The Wanderers
Bonus Chapter – High School Madness
A/N: Yes, this is Konoha High School. No, this isn't Konoha High School. Let's just say this is set in high school, but nothing else is similar. It's a fanfiction within a fanfiction. FANCEPTION.
A/N2: Apologies once again for lateness. I had actually written this chapter out completely as a recreation of Part 1 of Naruto in Konoha High, but when I was editing it I wasn't happy with it at all. So I scrapped it completely and re-wrote it in the form it now is. So yeah, sorry about the delay.
A/N3: Okay, so this started out as just the high school stuff, but it kind of…became its own thing. It's still a story within a story, but yeah. It's hard to explain, I just hope you enjoy this little side story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, there would be dance-offs.
Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were complete opposites in Konoha High School in almost every aspect, from grades to popularity to personality. Yet despite this, they stood on top of the roof of the main Konoha High building and shared a drink as they skipped class together and laughed at the younger children below them failing at gym.
"Check out that kid there," said Naruto with a laugh. "Remind you of anyone?"
Sasuke looked down for a moment before smirking, "Yeah. Makes you think, doesn't it?"
"Oh, did you hear back about that job you were talking about?" asked Naruto, knowing that Sasuke had been trying to get into the same business that his brother was in charge of.
The Uchiha student kicked at a nearby can, "Nothing yet, though Itachi is being a pain in the ass about it."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Naruto wanted to say that surely his brother wouldn't mess with his little brother's chance for a good job, but he remembered that the relationship between the only survivors of the Uchiha family was way beyond anything he could understand.
A loud horn drew their attention down to the road beneath their building. They saw a motorbike pull up to the front gate and a young woman with short spiky brown hair waved at them without a helmet on.
"That's my ride," said Sasuke, crushing his drink in his hand and tossing it to the side area of the roof.
Naruto chuckled loudly, "It's a real man that gets picked up by his lady friend."
The Uchiha student scoffed and flipped Naruto off. "It's my bike, she's just borrowing it. It's not like I have my license or anything."
"Right...and those flowers and love chocolates that were sent to your locker?"
Sasuke snarled and moved to the ladder leading to a lower roof beneath them. "That was…something I need to talk to her about." He turned and jabbed a finger at his friend, "And you swore you wouldn't give me any more crap about that. It's been a month!"
"And it's still funny," shot back Naruto before watching his friend disappear onto the lower roof and then onto the ground below.
When Sasuke approached the girl on the motorbike, she hopped off and embraced him in a long kiss that was far too scandalous for his someone his age. He pulled back and grinned at her uncharacteristically, something that he almost never did.
The young woman rolled her eyes and lifted him up onto her motorbike before he could protest, slapping him on the behind with a boisterous laugh. Sasuke's head shot back and forth in a vain attempt to make sure that nobody saw the exchange, but to his horror he saw the flash of blonde hair on the roof he had just left that indicated that everyone in the school would know within minutes.
"Let's get out of here," he said with a long sigh, recognising his defeat.
Fiore kicked the motorbike on with a wave of her hair, "On to the hotel!"
Sasuke clutched at her sides for dear life, "What, aggggaaaiiii…" His voice trailed off as the motorbike shot through the street into Konoha City.
Back on the roof, Naruto chuckled again and turned around with his hands behind his head. It was a beautiful day to just look up at the clear sky and not have a care in the world. If he was a smoker he recognised it would be a great opportunity to light up now, but smoking made his eyes hurt.
The sound of the roof door opening brought him out of his trance and brought a wide smile onto his face.
Standing in the doorway was the eldest daughter of the prestigious Hyuuga family, wearing a stunning white and dark blue kimono that hugged her figure considerably. She had the clear white eyes that separated her family from the rest of the people in Konoha City; Naruto knew it was some kind of genetic mutation that gave them better eyesight than most people.
Without a word she walked slowly towards him, her arms reaching forward and placing themselves onto the middle of his chest. Standing just a bit higher than usual on her toes, Hinata gently placed her lips onto his before pulling back and smiling into his eyes.
"Hello you," he said with a blown-away look in his eyes.
Hinata tapped her hands on his chest affectionately, "You weren't in class." She said it dotingly, but he could hear the disapproval in her voice. She often told him that to learn he had to attend class.
Naruto put up his hands with a shrug, "What's the point? We're about to graduate, it's not like I have any serious career prospects to study for."
She gave him the same look she always did when he talked that way before taking his hands into hers and kissing the top. "That's just not true, dear." She went to say more, but her expression changed and she clutched her chest painfully.
Naruto immediately offered to help her, guiding her to a nearby bench. He knew she'd been a bit unwell over the past few days, but that didn't stop him from being worried about her.
"You still feeling sick?" he asked with concern in his voice.
Hinata smiled at him and held his arms as they sat down beside each other. "I'm okay. I just came from the nurse's office."
"You've been spending a lot of time there," observed Naruto. "I know you want to be a doctor and all, but I think Tsunade might be getting sick of your company by now."
The Hyuuga heir hesitated slightly and her boyfriend noticed it with a raised eyebrow. Hinata sighed; it had been made clear early in their relationship that they couldn't hide anything from each other. She took his hands into hers and looked him straight in the eyes.
"I'm pregnant."
For a few moments Naruto just looked at her with a blank expression on his face, like he was still waiting for her to say what she had to say. Eventually he realised that he had to blink and shook himself out of his stupor. He looked at Hinata's face in utter confusion.
"Um…I…" He shook his head again, trying to focus and failing. "But wha…" He put up a hand to ask her for patience, taking a few moments to breathe in and out before fully collecting his thoughts.
"Okay, I have a few questions."
Hinata nodded with a warm smile, though her face spoke of the same confusion.
"Firstly: are you sure? I mean these things can be misinterpreted, right?"
His girlfriend reached into her kimono and pulled out a handful of objects before placing them in his hands. Naruto looked over them quickly before realising after the sixth one that they all read the same result. He looked back up to her with a small smirk, "Did you really have to take ten of them?"
Hinata squirmed slightly beside him, "I wanted to be sure…"
"Fair enough," said Naruto, handing the tests back to her as if they were poisonous. "Second question: how could this have happened?"
Hinata chuckled and put up her hands in specific gestures, "Well when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…"
"Stop, stop..." said Naruto with a wave of his hands. "All I mean is that we haven't actually…you know…"
His girlfriend shrugged, "I talked to Tsunade; apparently it isn't that uncommon. I think it was because of that weekend we took to Kiri a month ago."
Naruto sighed with a smile on his face as he looked up at the sky, "Ah, fun times." He shook himself out of it and looked back into her white eyes. "That's kind of a bummer. I always thought we'd…you know…before any of that stuff."
Placing a hand on his chest, Hinata smiled apologetically, "I know and I'm thankful that you have been so patient with me. But…I dunno…"
"We were so careful though," said Naruto, remembering the experiences they had shared since they'd started dating quite a while ago. Because she was from a prestigious family and had a strict upbringing they'd both agreed to wait until marriage to go the whole way with each other, not that they were ready to get married to each other by any stretch of the imagination.
Hinata chuckled as she was thinking about the same things. "We weren't that careful, dear."
Naruto had to concede she had a point. "Does this mean we can…you know…" he asked; a small glimmer of hope in his voice.
Hinata gave him a look that he already knew her response was going to be. He put up a hand apologetically before placing it gently on her stomach. She'd always had a nice figure and a flat stomach, though he could have sworn it was a little bit bigger than the last time he had felt it.
She smiled at the thought and leaned her head onto his head, enjoying the warm touch of his hand. They sat like that for a long time, feeling the warm sun on their faces as they tried to process what they had ahead of them.
"So…what do we do now?" asked Naruto finally. The school bell rang in the distance to indicate that school was over for the day.
"I hoped you knew," replied Hinata with a slight quiver in her voice. They both knew what each other was thinking when it came to the baby itself, but everything else was up in the air. "I guess we should tell Father."
Naruto groaned loudly; that wasn't something he was looking forward to. "Do I have to be there? He's going to kill me. So will your cousin. I don't want to set one foot in that household."
His girlfriend gave him a look that made his heart melt; she had a suspiciously strong power over him that she'd sworn to only use for good.
Naruto threw up his hands in surrender; there is no fighting against such power. "How about tonight then? We should get it over with before I lose my courage."
"I'll tell Father you're coming over for dinner," said Hinata. "Thank you for doing this, it means a lot to me."
"I'm wearing a cup though," said Naruto defiantly. It was a small act, but it felt good to know he had control over something. "And extra padding."
He still didn't expect to survive the night.
Naruto stood at the entrance to the Hyuuga household, fiddling with the collar of his shirt. He'd cleaned the shirt that Hinata had given him for his birthday last year and was wearing the best clothes he could muster, though he still felt underdressed.
It was the scandal of the school, the heiress of the prestigious Hyuuga family; the owners of the biggest corporation in Konoha City, dating the orphan misfit of the school. He'd been ready to drop out at a moment's notice until Hinata had come into his life and Naruto was determined not to screw up such the wonderful thing he had.
This wasn't a good start.
He reached forward to knock on the door, but it opened up slowly to a servant smiling warmly at him.
"Welcome, Naruto-sama," said the young girl, gesturing for him to entire the household.
Naruto took in a large breath and collected his thoughts before stepping into the household. The servant closed the door behind him and walked by his side through a grand corridor that held heirlooms of the family and pictures of the heads of the family throughout the years.
The last time Naruto had been in the house was when he and Hinata had informed her father that they were seeing each other. To his surprise, her father had been open to the idea and didn't protest at all, though Naruto knew that Hinata had been laying the groundwork for weeks beforehand. Naruto had gained some respectability in Konoha City after resolving a few big scale issues with his own brand of problem-solving.
"Do you know why I'm here?" asked Naruto to the servant, knowing that it took ages to get from the front door to the main dining hall. Most of the time he came to the household he snuck in through a gap in their security system and stayed with Hinata in her room.
The servant smiled and nodded to him sympathetically, "I've been assisting Hinata-sama for quite some time. I don't envy your position, Naruto-sama."
"Do you have any advice?" asked Naruto as they turned a corner and stood in front of the doors that led into the dining hall.
The servant bowed to him and placed a hand on the doorknob, "Don't look him in the eyes for too long. You aren't his equal yet, so don't try and be on his level. Also, try the beef, it's the chef's special today."
Naruto chuckled awkwardly and thanked her for her help. He gulped loudly as the door opened and his name was announced in a manner that he could have sworn was akin to calling out the name of cattle before they are sent into the slaughterhouse.
The dining hall was just as gigantic as he remembered, a long table that looked like it could seat over a dozen people. To his surprise, the Hyuuga family was all standing behind their respective seats waiting for him to enter.
Naruto eyes were immediately drawn to his girlfriend standing in a beautiful gown that while looking quite conservative still demonstrated how beautiful she was. She gave him a comforting look that set his mind temporarily at ease.
Standing beside Hinata was her younger sister, Hyuuga Hanabi. She had only just begun at Konoha High, but Naruto already recognised the potential for her to become as beautiful as her older sister. From his interactions with her he knew she loved her sister very much despite their history. He knew she had a thing for the young kid who used to follow him around, but her personality was very different from Hinata's.
On the opposite side of the table stood Hyuuga Neji, a cousin to the family and seen as the next in line to take charge of the family since Hinata looked to go a different path. He still looked like he had a large stick up his butt, but Naruto had heard his wife had just given birth to twins. She was a beautiful woman and Naruto was convinced he didn't deserve such a nice woman for an arranged marriage, but Neji wasn't one to show his happiness.
However Naruto's stomach dropped when he finally looked upon the head of the Hyuuga family, Hyuuga Hiashi. The tall man with white eyes had a piercing gaze that went straight through his head and into his soul, but to his surprise he didn't look that angry.
Then it struck him. She hadn't told him yet.
The urge to flee came roaring back, but Naruto stood firmly. After all he loved Hinata and would do anything for her.
"Sorry if I'm late," said Naruto with an awkward bow.
"That is quite alright," said Hiashi in a highly formal tone. "If you take your seat, we can dine."
Naruto looked around the table to see where he was meant to sit, though judging from the placements he could see that he had been placed beside Hinata. His heart soared at the impact of such a statement and smiled as he moved around and stood beside the young woman.
He and Hinata shared a look for a moment before they all sat on their chairs and waited as servants brought in plates of food that made Naruto's mouth water. He rarely ever ate such exotic foods, but as his girlfriend had taught him he waited until everything was placed in front of them and the others had started eating before he did.
The food was delicious as expected and Naruto was proud that he didn't make a mess as he ate. Unlike the times he ate with friends or at Ichiraku, there was no conversation at the beginning of the meal. Naruto knew their family was stuffy, but to his surprise after they shared a glass of wine the atmosphere relaxed slightly.
"How are your children?" asked Hiashi to Neji, sipping on a dark red wine.
Neji wiped at his mouth with a napkin, "The twins are colicky and Yuko decided to stay home to look after them. I've consulted a few doctors and they assure me that it isn't dangerous."
"How come you aren't there with them now?" Hiashi's tone was disapproving, but Neji appeared unaffected.
The young man looked over at his cousin, though his white eyes concealed his intentions. "I have a…vested interest in tonight's events."
Hinata sighed silently as her father's gaze turned to her. He didn't ask her a question, rather choosing to simply raise a questioning eyebrow.
"Something we should know about?" asked Hanabi, a wicked grin on her young face. Both Hinata and Naruto were staring daggers into her, but it was clear that they weren't going to be able to delay any longer.
Hinata slipped a hand underneath the table and took Naruto's into hers for support. "Father, I have something to tell you."
Hiashi put down his cutlery and placed his hands together over his plate. "Go on."
The Hyuuga heiress took a deep breath and made the plunge. "Father…I know this is going to sound bad…but I…um…" She couldn't seem to muster up the words, even as Naruto squeezed her hand in both support and fear.
Her father waited patiently for her to say her piece for several moments before unravelling his hands and grasping his wine glass. "If you are speaking about your being pregnant, I am already aware of it."
Hinata's eyes widened and her grip on Naruto's hand got so strong that she could feel his bones breaking within her grasp. Her boyfriend on the other hand was doing his best to hide behind her away from her father's gaze.
"You…you knew?" stammered Hinata after several short breaths.
Hiashi took a short sip from his wine and regarded his oldest daughter knowingly, "There is nothing in my household that I am unaware of. Speaking of which…" He turned to his youngest, "You are grounded for a month, Hanabi."
"What?! Why?!" The youngest Hyuuga resisted the urge to stand up to match her verbal protesting, though the stare from her father was enough to make the young girl shrink back into her chair.
"Skipping out on classes to spend time with a boy in a higher grade is not becoming of a Hyuuga. No television, no Internet, you are to come straight home from school each day."
Hanabi went to protest once again, but hesitated when she saw Naruto poke his head out from behind his girlfriend and give her a questioning look, "You've been seeing Konohamaru? Is that why he's been so happy lately?"
"They went to the zoo together yesterday," said Neji in an off-handed manner.
Naruto turned to the married Hyuuga with an alarmed look, "Is there anything that is a secret in this house? Do you all know everything about each other?"
"Unfortunately, yes," said Hinata, not wanting to admit it but she should have known her father would know about her pregnancy. "Father, I hope you aren't mad at me…"
"I'm not mad," said Hiashi with a casual gesture towards his wine glass. He waved over a servant and whispered something into her ear before dismissing her. After a moment he took a deliberate sip and finally turned to regard Naruto for the first time since they sat down. "So…when are you planning on marrying my daughter?"
Naruto had made the foolish mistake of drinking the wine he had been given while Hiashi was speaking. When he had asked Naruto the question he'd been avoiding since discovering Hinata was pregnant, the only thing the blonde student thought to do was a complete full body spit-take across the table.
Hanabi burst out laughing at the scene before a stern look from her father silenced her instantly. Naruto struggled to clean himself up and apologised profusely for making a scene. "I…um…we honestly haven't spoken about it. I only just found out."
"Is that so?" Hiashi turned to Hinata with a disapproving look. "You made a vow, Hinata. I'm very disappointed in you."
The young woman immediately put up her hands defensively, "I kept my vow, Father. We…uh…haven't…"
Now Hiashi's disapproving look shifted to Naruto and he felt about two inches tall. He'd heard horror stories about the Hyuuga family head destroying people's entire personalities with his stare and for once the rumours were true.
Changing the subject, Hiashi stared at his daughter's boyfriend with less pressure but still the same amount of disapproval. "What are your current work prospects after graduation?"
"I…I'm sorry to say I don't really have any," said Naruto, collecting himself enough to recognise how much scrutiny he was under. "My grades have not been the greatest...and I don't really have a family business to go into…"
Across the table, Neji snorted, "Where is all the crap you used to spout about making your own path and using your own strengths?" He didn't have to mention the discussions the two of them had had during their encounters when he was still in Konoha High, it was clear enough.
Naruto looked down at the table, "There was one thing I wanted to do…but I don't have the money to take the trip to try."
Hiashi nodded as he listened to him speak, noting the support his daughter was showing her boyfriend in his time of scrutiny. He had approved of their relationship when he'd first discovered it due to the changes he had seen culminating in Hinata because of his positive influence, but it was clear that they could still use a few extra pushes. "You're speaking about the course in the city of Quiraji, correct?"
Naruto kept his concern about the fact that his girlfriend's father knew about his career prospects to himself, "Ah, yes. I can't really talk about it…but…"
The Hyuuga family head put up a hand in a gesture Naruto never thought he would have seen. "Perhaps something can be arranged. While I have accepted your relationship with my daughter, I do not approve of you not working after leaving Konoha High." He nodded to a servant that appeared at the dining hall doors, waving her over to him. Naruto's eyes widened in fear when he saw what she was carrying, though Hiashi maintained his calm demeanour.
He took the katana from her and slowly rose from his seat. To the blonde student's dismay, the three Hyuuga remained sitting at the table and didn't say a word; even Hinata seemed willing to just let it happen.
"But before we do anything, you and I need to have a private chat about the actions you have committed with my daughter." He slowly unsheathed the katana and turned to Naruto even as the student rose from his chair and began backing away.
He looked down at his girlfriend for comfort, but Hinata stared at the table in the same manner as her cousin and her sister. There was no stopping Hiashi from exacting Naruto's punishment.
"Firstly I will instruct you on the proper manner on treating the women of the Hyuuga family…"
When the teacher took roll call at the morning of the next day, he wasn't even surprised that Naruto wasn't in class. Everyone else was accounted for and a single glance at his girlfriend told him that there was a reason for his absence, so he left it at that. With a scratch at his ever-present face mask to prevent himself from catching anything from his students, Hatake Kakashi turned to the board and began the day's lesson.
"You hear about what happened at the game?" whispered Kiba across to Rock Lee at his side.
The bushy browed student shook his head before leaning over, "I was at Gai-sensei's house, doing some extra study. What happened?"
Behind the two of them Shikamaru peeked his head from behind his arms, "Guys, some of us are trying to sleep here, can you keep it down?"
Kiba turned and gave the Nara student a shifty glare, "We're in the middle of class, Shikamaru. How the hell do you get good grades?"
"He doesn't," came Ino's voice from Shikamaru's side. "The only person who does worse is Naruto."
The Inuzuka student turned to the blonde girl and gave her a very different look, "Hey Ino, what are you doing tonight?"
"Anyone but you," said Ino with a disgusted look on her face.
Both Shikamaru and Lee turned away at the same familiar scene between the two of them, though they didn't catch the secondary look shared between the ex-couple that indicated something was still up.
Kakashi turned back to his students and placed his chalk back onto the board. "Let's face it, it's not like any of you are paying attention." He walked around and leaned on the back of his desk, "It's almost graduation and it's not as if there's anything else I can teach you."
"Does this mean we can go for the day?" asked Lee with a hopeful look on his face. He turned to the pink haired girl on the other side of the classroom and gave her a thumbs up. He'd been held back a grade due to a number of issues, but it was because of that he'd been able to start dating his dream girl.
Kakashi shrugged, "Just stay on school grounds." He pulled out a book from his pocket and began reading without another word.
Seeing that they clearly didn't need to stay in the classroom the students slowly got up from their desks and began to mingle.
"Anyone want to shoot some hoops outside?" asked Kiba to anyone who was listening.
Sasuke stood up from his chair and moved past him, "Nothing better to do, I guess. What are the teams?"
From a corner of the room, the hooded Shino slowly walked up into Kiba's blind spot. "I will participate. Why? Because…"
Kiba jumped at the voice from behind him, "Damnit Shino! Stop doing that all the damn time!"
The quiet young man pushed up his glasses and moved to the doorway as several others in the class followed suit. Kakashi continued to read his book without even noticing what was happening in his classroom, while the girls huddled around each other and began chatting.
"Did you see the episode last night?" asked Ino, sitting on top of Sakura's desk and crossing her legs to sit more comfortably.
Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her pink hair, "I was studying for finals, I wasn't able to catch it. Any good?"
A wicked grin appeared on the blonde girls face and she leaned forward towards her friend. "Wouldn't you like to know...in fact there was this one scene…"
Her friend clapped her hands to her ears and began muttering loudly in an attempt to block out any spoilers.
Seeing she wasn't going to be able to have her fun at this moment, Ino turned the suspiciously quiet Hyuuga girl sitting beside Sakura, who was still muttering in vain. "What's up with you, Hinata? Your face is practically green."
Hinata smiled uncomfortably and held her stomach, "It's nothing, just a bit of a stomach bug."
Sakura turned to her and took her hands off of her ears, "You've been spending a lot of time in the nurse's office lately. What does Tsunade say?"
"Sakura, I'm fine," said Hinata, though she felt like anything but. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone to check the time, standing up from her desk quickly. "I've got to go to the hospital."
"Are you really that sick?" asked Ino with a raised eyebrow.
Hinata put up her hands to reassure her friends, "No, no, nothing like that. I'm just going to visit…um…"
Sakura and Ino shared a look before both laughing and clapping her on the shoulders. "What did Naruto do now?" asked Sakura with a knowing look. She'd been the target of the blonde student's affections long before she came into the picture and was grateful for her to take him off her hands.
"It wasn't like that…" started Hinata, until she felt a rumbling in her stomach. She placed a hand over her chest and looked over at a section of the classroom, "I think I might grab something from the cafeteria first."
Ino sighed and put her hands on her own stomach, "I wish I could eat like you do. I've been on a diet for months."
Sakura agreed with her and asked her how much she'd lost while Hinata went up to Kakashi and asked if she had leave to visit the hospital. She was a model student so it wasn't too much of an ask, though Kakashi warned her that she should tell Naruto to attend class occasionally if he wanted to graduate with everyone else.
After a few moments of talking with Ino, Sakura noticed Lee standing by the doorway with a look in his eyes that made her turn to her friend with an apologetic look. Ino rolled her eyes and motioned for her to go, knowing that she only had a short amount of time before they went their separate ways for their prospective jobs.
She sighed and looked out the window to see the boys playing basketball on the nearby court. Her eyes followed her ex-boyfriend's leaping form for a moment before she sighed again and pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. She didn't regret what happened between the two of them, but there were times when she wished she had someone to talk to at night.
It seemed like everyone was pairing up as graduation loomed closer and closer. Ino had her medical training to look forward to, but there was an emptiness that begged to be filled.
Clearly I need to start drinking, she thought, turning back to her desk and pulling out her diary before flipping through it.
Naruto sat in the waiting room and fiddled his thumbs nervously. He hadn't quite recovered from the previous night's events, but when he'd gotten the text message to come to the big office in the middle of Konoha City he dropped everything and complied.
Hinata knew about what he was planned to go into and had given him her full support, though he still wasn't sure why he had been called in to such an auspicious location.
Eventually a young man with a stern expression in a tight-fitting suit came out of a nearby hallway and motioned for him to stand up and follow him. Naruto wanted to ask why he'd been called there, but from his expression he doubted he'd get a response that wasn't thoroughly sarcastic.
Following the young man into a nearby open door, Naruto saw a single table inside a darkened room with nobody else inside. Once he'd entered his escort left him inside and shut the door behind him, leaving Naruto in a complete dark room and an overwhelming sense of foreboding.
"Bit of a cliché, isn't it?" he said to the room, chuckling awkwardly.
For a few seconds there was complete silence, until he heard the buzzing sound of a speaker turning on. "Take a seat, Mr. Uzumaki."
Naruto raised an eyebrow despite knowing they couldn't see it through the darkness, "And if I don't want to?"
"Do as you're told," came a second voice from within the room. This made Naruto almost just out his skin as he hadn't thought anyone else was in the room.
Feeling his way around the dark room, Naruto found a cold metal chair and planted himself on it. "Fine, fine. I came here on your request anyway."
Once he placed his hands on the table a light shot on and illuminated just Naruto's side of the room. He watched as the second speaker slowly walked into view. To his surprise, he saw that it was his closest friend's older brother. Uchiha Itachi wore the same blood red contacts that his younger brother did and wore a neutral expression that always hid his intentions, but nevertheless he appeared to be somewhat pleased that Naruto had come.
"Itachi? What are you doing here?" asked Naruto with a dumbfounded expression. "I thought you worked for Konoha Central."
"I have many ties in Konoha City," said the Uchiha with a dull tone. "Not all of them are well known to the general public."
"Is that why I'm here? Some kind of crazy spy thing?"
Itachi's expression relaxed slightly and he placed his hands on top of the table, "In a manner of speaking." He waved at a point in a corner behind Naruto that held a camera, causing the door to open and the young man who escorted Naruto there to enter holding a bunch of document folders.
He placed them in front of Naruto before scowling deeply and leaving without saying another word.
"He doesn't like me much, does he?" observed Naruto with an amused tone.
"He doesn't like anyone," replied Itachi as he opened up one of the folders and turned it to face the blonde student. "Do you recognise this symbol?"
Naruto looked down at the paper for a moment before giving Itachi a suspicious look, "Of course, anyone with half a brain would recognise the Quiraji symbol. It's been everywhere lately."
"Good," said Itachi, turning over several pages. "That means we can skip over a few things."
"What is this all about? I don't like being left in the dark like this."
Itachi rolled his eyes and pulled out a new folder and shoved it in front of Naruto, "Fine, no run arounds. You're here because of have a unique opportunity to be useful for Konoha City and we need this to be done."
Naruto leaned forward and squinted at the small photo that was accompanied by a bunch of information that he didn't really care too much about. "Who's that? He looks pretty tough."
"His name is Benkei. He is the underground ruler of Quiraji, and the reason for you being here."
The blonde student took a few moments to read through the information, finding that there was much of it that went completely over his head. "What has this guy got to do with me? I'm just a high school student."
Itachi leaned forward onto his hands and stared at the young man, "A high school student that personally took down nearly every gang in all of Konoha City? You aren't exactly what I would consider a normal high school student, Naruto."
Naruto tried to look humble and failed miserably, "Well…yeah I did do that…but it wasn't like I did that on my own, your brother helped sometimes as well."
"Yes, and if Sasuke had any sense of responsibility we would talking with him as well. Regardless, we need your help to take this man down. He's at the heart of most of the issues in this country and we've been trying to take him out for years."
"And you need my help? How damn desperate are you? I'm just one guy." Naruto wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but from the sounds of it there was an underlying level of blackmail by the offhanded comment about his time spent with Sasuke taking down a number of the gangs in Konoha City. It had started as just a way for them to blow off some steam by beating up a bunch of deadbeat criminals on the streets and had evolved to the point that they were practically vigilantes in the eyes of those that knew.
For such a nice girl, Hinata thought it was a very cool thing for him to do. Though she did worry whenever he went out since there was always the threat of him getting seriously injured. He suspected that was one of the reasons why she was going to become a doctor.
"So what do you say?" asked Itachi after a few minutes of silence. He hadn't given the young man any real specifics about the task, primarily because he wanted to gauge his character personally.
Naruto considered the proposal for a moment, it seemed too dangerous to take seriously, but he had to admit he was intrigued. "Since this is 'work', what would I be getting paid?"
Itachi placed a hand into his jacket and pulled out a small piece of paper before sliding it across the table towards him.
Naruto picked it up and looked at the number scribbled down. He glanced up at Itachi, then back down at the number. Naruto considered it for a moment before sliding the piece of paper back to the older Uchiha. "Not good enough."
For a normally serious person, Itachi found himself amused by the audacity the young man was giving him. That number was twice what he would make in a year, not that it meant much. "You have stones, Uzumaki, I'll admit that. Are you willing to do this?"
"Not until you tell me what the hell I would be doing? I'm no assassin." Naruto slowly stood up from his chair to extenuate his point, placing his hands on the table.
"Enough games," came the voice from the speaker. It sounded quite irate, which caused a smirk to appear on Naruto's face. "I'm coming in."
Itachi looked visibly exhausted at the notion as Naruto turned to the door and watched as it opened up to reveal the second speaker.
"You?! Why the hell are you here?" demanded the young student, stepped forward to regard the shorter speaker.
"This is my operation," said Gaara, crossing his arms across his chest.
Naruto leered at the young man from Suna for a few moments before taking a step back, "Well I'll be. You've moved up in the world since that ass-whooping I gave you."
"Are you going to do this for us or not? This has repressions for everyone, not just Konoha City."
Naruto breathed out deeply before turning back to Itachi, "Do I get a cool car, a black coat and sunglasses?"
"No," said Itachi shortly.
"Oh well." He turned back to Gaara and shrugged, "Alright, paint me intrigued. What about my girlfriend? Should something happen to me…"
"She'll be looked after," came Itachi's voice behind him.
"The likelihood of you being killed in this venture is rather small," commented Gaara with his usual dull tone. "And should you succeed in this, we have other work in mind for you."
Naruto nodded in agreement, though he noted he'd have to tell Hinata everything. He suspected she would have a few things to say on the topic, but he had faith she would support him.
Not just because he figured he could negotiate for a fairly reasonable salary. It was something else to be told you can get paid for beating the life out of people who deserved it.
"Why do you want me?" asked Naruto. "Surely you lot could conjure up some kind of super-spy to do this for you?"
Itachi collected the folders from the table and began organising them. "We've tried, but it's very difficult to get close to him."
"And you think I can?"
"Let's just say you're his type."
The expression on Naruto's face spoke volumes.
Naruto woke up with a gasp, clawing at his throat wildly. Beside him Hinata rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock on the table before groaning loudly and covering herself with the silk blanket.
"Do you know what time it is?" she muttered under her breath.
Her partner shook himself fully awake and sighed as he felt the rawness of his throat. He apologised and leaned over to kiss her on the top of her head. "Sorry, honey. Just had a bad dream, that's all."
"About Father?"
Naruto shuddered at the memory from months ago and pulled a part of the blanket back over himself. Without a word he placed his arm around her stomach, feeling the warm sensation on his hand. He smiled into the back of Hinata's hair as he felt a strange sensation.
"I think I felt a kick!"
The tired young woman chuckled and placed her hands on top of his. "It's been doing that all night, dear. Have I mentioned how much I hate you for doing this to me?"
"Not this morning," said Naruto, glancing at the clock. "I'm not sorry though."
"I know." Hinata moved onto her back and kissed him on the lips gently before her eyes closed and she began to breathe slowly in the way she normally did when she slept.
Naruto marvelled at the beauty of his partner and tried to get some sleep before both of them had to get up and go to school. She had been staying in his apartment for almost a month now with her father's blessing, something that neither of them quite understood why but weren't complaining.
He woke up before their alarm went off and turned it off so that she could sleep a bit more. Hinata was a strong woman, but he had to look after her sometimes so that she could look after their baby.
Today was only a formality really, but they both wanted to go for the sake of going. She could afford an extra hour or two of sleep.
He loved her; there was no disputing that fact. They hadn't spoken about marriage since that dinner at the Hyuuga household, but he knew it was on both of their minds. Hinata had gotten into her medical college and still planned to attend despite being scheduled to give birth during her first semester. Her father had paid for his trip to Quiraji city for the secret plan he had for the future, which he suspected the Hyuuga family head knew about since he was deeply involved in government work.
But first, they had to graduate from Konoha High.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Naruto grabbed at his cap before the wind could take it away from him. He turned to Hinata with a proud grin, to which she simply smiled and tapped him on the shoulder.
"We're almost done, honey," she said affectionately.
"I bloody hope so," said Naruto. "My feet are killing me."
They stood in the midst of their graduating class, one that was quite small in comparison to previous years. The principal continued his long-winded speech about values and building futures, taking moments out of his speech to take long puffs from his pipe.
"This is a nightmare…" complained Kiba nearby, yawning loudly. "I think I'm losing brain cells."
Ino turned to the ponytailed student at her side and poked him in the shoulder, noticing that he didn't even respond. "Wow, Shikamaru has found a way to fall asleep standing up."
Naruto grinned and leaned forward, "Is that so?" He reached forward to drop the Nara student's pants, but a sharp slap from Hinata made him pull back from his prank. He grimaced and turned to her with a pout, which only brought a round of snickers from the other students.
She was wearing a robe that was a size too big for her to conceal her slowly growing stomach, but he'd made sure that she was also keeping her left hand within her sleeve.
He didn't want anyone to see her ring until they were ready to announce it.
After he finished his speech, the principal cleared his throat and moved his paper to the final part of the ceremony. "And now, I would like to present the award for the student of the graduating year that achieved the highest level of academic success. This student has proven themselves a value to themselves, their fellow students and Konoha High." His old eyes tracked the graduating students with a wrinkled smile, "And we should all be proud."
He coughed again into his hand before gesturing to the graduating class, "I would call Nara Shikamaru to the stage."
The reaction on Sakura's face was only matched by the one sitting on Sasuke's, both having expected to get the academic award. It was well known that Sakura was a ringer for getting the best marks as she did the most work, while Sasuke was the best all-rounder.
But neither of them would be satisfied as the crowd waited for Shikamaru to make his way up. Of course, they didn't realise he fast asleep while standing in the middle of his classmates.
"Should we wake him up?" asked Kiba with a questioning look on his face.
Naruto turned to see a blonde haired woman stomping through the crowd towards them, "I don't think we need to."
To say Temari of Suna woke up Shikamaru violently would be an understatement of epic proportions. She didn't have to say a word as he picked himself up from the ground, holding his damaged goods tenderly. In a single gesture she pointed to the stage, causing him to roll his eyes and slowly make his way to accept his award.
"How the hell did he get better marks than me?" protested Sakura with a furious expression on her face. "All he does is sleep in class and used to be almost as bad as Naruto."
Temari smirked at the protesting girl triumphantly, "I told him he had to pick up his act, so he could get into officer training for the military. He's a bright guy, just a complete slacker."
Shikamaru thanked the principal for the award and went to go back down, but the principal pulled him back and reminded him that he had to make a speech.
The lazy student groaned and came back to the podium, using it to lean on as he scratched at his face.
"Um…I guess I'd like to congratulate everyone for graduating…it's been…something…or another."
The principal sighed and gently pushed him out of the way, "Evidently genius doesn't always come in normal packages. We'd like to thank Nara Shikamaru for his contribution…and we hope everyone else feels the same way."
The crowd gave a half-hearted clap as the lazy genius stepped down from the stage and back to his girlfriend, who seemed both impressed and furious at the same time.
"Well, this is embarrassing," observed Ino, rolling her eyes and tapping her foot impatiently. "How much longer will we have to wait here before we can go and get drunk?"
"And it is with great sadness that we bid the graduating class farewell. To greater ventures beyond Konoha High into their lives, they shall remember they will always be a part of our school, and our lives. Thank you."
This time the clapping was much more feverish, though mostly because nobody really wanted to be there anymore. Once the crowd finished clapping they began to disperse and the graduating class of Konoha High began to say their farewells to one another.
While many of them would be staying in the area for work in Konoha City, others would be moving on to other parts of the world. Never again would all of them be gathered in one location for one event ever again.
"You want to go home now?" asked Naruto to his fiancé at his side.
Hinata nodded slowly, placing a hand on her stomach, "Can we stop at the store on the way back? I'd kill for some beef noodles and vegetables."
Naruto laughed and began leading her out of the theatre hall. "Of course, dear."
After all, he had preparations to make. He left for Quiraji at the end of the week.
Dodging knife thrusts and fists was easy enough for someone of Naruto's skill level, so much that the guards standing at his door stood no chance at all as he began his plan.
Opening up the door in the apartment building, Naruto burst out and wrapped his hands around the heads of the two guards as they turned to face him and slammed them together fiercely. The two guards sank to the floor as he began walking towards the main office that held his target.
He'd spent weeks laying the groundwork for today's job, but he'd expected more resistance than he'd already met.
Evidently Itachi's observation had been correct.
Opening up the first door, Naruto walked into a large hall where he saw four figures standing in a line against him. He recognised them as the four main generals of Benkei's organisation and had been the main reason it had taken him longer than he would have liked to get to where he was now.
"You're betraying the master," observed Shiori with a wild look in her eyes.
"As he suspected," said Sensou, clenching his red armoured fists in anticipation.
"Now you will pay your dues," added Kyoukou, pulling his dark hood over his withered, scarred face.
Shikyo said nothing at all. Naruto had suspected she was mute, but that didn't make her any less intimidating. Her pitch black eyes did the job well enough.
But Naruto wasn't put off by the show of force; he'd done his research on each of their abilities and was confident he could defeat them each individually.
Beating them all at once? Now that would be a test.
He cracked his neck loudly and stepped forward with his hands ready to fight. They hadn't called for any of their underlings to assist them, which made sense since they probably didn't think he was anything but a simple spy.
They were very wrong.
Shiori was the first to come at him, arrogant enough to believe that she could take him on his own. She didn't pull out any weapons, though from her movements Naruto could tell she was very proficient in fighting.
He didn't like hitting women on principle, but when he ducked under the first hook she threw at him, Naruto had to take the opportunity to counter her attack. He shifted his fist to a spear-like shape and drove it into her ribs. Her body position had left her open to such an attack and she crumpled to the floor, holding her side painfully.
Before she could recover, Naruto unceremoniously knocked her unconscious with a kick to the back of her head and turned to her three companions. He put up a hand and motioned for them to come at him.
Sensou and Kyoukou appeared visibly furious by his action, though the other female general didn't even seem to notice. The red armoured man pulled out a pair of knives and the older man seemed to be competent enough to present a threat when he moved alongside his companion.
The scenario reminded Naruto of some of the fights he'd had on the streets of Konoha when he would fight for his life. They moved just like the street criminals then.
A reasonable fighter would back off from the initial attack and counter them with his own attack.
But Naruto wasn't a reasonable fighter. He thrived on his unpredictable instincts and ability to adapt at a moment's notice.
So when Sensou and Kyoukou came into his range, Naruto flicked his hands to collect the objects he'd hidden within his sleeves. He shot forward to dodge Sensou's slashing attacks and Kyoukou's fist aimed at head and depressed the nozzles of his two pepper-spray bottles.
The two Quiraji generals fell to the ground screaming and clutching at their eyes. Just as he did with their female companion, Naruto knocked them out quickly before turning his attention to his final opponent.
Shikyo still hadn't moved from her spot in the hall, her pitch black gaze staring at him like she was expecting him to just keel over.
Not one to be put off after defeating three out of four of his foes, Naruto discarded his pepper-spray cans to the floor and stepped forward to confront her. "I don't know what your game is, but decide whether you are friend or foe now, or I'll pound you into the ground."
The pale robed woman didn't appear to move in his vision, but before Naruto could react she had a knife at his throat. It pressed into his skin to the point that he knew he was in serious trouble if he even moved an inch.
Behind her he watched as a large door opened and his final target walked out clapping his hands slowly. A slow smile grew on his broad face as he stood behind his general and stared into Naruto's blue eyes.
There was nothing he could do as Shikyo drove the blade into his throat and spilled his blood onto the tiled floor beneath.
The last image Naruto saw was the triumphant smile on Benkei's face as he bled out and choked on his own blood. He tried to conjure an image of Hinata before he died, but all he could see what that damn smile.
It haunted him until he was gone.
Author's Note:
HA! Surprise ending!
Luckily this is just a Bonus Chapter. Or is it a foreboding warning? Muhahahahahahahaha.
Sorry, couldn't resist. I'll try and keep to a better schedule for the next few chapters, since I'm on holidays for the next week. Since coming to America I've found my time for writing a bit short, but I'll try harder. There are plenty of things I want to write still for this fanfiction. Plot twists included.
Tis a good life, being a writer.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to take each review into account, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.