I really like Tsunade's character, but I felt that it was a cop-out to bring her back... Having her just wake up from a coma after less than a month and start being Hokage again spoiled the seriousness of what she'd done. For me, it made her sacrifice seem trivial, like it was no big deal- just something she could shrug off after a rest and a meal. That's why I'm keeping Kakashi on as the Hokage.
THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
Part I:
"The Word about Town"
...o.o.o...
Unlike usual, it was a quiet evening in the Hokage's Tower as Kakashi sat at his large desk, intently reading one of the various installments in the "Make Out" series. The masked shinobi maintained his usual 'mask' of indifference as he silently read.
He set the book down when he heard the door at the other end of the room creak open. He quickly recognized the figure standing in the doorway as Anko Mitarashi. The eccentric (and attractive) female jounin entered the large room and approached the desk. She noted the tall pile of stamped documents and smiled slightly. "Sorry to disturb your reading," She began while maintaining her smile.
"But I figured you might like to have some company." She added, her smile widening as sat down on the desk. Kakashi tucked the book inside his coat when Anko hitched her leg up onto the desk.
A trained shinobi of Anko's caliber could pick up on even the slightest hint of a smile (even under the cover of a mask). But Kakashi was a professional and didn't give away anything- not even when prompted by the pale flesh of the slender leg before him.
The silver-haired ninja silently looked at her for a moment. "Well, when you put it like that... How could I possibly refuse?" He asked coolly as he leaned back in his chair. He casually glanced at the mesh-covered valley visible through the open front of her long coat. "After all, who am I to turn down such a tempting invitation?"
...o.o.o...
Yamato gave a sigh of relief as he stood before the gates of Konoha with his subordinates (Naruto, Sakura, and Sai). He promptly turned to face the three teens under his command. "Before you go, I just want to say that the three of you did well." He began with a slight smile. "But even more important, I see that you're on your way to becoming true comrades."
The Captain's smile broadened and he continued. "Just try and keep what I said in mind while you guys enjoy some down time." He informed them, placing his hands on his hips. "That goes double for you Naruto- try not to forget what I said this time."
Sakura laughed at the comment while her blond teammate blushed with embarrassment in reaction the comment. For his part, Sai simply maintained his usual practiced smile. Yamato chuckled as he observed the antics between the three of them.
After that, the four parted ways- the teens heading for their respective residences and the captain going to the tower to file his mission report. Yamato mused over the recent events- their mission had gone well and his three charges were truly starting to form a sense of camaraderie. More and more, he felt he could trust Sai- especially following the death of Black-Ops Danzo.
And that was another issue... Little was known of the circumstances in which he had died- except that it happened while he was fighting none other that Sasuke Uchiha. While several of Danzo's actions bordered on outright treason, he likely viewed them as being necessary to the preservation of Konoha- as in the the ends justified the means. And like a Shinobi, he'd lived and died on his own terms, so he was owed that much respect.
Elsewhere in Konoha...
Naruto arrived back at his modest apartment and quickly went inside. The teen entered his bedroom and set down his travel pack. He then quickly removed his flack vest and the rest of his gear, then went to take a quick shower. He had plans, so he didn't want to waist too much time here...
After his shower was finished, Naruto returned to his room to get dressed. He put on a new pair of black pants (since the orange ones had become too worn during his last few missions) and his usual orange and black breaker top over his mesh undershirt. He sat down on the edge of his bead and slipped on his usual sandal-style footware.
Naruto brushed back his blond hair and donned his headband. With all this done, he got to his feet and left his bedroom. He paused for a moment, stopping to look at a sheathed katana laying on his kitchen table. He started to reach for it, but stopped and turned away.
He paused again and looked back over his shoulder at it. He then nodded to himself and continued out the door. "Soon enough, soon enough..." He thought to himself as he left.
...o.o.o...
Naruto walked under the arch of the open gate and looked around. He couldn't see anyone on the grounds. Of course, the Hyuuga estate (including the land) was pretty expansive and he'd only really seen the front of the place up till now.
Naruto walked up along the paved walkway towards the front of the house, still not spotting anyone. He paused at the door, as if sensing something, and looked to his side to see a young girl with dark hair and the same pale eyes as Hinata looking at him through an open window. "What's wrong- why so tense?" She asked. "I mean, it's obvious why you're here..."
Naruto cleared his throat in an effort to compose himself. He was never really sure of how to act around people of status. "Uh... you know me?" He watched as the girl proceeded to effortlessly jump through the open window.
She stood up and gave him an unnerving smile as she brushed long strands of dark brown hair out of her eyes. "It doesn't take the Byakugan to see that you're Naruto Uzumaki..." She commented. "I was in the stadium when you took down cousin Neji." She began, gesturing to her pale eyes. "And of course... You're also my sister's boyfriend." She finished with an almost eerie smile.
Naruto suddenly blushed when the girl spoke the last part. "W-wait, you must be Hinata's little sister? You're Hanabi, right?" He asked, getting another smile and nod from her. "I, um, don't suppose you know where Hinata is... do you?" The blond managed to ask.
Hanabi simply nodded. "Sis is still out on a mission with Kiba and Shino and Mitarashi-Sensei." She replied calmly. "But she should be back any time now... And I'm sure she'll be real glad that you'll be here to greet her when she arrives." The girl reasoned with a smile.
After a moment, Naruto nodded and sat down on the front steps. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." The young ninja remarked with a smile. "If you don't mind me asking..." He began. "Just how long have you known about your sister and me?"
Hanabi took a seat beside him and smiled impishly. "Big Sis is a kind and caring person, but she's really an open book in a lot of ways..." She calmly explained. "It's been pretty obvious for some time now that there was someone in Konoha that she liked... Though I had no idea it was you until recently." She finished.
Naruto sighed and nodded, realizing that he really was pretty much the last person to realize the truth about Hinata's feeling for him- even a young kid had worked it out before he did! "Yeah... It's pretty easy to miss something important, even when it's right in front of you." He commented with a slight smile. "I sometimes wonder if I was the only one who didn't realize how she felt about me..."
Hanabi shook her head and leaned back. "Wow, from the sound of things, grown-up relationships sure sound complicated." She observed, making Naruto chuckle slightly as she continued. "Still, I can tell that she's a lot happier now." The girl remarked.
The blond shinobi looked at her for a moment, his interest now peaked by the young Hyuuga's comment. "Really? Er, what makes you say that?" He asked her calmly.
Hanabi looked up at him and smiled. "Well it's pretty obvious if you look... She smiles a lot more now." She replied, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. "Being with you seems to make her really happy, so I guess it's all good." She reasoned with a smile.
...o.o.o...
Hinata and her teammates had returned to Konoha after completing their mission with little trouble. Despite her initial doubts, Anko-sensei had consistently proven herself to be a capable leader. Despite the woman's antics, the dark-haired girl had come to admire her.
When she arrived home, she was surprised to find none other than Naruto and her sister sitting out in front of the house. The two of them seemed to be in the middle of a conversation when they noticed her approach. Naruto stood up and ran over to her. "N-naruto! What are you doing here?" She blurted out as the blond wrapped his arms around her. Hinata went wide-eyed briefly as he picked her up in the embrace!
After a moment, he set her down and pulled back. He smiled warmly at her. "Isn't it obvious?" He began, still holding her gently. "I came because I wanted to see you, Hinata." He replied, causing her usual blush to darken considerably. "Now that we're both done with our missions, why don't we go do something fun?"
She eventually managed to compose herself enough to respond. "Oh Naruto... I'm always glad to see you. You just surprised me, that's all." She replied with a smile. "I... Well I just need to wash up first, then we can out." She replied.
Naruto blushed slightly and took a step back. "Oh yeah, of course- sorry about that." He replied awkwardly. "I guess I just got a little overexcited... I'm just so happy to see you."
"Come on sis," Hanabi began with a sigh, looking at her blushing sister. "Go on and get cleaned up... I'll show Naruto to the waiting room." She offered with a smile. Hinata nodded and quickly ran inside the house. The younger sister motioned for Naruto to follow her.
Naruto sat down in the large waiting room of the house. He knew enough about the Hyuuga clan to know that their ocular powers were one of Konoha's most highly guarded secrets. Yet he hadn't seen any guards anywhere since he'd arrived. Then again, perhaps that was the point- you weren't supposed to know where the guards were. And if you followed that train of thought, there could be ANBU lurking in the shadows for all he knew! After all, the point of the Black-Ops was that you weren't aware of them until it was too late...
"Don't worry, Father's out on family business." Hanabi announced with a smile. "I couldn't go with him this time because of my training." She added. Naruto nodded, recalling that she was now about the same age as he was when he first began doing missions. Though he suspected that things would go much smoother for the young Hyuuga.
About twenty minutes later, Hinata arrived in the waiting room- her hair was still slightly damp from her shower. She had on her usual capri pants and ninja-style sandals. However, in place of her hooded jacket, she had on a simple loose-fitting black t-shirt. And as always, her Konoha headband hung around her neck. Naruto smiled to himself as he rose to his feet.
Hinata took a deep breath before speaking. "I hope you don't mind, but I really wanted to go visit Kurenai-sensei to see how she's doing." The girl paused for a moment. "And then, well, we can go do something else." She finished with a nervous smile.
The blond teen nodded. "That's no problem at all Hinata." He replied with a smile. "Though, if we're going to visit Kurenai-sensei, then we should probably pick up something for her at the Yamanaka Flower Shop." He reasoned in a thoughtful tone.
The raven-haired girl nodded and left with Naruto, leaving the Hanabi to smile to herself as she watched the two of them depart...
(- End of Part I -)
I always like being able to use characters in my stories that I haven't used before. And in this case, it was Hanabi. This is my first time trying to write for her, so I hope I got her right. Keep in mind that I'm trying to use the character more positively then she might normally come across. In many ways, she clearly has her act together much more so than Hinata.
I've got a lot planned for this storyline- especially regarding some of the more recent events in the manga. While the storytelling has really improved recently, I don't think that sending Naruto to that island was a good idea (though his 'reunion' with his mother partly made up for it). I don't like seeing Naruto treated like he's stupid, even for the convenience of the plot. Especially since the whole cover story of cataloging the animals resulted in that awful "joke" involving the armadillo.
The plot's likely to diverge even more as things go on, though I'll explain thing more in the next chapter... Anyway, you can be sure to expect more Naru/Hinata content in future chapters.
