Thank you to all of my readers, especially those of you who posted reviews and inspired me to write more!
Japanese Terms: Konbanwa (good evening) oyasuminasai (good night) daijobu (it's okay, are you all right?) ano (um) edo (um) sunomono (sald of pickled cucumbers and noodle) gomenasai (sorry)
Awakenings Ch. 2
The Hyuuga mansion sat steadfast yet elegant like a large, graceful stone against the background of the setting sun. Naruto walked up to the door of the outer wall of the compound. His thoughts wandered back to his tiny, messy apartment filled with used ramen bowl styrofoams and empty milk cartons. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. A young man opened. His hair was tied back, sleek and clean, and his clothes were well-ironed and specially tailored. He looked down his nose at Naruto.
"What is it that you need young sir?"
"Ano, I..I'm here to ..uh…see Hinata."
"Ah, the young mistress. The family is preparing for dinner. Would you mind waiting a bit while I go in to check if she is available to meet with you?"
"Urm, yeah, sure, thank you."
The man closed the door abruptly.
Naruto looked at the fine wood that the door was made of, his gaze rising to the delicate bluish-gray tiles that glistened on the roof in the growing twilight. The sun set behind the hills casting a red glow around the buildings that made up the large mansion. Naruto's lips twisted in uncertainty. Why had he run over here so hastily again? What had he hoped to accomplish?
It was in his nature to jump into things without thinking, just as it was in his nature to choose a direction and see it through to the end. But this was not anything like training or beating an opponent. He couldn't mentally muscle his way through this one. He was at a loss as to what he was going to do. He thought of leaving, but he had all ready announced his presence. They knew he had been here, and it would be terribly rude to run off now. He heaved a sigh.
The door opened again. This time it was a kindly, beautiful lady with long, ink-blue hair cascading down over her shoulders and back. Wrapped around her body was a dark blue kimono with a yellow obi. Flying all over her robes were white cranes taking off from a lake sitting serenely at the bottom over her feet and ankles. She smiled warmly at him.
"Hello Naruto-kun! What a pleasant surprise! We were just about to have dinner! Why don't you come in and join us?"
"Konbanwa, Mrs. Hyuuga. I'm sorry I came at a bad time. It's okay, I've all ready had some ramen…ano…it's okay, I'll see Hinata tomorrow at training."
"No, I insist! Please come in!"
She stepped outside, put a hand behind Naruto and gently pushed him into the walls of the compound while he muttered "I..uh…ano…er…."
Walking past the shadows of the beautifully tended gardens of rocks, plants, and water designed to imitate natural landscape scenes, Naruto slipped off his shoes in the inner entrance as he stepped onto the dark wooden floors. The hallway ahead was lit by small lights positioned on either side high up on the walls. They turned to walk past some stairs made of the same, fine and smooth dark wood. Passing through an enclosed hallway, they took another turn and Naruto gasped as they walked onto a walkway that was wall and paper covered sliding doors to his right and an elegant backyard garden with glimmering pond to his left. By that time, the sun had completed its descent behind the mountains and the moon and stars were shining full force casting everything in crystalline shades of blue, black, and white.
Mrs. Hyuuga slid the door at the center of this walkway back to reveal a medium sized tatami room with a large, square brown table in the center. Around it were arranged four pillows for seating, one on each side of the table. Naruto pulled his eyes away from the breathtaking moonlit garden scene too look upon this dining table. The family dining room was set up like a fine restaurant. The tatami flooring covered the cubical room and fine paper covered the wooden frames of the sliding door. On the wall hung an exquisite scroll adorned with delicate black ink shadings depicting a section of a single bamboo tree leaning to the right. Mrs. Hyuuga shuffled him inside. She pulled the pillow closest to the door facing away from the garden a bit to the right.
"Here, dear, you can sit right here."
At that moment, some servants came in and began to set the table with utensils, plates and bowls. A small, dark blue lilac leaning gracefully out of a white, thin vase was placed at the center of the table.
"Set an extra spot right here. We have a guest tonight. Get an extra pillow seat as well."
Naruto sat down as Mrs. Hyuuga placed herself on the side of the table to his right. They were joined shortly by Hinata's little sister, Hanabi, with dark hair flowing and light violet eyes. She bowed politely to Naruto and took her seat silently at end opposite her mother, adjusting her plain, light blue yukata with dark purple obi as she kneeled. Naruto bowed politely back, looking totally out of place in the elegant setting with his spiky yellow hair clashing with his bright orange jacket and pants. Hyuuga Hiashi, Hinata's father, was the next to join the party. He nodded to Naruto as he took his place across the table from him facing the garden. The servants came quickly and placed hot cups of steaming green tea in front of each seating. Naruto glanced at the pillow that had been placed next to him just inches away and willed with all his might that the redness would not creep across his cheeks.
"So, Naruto, to what do we owe this pleasant visit?"
Hyuuga Hiashi's voice was steady and formal.
"Oh, hehehe, I just wanted to talk to Hinata about what to do for our next session of training…I should have just waited until tomorrow," Naruto lied hoping to the kami-sama that the byakuugan wasn't also a lie detector.
"Nonsense! We're glad you stopped by tonight! You should come by more often Naruto-kun," interjected Mrs. Hyuuga.
"Ah yes, the training," Hiashi seemed to ponder deeply. "How is that coming along?"
"Hinata is amazing! She's getting better every time I train with her. It's not just her use of byakuugan that's improving. Her reflexes are faster, her speed is increasing, and her charka control is crazy! Especially after…ha ha…er, after the accident."
"Yes, I heard about what happened. Are you quite healed from that incident?"
"Heh heh…yes, thanks to Hinata of course. I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for her. I really underestimated how much she had improved in more ways than one."
Naruto funneled all his will power into preventing his cheeks from turning crimson red.
"Hinata really tries hard to improve, and all that hard work is just paying off right now."
"Ah, I told you, anata, Hinata is late blooming flower," Mrs. Hyuuga said with playful eyes that counter balanced her husband's composed countenance.
"What about you, Naruto? How's your training going?" she encouraged.
"Oh, I think I'm improving, too. I need to speed up my progress or else Hinata will end up being Hokage instead of me!"
"You dream of being Hokage?" Hiashi's left eyebrow raised half an inch.
"Definitely! Everyone will recognize me when I'm Hokage! I want to protect Konoha with my life! It's my dream!" Naruto's earlier trepidation in this awkward situation was washed away as he was caught up again in the life goal he was set on achieving.
"You'll make a wonderful Hokage!" smiled Mrs. Hyuuga.
Hiashi took a contemplative sip of his tea. Hanabi did the same. Surprisingly for one so young, she had the same composed nature as her father. Hiashi placed his tea cup back onto the table. The candles in the room flickered warmly as the breeze from the beautiful moonlit garden outside seeped into their dining area.
"Hinata, do not delay any longer. Your guest and your family have been waiting for you."
A small gasp sounded outside, and Naruto turned his head around just in time to see the short, dark, ink-blue hair peeking out from behind the paper covered sliding door followed by the large, light-violet pearl eyes and cheeks flushed with red. She stepped timidly out from behind the protection of the papered door revealing a miniature version of her mother's kimono with the image a single crane taking flight from a small pool of water elegantly embroidered into the cloth. Again, Naruto willed his cheeks not to flush with red. He never really cared much for what people wore, but there was something very intimate about seeing Hinata in such a beautiful kimono and out of the ordinary clothes she wore that sent chills up his back. Kirei... he thought again, the crane's flight on her clothes were graceful yet powerful like Hinata's movements in battle. He smiled warmly at her.
"Ano…gomenasai…" Hinata apologized as she came into the room. There was a moment where she paused as her eyes fell upon the pillow seat placed strategically next to where Naruto sat. Her father's stern demeanor moved her forward to her place despite her hesitation.
As she took her seat next him, they both set to work internally willing their faces to stop flushing with red hues.
Soon, small bowls were placed in front of them full of miso soup with tofu, seaweed, and the granular miso paste swirling around as the heated liquid rose and fell in the small container. Next came small plates of sunomono, a noodle and cucumber salad. Naruto picked up the black chopsticks that lay on the table with the tips resting on grey stones. The chopsticks had finely carved dark lines, depictions of flowing water, on the other end. He had never dined in such elegance before.
"Everything looks so beautiful and delicious."
"Eat up! You'll need all the energy you can get at the rate the both of you are training! You two, too," Mrs. Hyuuga said cheerfully and smiled warmly at everyone.
They ate in silence for awhile, savoring the delicious meal. The main course of salmon with pickled vegetables and light sauce came next. The light clinking of chopstick against bowl and plate was accompanied by the faint chirping of crickets in the garden outside.
"Tomorrow I will be teaching Hanabi the preliminaries of a special technique that I developed. I would like for the both of you to join us."
Hiashi's unexpected voice broke the peaceful sounds, and the request came more as a command.
Hinata and Naruto looked at each other, the awkwardness of the dinner together with her family drained from their eyes and in its place was astonishment mingled with anticipation. The look on both of their faces seemed to say Is this for real? and A special technique! all at once.
"What sort of technique is it?" Naruto asked gingerly, afraid that a poorly chosen intonation in his speech might change his good fortune.
"I've named it the Hidden Kunai of Konoha. The details will be revealed to you at tomorrow's training. The training will occur at the Hyuuga mansion private training grounds. Be there and ready at dawn."
Naruto and Hinata nodded, afraid to say anything else that would make the Hyuuga heir change his mind.
At the end of the meal, the dishes were all cleared away by servants.
"Hinata, why don't you show Naruto where the training grounds are and maybe some of our gardens before he goes," Mrs. Hyuuga said with a sigh.
"You'll have to excuse me, Naruto-kun, I'm a bit exhausted from a long day. Hinata will have to show you out."
"Thank you for inviting me into dinner. It was the most delicious and beautiful dinner I've ever had in my life."
"Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'll see you here tomorrow for breakfast then. Oyasuminasai!" Mrs. Hyuuga bowed herself out along with Hiashi and Hanabi who both did the same.
Hinata and Naruto were left alone in the dining room, the table cleared and the pillows set straight. Their privacy allowed them to breathe a little sigh of relief.
"Wow, Hinata, do you eat like this every night?"
She nodded looking embarrassed.
"You're like a princess! At my apartment, I usually just eat a bowl of ramen and that's it. Kakashi sensei sometimes brings vegetables and fruits over and makes me eat them. He says I'll die if I only eat ramen every day."
At that, the two of them laughed. Naruto's laugh ended first, and he watched as Hinata face danced happily in the candlelight.
"So where're the training grounds?"
"Oh, it's around the back."
They went out into the walkway and stepped out into the garden.
"This garden is amazing."
"We have lots of servants who take care of it. I see them; it takes a lot of work. I don't think I would be very good at keeping a garden looking this beautiful."
"Me neither, but maybe it's worth the effort in order to enjoy being in it."
Hinata nodded in agreement as they looked around at the pleasing way the moonlight and starlight cast shadows and sparkles on the pond water. Koi fish occasionally bobbed up sending ripples across the surface that disappeared under the small bridge that arched over the globular shape of the pond. They walked over the bridge and down the path to the far end of the garden opposite the dining room speculating and debating all the way what the Hidden Kunai of Konoha could be.
They went through the gate which opened onto another path surrounded on both sides by an elongated and intricate rock garden, its tiny pebbles flowing like streams alongside the path itself. The path wound itself around one of the hills that sat behind the mansion. At its end was a tall wall that extended around a large piece of land.
"The private training grounds are meant to safe guard the secret of the Hyuuga training process and the techniques themselves," Hinata explained as she pulled out a key from under her kimono and unlocked the large, solid wood doors that stood at the foot of the high walls. When they stepped inside, Naruto gasped at the large area that had been set aside for training. There was a large patch of open ground as well as plenty of trees toward the back of the complex. It was like a closed in piece of forest land and meadow. To their right was a large building.
"That's a dojo."
Naruto nodded in amazement.
They left the place and headed back across the path between the rivers of pebble, through the garden with the pond, and past the dining room. All the while they discussed the Hidden Kunai of Konoha.
"It sounds like an ultra fast kunai dagger attack," Hinata wondered with a tilt of her head, her voice flowing out in its usual soft and hesitant cadence.
"Maybe its ultra fast and there's tons of them!" returned Naruto.
"How many kunai can you throw at one time?" Hinata inquired.
"Only about 8 really well, 10 sloppily."
"I think I can only do 6 really well, 8 sloppily."
"We should practice multiple kunai throwing! It'll be good basic training. Hopefully, after tomorrow, we may know how to throw 100 at a time!"
Hinata cringed a little. New techniques used to scare her easily because she would worry immediately that she would fail. Through her training for the rematch with Neji, she grew to view new techniques more as potential trump cards to hold against her highly skilled cousin. However, the fear of failure never failed to sit insidiously at the back of her mind, like a poisonous snake poised to strike at any moment.
Naruto saw the look of worry cross her face.
"Daijobu, Hinata. You're probably going to learn the Hidden Kunai of Konoha faster than me, and then I'll have to catch up. But don't get too comfortable! If I'm going to be Hokage, I'm going to have to be stronger than a Hyuuga heir!"
She smiled in response to his encouragement and characteristic brashness. That was what she lacked, his courage to face failure head on. In her mind, she remembered the fight with Neji at the Chuunin preliminary elimination round. This is my way of the ninja she had said in the face of his relentless onslaught. Naruto smiled as he saw a look of determination replace the uncertainty a few moments ago.
They had arrived at the inside of the front gates and turned to say goodbye to each other when they suddenly realized something that caused the both of them to freeze and look down at their hands---they were holding hands, fingers linked together, palm to palm. They each wondered in horror how long they had been holding hands and whether anyone had seen them. Their faces both turned bright red and they let go, laughing nervously.
"Edo…haha, I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning Hinata-san!"
"Oyasuminasai, Naruto-kun!"
They both held their hands up a simple gesture of goodbye and smiled nervously. Then Naruto stepped outside the front gate and started down the street. The wooden door closed delicately behind him. Both of their faces still burned bright red.
Up in the third floor of the mansion, the master and mistress of the compound sat together by their bedroom window sipping water. They looked out at the garden outside the dining room and the twilight landscape beyond.
"He has grown quite strong given his circumstances, don't you think?" Mrs. Hyuuga smiled as she drank some more water.
"Yes, quite impressive. He has carried a heavy burden since birth."
"She has grown as well."
Hiashi nodded solemnly at this. He sighed and spoke in a soft, tender voice that was meant only for the ears of his beloved wife.
"Of all the years I trained her, he was able to inspire something in her that I was never able to do."
"It is hard to compete with the love of someone who has the potential of being your life long companion. This is especially hard for parents."
At that, she moved in closer to him and linked her arms around his, leaning against him. They both looked out the window at the full moon that shone like a silver coin in the sky. Hiashi took another sip of water.
"It would be quite fitting for a daughter of Hyuuga to wed a Hokage of Konoha."