Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto Franchise or Heaven's lost property; also the other Anime that I borrowed themes from.
Authors Note (A/N): Hey everyone I'm back. So here is where we all left off. Naruto now has asked Hinata for a favor. What could it be and what will he need it for? We will just have to find out.
Chapter 7
A Tense Night Shift and the Drunken Customer
"So Naruto where are we going?" Hinata asked her friend. "I need a favor from you Hinata." Naruto said as they now found themselves in the Shopping district. It was only a few blocks away from the Administration District so they didn't have to go far. "Oh what is it?" Hinata asked as her curiosity was peeked. Doing a hand sign Naruto transformed into his Menma persona then jumped off the roof and landed in front of one of the many stores littering the area Naruto then turned to his best friend with a sheepish look on his face. "Well you see I need your help picking out a good suit to wear." Naruto admitted.
Now very curious about what was going on Hinata leaned in. "A suit? What would you need a suit for?" The two friends walked over to an expensive shop that sells tuxedos and suits. "It's for tonight. Apparently some rich people will be coming into town and they are old friends of Mr. Dino. So he wants us dressed up for the occasion. He doesn't want us wearing our normal uniform tonight." Naruto explained as they entered the shop. "Oh that sounds like so much fun. I wish I could go." Hinata said with a smile on her face. "I know but you're not a part of the Mafia and they don't let kids that don't work there enter unless they are special VIP's." Naruto said in a disappointed tone. "It's ok." Hinata reassured. Walking over to an aisle filled with suits and vest Naruto looked a little unsure. "Yeah so you see I don't really know what to wear. Last time I picked out a uniform for the team they liked it but it was pretty simple and Shoko was giving me little tips. But I'm not really into clothes so…" Naruto trailed off.
"I see I'll help you pick something out." Hinata said with a smile and blush on her face as she went and started looking through clothes. Hopping over to Hinata's hoody Eva got herself comfortable in the thick fur lining Hinata's coat provides. "Oh and why are you blushing? Were you thinking this was some type of date?" Eva whispered into Hinata's ear which nearly caused the poor girl to choke on the air she suddenly inhaled. "W-what I-I-I don't know w-what you're t-talking a-about." Hinata stuttered horribly with a tomato red face in embarrassment. "Sure you don't Hahahah. I'm just joking Hinata." Eva laughed with mirth clear in her voice. "Oh o-ok." Hinata stuttered as she tried to distract herself. She was happy that things settled down between her and Eva. As strange as it might sound she would miss the teasing her little female best friend did to her at every turn if their friendship was ruined. She was just glad that everything worked out. But she definitely looked at Eva in a different light now.
"Hey you know it was my idea to ask for your help right." Eva said after a few minutes of shopping. Hinata already found the first two blazers for Naruto to look at while he was distracted by the polished shoes on a shoe rack a few yards away. "Really?" Hinata questioned. She was careful not to speak too loud or make it obvious she was talking to someone other than Naruto. "Yeah. I have no fashion sense. You guys keep telling me I'm too tomboyish. So I thought it would be a good idea to get your help." Eva admitted with a small shrug of her shoulders. She knew she wasn't the most girlish girl around. When you grow up most of your life with a boy your age and no parents to guide you and your orphans then you changed a lot. "Thanks I'm glad I can help." Hinata thanked her friend as she called Naruto over to her so she could give him the blazers and vest she found to try on. "Besides what do I care about fashion and clothes anyway? I'm 5 inches tall. Naruto had to steal me clothes from little toys and dolls so that they could fit me." Eva said with a chuckle remembering when they would steal from the stores and come across little toys that were outfitted with tiny little clothes.
Frowning a little at the fact that her friend had to steal just so that she could wear clothes Hinata watched on as Naruto went into the dressing room. "How about I make you some clothes. I'm really good at knitting you know." Hinata offered with a smile as she patted her hoody where she knew Eva was. "Really you'd do that for me?" Eva asked in shock. "Of course Eva where friends after all." Hinata said softly. Smiling gently Eva leaned into Hinata's fur lined hoody. The appreciation was clear in her eyes. "Thanks Hinata." Smiling Hinata whispered back when someone walked by. "You're welcome."
Coming out of the changing room with his new suit on Naruto was looking nervous. "How do I look?" Taking one look at Naruto and how the suit was pressing tight against Naruto's form and showing off his muscles and broad chest Hinata nearly passed out then and there. Her face was glowing red. "It looks great on you." Hinata managed to say. Seeing this Naruto blushed as he could see Hinata blushing like crazy. Seeing her react that way was a major self confidence booster. Especially since he has been looking at Hinata a little differently since that accidental kiss they shared a month ago. Before he would just flirt with her because it was fun to see her blush and stutter all over the place but recently whenever he would get that reaction out of her it would mean more to him.
"Thanks." Reigning in his blush Naruto went back in to change, a few minutes later he came out with his normal clothes on. By then Hinata had calmed down. "Hey Naruto I'm curious. If you wanted help on picking out a suit how come you didn't ask Iris? I'm sure she would have loved to spend this time with you." Hinata asked curiously. But she started to giggle when she saw Naruto's face pale considerably. "Yeah well… uh um about that. Don't get me wrong I would love nothing more than to spend this time with her, but she would use that as an opportunity to embarrass me and play dress up with me. Not to mention she would then force me to buy her a lot of clothes." Naruto said pitifully. He loved every second he was with his two girls to the point where it felt strange when he wasn't with them but he knew his girls especially Iris would use this opportunity to use him. Which he secretly didn't mind as long as it made them happy.
Giggling a lot Hinata was looking at Naruto with mirth and amusement clear in her eyes. "It would seem to me that she has you wrapped right around her pinky. You know she adores you right?" Hinata said with a smile. "Yeah I know I'm wrapped around her finger. I'm right where I belong and I wouldn't have it any other way." Naruto said with love and devotion in his eyes. Hearing this Hinata smiled a gentle smile and a light blush was present on her face. 'He's an amazing father.'
"I'm lucky. Chaos is like a little puppy. All I have to do is entertain her and take her out to prank a few people a week and she's happy. Iris on the other hand is far too mature. She knows what she wants and will stop at nothing to get it. I find it so funny how complex her emotions and personality can be sometimes. I'm just glad that she and Chaos get along so well." Naruto stated as he picked up the suit Hinata picked out for him. He wanted to buy it. "Yeah it is a miracle. I find it sweet how almost 90 percent of the time they are always holding hands. They are never a few feet away from each other at any given time." Hinata pointed out as they made their way to the store clerk. "Yeah they do everything together. Eat, sleep, play, prank, and argue together." Naruto said with a happy chuckle as he was thinking of all the things the fraternal twins do together. Paying for the suit Naruto and Hinata left the store.
"Thanks for the help Hinata. You were a life saver." Naruto said with a grateful smile on his face. Blushing Hinata shyly responded. "You're welcome Naruto. I was glad to help." Being close to each other Naruto suddenly felt awkward but felt compelled to let Hinata know how appreciative he was. Now Naruto didn't know what possessed him to do this and he knew it was not Eva or the girls but he suddenly leaned in and gave Hinata a peck on the cheek. It was quick and inexperienced but the meaning and emotions were still very much there. "Thanks Hinata… I uh... um gotta go do this important thing and uh bye." Naruto said as he took off down the street with a heavy blush on his face. Hinata was left standing there with a shocked look on her face. It took every ounce of will power from her past, present, and future self not to pass out in the middle of the street. Soon she stiffly turned around and began walking in the direction that would take her to the Clan District where the Hyūga Clan Compound is located.
Neither Naruto nor Hinata noticed the rest of Team 8 watching them from afar. Kiba had a pissed off look on his face. Shino whose face was covered up made it hard to know what he was thinking and Kurenai had a curious yet contemplative look on her face.
Monte Carlo Casino 11:00pm
"Ok all ready." Naruto said as he finished putting on his Suit. He was looking himself over in the mirror. "Looking good Blondie." Eva said as she did a cat call. Blushing Naruto batted Eva who was buzzing around his head away. "Thanks Eva. Hey are you ok with what happened earlier?" Naruto said awkwardly. Smiling softly Eva floated up in front of Naruto's face. She had on a black dress that she normally doesn't wear. "It's fine. I'm not mad. However who gave you permission to kiss my girlfriend?" Eva said with a fake angry look on her face as she poked Naruto in the nose with her small fingers. "I uh it was a spur of the moment kind of thing." Naruto said as he pretended to defend himself against Eva's fake wrath. "If anything I'm actually quite surprised. Does this mean you like Hinata?" Eva asked curiously. On the inside however she was anxious to find out and some part of her was dreading the response. Despite making up and becoming even closer with her best female friend Eva was still self-conscious about her position in Naruto's life and the feelings she has for him that have been growing ever since they met 8 years ago.
"I don't know what it means Eva. I don't know if I like Hinata or not. To tell you the truth I don't know what possessed me to kiss her like that." Naruto said as he walked out of the dressing room he was in. "I can tell you right now it definitely wasn't me." Eva deadpanned. She didn't say it in a hurtful or mean way but more or less as a joke but she would be lying if she said that some of her emotions didn't seep into her words.
"Yeah I guess you're right." Naruto said as he stopped by the room where the rest of section 2 was getting ready. After a few minutes the girls stepped out wearing black dresses of different designs that really brought out their beauty. Naruto's eyes were instantly drawn to Henrietta's dress that was innocent and elegant in design but it brought out the best in the young girl. Blushing lightly Naruto tried to avert his eyes but he found that it was a little harder to do. Seeing him staring at her Henrietta became self-conscious under his scrutiny. "Do you like it Naruto?" Henrietta said shyly as she couldn't look up at the boy she liked. "Uh um yeah it looks amazing on you Henrietta." Naruto managed to get out after coming out of his daze. Blushing at the compliment Henrietta pretty much became unresponsive and Triela was worried the girl might pass out.
"Alright guys let's get down to the floor. We have a very important guest coming and we need to be ready." Jose said as he came up behind the small little group. He was wearing a nice expensive tux and he had his ever present charming smile on his face. Nodding the girls plus Naruto followed after Jose who took them to the Casino floor where it was packed with guest. It was busier than usual and a lot richer people where here than normal. "Ok guys get to your stations the evening is about to pick up." Jose ordered. Moving to their stations the kids of section 2 began to work.
'Where is Shoko?' Naruto thought to himself as he looked everywhere for his ex-handler. "Master is everything ok?" Aria asked as she appeared by Naruto's side. She was wearing an elegant blue green dress that matched her style perfectly. She has been following Naruto around like a little puppy ever since she started working with him as her handler. However Naruto insisted that she not wear her witch hat as it would draw too much attention. While saddened and reluctant to do it she caved in like she normally would. "Nothing's wrong Aria. I'm just looking for Shoko that's all." Naruto responded. "Oh she's over there sir." Aria pointed out. Looking over Naruto saw Shoko following Iris and Chaos around. Naruto decided that since no one would be home to watch the girls and Miss Furukawa mysteriously left the day before without telling him Naruto was left with no choice but to bring the girls with him. They were both wearing black dresses that brought out their cuteness to a whole new level. Naruto tasked them with bringing drinks to the patrons. Although this was their first time doing this Naruto believed they could do it. The patrons were used to the little kids being present around the casino and they were always warm and welcoming to them, especially the veteran clients that have been customers of the Casino for years. They watched over Naruto and the rest of section 2 when they were Iris and Chao's age so it was no different.
Walking over to Naruto Shoko came up to stand beside her partner. "Hello Naruto." Shoko said in a detached voice. It was cold and uninviting. Immediately Naruto knew something was terribly wrong. He snapped his neck up to look at Shoko and he could see it all. In her body language and in her face. She was tense, all her muscles were coiled and ready to let loose. He could feel her chakra sizzling below the surface of her skin. A small veil of killing intent was hanging over her head. Naruto had never seen his partner like this before. "Shoko are you ok. What's wrong?" Naruto asked in deep concern for his partner.
"Look sharp. Our guest is here." Shoko said in a cold and clipped tone. Widening his eyes at the tone Shoko took with him as she's never talked to him in such a way Naruto turned his attention to the main door of the casino which was opened up at that moment. A tall figure could be seen walking into the room. All eyes were instantly on the person. They were wrapped in the dark shadows of the night that were filtering into the large room from the opened doors. Everyone's attention was on this individual who strode into the building with the sound of high heels hitting the marble floor. Even Iris and Chaos were looking at this individual and their eyes had changed over as they were affected by whoever this person was.
A woman. A tall woman with long dirty blond hair was seen entering the building. Right off the bat there were 5 things Naruto noticed about the woman the second he laid eyes on her. One was her hair that was a dirty blond color.
She had long fringed bangs that covered her forehead with the bangs arching at the center of her forehead. Two long side bangs that were thick fell down over her expansive bust and stopped just below her bust line. The rest of her hair was in a high ponytail that came down and cascaded down the woman's back like a waterfall and stopped at her hips.
The second thing he noticed was her eyes. They were soulless. They were a deep shade of blue that was so dark it was like looking into a pit. They were dead looking yet they held a cunning look to them a cold and calculating look that could not be mistaken or masked. She also had on a light shade of pink lipstick on her lips and she had a small mole under her left eye.
The third was her clothing. She had on a dark blood red woman's business suit with a white blouse underneath it. The suit was closed and held together by six gold buttons. In the same red color she had on a red tight form fitting skirt that went down to her knees. Underneath that she had on black stockings that went all the way up into her skirt and they also covered her feet that were inside black extremely expensive high heels. Over this blood red ensemble the unknown woman had on a dark green large trench coat that looked two sizes too big for her. She didn't wear the trench coat normally. She had it draped over her wide shoulders which had the effect of making her already wide shoulders look even wider. There were 8 buttons on the trench coat four on each side. On the shoulders there was a yellow bar going across it. The coat had deep pockets that could fit any number of things in it and the sleeves were extra-long as well and if she were to put it on it could easily cover up her entire arm. But what drew Naruto's attention the most about her attire was the symbol on the trench coats sleeve right near the shoulder.
It was a hammer and sickle and it looked like the tools were going to strike against the one symbol that every Leaf Shinobi knows old and young. The symbol of the Village Hidden in the Stone. The hammer and sickle were poise to strike against a rock like image with a smaller rock encroaching on the first. It was the symbol of the Hidden Stone Village but Naruto was unsure of what the hammer and sickle were for as he has never seen that symbol before.
The fourth thing he noticed about the woman was that she immediately drew the attention of everyone around her. She had an aura about her that demanded attention from everyone around her. Along with her demanding aura was her presence. It was overwhelming Naruto's senses since the moment she stepped into the room. It was all encompassing and you knew without a shadow of a doubt you were in the same room with her. There was no way to disguise or hide her presence. You automatically knew she was there.
The last thing however drew people's attention more. She had deep burn like scars going across every visible inch of her body. A large wide and deep burning scar was located going down her right eye and up to her forehead. It extended down to her chin and took up a large percent of the right side of her face. Another scar ran across the right side of her neck all the way to the back of her neck, another scar was on the other side of her neck as well. She had another one on her collarbone as well. Several more could be seen on the visible part of her chest and breast.
Walking up to them the woman stopped in front of Shoko who was as still as a statue. But it was clear that Shoko was glaring death into the woman's face. Then it happened. The two women got within three feet of each other and then suddenly it was like they were inside of a bubble.
'NO WAY! WHAT IS THIS?' Naruto panicked in his mind as he felt it. It was titanic and overwhelming. Both Shoko's and this mysterious woman's chakra spiked to monstrous levels. It was no secret that Shoko was an S-Rank Kage level Shinobi or former shinobi as she doesn't work for the village as she explained to Naruto years ago. Even though her powers and skills atrophied a little because of disuse she was still a Kage level opponent and her chakra reserves and levels were nothing to laugh at. But what scared Naruto was that the woman was not only matching Shoko's level but she surpassed it and hers kept on climbing farther. A smirk was present on the woman's scared face as she stared down at the shorter woman. Once her power climbed over Shoko's the woman had a smug look on her face which grew when she saw Shoko of all people flinch and back down. Shoko had actually stopped raising her chakra level and instead started to lower it. This action shocked Naruto greatly as he's never seen Shoko back down to anyone. The mystery woman was at least 6'5 in height but looking at her high heels that were two inches tall then that means that the woman was actually 6'3. Shoko who was tall for a woman was 6'0 so she still had to look up to the woman.
Everyone else that could sense chakra felt it as well. They all felt like they were suffocating and they couldn't breathe. As suddenly as it came it left and the woman pulled out a cigar and the movement had Shoko stiffen. Lighting the cigar the woman took a puff of it before blowing the smoke into Shoko's face. "Long time no see Shoko. The years have been kind to you. What has it been now 16 years?" The woman questioned in a gravelly tone. It was deep and it was husky befitting a person of her appearance and size. "Not long enough, I don't know why you're here or why Mr. Dino or the Hokage for that matter let you anywhere near the village but I don't like it. So come on right this way Mr. Dino is in his office." Shoko said with barely concealed hatred in her voice.
"Oh, still as feisty as ever." The woman said before she leaned in and whispered in Shoko's ear. "I would watch yourself there Biohazard. This isn't the battlefield and your poor little teammates aren't alive to bail you out of trouble this time around. It would be a shame if something were to happen while I was in this village of yours. You know you're not strong enough to stop me. Never have and never will." The woman berated Shoko who was seething and shaking in rage but she was keeping it all covered up in the presence of the other clients who were watching. Stepping back the woman had a smile on her face until her eyes caught Naruto's.
It was unnoticeable and Naruto missed it but the woman's eyes widened by a small fraction when she gazed at Naruto. "You there boy what's your name?" The woman asked. "My name is Menma mam." Naruto said timidly. On the inside he was cursing himself for sounding so scared but he had to be honest with himself and say that he really was scared of the woman in front of him. She was something he's never felt or experienced before when it comes to her sheer presence and power and it was truly intimidating and frightening.
"Oh is that so. If you're going to lie to me child at least not be so obvious about it." The woman said with amusement clear in her voice. Naruto's eyes widen on their own at this but he knew he wasn't masking his emotions properly and so it would be easy for anyone with skill to tell he was lying. By now everyone went back to what they were doing but they were sending glances at what was going on with the interesting group. Stepping in between them Shoko's face was deceptively calm. "We should get going."
"Come now Shoko don't be so rude I was merely having a conversation with this handsome young man before me. But he was being so rude by lying to me maybe I should teach him a lesson in manners and respect." The blond haired woman said as she turned and looked Naruto straight in the eye. The moment her eyes landed on Naruto's he felt his heart stop. Her eyes were cold and it was like looking into the abyss. Naruto felt an immense pressure sit upon his shoulders and his shoulders alone. He felt his knees buckle under the invisible strain. Naruto discreetly played it off and quickly took a seat that was behind him but in all actuality he was forced down into the chair by the woman's stare alone. 'What on earth is she? With a single look she nearly forced me to my knees.' Naruto asked himself in total disbelieve. "That's enough. Don't you lay a hand on him or you'll regret it Sofiya." Shoko said in a deathly quiet voice. Looking into her eyes you could see that Shoko's eyes were dead. They held no life nor warmth in them. They were the eyes of a killer, of a shinobi.
The woman who is now name Sofiya slowly ever so slowly turned her eyes to Shoko and unleashed a potent and lethal dose of Killing Intent that hand Shoko taking a few steps back but she didn't back down. "I thought I told you or anyone else not to ever call me by that name?" Sofiya said barely above a whisper. Seeing Shoko back up Sofiya then turned back to face Naruto but she was in for a surprise. Iris had moved in between Naruto and the tall woman and when Sofiya returned her intimidating eyes to look at Naruto she suddenly found them staring into twin orbs of bright blue that were currently covered over into a dark blue. "Oh and what do we have here. Aren't you adorable?" Sofiya commented but her voice didn't change. Naruto wanted to scream right now and tell Iris to move but he was still paralyzed from what the mysterious woman did to him earlier and he didn't want to reveal any information to the woman in front of him by acting out in any type of way. A shinobi could use anything you do and interpret it as information and something in Naruto's gut was tell him that the very last thing he wants to do is give this woman more information.
Sofiya placed her hand that had light pink fingernail polish on it on Iris's cheek and caressed her cheek softly. To everyone else the scene looked normal and no one could see anything wrong and no one in the room besides the girls of section 2 and those around Naruto and the mysterious woman could feel the tension in the air. Naruto's whole body and that of Shoko's tensed up at seeing this woman place her hands on Iris's cheek. Naruto's chakra was humming just below the surface of his skin and it was ready to burst to the surface. It was actually quite painful. Naruto's chakra was actually burning him from how much of it was circulating around his chakra coils. The amount of chakra in his system was surging like a tidal wave and if Sofiya noticed the dramatic spike in Naruto's chakra she didn't show it at all. If fact she didn't even flinch or deviate from what she was doing.
To Naruto's and Shoko's shock however Iris didn't even flinch or move instead she stared the older woman down. "Back off. Don't you touch him." Iris said far below a whisper. Only Sofiya heard it. Iris's eyes changed over to her Emerald Green color that held all the power stored inside of her. The older blond grin an intimidating grin before she pulled her hand back and placed it in her pocket. "So feisty. It's adorable." The woman commented to herself as she stood up to her full impressive height and leveled Naruto with another stare when he tried to move. "You're interesting boy. You have a lot of chakra inside of you. And this little girl is strong to. I'll be keeping my eye on you." Sofiya said as she walked off with Shoko besides her and it was clear to Naruto that Shoko wanted to kill this woman were she stood. What Naruto didn't see however was that the older woman pulled her hand out of her pocket and looked at it. It had a slight burn on it. The same hand that touched Iris's cheek was now missing the first few layers of skin. Sofiya grinned a dark grin at this.
When the two women joined Mr. Dino and followed him to his office Naruto let out a sigh he definitely knew he was holding. 'Who on earth was that? That woman clearly isn't human. No one should possess that much chakra or a presence that crippling.' Naruto thought to himself as a shiver went up his spine just thinking of the woman. Naruto composed himself and looked down at Iris who was still standing in the same spot as earlier. Chaos was beside him and holding his hand in a comforting embrace. She normally only does this when Naruto is truly distress and the problem was not caused by Chaos herself. Reaching down Naruto picked Iris up who seemed to be in a daze with his one free hand. He placed her in his lap while being mindful of the many people in the casino at the time. "Iris! Have you lost your mind what was that back their young lady?" Naruto growled out lowly so as not to attract too much attention. He wasn't truly angry at his little girl but his anger was stemming from his fear. He could sense the amount of chakra in the woman and it was monstrous and larger than Shoko's, probably even more that the Hokage.
When Iris didn't respond Naruto shook the little girl a little and that got her out of her daze. "Huh? What? Daddy what happened?" Iris said in confusion. "What happened? What was that back there? Why did you stare that woman down like that? I know you could feel the power she had in her. That was reckless Iris." Naruto berated the 7 year old. He was truly worried for Iris and the fact that with a simple stare the woman was able to force him pretty much to his knees if it wasn't for the chair behind him unnerved him even more. Also the fact that that woman put her hand on his daughter and he couldn't move to stop her instilled a fear in Naruto that he would never forget. The feeling of powerlessness. A feeling Naruto never wanted to feel again after the many things he's gone through and since it was pertaining to her girls the feeling was multiplied by a million.
"I don't know daddy. I felt like she was threatening you so I reacted. Are you mad at me?" Iris said in a subdued voice. Naruto could see that she was on the verge of tears and it made him feel like a jerk but he knew that it had to be done. "No sweetie I'm not mad but I was worried for you. What you did was incredibly brave yet foolish and not to mention reckless." Naruto said as he gently rocked the little girl in his arm. Naruto moved his other hand and started petting Chaos's head as he was thinking of both of them at the moment. "I'm sorry." Iris said as a tear slid out of her eye. Seeing actual tears in his girl's eyes was something Naruto wouldn't stand for. Reaching out with his hand that was holding her Naruto gently wiped away the tear that was slowly moving down from her eye. "Don't cry sweetie it's ok. Just promise me that you won't do something so crazy like that again. Remember I'm the parent here. It's my job to do the crazy stuff to protect you girls not you guys." Naruto reprimanded lightly as he gently rubbed Chaos's head while bouncing Iris in his lap to calm her down.
"I can't promise that. I want to protect you just as you protect us. Besides you're not ready to fight someone of her level yet." Iris pointed out but Naruto could see that her eyes were transitioning over to their green color letting Naruto know that Sōkyoku was also speaking to him as well. "Oh and you are?" Naruto fired back. He knew that while Iris was already exceptionally powerful for a seven year old Sōkyoku couldn't use too much of her power through the small little child as it would end up killing Naruto since he's her host. Hearing this Iris's fist which was holding onto Naruto's blazer clenched themselves tight.
"Master are you ok?" Aria asked with a heavy stutter in her voice. The fear that she was feeling could be seen written clearing on her face. She was recovering from feeling the level of power coming from the tall woman earlier. "Yeah Aria I'm fine, a little shaken up but fine." Naruto admitted. Inside his mind Naruto knew that the chance for someone to meet a person that powerful could neither be a coincidence or by chance. He knew he was going to be seeing more of the woman in the future and if the reaction Shoko was having was any indication then it's safe to say that not only did they have a lot of history together but also the woman was very dangerous if she could force Shoko and her strong will back without even breaking a sweat. "Who was that lady? I've never felt a power like that before?" Aria asked in fright. "I don't know Aria but I'm going to find out later that's for sure." Naruto said in finality. "Hey Eva are you ok?" Naruto asked as he whispered to his partner. "Yeah. Shaken up just like you but fine. I've never felt a power like that before. We have to be careful of her I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the future." Eva responded in a wary tone. She felt the monstrous amount of chakra bubbling beneath the woman's skin and it sent shivers down her spine. "I agree Eva."
After everything calmed down Naruto sent the girls back out to continue serving drinks. Naruto sent Aria to watch over the girls to make sure they were ok. Naruto reassured the rest of the girls in section 2 that he was fine and after some convincing on his part he got them to get back to work. Naruto returned to the casino floor and continued his job at serving the customers. Taking his handkerchief that was in his blazer breast pocket Naruto wiped the sweat off of his forehead and stood by a random table. Hearing the sound of someone sitting in the chair next to him Naruto looked over and saw an old man with graying hair sitting at the table. The man had on a dark grey sleeveless V-neck shirt with an obi, pants, and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck. On his face he had on a pair of glasses that covered up his dark eyes.
"Hey kid you look like you ran 10 miles why are you sweating so much." The man asked. He had a gruff voice and Naruto put him at around 60 years old. "Oh nothing sir. May I interest you in a drink?" Naruto said politely as he put on his act as a professional. "Yeah bring me some Sake." The old man said. "Yes sir." Naruto said as he quickly grabbed a bottle of Sake and returned to the man. Elegantly pouring the strong Sake into a cup for the man Naruto set the bottle down. "Here you go sir." Naruto reported. "Thanks." The man said. "Are you alone sir?" Naruto asked as he could see no one with the old man. "Yeah I came here to this place alone." The man said with a sigh as he took another shot of sake. "Company then." Naruto offered as he pointed to the empty seat next to the man. "Knock yourself out kid. By the way aren't you a little too young to be working in a place like this?" The old man asked as he took yet another shot of his sake.
"Aren't you too old to be drinking like that sir?" Naruto responded back with a charming smile. One of the core lessons drilled into him and everyone else that works here. You are to treat every customer young or old and no matter their position with respect and you are to try and be their friend. You are to provide them with company throughout their stay and tend to their every need. You are to win them over and make them trust you. If they are a potential target then you are to extort money out of them in any way you can and if they are a respectable client then you are to serve them the best you can while they are at the casino and make their stay comfortable. If they are an identified enemy of the Mafia then you are to quietly kill them off without anyone being the wiser.
"Heh. I guess you're right kid." The older man said as he purposefully downed another shot of sake. Naruto and the unknown man made small talk for a little while longer and in that time Naruto learned that the man was traveling from his home in another country and he was looking to hire ninja from the Hidden Leaf.
"Hey sir I'm sorry but we've been talking for a while now and I didn't even get your name." Naruto pointed out with a chuckle. Naruto found the old man to be interesting if a little crass and rough around the edges. "Hahahah. I guess you're right kid. The names Tazuna kid what's yours?" The now named Tazuna said with a laugh. "The names Menma." Naruto responded with a smirk.
Authors Note (A/N): Hey guys so how was that? I hope that was entertaining for you all. I greatly enjoyed writing this chapter for several reasons but mainly for the tense character interactions going on in this chapter hence its name.
Now several things happened in this chapter alone:
- Naruto asked Hinata for help on picking out clothes.
- Hinata and Eva bond some more over their friendship
- Naruto does a bold move and kisses Hinata unknowingly in front of Team 8
- Now Naruto is starting to become quite conflicted over his feelings and Eva is trying to support him
- We see that Shoko is not acting herself at all
- A mysterious and monstrously powerful woman by the name of Sofiya has entered the Casino and it's clear that she has history with Shoko
- Her power is greater than Shoko's and she paralysed Naruto with a simple look
- Finally Naruto meets the one and only Tazuna the Master Bridge Builder
So with all of that happening it's shaping up to be an interesting future ahead for Naruto. Why did Naruto kiss Hinata? Who is this mysterious woman who Shoko hates with a passion and why is she showing up at the village? She is from the Hidden Stone Village and yet the Hokage and Dino let her into the village without raising a fuss? Just how strong is she and why did she show an interest in Naruto? Finally it looks like Naruto met Tazuna so you all know what that means.
That's the end of chapter 7 hoped you enjoyed it.
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Published: 8/13/15
