A/N:
Some people have the habit of missing the forest for the trees.
Neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya care first and foremost about Hinata and Naruto having a relationship. They are worried what kind of person Naruto might become, given the things he is denied, and the weight he is forced to carry. To that end, they selected Hinata, who also has a lot of living to do, and who cares enough about Naruto to make certain things possible.
Of course, if Ninata and Naruto ended up happy together, they would be ecstatic.
Jiraiya is not interested in being Naruto's buddy. He is interested in getting the best results. He does that, and is very fond of Naruto, who is just as fond of him. That's what being a teacher is all about....
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Jiraiya stretched, hooking one leg irreverently over the chair he placed in front of him.
"Well, she is still quiet, but there will never be any way around that." He smiled fondly, scratching under one arm. "Not that we would really want that to change, right?"
Tsunade leaned back I her chair, eyes looking extraordinarily tired.
"No. She has a charm of her own, that one." The Hokage yawned, then took a drink from a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice. "And her skill levels?"
Her fellow Sennin chuckled.
"I dare say she could shock a good many people in this village now. Hinata has certainly exceeded my expectations, and I had set the bar unfairly high!" He wiped his nose on a handkerchief, then nodded his head. "She received some training from another source, as well. And, she taught that young a lout a thing or two in the process…."
Tsnade ran her finger around the rim of her glass, then looked over at Jiraiya.
"How is Naruto? Did Hinata's visit have the desired effect? Is he more like he was before?" There was no disguising the concern in her voice.
"Well….." Jiraiya looked around the room, shaking his head when he saw how messy things were. Sarutobi had kept that room immaculate. "Not really. He still worries too much. And, he has a rather large monkey on his back." Jiraiya massaged his temples. "But, whether or not he sees it yet, he has been given another reason to stay alive. If he lives, he will have a new goal, maybe one more important than being Hokage."
He grinned, knowing how mention of that title would affect his former team mate.
"At least there's that, then." Tsunade picked up a scroll and flipped it over in her hands like a baton. She used it to push her half-eaten meal away, before unrolling the parchment.
The two of them discussed their independent findings regarding Akatsuki and the various scraps of prophecy. One final subject particularly caught the hermit's attention.
"Jewels?" Jiraiya sat up straight, bringing his feet to the ground. "That's the first I've heard of that!"
"Yes," Tsunade said. "If only we had gotten word of them years ago, we might have been able to gather some." She sighed, then rubbed her eyes. "But, while legends slowly die out, things of beauty hold their value…."
Jiraiya gave Tsunade a little rakish salute, which had her shaking her head.
She did not feel particularly beautiful that morning.
"So, who knows what vault such gems might sit in, or what crown they might adorn?" The Hokage stared intently at the writing. "Or what treasure ship sank to the bottom of the sea, or which bandits wander who knows where."
"Mmmm Hmmm." Jiraiya ran his hand over the stubble covering his chin. "I've heard of other Jewels of the Ancients. In mythology. Maybe even in history. Egyptians…… Sumerians…… Babylonians…… the Persians…… gems and jewels played roles from status symbols to amulets that warded off evil and aided in divination."
He paused, trying to remember what he had read.
"Diamonds were said to neutralize poisons. Agates were once thought to invigorate. Jasper was claimed to be an aid to pregnant women, and to protect against witchcraft. Sapphires cured ulcers and emeralds restrained passion. But, who would want an emerald knowing that. I mean.….if it induced passion instead…." The Sennin frowned, looking at his companion's face. "Any way. Amethyst promoted chastity...and when carved with the head of Bacchus, prevents intoxication. What's the fun of that?"
Tsunade said nothing. Her eyes narrowed.
"Topaz gets rid of lunacy and Beryl prevents belching. Now there's a handy gem to have around after a good jug of Sake, right?" He chuckled. "Especially if you're in sweet and pleasant company."
Tsunade drummed her fingers on the desk top. Her long nails maid a sound like tiny daggers tapping on a shield.
"I know you're tired, Tsunade. But, I feel a need to exercise my more learned side.. Many gems, when cut, represented the soul in a form able to reflect divinity. Hence, perhaps, the beginnings of the crystal ball used by traveling charlatans. Jade was called, by the Chinese, the Jewel of Heaven, and was able to cure, among other things, nephritis."
"You know that this is all a lot of superstition and nonsense, Jiraiya…." She looked at one of the stacks of reports on her desk and winced.
"Yes, Hokage dear. But, I've been off in the woods with very few people to talk to. Except for the young women who are so good at listening."
Tsunade sneared, but that only made Jiraiya smile.
They all had to find company where they could.
"To touch lightly on Indian philosophy, the Three Jewels of Jainism represent right belief, right knowledge, and right conduct. And in Buddhism, jewels represent wisdom. From the great Indian epic, Mahabharata, a magical jewel restores the life of a warrior. Now then……can any Medical Ninja you know do that?"
Jiraiya chuckled. It was still fun to get in digs at his fellow Sennin.
"In Greek mythology, the wisdom of Hermes was engraved on an Emerald slab. In the works of the Israelites, ten commandments were said to have been engraved on sapphire."
Tsunade beagn reading one of the recent crop reports, purposefully ignoring Jiraiya, who spoke on a bit before he caught on.
"So, how is the wheat crop this year? Rice? The herbs that keep your skin so smooth and youthful looking? Now, what was it that Naruto said about you before we all headed back to Konoha?" He smiled when Tsunade threw the report down.
Tsunade heard a knock at her door.
"We'll be finished here soon. Ask the ministers to be patient, please." Saying that, she turned her eyes on her visitor.
"OK Tsunade. Your turn. Tell me about the twelves stones of Venus that were once enshrined on Mount Zion, then sent to 12 different regions of the world." Jiraiya stared at the uneaten food on Tsunade's plate, then stood up.
"Keep your paws off. That's for Ton Ton!" The Hokage smiled, seeing the hang dog look on her old team mate's face.
"As legend had it, Kuni-toko-tachi relocated the gems, then appointed 12 yatsugashira guardians to protect the jewels, as well as 12 yatsuoh rulers to govern the regions. But I guess I should give a little background first, right? But, having listened to so much blathering, I'm not certain my mind is working any more."
Jiraiya leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had time on his hands. Tsunade did not.
He knew that, as did she.
Tsunade frowned.
"The pure clear water in the Ame-no-ma-na-wi…'True-Pool-Well of Heaven'… turned gold, and its essence transformed into twelve beautiful jewels while descending on earth. Each of the twelve jewels was said to posess a distinctive divine power, although they may only work their wonders when they gathered together. In different myths, various perverted deities launched the jewel-snatching conspiracies, but to no avail."
Jiraiya took a small flask out of his voluminous pocket, took a drink, then offered it to Tsunade, who angrily waved off his offer.
"So, where were the gems sent?"
"The blue jewel went to Yushan in Taiwan, under the protection of Takakuni-wake the High-Land-Lord and Takakuni-hime the High-Land-Prince. The red jewel went to Mt. Wanshou in Beijing, guarded by Mizuho-wake the Vigorous-Rice-Plant-Lord and Mizuho-hime the Vigorous-Rice-Plant-Princess. The gray jewel went to Mt. Kijo and the Ogre Castle, north of Lake Superior in a far western land, in the possession of Mototeru-hiko the Origin-Shining-Prince and Mototeru-hime the Origin-Shining-Princess. The silver jewel went to the Himalayas, somewhere in Tibet, Nepal, India or Bhutan, watched over by Himalaya-hiko the Himalaya-Prince and Himalaya-hime the Himalaya-Princess. The white jewel went to Paektu in North Korea, carried by Iwanaga-hiko the Rock-Long-Prince and Tamayo-hime the Jewel-Era-Princess…."
Tsunade gave the run down on each of the twelve gems, then briefly outlined their connection in legend to various deities, heroes, false messiahs, and the three great devils.
Jiraiya didn't know enough to sort truth out of the heap of myth and legend. But, the fact that Kyuubi, Yamata-No-Orochi, and Rokumen-happi-no-Jaki were mentioned in any capacity had him on edge.
"And, after your rather long-winded description, I find myself wondering what any of that has to do with myself, Naruto, or Hinata.
Tsunade made a steeple with her hands, then rested her chin on top of it.
She closed her eyes, remembering different events from her past.
"The First Hokage's necklace. The one that brought me so much grief, but also meant so much to me. The same one that the boy wears around his neck…."
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"The blue stone?"
Tsunade nodded. Then sighed.
"What it all means though, I do not know…."
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The trees were turning at the Hyuuga estates.
In Hinata's current mood, the colors all seemed dull and uninspired.
She sat on the porch, a steaming cup of tea in her hand. A tea leaf stem floated upward in the drink, a sign of good luck. She should make a wish.
But, she did that every morning as it was.
Nothing as simple as an old superstition would break the stranglehold that the mere existence of Akatsuki had on Naruto's world.
That thought had her heart feeling heavy. That, and the fact that Tsunade told her that she was no longer Naruto's training partner.
'You've done nothing wrong, Hinata. Quite the opposite. I'm very proud of you.'
The Hokage's words were scant consolation. Same with her father's words of praise, after she had given him and Neji a demonstration of her new skills. Hanabi had been the most impressed of all, and had asked her father whether Hinata should be the heir again.
Her father had said nothing on that subject, which was fine with Hinata.
'Is he well?' Neji had asked, not needing to mention any names. That had earned him a scowl from Hiashi, and a mischievous look from Hanabi.
'Yes,' Hinata had answered, lost in her thoughts. 'You would not wish to fight him now. Few would.'
Her father had made a disparaging remark about Naruto. When Neji and Hanabi had left, Hinata had surprised her father twice.
The fact that she approached him and spoke in stern words had him angry at first, then secretly pleased.
But, her words did not bring any joy to his heart.
'Father, I know his secret.' She had looked into her sire's eyes, something she rarely had the courage to do. 'But, he has been treated unfairly, even dishonorably. For something that was never his fault.'
That had earned her chill words and an angry stare. But, she didn't back down. Risking a severe turn in their relationship, she reminded her father of Neji and herself, and how good things followed a change in heart.
Her father had stood watching her for a moment longer, before silently walking away.
It was the right thing to say. No matter what happened, and no matter how Naruto might care about her in the future, she would do what she could to protect him.
"Hey Hinata! Day dreaming again? Just like on our old missions"
It was Kiba. He was accompanied by Shino and Akamaru.
"Yap yap yap yap bark bark yap."
"Oh? You're right, she does look down!" Kiba nodded to Akamaru. "What's wrong, Hinata? Sad to be back?" He chuckled, his troublesome streak coming to the fore. "Still not getting any?"
Hinata sat up straight. Her mouth fell open.
Shino pushed his glasses further up his nose, consent to remain silent.
"Akamaru. Is Kiba getting any?" Hinata had learned a thing or two hanging around Naruto.
"Yap!" Akamaeu sneezed, then shook his head.
Kiba gave his four-legged friend a nasty look. Shino actually smiled.
"Didn't think so," Hinata said, standing up.
At first feeling a bit annoyed, Kiba began to grin. "Well, looks like he's been rubbing off on you." He rubbed Akamaru's head. "It's just a question of where he rubbed." If she was going to play in his league, she better be ready for everything.
"Is that the question, Kiba? Really?"
Hinata smiled. It was Kurenai, stopping by to check on her. Her sensei was giving Kiba a rather pained look.
"Well…." Since Kurenai was no longer his instructor, Kiba felt a need to save face. "I think it is." His posture itself was a challenge.
Shino shook his head.
"Kiba has been out with a lot of girls since you've been training under Jiraiya," Kurenai said with a smile. "But, he's had to. He gets dropped at the first or second date."
"Yap yap bark bark yap howl-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l…."
"Shut up, Akamaru!" Kiba blushed. "They just weren't worth my attention!"
"I came to ask if you wanted to join me for lunch today, Hinata." Kurenai chuckled, watching Akamaru's subsequent antics. "Ino, Sakura, and Ten Ten will be there. Shizune and Anko may show up as well." She looked over at Kiba. "You boys are welcome to join us. You can tell us all how much you've been getting, if you like."
"Shit!" Kiba frowned. "Let's go Akamaru. Life's too short to have to listen to girl talk."
Kurenai turned to her other former student. "Shino?"
"No." For Shino, that was a polite answer.
When Hinata sat back down, Kurenai took a place next to her.
"So?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow when she was certain the boys had left.
Hinata looked down at her lap.
"I heard you were back home, but haven't heard a single thing about your time away. It's been a while, Hinata." Kurenai purposely left her statement open ended. Hinata looked like she needed to talk.
Slowly at first, Hinata told her mentor about her time away. Bit by bit, she shared her accomplishments and her feelings. Her voice sped up as she spoke, and she became more lively and animated.
That alone had Kurenai smiling inside.
"Ramen huh? And you did that well? That might have been more important than anything else you could have done, with that boy!" She chuckled, tossing her hair.
"Not as important as the dancing." Hinata had a dreamy look on her face, before she sighed and wiped away a tear.
Kuernai remained quiet.
Sure enough, Hinata continued on with her tale.
"So, what's the problem then? He's just not the dating type?" Kurenai didn't know what to make of Naruto, only rarely having seen him over the past few years.
Hinata shook her head. Looking around first, she sighed and said "Kyuubi."
Kurenai looked shocked. Then she nodded her head, looking sad. "That would put a damper on most girls' feelings. It's not fair, but that's how life is sometimes."
"No," Hinata said, somewhat heatedly. That tone of voice had her old sensei catching gaping. "If anything, I'm prouder than him than ever before. And…… I want to…… I want to be there for him…."
Telling the other woman that there were facts she couldn't divulge, Hinata explained how Naruto was acting and why he was probably behaving that way.
"Oh!" Kurenai smoothed her hair with one hand. "I never really thought about things from his perspective before. But, despite all that, I think he is very lucky after all."
"Why?" Hinata's face softened.
"What other girl would care that much for him?" Kureani's smile was fond and proud. "You started off so far behind everyone else, Hinata. That meant that you had further to go. But, to my surprise, you've grown more than I ever would have guessed. Maybe more than anyone else." She stood up. "I was against your going at first, when Tsunade asked my opinion. I'm glade she didn't listen to me."
The older woman left to follow through on an errand.
The talk with her old teacher left Hinata feeling better. Thinking about lunch, she actually smiled.
In the past, she always sat quietly, wishing she had stories to tell about boys.
Now she did.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The wind carried a large number of falling leaves.
That was apropos, Naruto thought, standing by the monument.
The carved stone memorial held the names of a lot of fallen heroes. His eyes moving to the newer sections, he breathed a sigh of relief.
None of the people dear to him had been added to the list since he had been absent from the village.
Walking over to one set of training posts, he sighed and placed his hand on it. The day seemed so long ago, as to be in someone's else's lifetime altogether.
But, it had only been a few years.
Having been caught trying to sneak one of the two lunches, he had been tied to the post, after he and his new team mates had failed to swipe the necessary items from Kakashi. Hungry… since he had not eaten any breakfast at his leader's insistence… he had watched as Sakura and Sasuke received their bentos and were warned not to share it.
But, share it they did. That was the act that had them pass the Copy Ninja's test.
No group of genin had done that before them.
Walking over to another set of posts, he thought back again. Hinata had been standing alone, near one of the posts. He had been surprised to see her there, and wondered just what weird thing she was doing that time.
The small quiet girl was the last one he would ever have thought he would have a crush on some day.
But, while other girls laughed at him or made it plain how little he meant to them, Hinata had called him a proud failure, and did what must have been difficult for her at the time.
She had admitted watching him. She had told him how that made her feel. She went on to tell him things that helped him regain his unflappable determination.
He went on to tell Hinata that she was someone he could like.
That had been an understatement….
"Damn!"
Alone, and wanting to remain that way for a while, he walked from spot to spot, reliving old memories. A part of him kept wishing that he could have shared some of those times with Hinata.
That probably was because he couldn't afford to make many future memories with her.
'That's rather noble,' Kakashi had said, when he had come across Naruto earlier, noticing how uncharacteristically down he looked. 'But, you don't protect people that way. You deny them.'
He had gotten angry hearing that. He had asked his old mentor if that kind of wisdom was present in the little books he always seemed to be reading.
'No,' the Copy Ninja had answered. 'I learned that the hard way, in my own life.'
His masked friend had almost swayed him at that point. But the truth of the matter was that Naruto alone carried Kyuubi. Not only was he in danger, but everybody around him was as well. Worse, if he allowed himself to be captured, countless people could suffer.
"I should be glad to be home…." He spoke out loud.
Naruto hadn't realized how much he had missed Konoha. He had missed his friends. He had missed going on missions. He had missed knowing everything that went on from day to day.
Eventually, he found himself standing at a place where many things had begun for him. He was in the small clearing where Iruka had saved his life from Mizuki, then went on to show him the true meaning of acceptance.
"I thought I might find you here. Kakashi mentioned that he saw you. He said that you were carrying far more than your share of weight and responsibility."
It was Iruka.
"Are you going to tell me what I should and should not do, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto controlled his temper.
"Would it make any difference?" Iruka smiled.
"No…." Naruto managed a smile.
"I didn't think so," Iruka said. "Care for a bowel of Ramen? My treat?" He knew there was no way that his friend could turn that down.
"Not today. Not for a while." Naruto couldn't believe that he had said that.
Either could Iruka.
"Have you been to see Tsunade? Do you have a fever or something?" Iruka was only half joking.
Naruto shook his head, then sighed. Not really wanting to talk, he did so just the same. Iruka had the ability to draw things out of him.
"I see. She came in fourth, against that kind of competition? That's quite good." Iruka felt uncomfortable, neverhaving seen Naruto look this way. He had his suspicions, and followed up on them. "So, you finally realized that she cared about you?"
""Did everybody know?" Naruto scowled.
"No," Iruka said. "Only the people who know her or had any reason to be around her." He smiled. "Actually, she kept her feelings to herself, but there were signs."
"Even when I was gone?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Especially when you were gone." Iruka looked up at the sky and grinned. "She'd ask me every week if I had heard from you. If not me, then Kakashi. If she didn't do it, Kurenai did it for her."
"Oh," Naruto came close to grinning himself.
But, the fact had him sighing instead.
"So, why are you feeling so down? Because you don't care about her in the same way, and it bothers you to hurt her feelings? Do you feel that you have let her down, because she has watched you for so long, using you as her inspiration?" Iruka leaned back against the building, thinking back to his fight with Mizuki, and the moment when he gave Naruto the forehead protector.
His young friend had come a long way since then.
"No. That would be easier." Naruto took out a brace of shuriken and began throwing them at falling leaves, hitting all but one.
"Ahhhhhh…." Iruka nodded his head. "Now I see."
Naruto stood up and began pacing. He was clearly struggling with the issue, for many different reasons.
"I never should have started caring."
Iruka pursed his lips, then stood up as well. He was not the best one to handle this situation.
But, he might be the only one that Naruto would listen to.
"I see. Let me ask you one thing, then. What's the worst thing that could happen if you allowed her to get as close to you as she wanted to?"
"She could die." Naruto said, clenching his fists.
"That could happen any way, right? Especially if she's feeling so bad that she's distracted, or if she doesn't see much to put her hope in." He had seen that happen with other shinobi.
Theirs was often a cruel life.
"Yes, but then it would be her fault, not mine!" Naruto tensed up, not wanting to see reason.
"Really? Don't you think you are demeaning her, saying that? If you choose to do something, it has weight; but, if she makes a choice, it has no consequence. I would think that an orphan like us would be the last person to think that way."
Naruto froze. There was an unavoidable truth in what Iruka had just said.
There was another truth, too.
"I guess I'm scared, too. It hurt when Sarutobi died. It hurt when Sasuke left. It hurt when Sakura didn't care about me." Naruto hung his head, admitting the truth to himself. "If I care about her as much as she seems to care about me…."
"You would hurt a great deal if she died. Yes. That much is true." Iruka smiled, thinking of Ayame, the daughter of one of the Ramen shop owners. "But, I remember a young scamp, who would take any risk, just to get attention. Why, the young rascal even risked his life to climb up the cliff side and paint graffiti all over the faces of the Hokages. Now, what was his name?"
"That was different." Naruto argued.
"Oh? How? People die, Naruto. More people fall in love and have their hearts broken. The happiest people I have known in my life aren't the one's that have lived the most days, or loved the longest." Iruka slapped his friend on the back.
"The happiest people I know were those who have lived the best, and loved the fullest. Some are old and gray. Others died t an age not much older than you."
Naruto just stared at Iruka.
Some of what his friend had just said struck him hard, making perfect sense.
"Well, there's a bowl of noodles with my name on it, and a pretty girl waiting to serve it to me. If you need to talk again, let me know."
After Iruka had left, Naruto continued on his walk.
He had a lot of things to think about.