Kakashi opened the door and was greeted by the cheerful Naruto with his much quieter cousin by his side. He let them in after they had explained that Rina had sent them to help them prepare. Kakashi was a little confused by what he needed help with since he found himself a pretty decent dresser until Karin held out a big purple bag out to him. Curious, Kakashi takes the bag from her hand and pulls out one of the clothing items. It was a grey blazer which was a colour he did not own, and it was exceptional quality fabric. He searched through the bag to find trousers of the same material and a thin navy coloured shirt. The outfit entirely was mostly formal due to the fabric choice and excellent cutting, but it was clear the shirt was going to make the outfit a comfortable one. It was a relaxed formal look which was perfect for Kakashi.
She knows me so well.
Sasuke puts on his boxers quickly, hearing the doorbell but he couldn't help but smirk in accomplishment for getting the plan into gear; after hearing his plan, Rina was more than happy to help but insisted her wards had to come along to show strength in numbers.
Sasuke's plan was simple. Rina had to come with Kakashi to show that he, in a way, had parent figures in his life that would keep him in line but most importantly guide him on a respectable journey to his goals. It was perfect. Kakashi was known for his exceptional ninja career in ANBU and ninja talents among the locals. While Rina was known to be the latest useful addition to Konoha General Hospital and her kind, warm personality amongst the people mainly due to her more recent presence in the community as of late. As a front, they were exceptional role models for Sasuke to follow.
Sasuke would call the plan a sure success if Rina did not insist on bringing her siblings along. He was just thinking along these lines when Naruto suddenly barged in, exclaiming that Rina sent him here to help the Uchiha. Sasuke turned, he had just come from the shower, and he was trying to dry his hair. He was only in his boxers for now, but he didn't care anyway, it was only Naruto, but then he realised that Naruto was dressed formally and took a moment to look at him properly.
Naruto was wearing a snug black vest that was long enough for the sides to reach his waistline over a well fitted white shirt and dark wash slim fit jeans. The shirt's collar and the last button of his vest were left unbuttoned opting to look a little more casual than formal, but Sasuke had to admit that Naruto looked great.
"Your sister must have dressed you."
Naruto ignored the snide comment and raised the bag he was carrying, "I'm here to dress you Sasuke!"
Sasuke walked backwards cautiously he did not like the glint in his teammate's eyes.
Kakashi was the first to finish, and when he came out fully dressed in the outfit prepared for him, he noticed Karin wasn't paying him any attention. She seemed nervous and was twiddling her thumbs as she sat on the couch.
Kakashi had to admit; he didn't recognise her at first. She had put on some light makeup; a lip gloss, mascara and face powder. He liked that she kept it natural; she was still a kid after all. She was wearing a black bare shoulder midi dress with a purplish ombre finish at the bottom. Most importantly, her usually short red hair was up in a low bun so for the first time he could see her whole face, and he realised that he was right when first saw her, she did look like Kushina.
"Kakashi! Look at Sasuke!"
"Dobe!"
Kakashi's jaw dropped beneath his mask.
Sasuke was wearing a navy blue button-down dress shirt with the sleeves all the way rolled up to his elbows with the collar buttoned, making him look almost dignified. He had on malt toned trousers with a plaid pattern that was only noticeable if you look hard enough with a brown belt around the waist of his pants and a black leather wristwatch on his wrist. It fitted him perfectly, and dare did Kakashi admit it with a nervous Sasuke under his gaze, Sasuke looked pretty handsome. He never liked Sasuke's arrogance; it made him unattractive. Still, today seeing Sasuke trying his absolute best to win over the father of the girl he loves, Sasuke seemed more human and thus more agreeable.
Kakashi reaches out a hand about to ruffle the kid's hair, but Naruto grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Do not touch the hair."
Kakashi blinked his visible eye, confused until Naruto explained further.
"This hair has a mind of its own; I couldn't style the damn thing! It wouldn't tame by gel or hairspray or anything! It was a nightmare! "
Sasuke snorted, and Kakashi chuckled, his hair was the same. Good thing Naruto stopped him or his hand would be a mess of liquids.
The doorbell rang, and Karin immediately got up from the couch to answer it, "Onee-sama!"
The familiar laughter of their sensei rang out as Karin hugged her adopted sister. Rina gently instructed Karin not to press her face onto the skirt of her new dress. The little redhead obliged but couldn't help but smile at how pretty her sister looked.
Rina was wearing a full face of well-blended makeup; expertly-applied eyeshadow in gradient shades of browns finished off with gold shimmer. It reminded Karin of how almond-shaped Rina's eyes were especially so with the winged eyeliner, and the deep magenta lipstick made her lips look more plump and fuller than usual.
"Karin, you're still holding on dear. I know you're nervous about this dinner, but I need to greet the boys."
The redhead blushed hard before finally releasing her guardian. Rina pats her shoulder before moving forward to where the boys were standing and were staring at her.
The special jounin wore a lilac dress with wrapped design around the torso and abstract prints all over. It was modest but fashionable, and Naruto couldn't resist hugging her. This time Rina let the child rub his cheeks on her dress since he wasn't wearing makeup like Karin, but after a minute, she gently nudged him off before taking a good look at Kakashi and his ward.
"Don't you two look dashing?"
Kakashi grinned under his mask before moving closer to her and moving his fingers on her waist.
"You look better."
"As always" she smirked, and Kakashi couldn't help but notice the expertly braided top knot. He moved his hands to touch it, and Rina scowled and smacked his hand, telling him not to mess up her hard work.
He watches as she removes something from her bag and his eye visibly widens when he recognised the item. It was the grey scarf that Rina had worked on as a pretend hobby during their undercover job in Kumo.
"I didn't know you finished it."
"And I didn't know we would be together again, but here we are."
Kakashi smiled at her under his mask as she placed the scarf around his neck. He wanted to kiss her badly, but the kids were around, he relented to picking up her hands and holding them in his as he looked into her beautiful eyes.
I love you
Neji Hyuuga opened the door to their new guests and blinked his eyes rapidly; he barely recognised the group, they look so well dressed he thought for a minute that fashion models had come to the house by mistake.
"Please come in."
Naruto passed him a box of dango which Neji appreciated and accepted graciously. The older genin told Naruto he looked rather handsome which made the blonde blush shyly as he replied an embarrassed thank you causing, in turn, Neji to smile because he could tell that Naruto seemed much happier. He was still really smiley and bright, but this seemed more genuine than he had ever seen, and even better, his volume was much subdued. Naruto presently showed to be more aware of his position and displayed proper manners. Naruto was growing, and Neji looked forward to seeing the blonde's progress.
He guided them to the dining hall where the Hyuuga Main family was waiting, dressed in the traditional kimono.
Hiashi stood first and went over to greet them. "Irina, Kakashi"
"Hiashi-sama, thank you for inviting us into your lovely home. It is a great honour."
As the adults exchanged pleasantries, Naruto tilts his head to look at Hinata. He waved his hand wildly until he got her attention. The heiress resists the urge to laugh and waved back, causing the blonde to grin. Karin elbows her cousin to behave since Sasuke was glaring at him hatefully.
"Come, we can talk more at the table while we eat."
Dinner was going well in Sasuke's opinion. The adults talked amicably even though the supposed dislike Hiashi had for Mitsukai; they seemed to be having a good conversation. Kakashi was reasonably active in participating in their discussion too.
For the genin side, Naruto and Karin talked about their new home and lifestyle with their new guardian. Hanabi expressed interest in seeing their lavish house, but Karin apologised saying it was in a restricted location.
Sasuke frowned, "What are you saying? Your house is just-"
Karin slammed her hand over the boy's mouth, shutting him up, "Excuse him, please."
This reaction caught Neji's interest, "You've been to their home?"
"Only once."
"Is it as awesome as they say?" Hanabi presses.
"They have a pool."
Hanabi's eyes practically glittered, "Can I come please?"
Naruto laughed nervously, "Sorry Nee-chan is strict about whom we bring to the house. That time when Sasuke came was sort of an emergency."
"Emergency?" asks Hinata, looking concerned which made Sasuke melt a little on the inside that she cared about him.
Karin swallows her food before answering, "Yeah, he was nearby, and he had a nosebleed."
Sasuke froze, his embarrassment creeping onto his features.
"Training accident?" Neji asked.
Sasuke shakes his head, feeling flushed.
"I hope you didn't have any more of that" Hinata wonders aloud, looking at him.
Sasuke lifts his head a little, mumbling that it wasn't that bad, causing Karin to scoff.
"Your blood-soaked half of Naruto's face towel Sasuke."
"Yikes!" commented Hanabi "Did you fall or something?"
"No...it was not a big deal. Mitsukai treated it quickly and gave me petroleum jelly and stuff."
Hinata nodded her head, thoughtful. She had nosebleeds before, so she knew how to treat them.
"I'm glad you're okay, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little as he met eyes with her, "Thanks Hina."
Naruto and Karin stared at Sasuke when he insisted this dinner was necessary, he meant it. The Uchiha was smiling at the heiress, even Neji and Hanabi were stunned by the honest smile.
"Uzumaki Naruto"
The blonde turns to see it was Hiashi addressing him. Naruto answers respectfully while Rina and Kakashi watched warily.
"I heard you are undergoing training from Jiraiya-sama."
Naruto nodded.
"Are you going to learn to seal and the sage arts from him as well?"
Rina raised her eyebrow confused why Hiashi was interested. Still, she shouldn't be too surprised, Hiashi was one of the very few council members that proposed against killing Naruto when he was a babe after the Kyuubi sealing. He was one of the few people in the village that was somehow empathetic towards the boy.
"I want to master wind ninjutsu and kenjutsu first. I haven't pondered much about sealing because it seems super complicated, but sage arts seem pretty interesting. Still, Jiraiya-sama is insistent I learn the sage arts and sealing when I'm older once I gained the mass, speed and agility I require first."
Karin couldn't help but beam at how eloquently Naruto expressed himself. It was clear that his language arts studies were progressing well.
Hiashi wad impressed and raised a glass to Rina," You're good for him Irina."
"Thank you Hiashi-sama, I try."
Kakashi smiled as they clinked glasses before reaching behind Sasuke, ruffling Naruto's hair affectionately.
"Now Sasuke, how have you been since you tried to betray the village?"
Finally, the moment Sasuke was waiting for, he knew Hiashi would bring up this topic. Sasuke gathered up his courage and faced the Hyuuga Head while everyone at the table stopped eating to watch.
"My intention wasn't to betray the village. I just-"
"-you just wanted power because you lack the patience to work hard like any other respectable ninja."
"I did not say that."
"But that's what you're implying are you not? Did Kakashi not teach you how to use your Sharingan? Did he not teach you his original technique, the chidori? Were his teachings so inadequate?"
"Itachi stopped the chidori like it was nothing and Kakashi wasn't teaching me anything more powerful than that I was just-"
"-getting desperate? Have you ever considered that killing Itachi is just impossible?"
The dark-eyed genin gritted his teeth, "Itachi is still a man. No human is invincible."
"But ninjas can be strong, and Itachi was the strongest there was in this village. He was the superior of Kakashi and Irina here you know."
Sasuke said nothing, despite discovering that Irina was just confirmed to be in ANBU with Kakashi.
"You know, initially I wanted Itachi as my future son in law, but Fugaku was reluctant. He was insistent that Itachi should be married within the family as he did or at least to marry a strong kunoichi, but then you showed up, insisting that you would be the best suitor for my firstborn."
Sasuke lowered his head, flushed.
"Tell me, do you still believe that?"
Sasuke felt tongue-tied. He didn't know what he could say to appease Hiashi, but then he feels Naruto hold his hand firmly. He turns to look at his teammate, and for the first time, he realised what a steely blue his eyes were. Suddenly, he feels a warmth coming through him, he looks down and sees Naruto's hand glowing, and he feels his chakra, Naruto's empathy and confidence flowing through like a wave. It was revitalising.
With renewed energy, he takes a deep breath and faces the man, "Hinata is kind, honest, brave, sweet and caring. She deserves the world. She deserves someone who could love her and protect her always. That was what I was trying to be. I chased for power so that I could be the strong man she deserves because almost every night since my clan died, I had nightmares that Itachi would get her too if I didn't do anything to stop him. I was foolish; I admit that. I was selfish, a lot of people got hurt because of me, and I want to change. I want to become a powerful ninja and do it under the tutelage of both my sensei. I want to be the man they can be proud of, Hinata can be proud of, you can be proud of, and my parents would have been proud of too. I'll do the work; I'll be patient, I'll try my best to be attentive. I promise Hiashi-sama, I am trying to be the best man I can be for your daughter because that's how important she is to me. I loved her for the longest time and still do. I've watched her, and I can see that she's grown out of her shell and opens up more to other people, I am so happy to see her smile like how she does today, and I want to be one of the reasons that make her smile too one day as her husband but only if you let me. Please Hiashi-sama, please give me this chance to show you I can be a man worthy of your daughter. "
Hinata was tomato red, and Neji patted her back comfortingly. Hanabi blew into a tissue, crying. Karin and Rina were holding back tears to avoid ruining their makeup. Kakashi and Naruto meanwhile held Sasuke's hands firmly for support, waiting to hear Hiashi speak again.
"Sasuke Uchiha, I knew the moment you and Hinata met that you fell for her instantly. You blush and stammer around her all the time even though around others, you spoke well. Admittedly, I found it highly amusing."
Kakashi resisted the urge to laugh somehow and managed to keep a straight face as Hiashi continued.
"I knew Itachi was fond of Hinata but not as much as you so when I proposed the engagement to him initially, he refused because in his words and I quote, Sasuke's heart would break if I took Hina away from him."
The said Uchiha kept his mouth closed; he was still waiting.
"The engagement will continue, but if you ever do something as stupid as you had previously done, I will not allow you anywhere near my children again. Am I clear?"
Sasuke let out a breath of relief, "Crystal."
"Perfect, now let's have dessert."