Disclaimer: I don't own anything except any original character mentioned in this story.
Author Note: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter. For anyone who has been wondering, I have not abandoned or put Ripples on haitus but it was not a priority to me in the last couple of weeks. This is why there had been a very long break between the chapters.
"How was your day, Uzumaki?"
Naruto pressed her lips into a thin line and kept her expression completely blank as warm brown eyes locked onto her. She knew something was up when Iemitsu contacted her and told her that the Ninth wanted to meet her in his house. Did he wish to award her for actions? Well it was a possibility but the whiskered teen knew that it was very unlikely for him to do it.
She picked up her tea cup and took a sip of her green tea as Timoteo and Iemitsu continued to regard her with considerate eyes. Was it real consideration? Or was it a calculated consideration? The Third Hokage had been considerate, almost like a grandfather to her but that had been a lie when she took it in consideration that she was a weapon.
Perhaps he had been using her in a way or trying to control her in some way or form. Well I can't change the past or curse a dead man. Naruto hummed and moved her tea cup around, blue eyes hardening slightly as memories of the past flooded her mind. Yes, there was no point for her to curse a dead man.
"I had a wonderful day," Naruto commented evenly. She picked up the offered sweet on the table and swirled it around as her eyes fixated on the man that decided to have her partner get involved with Tsuna's fight. Would she be in trouble if she question him? That funding was important but her curiosity was too immense for her to be satisfied. "But it got ruin when I learn you requested for all of the Guardians to take part in the Sky battle."
Timoteo did not smile or frown at her words, only picking up his own sweet and looking at it with thoughtfulness. His eyes showed very little emotions as it moved from her to the picture of Tsuna with his mother before coming back at her. A part of her wondered what was going through his mind while another part of her wondered if he would dare give her the answer that she desperately wanted.
After a couple of minutes, the blank look changed into a look of faint amusement and Naruto wondered if the man knew of the fact she had a very intimate relationship with one of the guardians. It does not matter if I am in a relationship with Kyoya. She exhaled. The relationship they had would not impact Sawada in any way or form.
She was probably the reason Sawada did not have to deal with Kyoya charging to his training ground for a beating.
"You must think I'm being cruel to include them when this is a match to punish Xanxus," Timoteo commented. Naruto kept quiet and wisely chose not to make a comment while Iemitsu narrowed his eyes at the man. The old man picked up his crane and regarded her carefully. "You seem like a very intelligent child. Tell me Uzumaki-san, have you figured out what my son loves?"
Attention. That was the first thing to come to her mind as the question loomed over them. In the weeks that they had gathered information and observed him, Naruto noticed how the man would bring attention to himself. If not by his actions or words then the way he would bring that huge chair like he was some kind of king.
Naruto thinned her lips and unwrapped the wrapper from the sweet as brown eyes continued to inspect her. By having the guardians come in then there would be a huge crowd of people to witness the man learning that his adopted father never lied to him. It is rather cruel. She quirked her lips into a smile.
Cruelty was what Xanxus deserved after putting everyone through this chaos but there was another person who was going to be affected by this delicious punishment.
"It might be a fitting punishment for Xanxus but if the Guardians get hurt then Tsuna will act even more like a whiny bitch when it comes to the Mafia," Naruto observed. Iemitsu frowned and thinned his lips while the Ninth looked faintly curious about her observation. "It will be rather annoying for you to convince him that he is stuck with the Mafia and unfortunately for you, he is your only heir."
Timoteo curled his lips into a smile and Naruto frowned at the rather strange behavior. That smile did not scream warmth or kindness to her. That smile on the old man's lips made her think that the man was up to something. No, it was rather better to say that he was smiling like someone who knew something that she did not.
She hated those smiles because it made her feel like an idiot.
"There is a very huge possibility Tsuna might not be my only heir," Timoteo commented. Naruto raised a single eyebrow and took a sip of her tea as brown eyes continued to inspect her. "There is a very huge chance that you are another potential heir if Tsuna-kun ever dies."
And how is that even possible? Naruto thinned her lips and picked up her tea cup as Iemitsu and Timoteo inspected her. The younger version of herself would have been overjoyed the possibility and the naïve part of her would have jumped into a rather delusional idea of her being Iemitsu's daughter. But she was not blind about the love that Iemitsu had for his wife.
He was not the type of man to cheat on his wife, even though he was the type to lie to her.
She flickered her eyes between the two adult before picking up another sweet. There is something that I'm missing about the connection between the three of us. Her mother had been born to a famous clan, well-known for their sealing arts, while her father had been born to a family of merchants. There was nothing out of the ordinary between them.
Neither of her parents had any hints that they came from the Outside.
"Explain to me about this probability," she finally said. Iemitsu blinked and the whiskered teen took a sip of her wonderful tea before flickering her eyes at the two men. "As far as I'm concern, my father was born in my home village while my mother had been a foreigner sacrificed on the whims of her clan. Iemitsu doesn't seem like the type of man to cheat on his wife—"
"—At least someone believes I'm faithful," Iemitsu muttered. Timoteo threw a glare at the man and the blond-haired man raised his arms but not looking one bit apologetic of what had been said. Naruto only wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes at the adult. Was this really the time for them to discuss such things.
She cleared her throat. "As I was saying, there is nothing in my heritage that would give even the slightest hint I've a connection to either of you. My father had no connection to the Mafia, Triad or Yakuza and the same goes for my mother."
Iemitsu and Timoteo exchanged glances before the blond-haired man pulled out a family tree from his jacket. Naruto raised a single eyebrow as the man slid the paper to her. Sawada Emiyo + Namikaze Fuyuhiro. Oh. That would make sense of why they would believe such things but what was their proof? There was nothing tying her to them.
For all they knew, Namikaze was a common last name at the time.
"Namikaze Fuyuhiro was a foreign man," Iemitsu explained. Naruto nodded and raised a single eyebrow, waiting patiently for the man to elaborate how he could be so certain that she could be a descendant of this very man when there could have been over a hundreds of Namikaze at the time. "Sawada Emiyo fell in love with her husband from their very first meeting. They quickly married but no one knew where they went. We believe they went to the village that you were born in."
So you are saying that if your son dies then I'm going to be your heir? She clenched her hands into a fist and took a deep breath as she tried to calm down her growing temper. If she was 12 years old again then this piece of information would have made her happy because it meant that she had a potential family or even getting a high position that would get her respect.
But things were different now because it wouldn't be her own hard work that got her that position. She wanted to make a name for herself and to leave her own mark in the world, not the mark of someone else. If Tsuna loses and the Ninth takes it as his chance to make me the heir then I will make something clear to them. She exhaled and smoothed her school skirt.
"I have no plans at all of becoming your heir," Naruto finally informed them. She rubbed the back of her neck and picked up another sweet, twisting and turning around as the two men exchanged glances. "I mean the money nearly made me consider but well I don't like the idea of being a replacement if Tsuna fucks up."
Timoteo smiled slightly and the whiskered teen furrowed her eyebrows together. Why do I have a feeling that I walked right into a trap? There was something about his brown eyes that mocked her. Something about it that told her that her answer determined her fate but it could be wrong of her to presume that much.
"Oh? And why wouldn't you wish for the position?" Naruto tilted her head as Timoteo regarded her with curious eyes. "I thought you have a fondness for money. Wouldn't a position like Tsuna give you all the money that you desire?"
It might give me money but I would be a bird stuck in a cage. She could picture herself having the same, boring fate as the Third Hokage. The members of her inner circle would be free to travel and not be stuck with doing so much paperwork, while she had to sit behind a desk and read through hundreds and hundreds of paperwork. All for a job that was given to her because of her bloodline, not because of her own hardwork.
It would be her own personal nightmare.
"I simply won't be free to travel," Naruto observed. She picked up a sweet while Timoteo continued to stare at her with lips pressed into a thin line. "Then there is also the fact the responsibility would just drown me and then I have to consider the fact that the Vongola Familigia won't be an organization I created, but the one my ancestor made. The one thing I desire the most is to make a name for myself."
Timoteo regarded her with amused eyes, earning a small frown from the whiskered teen. What was so funny about her words? It was the damn truth. As tempting as it was to seize the opportunity to get more money, there would be nothing about her that made her special. It would never feel like she worked for the role, only getting the fucking job because of who her family was.
She mocked the civilians with rich parents and here she was with a chance of being rich behind her wildest imagination.
"Iemitsu believed you have too much pride to take the chance away from Tsuna-kun, even if you have a chance to make a name for yourself," Timoteo observed. Naruto darted her eyes to Iemitsu and the man only offered her a sheepish smile. If I didn't need your support, I will be fining you and finding ways to ruin your marriage because of your mouth. There was nothing about her that was predictable. "But I can't simply let you do your own thing with your organization."
Naruto raised a single eyebrow. "And why not? I provide information that Tsuna will need so he doesn't fuck things up and in return, me and my employees will be paid handsomely and have our freedom."
"That may be true but Tsuna-kun will have a target on his back," Timoteo reminded her. The whiskered teen pressed her lips into a thin line and offered a grimace. He wants to ensure the line is going to continue on even if Tsuna dies. That seemed to be what the old man was leading up to their discussion. "And since you don't seem to have any plans of taking over what our ancestors started, we will need to come to a compromise."
"A compromise?" The word tasted filthy in her mouth and the whiskered teen schooled her expression into a blank one as the old man bobbed his head. There was no way she was going to sacrifice her freedom to do what he wanted. The freedom she worked hard to get despite the fact she was forever stuck with a monster in her gut.
The old man nodded. "If Tsuna dies without a child then you will take over until you have your own child. This child will take over when you deem that they are capable of leading the Vongola Familigia. Will you find that a fair compromise?"
Was he using her as a broodmare? What if she had no plans for children? Did the bastard think that because she was a female that she wanted children? How dare that old man presumed because of her gender that she was going to go for a stereotypical life? She wanted to do things her way, not the way society deemed for her.
"Didn't you plan to have children anyway?" The Kyuubi asked. Naruto felt her eyebrows twitched and in her mind eye, she could see the fox looking at her with unimpressed eyes. "And at the rate that you and that lover of yours are doing things, I won't be surprised if you ended up getting pregnant."
Naruto exhaled. "I want to have kids when I wanna have kids! I don't want some old man demanding I get pregnant in order to get my freedom! And if I ever do get pregnant, I ain't going to get pregnant before I even have my network take off! And who says that Kyoya and me are going to be together for that long?"
"Your future told you," The Kyuubi drawled. "And that lover of yours is more loyal to you then most men I have seen. The only clan that comes close to that level of love and devotion is that disgusting Uchiha Clan."
The whiskered teen exhaled. "The future can change and Kyoya and I might be together now but who is to say that we will be together in two years time or three? People can change and relationships too. We might have very strong feelings towards each other but how can I say that it is love? Love isn't an emotion that I know from observation."
Her mind was dead silent and the whiskered teen stared at her hands before looking at Iemitsu and Timoteo. It would be incredibly naïve of her to believe that they would be together after 9 years. Relationships did not last from naivety. Love was confusing. What was the difference between love and lust? And how did you know someone loves you?
She knew Kyoya carried affections for her like she carried for him but they were teenagers and teenagers rarely knew anything about love. It was perhaps the one thing she learnt from observation. Couples broke up after a year or two over certain things. There were men who cheated on their partners and the same could be said about women.
Would the relationship between her and Kyoya last until that parallel future she saw? Or would it crash and burn like the relationships she watched?
"Uzumaki-san, what do you have to say about the compromise?" Timoteo asked.
Naruto blinked and looked away from her hands to stare at the brown eyes of the old man. Her throat tightened and her hands itched to punch the man. Why did he have to put her in this position? She inhaled and exhaled as the ticks of the clock-handle rang against her ear. The whiskered teen licked her lips and took in a deep breath.
"Give me a week to think about it."
This was not an easy decision to make because she could give her own child, the same fate and that was not a choice she could make lightly. Until she could figure out a better deal or found a loophole in his wording then she was going to hold off making the final decision. She was going to try her hardest to make sure her future child was as free as a bird.
No way was she going to clip their wings before they were even born.
"You are in a bad mood even though you came back to your apartment with hickeys on your neck."
Naruto pressed her lips into a thin line and twisted her head around to stare at Ino. Her childhood classmate had a tiny frown playing on her lips as her eyes fixated on her neck. A neck that the whiskered teen knew that had no purple bruises. She had made certain to check the mirror before she had went to that meeting with Timoteo and Iemitsu.
"Did you listen in on the conversation between Jiraiya and me?" She finally asked, raising a single eyebrow at the platinum-blond haired girl. The girl only shrugged while Shikamaru and Choji coughed and flushed a light shade of red. Great, just great. The whiskered teen smacked her hand against her face and groaned.
"Jiraiya was very loud in vocalizing his anger," Ino answered. The blonde rolled her eyes and moved her feet back and forth as her eyes darted everywhere. I should apply some silencing seals in the living room and maybe even Kyoya's office. She exhaled and looked back at the platinum blond-haired girl, who leaned forward slightly with eyes twinkling with eagerness. "So, did you and Hibari do it?"
You think I'm actually going to tell you if I had sex with Kyoya or not? She rubbed her jaws and darted her eyes to the window that overlooked the Disciplinary Committee room. Even if they were friends then she still wouldn't tell the girl. Not only because of the whole privacy of their relationship but there were so other things in her mind.
"I ain't telling you whether we fucked or not," Naruto grunted. Ino pouted and folded her arms against her chest while Shikamaru and Choji flushed a bright shade of red. Jeez, they are acting like they never had the talk. They acted like this was an act that they needed to be embarrassed about when they had been trained to spot and not fall for a woman's act.
Besides it should be rather obvious if we went all the way. She probably would never be able to walk properly, not when she could imagine Kyoya having his way with her the whole night. She probably wouldn't have left his house. Naruto closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards as dark steel grey eyes flashed before her eyes.
"Do you think Xanxus is going to try something?" Shikamaru asked, not looking her in the eyes. His ch eeks were still flushed a deep shade of red and the whiskered teen rolled her eyes as she rubbed her jaws. Her blue eyes darted to the trees, where two pink-haired women stood, before looking around the empty entrance.
Do I think Xanxus is cunning and foolish enough to do this? Naruto rubbed her jaw and exhaled. From what she knew from her own observation alongside the memories that Ino reported, it would be stupid of her to believe Xanxus would follow the rules that Timoteo set for them. It would not at all surprised her if he was doing something underhanded.
The whiskered teen snorted, glanced down at her phone before bobbing her heads at the members of Team Ten. It is good thing Xanxus and me are similar enough for me to know that I can't trust him. If she was in his position then she would be doing some underhanded methods to get what she wanted. It was this fact that made her decide to send that message to Haku and Lancia.
"Then do you have a plan of what to do?" Choji asked, knitting his eyebrows together and popping open a bag of chips. His black eyes flashed with curiosity while Ino and Shikamaru raised their eyebrows at her. Naruto raised both eyebrows at the two teens. Haven't they realized why Haku hasn't been staying in the apartment for the last two days? Or why he isn't here? She expected this from Choji but not from Shikamaru and Ino.
She shook her head and curled her lips into a very thin line as her eyes darted down to her phone. I hope Xanxus hasn't kept his guard up around me or else the situation will be bigger. Naruto rubbed her jaws and darted her eyes around the empty courtyard. Haku was probably her strongest employee and someone she could see cleaning up the trash without any problem.
She didn't know if Lancia would allow that guilt inside of him to kill the kindness in his heart and destroy the people who would hurt her allies.
"You can never be too cautious when it comes to Xanxus," Naruto answered. She took a deep breath and then took a seat on the floor as Shikamaru eyed her. Her skipping buddy probably understood that of course she had a plan and that she was never ever going to drop her guard around the man. Why would she? Her partner and her other allies were involved, which meant her bank might die and she couldn't allow that to happen. "Xanxus desires only two things: power and revenge."
He would do anything to get what he wants. The blonde inhaled and exhaled as the birds chirped their evening song in the background. If it was not for the fact Mammon was now on Xanxus' bad side then she would have asked him for information. She doubt that Xanxus would tell him anything with how things were.
"Haku is on standby, isn't he?" Shikamaru asked. The whiskered teen only offered him a thin smile and stretched her arms as Ino and Choji stared at her with wide eyes. They still don't know me, do they? Or Haku even? Even if she had never that caution inside of her then the older boy would have warned her at some point or gave her that advice at some point.
Out of all the employees she currently had, Naruto trusted Haku's judgement. He might be one of the kindest people she knew and did not have the heart of a true killer but he could kill that kindness inside of him if he felt that it was necessary. I still haven't figure out a way to do the same thing to Kyoko and Haru. Kindness was a moral trait and the jobs she wanted them to do lacked any morals.
They were going to trick people to give information, play with their emotions and maybe even kill someone. A kind person would only get themselves killed with the line of work that she planned for them to do.
"If you are worried that he is going to be bored then don't worry," Naruto answered. She leaned her back against the wall and exhaled as the members of Team Ten raised their eyebrows at her. I guess I will be kind for once and just give them a clue without demanding for some money. Another sigh escaped her lips. "He won't be lonely."
The members of Team Ten blinked and raised their eyebrows at her but the whiskered teen shrugged her shoulders. I'm not going to give you anymore information. She had been more than generous by telling them this much. She could have demanded for money before giving the hint. Hell she had even been tempted to pull her kunai and inform them that they should worry about themselves more than Haku.
God, did she feel tempted to hurt someone because of what that bastard Ninth wanted to do.
The gravel behind her crunched and Naruto's shoulders tensed up as the members of Team Ten turned around. She did not need to turn around to know her partner was standing on the side of the building. The fact there had been a light crunch told her that it was Kyoya. None of the other guardians could make a crunch like he did.
I can't turn around to face him. If Ino could figure out she was in a bad mood then Kyoya was going to figure out her mood was horrible. He knew her. They had been allies for a good two years now which meant he could read her. He was going to wonder why her mood was horrible and while he would never push her to talk…she didn't know what to tell him.
What could she even tell him?
"Little Fox." You are doing a terrible job of hiding your horrible mood. That was what that particular tone in Kyoya's voice told her and the whiskered teen clenched her jaws together. Was he going to push her to talk about it? Could she even talk about it with him? They might have been close to having a homerun but it was way too soon to talk about children.
She exhaled and stared at the steel grey eyes of her partner. "Kyoya."
I don't want to talk about it right now. That was what she hoped her tone conveyed to him and from the way he nodded his head, Kyoya must have had understood her tone. The blonde looked up at the evening sky as her partner shot a glare at the members of Team Ten before taking the seat right beside her.
The members of Team Ten scurried away from her and Kyoya, leaving them alone to wait in the back walls of the school. Grey eyes darted at her and the whiskered teen pushed her bottom lip forwards and backwards. Should I talk to him about it later? About what the Ninth might want from me? It might involved him because they might have a child in the future.
"You are definitely different from your mother," The Kyuubi commented. Naruto stiffened and tucked her head against her knees as Kyoya darted his eyes at her. "If she had seen what you saw and had the same offer being made by that manipulative old man, she would have told your father because she had absolute faith your father would be the father of her children."
"My mother probably knew my father wanted children and had a naïve belief that their future wouldn't change," Naruto retorted. The Kyuubi snorted and the whiskered teen flickered her eyes to Kyoya. She wanted to believe the boy would stick by her in the next ten years. That he would be the type to want marriage and children but weren't those things considered chains for him? What if he didn't want children?
She couldn't just presume he wanted children or marriage because that was irrationality right there alongside naivety. Marriage was definitely not something she would mind sacrificing but children…that was a different story for her. The little girl inside of her wanted that life. She wanted children somewhere in the future but what about Kyoya?
I have to talk to him about it, don't I? This was not the kind of talk that they could discuss with their eyes. It was serious because it was time and energy for the both of them. They were going to have to talk about it eventually even if they were still together after five years. It was probably better for them to talk about it now.
That way they could walk away before one of them could get hurt. Because I don't want to compromise when it comes to this. She did not want to waste either of their time when it came to this topic. She would rather break up now then for them to break up later when she fell even more into this ocean of emotions she brought in him.
She didn't want him to change to suit her desires and if he didn't ever want to have children then they should end things before their hearts could break.
"Kyoya, we need to talk after the match."
Her partner blinked and twisted his head around to stare down at her. A single eyebrow was raised at her and the whiskered teen exhaled and inhaled before locking her eyes at them. I really don't want this talk! I think it is way too soon but it is necessary for everyone. She smoothed the wrinkles of her shirt as her partner curled his lips into the tiniest glimpse of a frown.
"Meet me in the Disciplinary Committee room after the herbivore's match," Kyoya sighed. Naruto nodded and looked up at the darkening sky as her heart pounded against her chest. It was for the best when she thought about it. They had to make that kind of talk because this was their future. She should ask him about his opinion on the matter and if he asked why then she would tell him the truth.
She could only wonder how Kyoya would feel if he knew of the fact that there was a future where they had a child together.
A/N: So Timoteo wants Naruto's future child to take over if Tsuna ever dies before having children and Naruto is now trying to think of a way to manipulate the situation to suit her. Ino and the other members of Team Ten knows that Naruto is in a bad mood and Kyoya and Naruto are probably going to have a talk after the Sky Match. Now the update might have been very slow but I will picking back the pace for Ripples.
The updates for Ripples will now be more frequent then the update for the Guardian Chronicles and will be updated whenever I have the latest chapter up. For anyone who reads the Guardian Chronicle: Reconstruction, the updates are going to be slower due to the shift of priorities.
Now here are a bunch of questions for you:
Question 1: Do you think that it is right for Naruto to have doubts despite the future she saw?
Question 2: How do you think the people of the Canon verse of Naruto will react to Ripples version of Naruto? The answer for this question would be revealed in the next arc.
Question 3: How do you find the talk between Kyoya and Naruto end up going? And do you think Naruto is wrong to have to talk about the issue?
Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter.
