Disclaimer: I AM Naruto. XD Kidding. Naruto does not belong to me. Nope.
Author's notes: Another chapter. This time, we discover a bit more on who exactly Hiko is (aside from being Naruto's mom, of course). XD And yes, Naruto's first mission with Neji's coming up. I'm supposed to show Sasuke, but I changed my mind. And ARGH! I've misspelled Ichiraku's! FORGIVE ME! :grovels:
Pairings: Hints of NaruHina later...for now! XD I'm still thinking if this will be full-blown NaruHina. Oh, if anyone's wondering if this will be Kakashi x OC or Iruka x OC, uhm, no, I don't think so. :cringes:
Special thanks to: VentMonster: No, it won't be Naru/Saku. I don't have problems with that pairing, but I don't support it. Thanks for the review!
Dragon Man 180: I like your ideas! Anyway, the reason Kakashi's like that with Hiko is...a secret! But yeah, Hiko and Iruka are pals...of sorts. They worked together.
HikaruOfArrow: Thank you!
Hollywood1390: Thanks. Here's the update!
TenshiKaitou: I haven't seen many fics discussing Naruto's mother. Thank you. Hiko's sweet? XD You haven't seen her temper yet. XD
The Dragon Bard: Thank you! As promised, no yaoi!
StoneBridge: Uhm...you'll find out the answer this chapter. :grin:
Firehedgehog: Thank you, and here is the continuation. XD
Chris: As you can see, no yaoi. Thank you!
Joekool: They have met! Hiko is Naruto's mother! It's only a question of whether she'll tell him or not. :grin:
Sumiko1: Oh my God! Thank you. I tried to email you, but something went wrong! I'll try again!
Karone Richardson: Here's the macaroni and cheese. XD Anyway, thank you!
Chapter II: Meetings
Umino Iruka flickered a glance between the two. To a casual observer, it seemed like Kakashi and Hiko were simply greeting each other. However, Iruka was NOT a casual observer, and he recognized immediately what was just taking place. He could feel the air thicken with potential violence. Iruka inched away.
Naruto, however, had no idea what was going on between the two. He was a bit puzzled that his perverted sensei would call anyone in a formal manner. "Eh, you know each other, too? What are you, old friends or something?" he asked.
No, Naruto! You're just adding fuel to the fire! Iruka thought desperately when he saw Kakashi's facemask twitch. Hiko, on the other hand, smiled benignly at Naruto and said, "No, Naru-chan. Hatake-san and I are old–"
"–acquaintances," Kakashi interrupted, sitting down beside Hiko, ignoring Naruto's protests. He braced his elbows on the bar, eyeing Hiko in his usual lazy manner. "It's been a while, Haneda-san."
"Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it?" Hiko turned away from him when the owner of Ichiraku's served their ramen. Looking pointedly at the five empty bowls beside her, Kakashi said, "Aren't you going to offer me some ramen?"
Hiko smiled at him, her eyes gleaming. "Buy your own. You can afford it."
By then, Naruto was completely bewildered, giving both Kakashi and Hiko confused looks. Iruka, meanwhile, wanted to leave as soon as possible. Any moment now...he thought, there's going to be an explosion. He nearly jumped when Hiko said, "Iruka-kun, aren't you going to order?" She looked at him expectantly before going back to her ramen, ignoring Kakashi.
"Ha–Hai! I'll have miso ramen, please?" he said to the girl at the counter.
Scowling, Naruto sat beside Iruka. What the hell is going on between Kakashi-sensei and Hiko-neechan? he thought as he ordered another bowl of ramen. It was weird. His sensei never mentioned anything about knowing Hiko, yet here he was, talking to her. Naruto glanced at Iruka. "Why are they like that?" he whispered.
"Eh?" Iruka paused in the act of eating his ramen and blinked. Should I tell Naruto? He scratched his head, then leaned over. "Well, they don't get along very well," Iruka whispered back.
"Why?"
"Personality differences," Kakashi supplied cheerfully, startling Naruto and Iruka. "Isn't that right, Haneda-san?"
Hiko sighed and gave Kakashi a level stare. "You're really determined to make me lose my temper, aren't you? Can't this wait tomorrow, Hatake-san? This is my first day back, you know." Then she added in a quiet voice, "Please, Kakashi."
Kakashi said nothing. Then he stood up and gave Naruto and Iruka a cheerful salute. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Naruto," he said before he disappeared with a poof.
"Eh," Naruto said, "That was weird." He scratched his head.
"Uh, huh," Hiko muttered. She turned to Naruto. "Anyway, it's getting late. You better finish you ramen then go home. I need to get home early, too. I have a briefing. You probably have a mission tomorrow."
Naruto nodded and swallowed the last of his ramen. "Yeah. That would me my first with Neji as a teammate." He paused before asking, "Anou sa...where will you be staying? Will you be staying with me?"
Iruka made a slight choking noise. Hiko grinned and replied, "No." She reached over and ruffled Naruto's hair. "You're a big boy, and big boys need their independence. I'll be staying in the Inn while I look for an apartment." She looked at Iruka. "Unless I get a better offer."
Iruka choked. "Hi–Hiko-sensei!" he spluttered, face red. Naruto only scratched his head again.
Laughing, Hiko patted Iruka's hand. "Just kidding, Iruka-kun! I'm way too old for you." At Naruto's puzzled look, Hiko said, "I'm about three years older than Iruka-kun."
"Oh." Naruto looked at his bowl. It was empty. "Anou...how long will you be staying here, Hiko-neechan?" he asked, looking anxious.
Hiko smiled at Naruto. "I don't have any missions right now, so I'll be here for a long, long while. Don't worry. I'll still be here next morning." She glanced at the sky, noticing the full moon. "I should go." She left the money on the counter. She leaned over and gave Naruto a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow." She waved at them. "See ya!" Then she disappeared with a poof.
"Heh. She's like Kakashi-sensei, disappearing like that," Naruto said, grinning. He put his fingers on where Hiko kissed him. It was still warm.
"Happy, Naruto?" Iruka asked. He had been worried about Naruto since Sasuke left Konoha. Naruto's usual sunny smiles became rare and fleeting. Iruka knew Naruto was hurting because he had lost a precious friend, but with Hiko back, Naruto gained something that was, perhaps, even more precious.
Naruto's answer to him was brilliant wide grin.
Hiko didn't go to the inn. Instead, she went to deep blue stone memorial where Konoha honored their dead. As the moon's soft light bathed the stone with it's glow, Hiko stood in front of it and touched the stone.
"Hello," she said in a quiet voice as she touched the cold stone. "I'm back." She traced Yondaime's engraved name, a sad smile on her lips. "I miss you. It's been a long time."
Pulling back her hand, she glanced around. She could feel eyes on her, but she didn't mind. She knew whom they belonged to. Grinning, she said, "All right, ero-sensei, you can stop peeping now."
"I wasn't peeping," Jiraiya muttered, appearing with a puff of smoke. Then he frowned. "Stop calling me that. Your brat calls me even worse."
Hiko raised an eyebrow. "My brat?"
"The kid you raised. Naruto. He calls me ero-sennin. He probably picked it up from you." When Hiko didn't say anything, Jiraiya added, "So, have you seen him yet?"
She willed herself not to look away. Seeing and touching her son again after nearly eight years of separation nearly undid her. She wasn't that surprised when she saw that Naruto had grown into a fine young man even without her guidance. He was also becoming his father's mirror image. Part of her dreaded the day Naruto realized how alike he and Yondaime were. "He's all grown up." She smiled. "It feels so good to be with him again. I missed him, you know. I love that boy." Then she frowned. "Something's bothering him, though." She could sense it, as they ate at Ichiraku's.
Jiraiya sighed. "That would be the Uchiha kid. You've heard, haven't you?"
Hiko nodded. "A little. So the two surviving Uchiha have turned traitor." She grimaced, clenching her fists. "This is just great. There's nothing quite as bad as two Mangekyou Sharingan users on the loose."
"Hmmmm..." was Jiraiya's only response.
Hiko looked at him an exasperated expression, but then she smiled. Of the Sannin, Jiraiya was her favorite. Orochimaru had been plain scary. Tsunade, though she had been her teacher, had her own problems then. It was Jiraiya whom she trusted the most, the one she confided into. To her, Jiraiya was one big spiky 'teddy bear', albeit perverted. "Thanks for watching over Naruto, Jiraiya-sensei," she said.
"Keh." Jiraiya gave a dismissive wave. "I had nothing better to do. Might as well watch over him. Big mistake, though. The brat's a noisy and impudent student." He pointed an accusing finger at her. "Like you."
"Eh? I've never been a student of yours! Why would I want a perverted monk for a sensei?" Hiko shot back. "I was Tsunade-baba's student."
"Yes, and I can remember the migraines you used to give her." Jiraiya grinned at her. "So, what are you planning to do while you're here?"
"Tsunade's reinstating me as a jounin, but I think she'll be giving me my old job."
"Oh?" Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. "Your old job, eh? That would be interesting."
"I think 'interesting' would be an understatement."
Jiraiya only smirked. "Well, I should be going. I know you have other things to do." He bowed once at the memorial, the disappeared with a puff of smoke.
Hiko stood quietly at the memorial for several moments, and then she glanced up at the moon. Her gray eyes glowed into a deep gold-green. Yes, she said to herself, I have other things to do.
Naruto snuggled under his blankets, a small, happy smile on his face. Not only was he warm and full of ramen, he also met his Hiko-neechan. Now that his memories were back, he realized he wasn't quite as lonely when he was younger, Hiko-neechan was always there with him when he needed her the most.
Now that she's home, he thought drowsily, maybe things will get better.
"Where the hell is she?" Tsunade demanded. The Godaime looked pissed as she paced the room. Even Shizune couldn't calm her. "She's been late for an hour! When I see her, I'm going to twist her neck off!" Tsunade slammed a fist on her table. Everyone (mostly selected jounins and ANBU, then some chuunins) in the room winced at the act. "She's giving me a migraine!"
Shikamaru, who stood beside his father, watched the Godaime with an uninterested look. In truth, he was pissed off too, because he had been called out of his bed (and sleep) to attend this very important briefing. "Girls are so troublesome," he muttered under his breath.
The double doors of the Hokage then burst open with a bang. Shikamaru turned just in time to see a young woman with red hair in jounin uniform striding into the room. "Sorry I'm late!" she announced cheerfully. "I overslept!" Then she headed for the Hokage.
Suddenly, the room was filled with whispers and mutterings. Shikamaru only caught some words.
"Isn't that Haneda–"
"–instructor in the academy–"
"–Kakashi's–"
"–killed–teammates–"
"Quiet!" The Godaime growled out. Shikamaru hid a snort as the room became quiet again. He eyed the redhead. She was 'pretty', but Shikamaru couldn't understand why everyone reacted in a weird way. There wasn't anything special-looking about her...except she was pretty.
"The briefing will begin now." Tsunade shot the young woman a dirty look. She gave the Godaime a sheepish smile, then turned to the waiting crowd with a polite smile.
"For those who do not know me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Haneda Hiko. I am here to give you a briefing on the Akatsuki. I will give you the Godaime to explain a bit."
Shikamaru winced when the room buzzed with conversation. Akatsuki? He had heard something about it from some jounins. The Godaime waited for the buzz to die down before she spoke.
"As you may or may not know, two members of the Akatsuki was here some months ago and attempted to abduct a citizen of Konoha. The two members were Hoshigi Kisame, formerly of Hidden Mist, and Uchiha Itachi, formerly of Hidden Leaf."
Uchiha Itachi? The hell? I thought Sasuke was the Uchiha, Shikamaru thought. His knowledge of the Uchiha massacre was vague at best, but he didn't expect there was another Uchiha out there. And who the hell is that citizen they tried to kidnap? This is going to be troublesome.
"I'm sure most of us know who Uchiha Itachi is. Haneda will explain more about the Akatsuki."
Haneda Hiko stepped forward. "The Akatsuki is an organization composed of seven members, all of them S-class missing-nins with inhuman. Orochimaru was formerly a member, before he left a few years ago. For several years, the organization hasn't done anything 'catchy' as a whole, preferring to move in the shadows, but recently, they were broken into groups of two and became active. Mostly, they collect jutsus, scrolls, and such. They have been very successful in their endeavors."
"Oh, yeah?" one jounin said. "How come we haven't heard anything about those activities?" There were a few murmurs of agreement in the crowd.
"Because most of those involved are dead or have been obliterated. Besides, do you think a village would admit being fleeced by the Akatsuki?" the Haneda woman replied with a smile. The room quieted again.
The Godaime spoke again. "So far, we have identified four members of the Akatsuki. Shizune will be giving you their files and other information about them and the organization later. Be warned that these documents are to be read, committed to memory, then destroyed. Do I need to stress that this information is of the highest level of confidentiality? Severe punishment will face those who are fools."
"Only four? What about the other three?" Sarutobi Asuma asked as he took a puff out of his cigarette.
"The identities of the top three members are unknown for now. Rest assured we will provide you with more information as soon as possible." Haneda then narrowed her eyes. "If you by any chance encounter any Akatsuki member, you will not fight them unless Konoha and its citizens are directly concerned or unless you are threatened. "
"What? Why?" Mitarashi Anko asked, frowning. Meanwhile, Shikamaru was discreetly looking at the Haneda woman with sudden interest. The young woman had just given them an order, and by the looks of things, the Hokage agreed.
"We do not need to start a war with the Akatsuki. There is no need to senselessly sacrifice lives. What we know about the Akatsuki is only a small fraction of what they truly are," the Haneda woman said.
"So what will we do when we do encounter them?" Shikamaru asked.
"Run. Hide. Retreat." The Hokage's lips twitched into a humorless smile. "As much as possible, if you do see them, try to gather as much information you can. Information is what we need right now. Is that clear?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama," the crowd said in unison.
The Godaime nodded. "Good. You may all go now. Shikamaru, you will stay."
As soon as the others had left, Shikamaru, slouching, strode lazily to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade smiled at Shikamaru, surprising the chuunin. "Heh. You're Nara Shikato's son, all right. Anyway," she waved at Hiko, who was cooing over the pig in Shizune's arms. "That young woman over there and you will be working closely quite soon."
The hell? Shikamaru thought in surprise. Me and that...woman?
The Haneda woman didn't like it either. She turned to Tsunade, looking like she'd been hit by seen by a thousand senbon. "The fuck? Tsunade-baba!"
"Is that any way to address your Hokage?" Tsunade said mildly, though she gave her a chilling grin. "You two will be working together. Not yet, though. I have one mission in mind for both of you. By the way," she added, "Hiko, you're going to accompany Kakashi and his genin team with their mission today."
The Haneda woman opened her mouth to say something, but then she just bit her lip. "Why do I get a bad feeling about all of this?" she muttered. She glanced at Shikamaru. "How old are you?" she asked, squinting her eyes. "You can't be more than thirteen."
"He is thirteen," Tsunade answered.
Hiko gave Tsunade an incredulous look. "You're not serious! He's thirteen! I was way older when–"
"I remember you were twelve then," Tsunade cut in. The Godaime then turned to Shikamaru, who looked like nothing would make him happier than being out of this room. "I'll cut the chase, kid. I know you're smart enough. There's a position I think fits you well. I talked to your dad about this, and he feels you're ready for this," She paused for a moment, the she said, "I want you to be a Hunter-nin."
When Naruto arrived on the bridge, he found Neji leaning against the rails while Sakura stood at the far end of the bridge, glaring at Neji as if he was something vile. If Neji noticed Sakura's expression, he didn't show it in his expression. He looked calm and collected and for a moment, he looked like Sasuke, but the long, straight hair and white eyes dispelled the image.
Sakura-chan's still mad, Naruto thought as he approached his teammates. He waved at Neji. "Yo, Neji!" Neji titled his head in acknowledgement. "Ohayou, Sakura-chan!" he said with a grin. Sakura transferred her glare at him, but said nothing.
Eh? What did I do? Naruto wondered, a little hurt by Sakura's snub. He knew he should be used to her by now, but somehow, he felt her snub was different from the others. Hiding his uneasiness, he smiled at Neji and said, "What do you think our mission would be? I hope it isn't anything boring. Did you get boring missions, too? Like catching cats or something?"
Neji saw Naruto's pretense, but said nothing. Instead, he nodded. "We used to weed a huge lawn that belonged to a feudal lord. It took quite while, even with Lee being very...enthusiastic."
Naruto laughed. "Heh. Fuzzy Eyebrows is really enthusiastic." He then glanced around. "Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet. He's late again. I bet Gai-sensei's never late."
Neji shook his head. "No. He always said a ninja should be punctual."
Then, out of thin air, two puffs of smoke appeared. One dissipated to reveal a serious Kakashi, and the other showed a pissed redheaded woman.
"Hiko-neechan? What are you doing here?" Naruto demanded. Then he said to Kakashi, "You're late!"
Neji blinked, a little lost. Even Sakura, who had been glaring non-stop at the two boys, turned at the young woman with Kakashi. Naruto knows her? Neji and Sakura discreetly eyed her. She was pretty, and judging by her uniform, she was a jounin. Who is she, and what is she doing here?
Kakashi answered their questions. "This is Haneda Hiko. She will be accompanying us in our mission."
Hiko waved at them. "Hello. I'm looking forward to working with you," she said with a bow.
The three just stared at the young woman. Then Naruto broke into a huge smile. "Cool! Why didn't tell me yesterday at the ramen shop?"
"I only found out today, Naru-chan," she said with a smile.
Naru-chan? Neji and Sakura thought at the same time.
"Anou sa, anou sa, what will be our mission?" Naruto asked eagerly.
Kakashi held up an ancient-looking scroll the size of Naruto's arm. "It's a Class A. We're going to deliver a message to the feudal lords of Fire country."
T.B.C.
Author's notes: Ehehehe...if anyone noticed, I only used Hiko's point of view once (when she was at the memorial). I didn't want to over-focus on her ('cause I don't want her to be a Mary Sue or something)...or am I? Do tell so I can fix stuff! Anybody OOC? And did anyone notice just how oblivious people are? :snicker:
The briefing: Only selected people are there. Kakashi and Gai aren't there ('coz he already knows what Akatsuki was). The representatives of the clans of Konoha and the elders (or councilors) weren't there (they were briefed earlier by Tsunade). If you're asking what was the briefing's purpose, it's a warning. And not mentioning Naruto's name was a way to prevent people from getting angrier with Naruto.
Shikamaru and Hiko: Yes, there's a reason they'll be working together. Can anyone guess why? And yes, Hiko will have time for her son, of course. Lots of time. XD
Hiko's housing arrangements and age: I didn't want her to stay with Naruto or to coddle Naruto. I mean, Naruto's not a baby, so he doesn't need any 'babying'. Oh, Hiko's 29 years old, in case anyone's curious.
Sasuke: Yeah, he and Naruto will meet again, but not for a long while.
Next chapter: The mission. What dangers will they meet, and oh, how will Kakashi and Hiko get along? And can you say...Akatsuki? We will see really cool moves and jutsus. A bit more about Hiko's and Kakashi's past.