidence as she looked back on all she had accomplished. After the dramatic results of Naruto and Sasuke's spar, she had gathered what was left of her courage and gone to Iruka-sensei to demand that Mizuki-sensei's wierd promise be fulfilled. The man had patiently heard her out, and after some thought, had decided to change the whole approach to taijutsu training, and eliminated the separation of the sexes. Pairing off with random partners of her same caliber had helped Hinata blossom in confidence and skill, as well as many of her other aspiring kunoichi classmates.
"Lucky! Gah, I can't wait until we can start doing missions. A year feels like forever away." Naruto scrunched up his face into a childish pout that looked even sillier on him now that he had experienced another growth spurt. The scrawny little blond kid who screamed about becoming Hokage was rapidly overtaking most of his classmates in stature. Hinata was still a bit petite for her age but had grown as well, yet she now was only eye level with his mouth.
"You need more practice with your bunshin before you can even think of taking the exam," she gently reprimanded her best friend. For some reason, despite being one of the best at several E ranked ninjutsu, the ridiculously simple clone was nearly impossible for him.
The dramatic pout progressed into a full on sulk and Naruto spun back around and tossed his red scarf over his shoulder with a frustrated swipe. "I'm trying! I have no idea why it's not working."
Suddenly there was a loud boom and wet splat from the tree line on the far side of the training grounds.
"Motherfucker!" a voice echoed.
"Gotcha! HA HA!" Naruto's mood instantly did a 180 as he sped off in the direction of the explosion. Hinata was immediately following him, moving her hands through the seals to activate her Byakugan.
For the last month Naruto had been working on a new set of seals, and had recently set them up around the border of the training ground. He wasn't sure, but sometimes he felt that someone was trailing him through the crowds of the market and to and from the academy. It had started about a week ago, when Dog had left on a mission for the Hokage. The often chased boy had always been skittish about these things, especially ever since the incident with Hinata, and then the ninja in the white mask. When his father's fuuinjutsu books and his hyperactive brain had combined to come up with a new method of punishing would-be stalkers, he had decided to test his newest creation out on the unknown person.
The first fuuinjutsu book Jiraiya had given him had been mostly about history and information; comparing materials and identifying different types of seals, such as privacy locks, explosions, or storage, and their methods of application. The notes in the margins had been more helpful than the complicated narrative, and Naruto had been awed at the thought that this was the handwriting of his father. Knowing that this book had been held in his hands, that his fingers had flipped through these pages, folding over corners here and there to mark a particularly important spot, it had made the man more real. The first time Naruto had opened the book he had buried his nose in its pages and gleefully inhaled the musty aroma. The spine was soft and fell open easily, testifying to the frequent usage of the tome.
The second book had focused on technique and practical application. It contained detailed instructions on calligraphy, a catalogue of the most basic components of the symbols, and how they combined into increasingly complex segments that would become the building blocks of a complete array. It was these primary pieces that Naruto had started trying to apply to his day to day use.
The storage seal was easiest. He had quickly been able to create scrolls for Hinata that she could use to carry her water, bandages, and ointments. It was just a small beginner's attempt, but she liked that because she could easily keep it hidden on her person. He had made another one for Neji, as part of his graduation gift, saying it would make all his unwanted deliveries easier. As a joke he had filled it with hair ties. The boy had rolled his eyes before giving his thanks and promptly handing the hair ornaments over to Hinata, whose midnight hair was nearly to her shoulder blades now.
The explosive tags were where Naruto started to get a little crazy. What thirteen-year-old didn't love to see things go boom? Soon he was rigging all his traps with explosive tags as wells as storage seals that would release buckets of paint when they were triggered. That beautiful creation had been planted at his apartment, knowing that Dog was usually nearby and the noise combined with the bright orange paint trail would make tracking any assholes trying to vandalize his home a cinch.
The last part of the book had been an introduction to other kinds of seals: gravity seals, resistance seals, privacy seals, border seals, chakra binding seals, and so many more. Naruto's brain had spun with the possibilities. He had carefully earmarked a particular section that talked about bloodline sealing, in the hope that he could someday understand it well enough to accomplish a new secret goal of his, setting his friends free.
The newest fuuinjutsu book that Jiraiya had left on his doorstep (he had tried to leave it on the table, sensed Naruto's traps and decided to back away slowly) was absolutely fascinating. The content was more theoretical, exploring the possibility of how seals could be customized to create new possibilities that pushed the limits of physics, science, and even time. It discussed how seals could be woven together to combine multiple tasks into one array. It even delved into how to implant different kinds of triggers that would react to movement, chakra, a preset time of activation, or only a specific person. The last chapters, the ones he had not gotten to yet, were filled with notes from his father. It appeared that the man had been more than a little obsessed with idea of warping space with seals. The formulas scrawled in the margins were incomplete, and way over Naruto's head at this point, but he was determined to never give up learning this nearly lost art. In his mind it was more than a skill, it was his heritage.
It was with this spirit of resolution that Naruto applied the first lesson of the book and attempted to spice up his boundary traps around the little training grounds. He had finally worked out a seal that combined the formulas for an explosive tag, a storage seal of paint, and a motion trigger, into a single array. He thought he had felt an unfamiliar presence over that direction the other day, and wanted to test out his newest work of art.
Eagerly running over to the far edge of the clearing and into the brush, what greeted him was a not-so-silver haired shinobi who was angrily wiping orange paint out of his only exposed eye.
Naruto burst out laughing. "Dog! It's been a while since I got you with one of my traps, how do you like the latest product?"
"Fan-fuckin-tastic Pup," Kakashi grumbled, pulling off his gloves and hitae-ate. Hinata ran up just then and seeing the familiar ninja looking more like a smashed pumpkin, quickly reached for her storage scroll and opened it smoothly with the seal facing the dripping jonin. "Sorry about this Dog-san, it's gonna be cold."
"What's gonna be—blrrblblrrblbrrrr!"
With a swipe of her hand across the seal, Kakashi suddenly found himself soaked for a second time, but now with freezing water from the nearby stream. At least he was free of most of the atrocious color.
Looking down at the puddle gathering under him, Kakashi blinked at the large amount of liquid. "Hinata, how did you get all that free water sealed in there?"
"Water likes me." She answered simply as though simply saying the sky was blue. Naruto was nodding next her and added, "yeah, when Neji was teaching us do the water walking exercises she would always have these drops sticking to her like she'd rolled in sparkles or something. She wouldn't get wet though, just they clung to her."
"Father said it was probably my affinity. And when I was channeling chakra through my body it was attracted to me, like a magnet," Hinata added as she neatly rolled up her storage scroll and replaced in her hip pouch.
"You know your affinity already?" Kakashi blinked, rather impressed, and Hinata blushed humbly at the jonin's surprised question. Lately he had been busy with the newest class of genin graduating, and then the Hokage had sent him out on a recon mission for the last week. Upon returning earlier today he and Pakkun had immediately checked on Naruto's apartment and noticed signs of someone casing the place in the subtle, unfamiliar scents the ninken picked up, and the traces of chakra his Sharingan noted. Now that Neji had graduated and been placed with a genin team, he was worried that the two kids, though skilled, would be that much more vulnerable out here on the edge of the forest without the extra set of eyes. Even in The Leaf, shadows lurked.
And what do I get for my efforts? Kakashi grumbled to himself, turning to look at the blond boy who was smugly standing with his arms crossed.
"What about you Pup," his lazy tone returned as he stood up. "Find anything sticking to you other than dirt and body odor?"
"Oi, how dare you! I shower!" Naruto instantly retorted.
"Not enough. I can smell you coming a mile away."
Naruto stuck out his tongue in response to the jibe, but answered the question anyway. "I have no idea what my elemental affinity is, every time I start channeling chakra it takes all my focus to just keep it under control long enough to execute a jutsu, let alone notice what's happening around me. Unless fuuinjutsu counts? I like that stuff! It's the one thing I'm really good at." The growing boy happily eyed the filthy jonin who was still sporting the results of his talents.
"That's not true Naruto-kun, you're one of the top kids in our class in taijutsu, and your kawarimi is by far the fastest," Hinata cut in. "And Hiro-san is always saying that you're freakishly sneaky because you always manage to find where she hides the cinnamon rolls. Even I can't do that."
"That's not that big of a deal. You just gotta think like they think and beat 'em at their own game." The nonchalant way the boy stated a key insight of espionage, as if it was common knowledge, had Kakashi shuddering at the thought of how horrifyingly deadly this kid was gonna be someday out in the field.
"Besides," Naruto whined once more, "I can't even do the damn bunshin. And that's one that I need to pass the final exam!" Hinata gently patted her agitated friend's shoulder. "You had a hard time with the water walking and the tree climbing but eventually mastered them, remember Naruto-kun? You just need to keep practicing."
Kakashi had been listening with one ear as he continued wringing out various parts of his person, finally giving up and doing a simple wind jutsu to dry himself instantly. He turned to examine Naruto closely as he grumped about how difficult it was to regulate his chakra, vaguely remembering Kushina-senpai mentioning the same problem.
He recalled the solution she had come up with to compensate, but it was a risky jutsu. Executing it was not particularly difficult, but managing the aftermath of its affects could require some finesse to say the least. But Naruto had never ceased to surprise him when it came to his ability to take a poor situation and make the best of it. Mind made up, Kakashi decided to follow his Sensei, and put his faith in this child once more.
"Come here, Pup. I want you to try something," he said, gesturing for the boy to follow him.
Looking quizzically at each other, the kids shrugged and trotted behind the now wildly spiked mop of gray hair towards the middle of the clearing.
Taking on the air of an ANBU captain explaining a complex mission detail, Kakashi drilled the hyperactive boy with a stare meant to lock down his focus. "I'm going to show you a type of clone called a kage bunshin. It's similar to what you're attempting, but requires a lot more chakra. So much more, in fact, that it's technically forbidden due to the risk of chakra exhaustion. But for someone like you who has deeper reserves, it should be safe, and quite productive." Naruto's eyes had widened into blue spheres as he desperately tried not to explode with glee over learning a forbidden jutsu.
Showing the eager boy the single hand sign and giving him a few more pointers on how to channel his chakra, the jonin then stood back next to Hinata, who had her Byakugan activated and was watching with intense curiosity.
Scrunching up his face and gritting his teeth, Naruto forced his mind and body to settle into that "inner awareness" that Neji was forever going on about. Trying to control the maelstrom of chakra that whirled within himself was always a challenge. The chakra control exercises had been a bitch to learn. It seemed as though no matter how hard he focused on commanding his chakra, it at times had a mind of its own, like he was fighting for dominance of his own body. Whenever he suppressed his chakra to avoid detection, he just instinctively shut the whole thing down, like dumping water on a fire and allowing the darkness to hide his presence. The delicate manipulation required to gradually increase and decrease the stormy flow along a spectrum in order to execute different jutsu was much more difficult, and practicing it usually left him more exhausted than hours of physical training.
Kakashi and Hinata waited with baited breath as they watched Naruto struggling to concentrate. A small breeze began to swirl around the grass, picking up leaves that then orbited around the tense figure, making his red scarf dance eerily. The boy's extreme efforts became punctuated by a low growling, and the wind picked up speed. A twinge of panic tugged at the back of Kakashi's brain as an unpleasantly familiar feeling of demonic dread began to bleed into the rushing air. He thought he saw Naruto's whiskers begin to darken, the canine teeth exposed by his grimace begin to lengthen, and alarm shot through the Copy Nin as he reached with one hand to pull off his hitae-ate while pushing Hinata behind him with the other. Just as his Sharingan focused, Naruto suddenly yelled in a strained voice, "kage bunshin no jutsu!"
A massive wave of chakra burst from Naruto's body, sending Kakashi and Hinata hurtling back into the bushes and filling the clearing with smoke. After quickly assessing himself and the stunned girl for injuries, Kakashi crawled out with Hinata under his arm and they were greeted by the sight of Naruto panting in the dirt next to a black scorch mark, small rips and tears littering his orange clothes.
"Naruto-kun are you alright!?" Hinata was the first reach his side, stumbling to ground next to him and pushing aside her own dizziness from the massive pulse of chakra to assess her stunned friend.
"What the hell was that?" Naruto mumbled, he was staring at his fingers like he didn't recognize his own hand, turning it over and back.
Kakashi adjusted his hitae-ate back over his Sharingan before he knelt by Hinata and looked sternly into the blond's eyes for any lingering signs of the demonic chakra he had just felt. The jinchuriki's gaze was clear and blue, a bit fearful, but still completely himself. Glad that his mask would hide his immense relief, he asked, "Pup, what happened?"
"I...have no idea," Naruto answered dazedly. "I was channeling my chakra and really trying to make it as fluid as possible, y'know? The more I concentrated it felt like the stronger it got, and I thought that was a good thing. Then it started to change kind of, like it felt heavier, or denser, or just more..." The boy's forehead furrowed as he looked for the right word, and his other hand unconsciously pressed into his abdomen, causing Kakashi to inhale sharply.
"...darker," he finished in a small voice.
Hinata had reached out and touched his shoulder, drawing the disheveled boy's gaze back outwards. Seeing her concern he instantly flashed her a reassuring smile. "So," he continued, forcing his tone to brighten, "I figured that I might have finally hit paydirt and went for it." He looked at the two people next to him and chuckled sheepishly as he reached out and plucked a leaf from Hinata's hair. "I guess I could still use some practice, eh? No worries! I never give up, dattebayo!"
Kakashi's first instinct was to instantly forbid him from ever channeling chakra for anything ever again and slap eighteen different chakra binding seals all over his gut. But the idea was quickly dismissed, forbidding Naruto from practicing a new jutsu was like telling the ocean to stop being so wet. Was it too much to hope that the demonic beast roiling within the rambunctious boy could eventually be tamed? Kakashi pushed his doubt aside, and remembered who it was he was talking about. If anyone could ever hope to overcome the hatred and power of the kyuubi, it was Naruto.
The indomitable boy had bounced back up to his feet and was already preparing to try again. "This time Pup, stop before you feel that...darker, chakra," Kakashi advised. "Your reserves are plenty big enough that volume is not the issue I want you to focus on, but control."
Flicking him a mock salute, Naruto took a wide legged stance and braced himself for whatever may come.
"Wait!" Pulling Hinata to the far side of the clearing, Kakashi executed a doton jutsu that had a thick mud wall bursting up from the ground, decorated with the faces of his dog summons. "Alright, ready!"
Naruto huffed in annoyance, "it wasn't that bad," he mumbled. Once again forming the hand sign, he took a deep breath, and began to focus. Hinata had her bloodline activated and was watching closely through the earthen barrier. Kakashi closed his eyes and opened his senses to try and detect the first sign of demonic chakra. Silence reigned across the training ground, even nature seemed to be holding its breath in anxious anticipation.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Hinata's gasp and gaping mouth had Kakashi pulling out his kunai and leaping over the wall ready to do battle with the Nine Tailed Demon himself. But when his feet hit the ground, he was so shocked the kunai slipped from his loose grasp.
No less than fifty orange terrors were blinking curiously in the afternoon light, looking around at the forest like they had never seen trees before. The mud wall recessed back into the ground and revealed an astounded Hinata, Byakugan still active, staring with shock and awe. The shadow clone nearest to her turned around at the sound of the rumbling earth and spotted the frozen girl. He grinned with a face splitting smile that had his whole countenance lighting up like the sun.
"Hime! I did it!" The clone screamed and ran at her with arms wide open, glomping the girl in a huge hug. His loud laughter caught the attention of the other clones nearby and soon Hinata found herself surrounded by a pack of overjoyed Narutos, all fighting to embrace their Hime.
Taking quick action Kakashi dove to the poor thing's rescue. Bonking all the spiky yellow heads with a fist like some messed up version of whack-a-mole, he finally found her, red faced and eyes spinning, at the bottom of the mosh pit.
"So...many...Naruto...kuns..." was all she could shakily whisper.
A ring of restless bodies formed a circle around the dizzy Hyuga until The Original finally came bursting through the line, bellowing with authority. "All right, all right! Break it up you bastards! Leave her alone! No touching! Got it? No touch!" He took a defensive position by her side, glaring angrily and waving a finger around at the crowd of gawking shadow clones. "Let's get this straight right now, no one touches Hime without my permission!"
"Aww come on!"
"Gimme a break."
"We were just being nice."
Kakashi wearily ran a hand through his wild hair, even the kid's clones were knuckleheads.
"Oh look! Squirrel!" cried a voice from the back of the group. The mini mob abruptly turned as one and took off in a stampede toward the tree line.
"Holy hell, its like a kitsune army." Kakashi whispered in horror. He had expected the kid to form maybe three to five shadow clones, remembering Kushina's max to be around 25-30 in her prime. How much chakra does the kid have? And this is all without even touching the Kyuubi's supply? Turning to look at the mind boggling enigma, who had now pulled his friend to her feet and was fanning her face, Kakashi snickered as he noticed her wiping a small bit of blood from under her nose.
"Hime I'm so sorry! I don't know what got into them, it's like they have a mind of their own!" Naruto apologized profusely as he helped to steady his wobbly friend.
"That's because they do." Kakashi spoke up, peering into the forest at the small dust cloud that was all that remained of the rampaging hoard.
"Huh?" The kids asked is unison.
"That's why a kage bunshin takes so much more chakra, it's an actual clone, with thoughts and feelings and reactions." The jonin continued his explanation while internally wondering what kind of dog to summon for the task of retrieving the pack of clones before they ran amok over the whole village. A herder would round them up like a flock of sheep, or I could always try a foxhound, those guys love a good hunt... Reaching for his summoning scroll he added, "there might be some discrepancies based on how stable your chakra was when you made them, but essentially they are all, well, you. The other benefit is—"
The hysterical squawking of a flock of birds swiftly taking to the air somewhere in the distance interrupted them, and Naruto's eyes got really big. "Um, they got the squirrel."
"—memory transfer."
With a poof Pakkun was standing before them, sniffing the air he looked at his summoner. "Kakashi, why does it smell like the Uzumaki Special Number 27 around here? I haven't smelled that since..." his dark eyes stared hard at the sheepishly smiling culprit. The pug sighed, "How many?"
"About fifty," the jonin said cheerfully, ignoring the spluttering dog. "Be gentle now, its his first time!" With an eye smile he quickly summoned two more ninken and sent the small pack to go take care of business. In the mean time he would explain the delicate process of dispelling a clone without falling unconscious from the sudden rush of information.
"Uh oh," Naruto's face had suddenly gone pale and he was grimacing as though someone had just punched him in the gut, making both his companions freeze in dread. Hinata was the one who bravely asked, "what now Naruto-kun?"
"Dog," he croaked hoarsely, his voice more serious than Hinata ever thought possible. "We got a Code Green."
"Code Green!? Which way?" The alarm in the experienced former ANBU's voice was reflected in his immediately tense posture, head swiveling around the clearing and even up to the sky. Their reaction was contagious and the Hyuga had her Byakugan activated, also scanning for the unknown threat.
"Coming from east wall, he's moving fast." Naruto answered in deadly low voice.
"Shit! ETA?"
"Hmmm," the blond sharply flinched as a new memory bombarded his brain. "Fuck! That'll take some getting used to, uh, about three minutes."
In the distance a loudly booming voice could be heard proclaiming the glorious power of youth.
"Oh Kami," unmitigated horror was written across the blond's face.
"What?!" Kakashi was grabbing his small shoulders, shaking him with fierce intensity. "Spit it out man! We don't have time for weakness!"
"He has a...minion." A confused Hinata frowned in annoyance at the unnecessary profanity and doomsday antics as they both gasped dramatically.
"Damnit, this just became a Level 2 Threat. Evacuate immediately!" Kakashi bellowed.
Hinata was starting to get pissed. "Naruto-kun what is going on?"
"Hime, look at me, we have to leave," he hissed at her, flinching again and holding his head. "Now!"
"Naruto-kun I don't see anything, just Neji and his new teammates," she says, gesturing in exasperation toward the easily identifiable chakra signature she saw with her Byakugan.
"Neji is on HIS team!?" Naruto gaped, looking out into the forest.
Kakashi solemnly places a hand over his heart, "Kami bless his soul."
"Naruto-kun it's not—" she was interrupted by three ninken bursting out of the underbrush and running full tilt at them yelling, "Kakashi! It's coming!" before poofing out of existence.
"Hime, save yourself!"
"You guys! You're being ridiculous—"
"Incoming! Abort! Abort!"
"DY-NAMIC EN-TRY!"
A streak of green followed by a slightly smaller streak of green torpedoed into the area, shattering the two logs that Naruto and Kakashi had sacrificed in a last second kawarimi. As the dust settled Hinata squeaked and covered her eyes at the vast amount of extremely revealing spandex standing before her.
"What a glorious display of youth!" Roared the larger of the two obscene sights. "That was the best training scenario I have had since I became a jonin! So many youthful opponents!" The bushy browed maniac fist pumped as he turned to face his equally endowed companion. "Lee!"
"Gai-sensei?!" The smaller bowl haired boy smartly saluted.
"We must continue to seek out this tiny blond trainer! His youth is bountiful!"
"Hai Gai-sensei!"
The pair suddenly flipped onto their hands and charged away.
A minute passed but Hinata did not dare lower her hands. Some things could not be unseen. "They're gone Imouto," a familiar voice said in flat tone. "It's safe to open your eyes now."
Hinata blinked hesitantly at the two young ninja standing before her. Her Niisan had a frustrated scowl on his face and the girl next to him looked utterly exhausted.
"Niisan," she whispered, "who was that?"
The Hyuga boy sighed heavily as he reached for his storage scroll from Naruto and unsealed two containers of water. Tossing one to the wheezing female genin next to him who snatched it out of the air and proceeded to chug the thing.
"An abomination of humanity."
Hinata eyed the girl who was still gulping the water and wondered if she would breathe anytime soon. "Your new Sensei?"
Neji nodded and without looking tossed the second water bottle at his teammate, who caught it blind and popped the top while still somehow guzzling, and seamlessly swapped the full bottle for the empty one without stopping.
"I see," she murmurs, still staring with mild awe at the bun-haired brunette, who finally finished her second bottle with deep head toss and panted as she wiped her mouth.
"Hi!" she breathes with a small smile and a weak wave. "You're Neji's cousin, huh? I'm Ten-Ten, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet y—" before Hinata can politely finish her own introduction the girl keeled over in a dead faint. But Neji was there, awkwardly catching her before she face planted.
"He is trying to kill us," he deadpans, uneasily working to maneuver the limp girl in his arms so that she didn't drool all over him. Hinata giggled as he finally managed get her in a sort of bridal style grip and carried her over to the shady grass.
"He seems...jolly," she tried to sound optimistic, while simultaneously attempting not to think about his...figure. Maybe I can ask Ino-chan if she knows any memory erasing jutsu?
Neji sighed as he straightened back up and unsealed his last water bottle, only to frown when nothing but drops trickled out into his mouth.
"Perhaps Naruto would be willing to make some more storage scrolls for my teammate. I think she would appreciate their usefulness," he says before gathering up the three empty bottles and heading for the nearby stream.
Hinata glanced over at the unconscious girl snoring away under the tree. "Maybe, several more."
The sun was deep in the sky out on the horizon, casting two spiky haired shadows across the road. The shorter one turned to the taller, a contented look on his face as he rubbed his belly full of ramen. "You've been busy lately, Dog."
The lazily slouched jonin hummed as he put his hands in his pockets. "The Hokage assigned me a new genin team."
"Again huh? How's that going?" The blond leisurely crossed his hands behind his head as they turned a corner.
"Already gone. They failed the bell test," Kakashi answered easily, no regret whatsoever in his mind.
Naruto snickered, "Shit. You'd think they'd learn, that's how many teams now?"
"I lost count."
They continued on in companionable silence, both too full and too exhausted to expend energy on useless words. As they drew closer to his empty home, Naruto couldn't help but frown at the thought of the lonely rooms that awaited him. He eyed Dog out of the corner of his eye, wondering for the hundredth time what the man's answer would be if he dared to tell him about his idea. Pursing his lips in determination, he decided to try his luck.
"So, y'know, you don't always have to lurk around outside whenever you want to check on me," the boy said with as much casualness as he possible.
"I do not lurk, I am not a hunchback. I am stealthy, like a ninja. Jeez." Kakashi drawled. "And don't deny that you like the fact that I bother checking on you, Pup."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Naruto huffed without animosity, trying to save some of his dignity but unable to deny the truth of the statement.
"I don't sleep," the former ANBU mumbled.
Naruto looked at him closely, sensing that there was more behind the statement than just snark. Dog did look more relaxed these days compared to when he first ran into him all those years ago, but not necessarily well rested.
Naruto thought about the last big thunder storm that had blown through two weeks ago, when he had worriedly strained to feel out into the night for Dog and found Pakkun instead. The boy had insisted the poor ninken join him in the apartment, citing the miserable weather as the reason for the invitation and not his own childish unease. The canine had willingly obliged and in the morning Naruto had been pleased to find him still curled up at the foot of his bed. The same scenario repeated itself the next few nights, despite the lack of precipitation, and Naruto had thoroughly enjoyed having the presence of another nearby. But Pakkun was not a pet, he was a ninja summon, and with Dog's absence for his mission this last week, the lonesome nights had felt even more empty. It was while lying awake on one of those nights that the orphaned boy had come up with his proposal.
"Y'know," he started hesitantly, scuffing his shoe on the sidewalk. "Ero-sennin never comes around hardly ever. Even when he does he usually stays in town at the hotels. Says it has something to do with his research or whatever."
The tall ninja next to him giggled girlishly and Naruto squinted up at him in mild disgust. But he had to tread carefully with his request, so he didn't scold the avid fan.
"So, if you ever, y'know, wanna stop creeping around like a weirdo and come sleep in the extra room like a normal human, that'd be fine with me." Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly and looked away, not wanting the guy to see the hopefulness on his face and think he's some sort of weak little kid or something.
The man slowed his already meandering steps, hesitating before he answered. "You want me to stay? Like, the night?"
"..and Pakkun," Naruto clarified.
"And Pakkun?" Kakashi stared down at the shy way the kid was rubbing his neck. The gesture so reminded him of Minato-sensei that his heart ached with the memory of his mentor's loss. And now here was the man's son asking him to stay, to protect him, the same way his father had taken a desolate Kakashi under his wing after he lost his parent and teammates. He smiled under his mask at the growing boy, who still had a child's instinctual craving for security and companionship. I see you, Pup. You don't have to hide the loneliness from me.
"I guess I can stay a couple nights," he said in a blasé way, passing on the temptation to amplify the kid's embarrassment by teasing him about being a scaredy cat.
"Really?!" All pretense of nonchalance was completely ruined with the overjoyed outburst.
"But you have to shower," he couldn't resist adding. "Everyday."
"Everyday?" Naruto recoiled in dismay. "That's just mean."
"It's sanitary."
"I'm not crazy."
"You are insane if you think that I'm gonna share a place with you when you insist on being unsanitary." Perhaps he would tell Jiraiya to add a dictionary to the kid's library list.
"Whatever, you and your fancy words. Just don't bring any fleas into the house, ok?" Naruto snapped in an attempt to regain his pride.
"That was an insult to all of canine-kind," Kakashi retorted as they came to the bottom of the apartment building's stairs.
"You forget I have class with an Inuzuka. Why do you think I have a special stash of prank pouches filled with flea powder?"
"How hypocritically considerate of you to torture him with hygiene. I hope you enjoy it when karma bites you in the ass, because daily showers will be a thing from here on out."
"What language are you even speaking?"
The grinning pair continued to mockingly bicker as they entered their home.