The small shop was practically empty.
Of the ten or so tables, only one was occupied. As the delicatessen did not open for another two hours, it was a good place to meet without being noticed.
Onoda stood in the back of the establishment, chatting with his childhood friend, the man who owned the shop. The two men were sharing tea and reminiscing about the past. Even though he was involved in one conversation, he was easily able to follow another conversation, due to the fact that the two youths had a tendency to be loud or dramatic.
"Another meeting!" Naruto slammed one fist down on the table top. Both cups of tea sitting there jumped off of their saucers before handing somewhat askew. "That's three this week. You sure are impatient."
His annoyance was only partly due to the note he received from his 'secret benefactor' demanding another update. The deli had gotten in some nice desserts, but would not sell them before the shop was open.
"Yes," Hanabi said firmly.
"HAH! I'M TOO OLD TO BE YOUR BOYFRIEND!" He figured that would get under the young girl's skin. He shrugged when the two older men looked back at him. "That's why you want to see so much of me…"
"You're too stupid to be my boyfriend," Hanabi said , turning her nose up. "And you're too ugly." In actuality, Hanabi actually found herself liking Naruto. He was loud and brash. He didn't seem to care what everyone thought of him. He was fairly bright, but that was not where his talents lay. His penchant for mischief made her jealous, and his ability to bluff left her starry-eyed. Just the same, he was not boyfriend material. "You've been spending a lot of time with Hinata. Maybe you secretly like her!" Sure. A boy this loud and rambunctious, liking her shy and quiet sister? That had as much chance of happening as her sitting down to tea with the fox demon that she heard some old-timers talking about the other day.
"AHAH! JEALOUS!" Naruto leaned back in his chair, fighting the urge to put his feet up on the table. A ninja should be dignified at all times. He pointed his finger at Hanabi.
"I am not jealous!" Hanabi forced herself to calm down. As the Heir, she needed to maintain proper decorum. Then again, she wasn't at home now, and Onoda woudn't say anything as long as she wasn't too loud. She needed to stay in control of the situation. Most people would assume they could get the upper hand on someone her age. Many of them would be wrong. "I'm just being smart. If you don't know what that is, I don't have time to explain it to you." That ought to get him riled up a bit. "Never leave any stone unturned. That's what my father taught me. So Mr. Ninja Way, is Hinata your girlfriend?"
"Of course not!" Naruto scowled. So he was stupid, was he? A lot of enemy shinobi made that assumption, only to find out otherwise. "If she was, I would have told you that, and collected on my Ramen. That would have been r-e-a-l easy." He laughed. "Next time you try turning over stones, try not to drop any on your head…"
"W-H-A-T!" Hanabi grabbed the table top with both hands. She fought the desire to push it into Naruto, knocking his chair over. Who did he think he was, talking to a Hyuuga that way? To the Heir! It wouldn't matter if he was already the Hokage. "You…"
"Miss Hanabi!" Onoda's voice cracked like a whip. He was usually willing to allow her some degree of misbehavior, but there were some lines that should never be crossed. "Do you wish for these meetings to be reported to your father?"
For a moment, Hanabi looked like a girl her age, one who had been caught doing something she shouldn't. She shook her head in exaggerated fashion. "I'm sorry, Mr, Onoda." She turned to Naruto. "I apologize, Naruto." Her voice was sincere. Her angry eyes told a different story.
"No problem," Naruto said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I remember being a kid!" That would have been bad enough. "But, I was a guy. Girls must have more trouble with control." His memories of the past were all somewhat colored. In Team Seven, he had been slighted by both Sasuke and Sakura. The pink-haired girl in particular seemed to always be angry at him for some mysterious reason.
"I…" Hanabi almost shouted again. It wasn't Onoda's threat that saved her. She was not about to validate that 'control' comment. Big dufus. She couldn't understand why Neji spoke so highly of this boy. "So, have you gotten any hints at all?"
Naruto sighed. By now Hanabi must know how much he liked Ramen. If he had found something out, he would be asking for a few bowls in good faith. He didn't intend to do all this for nothing. Though, to be honest, he actually enjoyed the time spent with the young girl's sister; but, that was only because they were doing all of the things that he liked. It wasn't as if he was deliberately dragging his feet, so that he still had reason to be around Hinata or anything. He was being cautious. Jiraiya always smacked him on the head with that huge ass scroll case of his, any time he rushed into things too quickly. Some of the bumps were still there.
"No," Naruto said. "Like I told you, the day on the hill top she admitted that she liked someone. But, she still won't answer when I ask about a boyfriend. Hinata seems to opening up to me. She seems a lot less shy. Maybe I'll have her confidence soon."
"That's what you said two days ago." Hanabi made a sour face. She looked over at the big glass display case again. There was a monstrous chocolate chip cookie there with her name on it, so to speak. But, plead as she did earlier, the shop owner wouldn't let her buy it. She didn't care about the look of disapproval that her father's retainer gave her. It was not like she was going to act the same way when she was Clan Chief. 'Use whatever tools are at hand,' her father always said. 'Choose the best one for each task'. Well, big wide eyes, batting lashes, and 'P-l-e-e-e-e-e-e-a-s-e' were wonderful tools for a young woman.
"So?" Naruto shrugged, unconcerned.
"Maybe you're not as good as you say you are. If I have to wait around until you get lucky, I will probably have my own boyfriend and won't care that my sister does!" Hanabi gave Naruto a questioning glare.
"Oh yeah?" Naruto sat up straight again. "Fine. Go ahead and find someone else." He smiled. The girl obviously thought that she was a clever negotiator. She was no Uzumaki Naruto. "I'll offer you a much smaller price for protection."
"Protection?" Hanabi looked over at Onoda. That word had gotten his attention, too. "Are you… do you mean..." She became too angry to worry about her safety. "Are you threatening me?" That didn't make sense. Shinobi were supposed to protect the innocent. If they didn't they were stripped of their privileges or exiled form the village.
"Geeeez! A future Hokage can't do that kind of thing." Naruto sneered. "You're not going to turn out to be a tight ass like your father, are you?" Naruto yawned deep and long. He caught the look on Onoda's face out of the corner of his eyes, but couldn't care less.
"I… you… that's…" Hanabi was about to take Naruto to task. That wouldn't help matters. And, to be honest, her father was a bit rigid, even now. She also remembered all too well what had happened with her sister.
"You are looking for a secret." Naruto grinned. "To do something like that, it's best to keep your actions a secret, right?" He let that sink in a bit. "If you were to become unhappy with a ninja you hired as a spy… and kicked him off a mission before the deal was consummated… there would be some risk if he or his bosses weren't loyal to you." He placed both hands behind his head. "I probably wouldn't run and blab to Hinata if you broke off our deal, or developed a habit of badmouthing shinobi of the Leaf."
Onoda's posture relaxed. He met his friend's eyes, and they both smiled. Little Miss Hanabi was a bit of a tyrant; but, she had run up against someone who was a bit of a conundrum. The young man tended to be abrasive and compulsive, but was also honest and enthusiastic. If she pulled too hard, she would fid herself sitting on her rump. If she pushed too hard, she might land on her face.
"Probably." Hanabi just mouthed that word. She had never thought of that angle. Everything had seemed to be so perfect. It never paid to be too arrogant or overly confident, did it? "So, what did you and Hinata do over the last two days?"
Naruto remained silent. He took out at kunai and began cleaning his fingernails. That done, he removed a shuriken from his pouch and spun it on one fingertip.
"I'm sorry," Hanabi said. "I won't question your talent again. I won't be so rude."
Still, Naruto ignored her. He took out a reel of wire so thin, it almost looked invisible. He unwound it, and then wound it more tightly.
"I promise," Hanabi added.
Naruto began whistling. Noticing a mud spot on his sandals, he stood up, got a paper napkin, spat on it, and then began cleaning his footwear.
"What…" Hanabi looked over at Onoda. She would need help on this one. Maybe it was a boy thing. The manservant pretended to look away for a moment. He then pointed to his mouth and pantomimed chewing. "I'll buy you something to eat today…"
Naruto stopped whistling. Blindly, he tossed the dirty napkin over his shoulder, getting it in a small wicker trash basket. He raised one eyebrow.
"O-o-o-o-o-h." Hanabi stamped her foot on the floor. "OK. I'll buy you whatever you want to eat." She scowled. "Is… that… good… enough?"
Naruto rubbed his chin for a while, feeling cantankerous. He didn't want to push too far. His stomach started rumbling. The offer had gotten his attention in more way than one. "I would like that large Cream Puff over there." He pointed over to the display case. "I'll pick it up whenever the owner will let me have it." He smiled. "Because I'm so generous, why don't you buy that large cookie next to it for yourself?" He had seen where Hanabi was looking before.
"FINE!" Hanabi covered her mouth. Onoda didn't say anything. The look he gave her was meant to convey some message or suggestion. What? Oh! OK. "Since we're bargaining today, I think I would like to get something if you fail." She made a steeple of her fingers, like her father did on occasion. "I could tell everyone that Uzumaki Naruto failed a D-class mission…" She had picked up some terminology from listening to Hinata and Neji talk. "Or, I would stay quiet for say… mmmmm… one dozen of those large cookies. On account!"
Onoda smiled. His friend patted on his back in silent congratulations.
"Hey! This isn't easy. It's C-class for sure. Maybe B…" Naruto pulled at his lip. He couldn't help but smile. Hanabi certainly had a lot of gumption, maybe even too much for her own good. He frowned for a moment, remembering what Neji had been like at one point. If the girl went that route, things would stay ugly in the Hyuuga clan for quite a while. Unless the Sixth Hokage had something to say about it. "Two dozen cookies." He saw Hanabi's eyes go wide. She didn't have the best poker face. Her father could have written the book on stuff like that! "Nothing is too good for a girl who's sweet on Uzumaki Naruto."
"You dream a lot," Hanabi said. She smirked. "Your mother must have dropped you on your head as a baby! A lot."
"I never knew my mother. Or my father." Naruto's face clouded over some. "I have no idea who looked after me in the Orphanage…"
"Oh!" Hanabi hung her head for a moment. It reminded Naruto of Hinata. "I… well… my mother died when I was little."
Naruto nodded. So, the two of them had a little something in common. He already knew how hard a life Hinata had. Being born into a Great Family didn't mean that everyone had a silver spoon in their mouth. There were no guarantees, even for the rich and powerful. All he had to do was think about the Uchiha clan to know that simple truth. Hanabi might be a spoiled piece of work, but all of the pampering in the world could bring back a loved one who passed on.
"You asked what Hinata and I have been doing." Naruto had tired of the game. "Yesterday was an off day for both of us. I bought a couple of animes and watched them all the way through. Bought a couple of manga too." He scratched the back of his head. "Hinata asked if she could watch each and every episode. She even looked through some of the manga." Naruto blinked rapidly, remembering. That had certainly surprised him. If he mentioned something like that to Sakura during practice, she'd either laugh and call him a 'Geek', or frown and say he needed to 'Get a life'.
"Really?" Hanabi looked puzzled. "Hinata?" She stared at Naruto for a moment. "She's never done anything like that at home…"
"Huh?" Naruto sat forward some. "Guess she must be a closet anime freak. Who would have guessed that?" He itched the side of his nose. "She probably doesn't dare bring that stuff over to your father's house. He saw Hanabi nod her head. "Day before that, we headed over to Food Row and hit the best seafood joints after each of us was done with our separate duties. I hoped that she would meet her boyfriend for lunch or something." Naruto shrugged. "No such luck. But, it didn't matter much to me. We each ate more Squid-on-a-Stick than any person should." Naruto licked his lips. He closed his eyes, imagining some squid curling up over a fire.
"Squid?" Hanabi made a face. How could anyone eat something that looked like a squid? "Hinata cooks sea food and likes fish, but she doesn't like much else. Father and Neji are the ones who like shrimp and stuff." She stuck out her tongue.
"Well, it just goes to show you, that you can be pretty close to someone, but not know all of their secrets." Naruto buffed his fingernails on his jumpsuit. "There won't be any extra charge for that lesson." He smiled a rather irritating smile, but didn't get a reaction out of the girl. "But I guess you already know that. It's why we keep having these fun chats…"
"What… else…" Hanabi kept her voice even. She had provided that by with enough entertainment for one day.
"Hmmmm. After Squid, Hinata said that she wanted to go see a movie. I told her to go ahead, since I wasn't about to sit through a romance picture." It was Naruto's turn to stick out his tongue. "But, I changed my mind. The type of movie didn't matter. Yukie Fujimi was starring." Naruto grinned. He had a dreamy look in his eyes. "Actually, her real identity is Kazahana Koyuki, princess of the Snow Country."
"Sure." Hanabi shook her head. "They probably just make that kind of stuff up."
"Just the thing a kid might say," Naruto said, sounding a little testy. "She happens to be a friend of mine. There may even be footage of me in the next Princess Fuun movie."
Onoda looked startled. He was a secret Princess Fuun fan. The look he gave Naruto was more respectful than before. He had heard that the Leaf was instrumental in something to do with the Snow princess. No one ever gave him the details.
Hanabi began giggling. If that sound wasn't so out of character, Naruto would have taken offense big time. "Y-You… in a m-movie…" She coughed. She snorted, causing her to blush. "R-Right… I'm actually Yuki-onna, a Snow Woman. I followed you back to Konoha, and will leave you a frost covered corpse with my icy breath. I'm not as forgiving as some of the stories make me out to be." She giggled again.
The Hyuuga Heir loved ghost stories, finding it exciting to be scared that way. Before Hinata left the household to train as a ninja, her sister would hide under her pillow when their father or one of his attendants told the old myths. Hanabi, on the other hand, would cling to her father's arm, begging for one more tale.
In many stories, Yuki-onna would reveal herself to travelers who find themselves trapped in snowstorms and use her icy breath to kill them. Some legends say that she lead them astray so they simply die of exposure. Other times, she would manifest in the form of a woman holding a child. When a well-intentioned person would takes the 'child' from the woman, the Good Samaritan would be frozen in place. Parents searching for lost children are particularly susceptible to this tactic. Other legends made Yuki-onna much more aggressive. In those tales, she might physically invade people's homes, blowing in the door with a gust of wind, to kill them while they sleep.
But, like the cold season that she represents, Yuki-onna had a softer side. She sometimes let would-be victims go for various reasons. In one popular legend, she set a young boy free due to his beauty and age. She made him promise never to mention her again. When he relates the story to his wife much later in life, the wife revealed herself to be none other than the snow woman. She reviled him for breaking his promise, but spared him yet again, this time out of concern for the children she had borne him. In a similar legend, she melted away once her husband discovered her true nature.
"I'M SERIOUS!" Naruto shouted. "What would a little girl know? Sheeeesh" He went on to tell a brief summary of his mission with Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura. "Any way, I sat through the movie, wondering if Hinata was meeting someone." He shook his head. "I should have known she wasn't. She wouldn't have sat next to me if she was. That might have made her boyfriend jealous."
"Yes," Hanabi looked at Naruto and tugged at her hair. He seemed like such a dork in some ways. But, if the stories that he told were true, he might be someone special after all. Maybe he was putting on an act, trying to catch people off guard. He should be able to trick Hinata. "What are you going to try next?" She rubbed her hands together under the table.
"She wants to learn a powerful jutsu," Naruto answered. "But, she hasn't told me what it is, yet. Maybe she's getting cold feet over it or something." He scratched his side. "It must be something I'm good at. But, that doesn't narrow things down any." He smiled a self-satisfied smile. "But, I hope teaching isn't too boring. It can take a long time and a lot of work." He thought back to the days after he first met Jiraiya, and to the time he lived with the Frog Hermit. Crazy perverted sake-swilling purse-stealing hairy old bastard! He hoped that his former teacher was doing well. "I better get some Ramen out of all this!"
"I better get an answer out of this." Hanabi countered. "You can get Ramen anywhere. "But, I can't find out what I want. Even Miss Setsu couldn't tell me. And she's the best fortuneteller in the world!"
Naruto began laughing. He held his belly and guffawed. "F-… F-… F-…" He brought his chair down flat and smacked the table. The loud sound had Hanabi jumping out of her seat. "Fortunetellers? Who would believe that kind of stuff?"
"People who are smart, that's who!" Hanabi put her hands on her hips. "Her fortunes told me that Hinata had a boyfriend. Even you were surprised by that. She was also right about Neji and my father's fortunes." She sniffed. "Besides, who could believe that some giant Fox monster could come and attack some village, and that one man could save everybody. But, the clan elders swear it's true, and they have the guy's face on the mountain." She shook her finger at Naruto. "Who would have thought that against three-headed snake would attack a few years ago? Or some giant sand thing almost did." Those kind of things were harder to believe than fortune telling, but they were true.
"Shukaku." Naruto said. "It's name was Shukaku. The sand demon is one of the Bijū, the 'Tailed beasts'. It happens to be the corrupted spirit of a Sand Priest turned demon. His current Jinchūriki is Gaara, who was an enemy at the time. With Gama Bunta, I stopped them. Gaara is Kazekage now. His brother and sister wish the damn demon was sealed back inside a teakettle."
"You…" Hanabi put her hand over her mouth again. She would not giggle again. "I believe you…really I do…" She held her breath. "And what is Gama Bunta?"
"He's the 'Frog Boss', chief of the toads that can be summoned. He's about fifty to one hundred meters high, is kind of a grumpy wise guy, and smokes a big pipe. Jiraiya and I can summon him. He accepted me as his subordinate, even though I was too young to drink the Sake ceremony with him. He and Shukaku are real." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know about that fortune mumbo jumbo."
Onoda and his friend stared at each other, and then at Naruto. If the boy wasn't the biggest Liar this side of the Valley of the End, Hanabi had chosen a very interesting ninja to interact with.
"Nonsense." Hanabi was not going to buy that story. Especially not after Naruto dismissed fortunetellers like he did. "If you lie about that, you might be making stories up about Hinata too." That made sense. Hinata and anime? Squid? How stupid did that boy think she was? "You might also lie about who her boyfriend is!"
"LIAR?" Naruto stood up. Why did every Hyuuga except Hinata have to start off with some kind of attitude? "If you won't believe me…" he bit his thumb, and then worked the necessary hand seals. He slapped the table top. A large cloud of smoke billowed into the room. When the coughing witnesses could see again, they all stared in wonder.
"Hey, Naruto… what's up?" A large toad sat on the table. About the size of Naruto's head, the chubby amphibian looked over at Hanabi. "Is that your…" He held his toad hand in such a way as to mean 'girlfriend'. "You got time to play? Any snacks?"
"No way, Gamakichi," Naruto shook my head. "Just because I gave up on Sakura doesn't mean I want to baby sit!" That would have Hanabi fuming if she wasn't staring slack-jawed. "The old guy over there won't sell us any food yet, and I didn't call you to play. I told them about your father, but they don't believe me. She also didn't believe me about Shukaku."
Gamakichi slumped down, putting its hands up on its head. "Why did you have to mention that big bully?" He made a strange whining noise.
"Geeez. He's not even here!" Naruto frowned. "Besides, he's kind of a friend now."
"He's still too big, and too creepy! He almost killed the two of us. If you didn't wake that freaky kid up, we'd be gone." Gamakichi lifted his head back again and stared over at the food case.
"I won't sell any snacks…" The shopkeeper walked over to the counter. "But, this will make a great story." He looked over at Naruto. "A gift. What would your small companion like?"
"That big cookie!" Gamakichi smiled a wide amphibian smile.
"Hey-y-y-y-y…" That snapped Hanabi out of her near trance. "I saw that first!"
"She's a noisy chick," Gamakichi remarked to his friend. Naruto nodded. That had Hanabi turning pale with rage.
"Just wait…" Naruto smiled at Hanabi.
"Well?" The toad tilted its head, looking up at Hanabi.
"I just said that to shut her up. When you tell girls what to do, they usually do the opposite." Naruto looked at the cookie hungrily, as the man brought it out. The storekeeper broke off a small piece and handed it to Hanabi. "Is it that way with toads, too?"
"I think so," Gamakichi said. "I'm too young to be sure, though. Dad said he told Mom to get him dinner once, and she left. So, it might be true."
"It was probably that damn pipe." Naruto smiled when he saw Gamakichi shoot his tongue out, grab Hanabi's piece before she could bite into it, and then brought it back into his mouth. "Good!" He hopped on the remainder of the cookie. No one would want to eat it after that. He was more worried about Naruto than the strange girl.
"HEY. THAT WAS MINE, STUPID TOAD!" Hanabi's shout was loud enough to startle some people walking past the shop's huge front window.
"Told you…" Naruto said.
"Can you make it be quiet again?" The toad asked.
"Takes too much work," Naruto said, folding his arms across his chest. "Besides, it might be the only talent she has." Hanabi never should have called him a liar. After Gamakichi disappeared with a loud 'Pop', Naruto made that point clear. "So, who's a liar?"
"I want you to teach Hinata how to do that," Hanabi said. "I want her to summon that little jerk, so I can toss him in a pot of hot water!"
"Really?" Naruto said. "Maybe I'll mention that to his Dad next time. He might want to speak to your father about it, though."
"Wait… she's just…" It took a lot to make Onoda lose his cool. The young man was so unpredictable, that the manservant didn't want to take even the slightest chance. "You wouldn't really do that ,would you young man?"
"Of course not." Naruto sighed. "Future Hokage, remember? Hokages can't go doing things like that." He laughed. "Besides, if Gama Bunta squashed the house and Hanabi's father, I probably couldn't get Hinata to tell me who her boyfriend is."
"You just better find out!" Hanabi folded her arms over her chest.
"Hah! There's nothing that Uzumaki Naruto can't do." He thanked the man for the use of his shop. He asked him to save him the largest Cream Puff and put it on Hanabi's tab. After that, he left. He had to fight the urge to create a number of clones, and have them moon Hinata's sister through the window.
Hanabi smiled. She was glad Naruto was gone. A little of that boy went a long way. But, if all of the things he told her were true, he was a force to be reckoned with.
"I'll have your secret soon, dear sister."