A/N: From here on, this story may contain crass situations, including swearing, and/or Sexual themes. If this bothers you... tough, it's 'R' rated for a reason. (There will be no pointless nor tasteless scenes however)
Barely ten seconds later another figure appeared where she had been standing, after looking around for a moment he stooped to study the two pair of prints, and then, with his shringan eyes spinning causally, easily wiped them away before speaking into the night.
"Not all trail ending are good ones eh Uzumaki?"
And, shaking his head Itachi puffed out of sight.
Hinata stood still, she had no Idea where she was, but something was amiss. Fist off it was black, Not the 'Waiting for my eyes to adjust' black but Absolutely pitch black. She couldn't see her hand in front of her face, even when she touched her nose with it.
"Hinata?"
Screaming Hinata tried to back away, but was grabbed rather roughly from behind. Kicking Hinata tried to break away enough to perform the 'Kaiten', or even enough to try hitting whoever was behind her with a chakra spike,
"NARUTO! HELP ME!"
As she yelled Hinata managed to step down hard on the foot of the person who was holding her and was pleased to hear a grunt of pain
I don't know who got me, or where I am, but I'm not going down without a fight!
"Calm down Hinata, It's me! What in the world is your problem?"
"N… Naruto-kun?"
"Yes Hinata, it's me why are you?… oh right the lights. Sorry."
Hinata felt the arms let go of her, and a moment later Naruto whispered 'Lights on' Immediately Hinata was dazzled as the soft lighting was reflected off of thousands of glittering crystals which had been buried in the walls. Turning Hinata saw Naruto leaning against a wall and rubbing his foot.
"Oh! I'm S…sorry Naruto-kun I didn't mean to.."
Naruto refused to listen however and waved her off saying
"Of course you meant to. I didn't think about the fact that you've never been here before, nor the fact that I have to turn on the lights since you don't know your way."
Suddenly Naruto stopped rubbing his foot and stared directly into Hinata's eyes before continuing very seriously
"I'm sorry I scared you Hinata-Chan. I should have warned you what to expect, but Unfortunately I couldn't because of who was following us."
Nervously Hinata asked
"And who was following us?"
Naruto briefly gave her a searching look
"You mean you couldn't sense Itachi?"
Seeing Hinata's blank look Naruto shrugged
"Ah well, there is really nothing to worry about."
So saying Naruto strode confidently down the glittering hallway and pushed open a door at the end of it.
"Welcome to the quarters of the shadow lords of the Uzumaki"
Nervously Hinata stepped though the door, and a moment later Naruto followed.
"YOUR WHAT!"
Ducking another projectile Shikamaru searched for a way to escape, but even as he did He knew that it was hopeless.
"How… How DARE you do this to me! To US!"
Ducking again Shikamaru noted with a detached interest that the attacks were coming closer to hitting him. He really didn't want to use 'it' if he didn't have to.
"After all the YEARS we sheltered you, THIS is how you repay us?"
Picking up a chair Shikamaru managed to block two more attacks. While wondering when the odd emphasizing would stop.
"If YOU think for one DAMN minute that you can get away with this!"
Seeing an opening Shikamaru dropped the chair and dove behind the (relative) safety of Ino. Ino herself smirked slightly, and as Shikamaru looked up Inoshi gave him a crooked smile before saying.
"And she is supposed to be the easygoing one in the family, If you hurt my little girl you can be certain that there will be no escaping me, now stand up and help me pull a couple of plates out of the wall."
Carefully looking around Ino's legs Shikamaru realized that Her mother had calmed down enough that she most likely wouldn't kill him on sight anymore. Seeing that, he let Inoshi help him to his feet. Dusting himself off he gave Ino a dirty look before saying.
"There was no reason to tell them like THAT Ino, you could have just mentioned that I kissed you once before asking you out. To hear you tell it we were seconds from eloping."
The look Ino returned sent his pulse racing, but she just reached out and patted him on the cheek.
"But of course love, what fun is it if I don't know what lengths you'll go to just to date me?"
Inoshi laughed at this comment even as Shikamaru tried to engage his brain long enough to make a witty retort. Unfortunately the look Ino was giving him made thinking rather difficult at the moment. After a moment he gave her a weak grin before responding
"Well at least things are never quiet around you."
At this comment Even Ino's mother had to crack a small smile, Shikamaru had been taking every opportunity he could to tell people how 'troublesome' excitement was since roughly the day he could walk. Inoshi was literally rolling on the ground by this time, and laughing so hard he was crying. Ignoring him Shikamaru started cleaning up the mess.
Well, at least that's out of the way.
Breathing heavily Itachi snuck a peek around the corner, He had no Idea who the foxy-looking man in black was, but the guy seemed to be stalking him.
What the Bloody HELL! First the brat disappears, and now this odd Psycho of his seems to be stalking me! I mean I can hardly turn a corner without nearly running into this freak!
Itachi quickly pulled his head back around the corner as the odd man in black turned to face the corner he was hiding around.
KUSO! Who the hell is this guy?
Itachi Stiffened suddenly as a voice whispered in his ear
"Tch tch tch Itachi, you're just not up to your usual brilliant standard today."
Turning slowly Itachi stared directly into the odd man's blood red eyes before giving a startled (And Very Un-manly) squeak. Turning he fled, hoping to leave the apparition behind. As he watched Itachi running away Kyuubi allowed a small smile to grace his features.
Hmmm, I'll give you a TWO-minute head start this time; perhaps you can gather your wits by then.
---FlashBack---
Itachi Stood, eagerly studying the tree in front of him, It had been years since he had encountered a mystery like this. He had of course heard of the boy's seemingly un-natural ability to disappear, but he had never seen it before.
"Oh Naruto? I know that you and the girl are here somewhere…"
Itachi whistled tunelessly under his breathe for a moment before he continued
"Come out and play little Naruto-san, We have SO much to catch up on."
As he spoke Itachi started to slowly make his way over to the patch of brush he knew Naruto was hiding behind.
I have to admit it, the kid is good, I can hardly even feel his chakra.
"Gotcha!"
Springing around the side of the bush Itachi expected to find a cowering Naruto trying desperately to hide his girlfriend. That's not who he found however. Itachi looked slightly shocked at the sight of a man dressed mostly in black as he rather passionately made out with a partly dressed redhead. The man in black broke the kiss just long enough to give Itachi a once over before saying.
"Go play elsewhere child, I'm busy."
And then the man went back to his (apparently rather enjoyable) Previous position. Itachi stood dumbstruck for a moment, No one had brushed him off like that since… well, Itachi had never been brushed off like that, and to tell the truth, it rather pissed him off.
"Do you know who I am old man?"
Again the man dressed in black broke off the kiss, much to the disappointment of the young lady he was making out with.
"I told you to go away Junior, now scram before you make me mad."
The man was just turning back again when Itachi had replied
"I am Itachi."
The man stopped and gave him a look that seemed to ask whether or not Itachi were a bit slow.
"Good for you."
Once again the man turned his back on the steaming mad Akatsuki member. At this point Itachi saw red for the first time since leaving hidden leaf. In less time than it took to blink there was a knife flying toward the man's back. Even Itachi's eyes couldn't keep up however as the man's hand whipped around and plucked the Kunai blade first out of the air. With a small sigh the man looked down at the girl he had been kissing.
"Sorry Love, but this impertinent brat needs to be taught a thing or two. Tell the kids I said 'hi' will you?"
For the first time Itachi got a clear glimpse of the women, she was about 5'10" with brilliant red hair, piercing amber eyes, and remarkably Sexy fox ears sticking out the top of her head. She was wearing a bright red kimono that hugged her rather generous… Wait… Itachi did a double take, and then rubbed his eyes, but the ears didn't disappear.
"Don't worry dear. Have some fun and then come back soon will you? You and I have a lot of catching up to do."
With a rather seductive wink the women walked off into the forest, the eight bushy tails she had been lying on fanned out behind her. Itachi swallowed hard, He had no Idea what he had just interrupted, but suddenly he was feeling VERY uneasy. The black dressed man stared after the departing women with lust filled eyes until her swaying rear end vanished into the bushes. Itachi however suddenly seemed to realize Exactly how deep a hole he had dug himself, and took off the moment the women had turned around.
---End Flashback---
Kyuubi smiled to himself. He had given Itachi only about a thirty-second head start while he watched his mate Hikari vanish back into the brush.
It was good to see her again. Oops, time is up Itachi-kun. Ready or not, here I come.
Hinata stared in awe at her surroundings, She herself came from a very well off family, and nobody could contest that, but this. The room that Naruto had brought he to literally blew her mind. The Entire ceiling had be drawn up as mural depicting A Nine tailed Fox and an eight headed serpent fighting against almost a dozen creatures that could only be described as 'Demons' Tall and black, they seemed to drink in the light of the room, even as the fox seemed to glow, and the snake shimmer with an inner light. As Hinata inched her way across the room she could almost swear she heard the great demons bellowing, and the Fox and serpent screaming their defiance. There were others in the Background fighting their own battles, including a rather Stunning White tiger, and a midnight Black Phoenix, but they were only secondary to the sheer Majesty of the Fox and the snake. As Hinata stared it seemed she could almost touch the clouds of steams that appeared to swirl around the feet of the battling titans, she could nearly taste the sweet nectar of victory, and the bitter mead of defeat. In fact, She was so enthralled with the picture that it wasn't until Naruto cleared his throat nearly in her ear that she finally realized he was trying to get her attention.
"Come on Hinata"
Naruto spoke so quietly she could hardly hear him, a first to be certain.
"You can stare at the mural later if you want."
Mutely Hinata nodded, her eyes as big as saucers while Naruto led her past exquisitely wrought furniture, only slightly dusty with time, around statues that had been crafted in such minute detail that, were it not for the color, you would have thought them real. And finally though a small door that Hinata wasn't certain she would have even seen had he not opened it for her. Gesturing Naruto ushered her into the hallway, and closed the door behind them. Taking the lead he began walking down a rather long hallway lined with doors, some of which were slightly ajar. As they passed Hinata caught sight of bedrooms that would have put the finest her father could have purchased to shame. Rooms filled with more of the Expensive looking Gilt lined furniture and Intricatly wrought rugs. Stopping before a pair of huge double doors Naruto took a deep breath and blew it out. Turning he stared straight into Hinata's eyes.
"We're here."
Hinata's eyes grew even rounder at the sight of the inscription on the doors.
Master Chambers for the lords of the Uzumaki: Enter at your own risk.
Hinata, entranced, reached a hand foreword, as though to push open the door, but Naruto caught it and gently moved it away.
"You don't want to touch those Hinata-Chan. They have a very Powerful curse upon them, and I don't think you would like what they would do to you."
Turning, Naruto gestured to a small door, one which was recessed almost invisibly into the wall beside the larger doors.
"This is the entrance."
Naruto stepped in, and with wonder in her eyes and questions on her lips. Hinata followed.
"Sasuke?"
"…"
"Oh Sasuke?"
"…Mpf?"
"…"
"WHAT THE HELL!"
"On your feet Uchiha, You've had more than enough time to recover from whatever it was that happened to you."
"SEBEKI? Why that HELL did you do that?"
"You've been laying in bed all morning, but Tsunade-sama said that you should be up and about by this afternoon."
"But dousing me again?"
"Just be glad I've decided to let the lack of an honorific slip for today kid. Now get up. You've been ill, so we'll take it easier today."
Sasuke's face lit up a little. Sebeki had been quite the taskmistress, and although the hard work had helped immensely, he felt he was due for a break. Sebeki however had other plans
"Which of course means that I let you sleep the morning away. Now. On your feet, Meet me in the lobby in five minutes and we'll get you checked out of here, after that we can start running."
Turning Sebeki strode out the door leaving Sasuke with a slightly stunned expression.
Difficult, yes.
Difficult would be a Very adequate word to describe what Sebeki was going though as she talked to the Uchiha heir, thankfully she managed to get outside. The moment the door was shut however…
"HAHAHAHAH! Oh dear Kami, the look on his face."
Tsunade waited until Sebeki had managed to calm a little. In fact Tsunade herself had a bit of a grin on her face. When she had finally managed to pull herself together Sebeki looked up.
"How'd I do Tsunade-sama?"
"Quite well dear, it's going to be a mad scramble in there for another minute or so."
Sebeki looked puzzled
"Why is that?"
With a grin Tsunade held up a shirt and a pair of pants
"Because I'm holding the only clothes he came in with."
"So you mean…"
"Yup, He'll be tearing the room apart looking for clothes that aren't there."
Sebeki hesitated for a moment before asking
"Are you certain that pushing him like this is wise Tsunade-sama?"
Holding her breath Sebeki waited for Tsunade to stop scrutinizing her. It was always difficult to ask questions to your boss, especially for a ninja. Thankfully Tsunade must have found what she was looking for in Sebeki's eyes, because after only a moment she answered
"That boy was on a path to self-destruction and I refuse to let potential like that go to waste if I can stop it. Heck if Sasuke manages to shape up he may actually be worth something to this village by the time Naruto makes Hokage."
Sebeki paused for a moment as she reviewed the Hokage's last statement. 'By the time Naruto makes Hokage', mentally Sebeki drew up what she knew about the town's only 'Naruto'.
Lets see, Decent mind, above average intelligence as shown through creative pranking, Failure in school although that could be boredom, Carrier of the Yuma Kyuubi, Considered for special forces either despite or because of that, Has an unhealthy obsession with ramen, or at least he did when I got my information. Seems obsessed with the color orange, although that seems to be the only clothing he can buy on his income…
"Do you see Uzumaki becoming Hokage one day Tsunade-sama?"
Tsunade was of course slightly surprised, as this question seemed to put Sebeki in a rather small category, the 'Doesn't judge Naruto without knowing him' group. Tsunade however was unsure of the girl's motivation however as she answered
"Would you find that repulsive or problematic Sebeki-san?"
Again Sebeki took a moment for thought before she replied
"I honestly don't know Tsunade-sama, I have never met the boy personally although I admit to having received mixed messages about him."
Tsunade, though interested, didn't press for information.
"Alright, just… Try to keep an open mind until you meet him ok?"
"Certainly Tsunade-sama"
Suddenly the two women heard a yell from Sasuke who was still on the other side of the door. Chuckling again Tsunade reached for the door handle
"You better head downstairs Sebeki-san, it's been four and a half minutes and I think you should probably cut him just a little slack for his tardiness because he's been sick, don't you?"
Sebeki, who had been about to walk away, turned back to Tsunade with a malicious glitter in her eye.
"Actually Tsunade-sama, I was thinking that this would be a sure sign of the further deterioration of what little training we've done, I'll have to step up the lessons tomorrow because of this."
Tsunade returned the look with a rather large grin of her own.
"Why Sebeki-san, that is positively cruel… Be certain to increase the weights in his arm and leg bands while he sleeps tonight ok? We can't have him losing ground now can we?"
With that Tsunade opened the door
Panting, Itachi pulled himself up short again. He had now run the length of Konoha more then thirty-five times non-stop, and as good as he was, this was getting ridiculous. Seriously, how often does an S-class Ninja get trapped inside a town? Every time Itachi thought he had managed to escape, that damn man had shown up again. Every. Fucking. Time. I didn't seem to matter how he tried escaping either. He had tried jumping the walls; the man had been waiting at the top for him. He had tried Disguises, the man had dispelled them while he was still over a hundred yards away, Hell He had even tried breaking into the bolt-hole that lead though the back of the Hokage monument, the man had been sitting at the other end of the tunnels smoking a Cigar of all things. What made it even more humiliating was the fact that Itachi recognized it as the last of a rather expensive brand he had picked up in Grass. The bastard had even had the balls to Salute him with the damn thing as though saying 'thank you'
Where is he? He never leaves me be for this long.
Scanning the surrounding buildings Itachi tried to get his rampant fear under control.
Fear… Now THIS is something I'm really not all that familiar with anymore…where is he? BLOODY HELLS BELOW, WHERE IS HE!
But the man never showed up, and Itachi was getting wound more and more tightly as the tension mounted
He wouldn't just leave would he? Not after expending so much effort to keep me in the city…
As the minutes stretched by Itachi could feel a rather unexpected rage building in himself. A Hot burn that began in his stomach and traveled upward till he was nearly consumed by it. Finally He just couldn't take it any more. Standing, he screamed
"KATON: WAVE OF FLAME!"
The moment he was finished however he heard a voice whisper in his ear
"Suiton: Aquatic Barrier"
Itachi stared in something akin to awe as the black flames he had perfected to the point that they were unquenchable by normal means were snuffed out by a thin veil of water. A veil that couldn't have been no more than an inch thick. Turning slowly in place and completely unable to mask the terror in his eyes Itachi sought out the source of the voice. Lounging against the doorframe of a warehouse was Kyuubi, Amusement and satisfaction rolling off of him in almost palpable waves.
"Wh…who are you?"
Grinning, Kyuubi stood and brushed himself off.
"They call me many things. Guardian, Destroyer, Kitsune, Sensei, The damn fox, Konoha's 'little problem'. I am the splitter of the true pattern, the Betrayer and savior, monster and redeemer. I am judge, jury, and executioner. My name? I am Youki-no-Kyuubi, Holder of the keys of regeneration and keeper of the gate to the deeper realms. You of course may simply refer to me as 'Milord Kyuubi', or Kyuubi-sama."
Speechless Itachi stared at the apparition who had been hunting him.
"Y… You can't be the Kyuubi. Rekku trapped you, you are held forever as an oracle inside his pentagram… I've spoken to you myself… how…"
"A simple Bunshin, I gave it a little intelligence, and as a copy of me it would certainly have my personality. It's still there you say? Hmmm, surprising. I may have to go back and have a chat with myself."
At this pronouncement Itachi's mouth fell, and he opened and closed it several times as Kyuubi mused aloud. He had finally managed to get together enough coherency to try slipping away when Kyuubi came out of his distracted trance.
"Now… what to do with you.
With a deep sigh Naruto collapsed backward onto his bed, just relaxing as the warmth of the pre-heated bed eased his still-sore muscles. Standing at the door, Hinata wore a slightly puzzled look on her face.
"N… Naruto-kun?"
Cracking one eyelid Naruto looked over to where she stood, still uncertain as to whether or not she should enter.
"Yes Hinata-Chan?"
Hinata stepped softly into the room as Naruto gestured to an overstuffed leather chair sitting near the bed
"Where are we?"
Naruto closed his eyes again. He had known that sooner or later he would have to explain this to someone, if for no other reason than to keep the knowledge of it from being lost again.
"We are almost three miles underneath Konoha in a series of once-natural caves."
"Once-natural?"
"Surly you noticed that these aren't exactly rough-cut. Nor do they show signs of having been made by anything other than the hand of humans. I know for a fact that these rooms and the others like them started out as a series of underground voids. Whether they are the result of some unknown Jutsu, or the breaking of the earth is unknown."
Hinata bit her lip. She was now alone with Naruto almost three MILES below the surface of Konoha, she was sitting in his room with him, and he had made exactly ZERO advances on her. She really didn't think he was the type to do that sort of thing, but she couldn't help be get a little nervous about not knowing how to get out. Naruto, although he looked asleep spoke up rather suddenly
"Tiger, Fox, Bird, Dog, Bull, Monkey, Cat."
Hinata blinked before responding,
"Ex… Excuse me?"
Naruto opened an eye and briefly looked at her again before closing it.
" I said, Tiger, Fox, Bird, Dog, Bull, Monkey, Cat. Use those seals to leave if you're going to, or else stop worrying so much."
"… How did you?"
"Your scent. After Kyuubi was… Released… he fine tuned my senses a little, and the anxiety coming off of you is turning my stomach at the moment."
Quietly Hinata answered
"I'm sorry Naruto-kun"
Of all the responses he had expected, this wasn't one of them
"Excuse me?"
As Hinata looked up from where she had been staring at her fingers, she saw that he had braced his elbows back and propped himself up far enough to look her right in the eyes. Blushing horribly again under the scrutiny, she managed to maintain eye contact just long enough to repeat.
"I'm sorry"
Dropping her eyes again she continued
"I should have trusted you, I do you know, but… well."
Hinata was shocked when a warm hand tilted her chin up far enough that she could see him though her eyelashes.
"Don't worry about it Hinata."
Letting go (Much to Hinata's disappointment) he fell backward again
"I'm used to it by now."
Had his eyes been open Naruto would probably have seen the shock and sorrow that flickered though her eyes. Without being about to see however, Naruto noticed something that was just as curious to him as the look in her eyes would have been. Her scent changed, instead of the overwhelming fear she now smelled gently of sorrow, and determination. There was also just a hint of guilt and… something else. Naruto wasn't sure what the other smell was but it certainly made his stomach twist it's self in knots. In a pleasant way though, it took another moment and then Hinata spoke up again.
"Who drew that picture?"
Hinata had gotten up to look around the room and had stopped in front of a wonderfully drawn sketch of a young women. Anyone who knew her would instantly recognize that it was quite obviously Naruto's former crush Sakura. She was leaning on a bridge rail and staring off into the distance as though deep in thought, the wind blowing the loose strands of her hairs across her face and out behind her. When Hinata had first spotted it, her stomach had clenched and she had momentarily despaired at the prospects of turning Naruto's head. Sakura looked so beautiful in the picture that Hinata was certain she stood no chance at all of competing. What she didn't know of course was that Naruto had flinched when she asked the question. Softly he replied
"I did."
Hinata turned to look at him so fast she almost fell.
"YOU drew this?"
Naruto said nothing. And after a moment Hinata continued. The next hand drawn sketch she came to (There were several landscapes in Color) was quite obviously another woman, but this time there was a difference. This time there was also a man in the picture, the both of them were happy, as though posing for the artist, and after a moment Hinata was startled to realize that there were ghostly fox ears and tails faintly visible behind them.
"Naruto? Is this?"
"Yes. That is Kyuubi, and his Mate Hikari; they posed for it while we were in Suna. Kenchei brought it here at my request while the Phoenix were still healing me."
Hinata said nothing but continued around the room, she had finished the complete circuit (Noting several rather valuable portraits that the world had thought lost, as well as several other sketches) she was about to sit down again and wait for Naruto to speak when she noticed an easel set up in the corner of the room. there was a cover sheet over what was rather obviously a work in progress. Reaching out Hinata was going to peek, when the thought hit her that it might have been covered because he didn't want it seen. Hinata rested a single finger on the parchment, her eyes catching a faint impression of the picture behind it.
"N… Naruto?"
She didn't know why, but for some reason the easel made her slightly nervous. When Naruto answered, his voice was almost a whisper. He had heard her hand when she touched the covered picture. This portrait more than any other he wanted kept private, but if she asked…
"May… May I s…see the picture you're working on?"
Naruto only nodded mutely, and when he heard her sharp gasp he knew that there was no turning back. She now knew, and he was sure she would hate him for it.
As Hinata drew back the heavy parchment she let out a sharp gasp, the final picture was of another girl, all that could be seen of her was the shoulder and head, the young woman was laying on her side, fast asleep. Her head laying on her arms and her hair splayed over the pillows, tiny wisps of which gently caressed her cheeks. Hinata felt her face heating up, she recognized the girl, it was the same dainty face that looked back out of the mirror every morning. It was her.
Kiba walked down the street whistling an idle tune. It was a beautiful day and he was going to see the love of his life, the fair Ayme-chan of Ichiraku's Ramen stand. With a grin Kiba walked up to the counter and sat in his favorite chair, seconds later he and Ayme were doing some harmless flirting as she prepared his order.
This is it; today I'm going to ask her out. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?
Kiba had opened his mouth to do just that when a High pitched shriek was heard from down the street in the warehouse district. Confusion painting his face Kiba turned to look at Ayme. She shook her head however, indicating that she had no Idea what was going on either. A second after the scream Old man Ichiraku poked his head out from the back room where he had been taking inventory
"What was that?"
Ayme shook her head again, and Kiba was about to answer when a man in a black cloak embroidered with red clouds came flying around the corner of the building, his wide brimmed hat, complete with ceremonial bells fluttering wildly behind him. It was Itachi! Kiba would have recognized him anywhere, well, he would have if Itachi didn't look as though he were about to wet his pants, Kiba had caught a brief glimpse of his eyes as the missing nin tore past, and seeing the pure unadulterated fear and Humiliation, Kiba briefly wondered whether or not to worry. After all, what could scare an S-class Missing Nin so badly he looked ready to wet himself? It was just then that Naruto's newest Instructor came around the same corner Itachi had come from, The odd man was whistling however, much like Kiba himself had been doing earlier. As the man saw them he came over and leaned against the shop wall.
"Say, Have any of you seen a man dressed in a ridiculous belled hat and wearing a cloak adorned with red clouds come past here recently? Tall dark and handsome if your into that kind of thing, but possibly in a hurry? Name of Itachi?"
Kiba, Ayme and old man Ichiraku jerked their thumbs in the direction of the fleeing Itachi, all of them too stunned for words.
"Thanks… hey! Is that Ramen?"
Ayme nodded in a rather jerky fashion
"Do save me some please. I'd like a large pot of beef if you would. I'll be back for it in fifteen minutes or so, as soon as Itachi-kun and I finish our little game."
Kyuubi walked off after Itachi again with three pair of eyes following his every move, Just before he disappeared around the corner the three of them heard the man call out 'Itachi-kun? Come out and Plaaaaay!' The three shared a brief look, and then without saying a word, they agreed to never speak of what they had just seen. That being agreed upon Old man Ichiraku pulled out his largest pot and began to make the man's Beef Ramen.
"Left, Left! Right, Roundhouse and flip. Good!"
Sasuke stopped for a moment and wiped the sweat off of his face. The last time he had been this exhausted, he had Naruto had been in a tree climbing competition in wave.
"Alright Sasuke, as you can't seem to keep up with our regular pace you may as well take a little breather. Perhaps you were sicker than I thought."
Perhaps I was… I almost killed Naruto for crying out loud, and then that stupid stunt with that room, even AFTER Tsunade-sama warned me to stay away from it… I should have known better.
"I'm going to head back and check with Tsunade on something alright? I'll be back in about fifteen minutes. If you've recovered by then you can re-start your tree-climbing exercises."
Sasuke wanted to argue that he already knew how to climb trees with his chakra, but she had that look in her eye, and He knew that if she heard a single complaint from him they wouldn't finish running until long after sunset. Standing he made a slight bow.
"Yes Sensei"
Sebeki's eyes twinkled with mirth as she read the frustration behind his eyes.
"If you are still recovering you will need to work on your control again until you come back up to full strength."
Saying this She 'proofed' away to her meeting.
After resting for a while Sasuke decided that he should at least be able to prove the snotty brat wrong for once and, standing, he walked over to the nearest tree of appreciable size. He had only gotten about two steps up when he suddenly realized that he had a serious problem, he hadn't used enough chakra. Slowly and inexorably he fell backward, and, clobbering his head, he proceeded to roll around on the ground, much as Naruto had done way back in wave. He was stopped short however by the sound of laughter. Standing up and rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head Sasuke shot an evil look at the young boy wearing goggles who was sitting on the log behind him watching.
"What do you want brat?"
"I'm looking for my sister"
"And who's your sister?"
"Saratobi Sebeki"
"She's in a meeting with the Hokage."
"I know"
Shrugging Sasuke turned around and this time took a bit of a running start at the tree. He got almost a quarter of the way up before falling this time, and luckily managed to catch himself at the bottom before he hit his head. Another five minutes passed by like that, and then suddenly, when Sasuke was about four steps up the tree, the voice spoke to him again.
"Your not very good at that are you?"
With his concentration unexpectedly broken, Sasuke missed his step and came crashing down, hitting his head on the ground for the second time that day. Cursing he stood up and faced the kid.
"I've been Sick! Normally I could do an exercise like this in my sleep."
The young man scoffed however.
"Suuurrre you could, and I'm next in line to take over as Mizukage. Heck, I bet even I could kick your butt."
Sasuke reached down and picked the kid up by the shirt.
"Would you care to place a bet on that?"
The boy, rather than being scared as Sasuke had expected, simply made a hand seal before shouting out:
"HENGE: Sexy No Jutsu"
The smoke cleared partly a moment later to reveal a rather undressed Sebeki, Sasuke's mind shut down in shock for a moment, but when it restarted the first thing he noticed was that he had a rather firm grip on what appeared to be a pair of bare breasts. The Sebeki look-alike screamed and slapped him, hard.
"PERVERT! HELP!"
It seems that karma had taken a particular dislike to him this day however, because even as he was letting go, Sakura and Lee were walking past the training field, and of course when they heard the cry for help the both of them came running. It was also fortunate (for Lee) that Sakura arrived first. Worried she ran foreword to cover the poor girl that Sasuke was abusing even as Lee moved foreword to capture the pervert who had been caught in the act. Sakura's first hint that something was amiss came when her hand passed though girl she was trying to cover, and the second came when a near mirror-image of the girl appeared mere seconds later.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"
Lee stopped his rather rapid attack on Sasuke (allowing him to stop trying to defend and explain at that same time) and turned to face the speaker. Before Sebeki could move however her exceptionally undressed look alike started walking over to lee. Lee went from the red of rage to the red of embarrassed in a flash, and seconds after the look alike had walked out into the open he had passed out of massive blood loss. Sasuke, who had by this time figured out what happened, was careful to keep his eyes on the ground.
"KONOHAMARU!"
With an evil snicker the unclothed copy of Sebeki vanished, revealing in its place her younger brother.
"Heh, that was Fun. Ja Ne Sebeki-Chan!"
With that Konohamaru took off running for the main body of the town
"YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"
His only response was to make a rather rude gesture over his shoulder. Fuming, Sebeki walked over to where Sakura was trying unsuccessfully to revive Lee.
"I'm so sorry about this, I've never been able to control him, and since grandpa died…"
"It' alright. I used to be a team-mate of the person who made that perverted Jutsu"
After a moment of trying to revive Lee, Sebeki and Sakura were getting frustrated. Sebeki more so than Sakura
"Oh COME ON! No guy can be THAT Innocent."
It was at this point Sasuke spoke up.
"Actually I'd say the move was just that good."
Sebeki and Sakura both looked up ready to beat the shit out of the Uchiha for making such a crass comment, but as Sakura opened her mouth to yell, Sebeki waved her silent. She stared at Sasuke for a moment in thought before asking.
"Why aren't you looking at me?"
Sasuke shifted from one foot to another uneasily
"Erm… BloodFlowProblems?"
Sakura shot Sebeki a confused look, but Sebeki didn't seem to notice, and Sakura was startled to realize that the Chuuin had a rather predatory look on her face. Leaning closer Sebeki whispered in Sakura's ear.
"Just go with me on this OK?"
Sakura didn't even have a chance to respond before Sebeki stood up and moved toward Sasuke, confused Sakura followed.
"Oh Sasuke, that has got to be the most wonderful complement that I've ever been paid."
Sakura was shocked, if she didn't know better she would have said that the Chuuin was purring, Sebeki however seemed to be ignoring Sakura altogether
"But why would you care about a poor imitation like that" She continued, "when you can have the real thing?"
Sasuke's face had turned red by this point and he swallowed loudly and shut his eyes.
"Sakura and I both want you, we want to feel you hands roaming over our body's, we want to feel your lips against our hot nubile breasts."
Sakura opened her mouth to protest when she suddenly realized what Sebeki was doing.
"We want you to take us both and ravish us, caressing us with your Hot. Sexy. Beautiful…"
Sebeki didn't get any further, Sasuke had been trying his hardest to stop the nosebleed, but the mental image of the two of them undressed and beckoning him was just too much. Falling backward Sasuke fainted from a massive nosebleed. Sakura on the other hand burst out laughing as Sebeki said,
"Right, that will teach you to keep your eyes to yourself."
After a moment Sebeki turned to face Sakura, and evil twinkle in her eye.
"And I have just the thing for sleeping Beauty and the dark prince over there."
As Sebeki outlined the plan Sakura's laughter grew even louder. In fact she laughed so hard she cried
"And --snicker-- Th… They don't E…even have a s…say in the matter!
Smiling Sebeki reached down and picked up Sasuke.
"Come on, let's get started."
"Ten-ten?"
"Where are you?"
Troublesome Girl, I can't believe sensei let Lee have a day off, but is insisting that I find Ten-ten and work on my sparring. I'm a HYUUGA! I don't need any more practice.
These and similar thoughts flittered though Neji's head as he scanned the forest for his wayward team-mate.
May Kami blast Gai for deciding that this would be good 'Bonding' time for the three of us, and Blast Haishi for deciding that he was right.
Across town Gai, Kurenai and Kakashi sat, all three of them drinking a warming glass of sake.
"IT IS GOOD THAT YOU HAVE RETURNED TO US KAKASHI!"
Kurenai frowned.
"Gai, we are away from the students, you really don't have to do that anymore."
Kakashi leaned his head on he hand as he watched his two friends, They had been having this fight for YEARS, but it never seemed to grow old.
"BUT KURENAI-SAN, HOW ELSE AM I TO EXPRESS THE FIRES OF MY… ---WHAP--- "
"… Serves you right now either quiet down or shut up."
Kakashi looked mildly impressed
"You've never done that to him before."
Kurenai looked down at the stunned Gai.
"He's never pissed me off this badly before."
"But was that really necessary?"
"Hey, I warned him, after that I just hit him were it hurts."
Kakashi looked down at Gai again.
"I see that…. Where did you find the Bokken to hit him over the head with?"
Hinata was Stunned, how did her beloved Naruto-kun have a picture of her like... like…. Blushing Hinata tried to hide her embarrassment.
"N… Naruto-kun W…where…."
Naruto sighed again.
"That night in the hospital, the one before you offered to escort me around."
"Y…yes?"
"I couldn't sleep that night, the thought of you being there when I woke up, the fact that you've been so kind to me… well, I admit that I kinda um… GotUpAndWatchedYouSleepForAwhile."
At Naruto's comment both of them blushed a bright red. Desperate to change the subject for a moment until she could wrap her mind around what Naruto had said Hinata asked.
"W… who painted the M…mural in the entryway? It's stunning, I felt like I was a… actually there!"
As she asked Hinata peeked though her eyelashes again, she didn't want to open her eyes all the way, but she wanted to see what he was doing, therefore the look of sorrow that replaced Naruto's embarrassment was something of a surprise. Naruto struggled for a moment to speak, his chest heaving as though he were fighting some rather difficult emotions. When he finally spoke it was barely a whisper.
"I did. I didn't want to forget you see."
Hinata's embarrassment was forgotten, all that mattered to her now was finding out what made her Naruto-kun so sad.
"You worry about forgetting things?"
Tears leaked from the corners of Naruto's eyes, and he bit back a sob.
"I knew it all Hinata."
Angrily he wiped the traitorous tears away.
"Everything he thought, everything he knew, all the knowledge and wisdom of hundreds of thousands of years. Knowledge of the golden age, of an age when man flew in shining machines and walked on the face of the moon, knowledge of medicine that could rival our most powerful healing techniques, I knew about the flow of time it's self, theories and formula, designs and architecture. Lost seals and forbidden knowledge. I knew the life stories of all the Yuma, from their birth at the beginning of time, to the sealing of the Kyuubi himself. But it has all faded, I snuck out the first chance I had to paint the entryway, Tsunade would kill me if she found out, But I had to, that painting was all I could still remember of the final fight to seal the chaos demons. Only that single impression. Now I don't even have that. Only the picture I left myself. These things,"
Here Naruto gestured around the room, pointing out the pictures he had sketched.
"These are the memories I most fear losing. Sakura waiting for team7 to arrive, Kyuubi and Hikari when they were re-united, Lee, Neji and Ten-ten at the Chuuin exams, Sasuke and Kakashi Practicing with the Sharingan, Ino and Shikamaru flirting, Chouji and his chips. Shino and Kiba laughing at a joke I told them…"
Naruto had gotten up half way though his explanation and had stopped to gesture in front of each one, now however he collapsed backward onto his bed again and buried his head in his hands.
"I'm so afraid Hinata, I fear what I lost, I fear what I might still lose. I used to smile to hide my fear, to hide my hurt. I thought that if I just smiled then they couldn't really hurt me; my smile was my mask, it was my armor. But now… Now it hurts to smile too."
Hinata finally roused herself as though throwing off a spell, letting go of the paper that had once covered the portrait of herself, she walked over and knelt in front of Naruto as it drifted slowly toward the floor. Taking his hands in her's Hinata waited until he looked up, when he did his tears were reflected in her eyes for just a moment before she spoke.
"It's OK Naruto-kun I'm here now."
That was all it took, falling foreword into her arms Naruto continued to sob into her shoulder while she rubbed his back and murmured soothingly into his ear. After more than a few minutes Naruto finally managed to pull himself back together, and though he wasn't completely cried out he certainly felt much better than he had in quite a long time.
"B…but do you know w…what I fear the m…most?"
Softly Hinata whispered
"What Naruto-kun? What do you fear the most."
Naruto drew back slightly until Hinata met his eyes, the moment she did he gestured to the portrait of her sleeping.
"I fear that I will lose the memory of the one girl I might actually be able to love."
For a moment Hinata stared into his eyes, searching for the slightest sign of mockery, the smallest hint that this was some elaborate joke, what she found instead was scared young man, and it startled her to realize that he had just admitted he cared for her. He looked so vulnerable kneeling there, his hands still lightly holding hers as they had when he first leaned back. In fact, he looked so vulnerable that she couldn't help herself; Hinata's Bravery soared, and she leaned foreword and planted a chaste yet very sweet kiss on his lips. She pulled back a moment later and giggled slightly at the shocked expression on his face.
"It sounds to me like we need to make you some more memories Naruto-kun, come on, show me around this place, I bet there is tons of things in here that nobody has seen in eons"
Standing Hinata pulled Naruto to his feet,
"Come on Naruto-kun, what else is there in this place"
As Hinata ghosted out of his door Naruto saw her stop for a moment, and then, blushing as bright as she ever had, she winked at him before disappearing down the hall again. After a moment Naruto followed her, His mind soaring to the future for the fist time in weeks instead of dwelling in the past. His only thought was:
WOW!
Neji had finally given up calling for his teammate, it had been over an hour since he started his search and He still hadn't seen any sign of her.
'Sigh' I suppose that I should report back to Gai, Shit. How do I get into situations like this,
He had just started to turn back to Konoha when he remembered a spot that ten-ten had told him about once. A place where she went to be alone, to think and meditate.
Hmm, it should be near here, perhaps if I…
Bringing his hands together Neji formed the seal to activate his bloodline before whispering
"Bykuggan"
Seconds later he shut it down and, staggering crazily, made his way over to the nearest tree. Blinking he tried to erase what he had just seen from his mind, it refused to vanish however. Every time he blinked he could see the picture. Etched in a fiery red after-image on the back of his eyes was Ten-ten, completely bare to the world and resting on a stone at the base of a nearby waterfall. Almost unconsciously Neji realized that anyone without his eyesight would set off any number of wards to warn her of the approach of a person, but himself… As hard as he tried he just couldn't stop the blood from flowing, and before he passed out he whispered to himself.
"Was. Worth. It."
Sebeki dusted her hands off as she stood back to admire her handiwork; it had taken a little effort. But with Sakura's help the two boys' really hadn't been that hard to move. The really tricky part was going to come in a few minutes when they woke back up, but until then…. Sebeki let herself have a brief chuckle as she surveyed her handiwork.
"Don't you think that this is overly cruel Sebeki-san?"
"What? You don't LIKE what we've done?"
Sakura stood mute for a second, it wasn't like they had done anything BAD per say, it was more that they really hadn't had Permission to do what they had done. She did Have to admit though that Sasuke looked MUCH better in lighter colored clothing, and The difference to lee had been nothing short of miraculous, once you got rid of a majority of his eyebrows he was actually a VERY attractive boy.
"It's not that I don't LIKE what we've done, it's just the principle of the matter."
"What principle?"
Sakura cast around for a moment trying to find a suitable answer, but all she got was a slight shrug from her inner self. After a moment she said
"Never mind"
Waving her to silence Sebeki watched eagerly as Sasuke stirred from his rest. Sitting up he blinked several times before what he was seeing registered. The two girls had prepared for almost any response, but both of them where shocked when a single tear ran down his cheek as he whispered
"F…Father?"
It took him only a minute longer to realize that he was staring at his own reflection, and then he immediately sought out the eyes of the two girls, Both of whom were again stunned when he asked
"How could you?"
The betrayal and raw pain in his eyes caused both girls to look at the floor as he continued
"Not even Naruto, at the height of his pranks was this mean. I know that I failed my family, Naruto's room showed me that, but this"
He stopped and gestured to his clothes
"This look, these clothing, this cruel joke you have made by dressing me like my father. This is beyond pale. I thought I cared for each of you, Sebeki as a new friend of sorts, as a mentor. Sakura as something I hoped could be more. But I realize now that I don't know either of you."
Standing he walked to the door of the room. Just before he walked out he turned and looked back.
"Sensei, I will see you tomorrow. You will kindly say nothing to me that doesn't relate directly to training. Sakura…"
His eyes took on a hollow look as though a part of himself had died.
"Never come near me again."
Turning he walked out the door, slowly closing it behind him.
The two girls stood in stunned silence for a moment. Neither of them could have guessed that Sasuke would respond like this. After a moment however Sebeki turned to Sakura.
"Go after him. We need to explain that we didn't intend him to take it like that."
Sakura looked confused and lost
"But…"
Sebeki cut in before she could finish the thought however
"GO, you've known him longer, you know where he is most likely to head. If you don't succeed, I can still try tomorrow. You don't have that luxury. GO!"
And Sakura went
How could I have been so foolish, I know what happens when you trust people, you are betrayed! Look what I did to Naruto. No, I may have followed the wrong path before, but I will not again. Though my brother will no longer dictate my path I cannot rely on anyone but those who have proven themselves worthy. People are too fickle. To ready to turn on you. All they do is…
"SASUKE!"
Turning Sasuke looked over his shoulder. It was Sakura. Standing still he watched stoically as she ran up to him. Externally his face was devoid of emotion, but internally he was being ripped to shreds.
Sakura, the one person I was certain would never intentionally hurt me. Why have you betrayed me? Why do you follow me? Always have you stalked my shadow, but now I see you as you are. You are but a wraith. A thorn to my foot and a bramble to my hand, My savoir in the darkness of my mind and my betrayer now that I have returned to the light of day.
"What do you want? Have you come to twist the knife some more?"
Sasuke's tone brought Sakura up short, she was still several feet away from him, but was now shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"Sasuke we didn't mean it like that, we just wanted…"
Sasuke cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"Don't start with me. After Naruto brought me back, it was the thought of you that allowed me to re-gain my mind. But when I finally woke up you were dating lee, you left me a small hope however. You said that we were still friends. At the time I had hoped that one day we could be more, so I didn't press."
"Sasuke, I…"
Again Sasuke cut her off, continuing as though he couldn't hear her
"The second time was after that room of Naruto's a few days ago. There was another person that brought me back to myself that time, but it was still the thought of you that allowed me to pull myself out of the furthest reaches of my mind, it was you that called me forth from my nightmares, Your memory that comforted me. But know I see you as you really are. Simply another person who wishes something of me, my fame, my money, my power, the prestige that comes of having 'The Uchiha' around. You're like all the others. Goodbye Haruno Sakura. My our ways never cross."
Again Sasuke turned to go, tears gleaming in the corners of his eyes, but this time he got no more than two steps before he felt something grab him from behind. Realizing what it was, he stiffened, and would have broken free of her hug had she not started speaking.
"I have never seen you as 'the famous Uchiha' I had a crush on you since long before the death of your family, and when I got to know you, The amount I loved you only increased, When the team came back with Naruto dead and you wounded so badly, My first thought was to hope you would survive. Afterward I felt remorse for not caring more about Naruto, but I have loved you for so long I could only feel sorry for him, but as sorry as I felt for Him, I felt more sorry for you and what you had thrown away that day. I have been dating Lee because I despaired of you ever noticing me, of you ever thinking of me as something more than a fan girl. You have no Idea how many nights I have cried myself to sleep wishing that things could be different between us. Tonight Sebeki and I were trying to show you how much different you could look in a different set of clothes. Nothing more. We didn't know about Naruto's room, nor about your father.
Sakura stopped to draw a shaky breath.
"Now that I've said that you can go if you want."
Slowly Sakura released Sasuke, and he took a step foreword. In that moment Sakura's heart broke. During her story she had begun to silently weep, but now nothing held her back. As Sasuke took his second step as small sob tore from her, and she hung her head. It came as a surprise therefore when she felt a hand under her chin. Tilting her head up she was surprised to see Sasuke staring her in the face.
"Do you mean that?"
Sakura could hardly hear his whisper, but his face had never seemed more open to her.
"Do you truly love me so much that you can so easily forgive all the wrongs I have committed against you?"
Sakura tried valiantly to blink back her tears, and her voice cracked a little as she spoke.
"I have always loved you, I always will love you. Only once did my faith in you waiver, and that was when you told me you were leaving to seek out Orochimaru.
Sasuke stared deep into her eyes for a moment, frowning as he searched her emotions. Finally however A small smile played across Sasuke's features, and a few more tears escaped, as he said.
"Your love I return tenfold, your faith in me I return with interest, you are my sunrise and my sunset, and I pledge myself to you heart, body, mind, and soul. Those who insult you insult me, and from your side I will never waver until the sun goes dark and the seas dry up. I swear that I shall wait for you from this moment though the very ending of time. By life, and honor, death, and love, with all that I am, and all I will be, I swear."
From the shadows a young man watched as they kissed, a sad smile playing across his features, and from behind him he heard a voice whisper.
"What are you doing?"
Turning he replied
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
Lee nodded
"Yup, and It's the hardest thing I've ever done."
Stepping out of the shadows Sebeki smiled
"Come on Lee, I think that the two of us need a drink."
Hinata laughed as Naruto mimicked yet another of their acquaintances
"It's so BOTHERSOME to tell you guys what to do, I think I'll just go watch clouds for a while longer."
Naruto smiled as Hinata wiped tears out of the corners of her eyes. The two of them had spent the majority of the day exploring all the rooms of the Uzumaki wing, and he had even shown her the entrance to the testing rooms, but now they were back in his room. He was lying on the bed, and she was lying next to him with her head on his chest. It had been a rather exhausting day for him. After Hinata's kiss Naruto had needed a moment to… adjust, before he had caught up with her again at the doors to one of the dining rooms. Nothing at all had happened after that, and they had spent several rather enjoyable hours just exploring before returning to his rooms where they had both just kind of collapsed onto the bed.
"Naruto?"
"Hmm?"
"What did you take out of your old apartment?"
Naruto was a little shocked at the question. He had completely forgotten about the packages he had removed. Extracting himself carefully, he impulsivally planted a kiss on hinata's forehead before walking over to where he placed the bundle when he came in. Untying the knots in the cloth he carefully Picked up a Picture. Reverently he crossed the room and hung it directly in front of the bed. As he stepped away Hinata could see what it depicted. There was a young boy standing next to the third Hokage, The person taking the picture had obviously taken when neither of them was expecting it, Softly smiling the third was holding his pipe with one hand while mussing the Bright yellow hair of the boy.
"Were you two really that close?"
Naruto jumped a little bit at the question he had been so wrapped up in his memories again that he had forgotten all about Hinata.
"Yes. He was like a father to me, and although he never showed it to the public I think he is one of the few people who really cared about me."
Walking over to his bundle again Naruto withdrew the ramen bowl
"This was his last gift to me."
Hinata's hands trembled a little bit as he handed it to her, as she looked it over the first thing she saw was the Symbol for the leaf drawn in black on the bottom of the bowl, at first glance that was all it was, but as she looked closer Hinata realized that there were actually words written in the spiral, the deep blue color nearly matching the spiral's black.
"Naruto? What does this writing say?"
Naruto who was sitting on the edge of the bed, closed his eyes and recited.
"This, My secret, I pass to you: No man is an Island onto himself, every one of us is important to the whole. A single stick may be broken with ease where a bundle remains unscathed; such is the true strength of a shinobe. As individuals we may be surprised and killed, but as a whole we shall prevail against all odds."
Hinata's eyes misted over, and Naruto surruptiously wiped away a tear. After a moment he made an effort to change the topic.
"I think that the last two things may also be gifts from him, but I can't prove it as they were delivered with nothing to signify where they came from."
Hinata wiped her own tears away before responding.
"Why do you think that Naruto-kun?"
Naruto paused for a moment,
" Because they are my fathers, and most other people would have kept them as souvenirs."
As Naruto unfurled the cloth Hinata gave a small gasp, of all the wonderful and amazing things she had done and seen today, this was the most unexpected. There, gleaming in the light of the room lay a cloak straight out of the pages of history, No child of a ninja would fail to recognize it.
"Th… that's the F…fourths battle cloak!"
When Naruto didn't respond Hinata looked up and nearly fainted at what she saw. Naruto was just strapping on the last piece of a set of VERY expensive weapons. These too were right out of the history book. The gleaming blue metal had never been successfully copied. It was said to be unbreakable and impossible to steal. Before she could react Naruto reached down and twirled the cloak into place. Striking a casual pose by leaning against the wall Naruto turned to Hinata and asked with a wink
"So, How do I look?"
Hinata On the other hand was trying VERY hard not to faint again. The words that Naruto had just said seemed to echo in her head.
–Because they are my Fathers-... -They are my fathers-... -My Father-
"N… Naruto-kun? D…do you know that for a fact?"
Naruto frowned,
Why is she avoiding the question? I thought that I looked good like this…
"Do I know what for a fact Hinata?"
"Th… that your father was the fourth H… Hokage?"
Naruto's frown deepened a little more
"Well, I never actually looked into it, but Kyuubi said He was. I guess I just took his word for it."
He… he's the SON of the fourth? But… But that would mean…
Hinata, though she loved Naruto with all her heart, had known for quite some time that she would never be able to marry him. Her father would never have allowed her to marry someone 'Below her station' But if Naruto was really the son of the fourth Hokage, then…
"B… but that would make you O…one of the Princes of Konoha!"
Naruto stopped posing and thought for a moment. Of all the prominent families in Konoha only four could claim an actual title, The Hyuuga's of course, The Uchiha's, Surprisingly, the Nara's, And last but not least, The Uzumaki's. Now when the third announced to the population of Konoha that the fourth had died while sealing away the Kyuubi He had mentioned that the child Kyuubi was sealed into had been named Uzumaki Naruto, and everyone had just assumed that he had been named after their savior as some kind of gesture to spite the Kyuubi himself. After all the fourth had no wife, none that anyone knew about anyway, and though he had always been a charmer, nobody had ever claimed that he slept around. Therefore the child couldn't be his. What they didn't know however was that their Hokage had in fact been married almost a year at the time of the attack, He hadn't announced it because she would be targeted by the many enemy's he had. They had planned to announce it after the birth of their child, at which point She and their new son were to be moved from the Uzumaki Estate to the Hokage's Manor. Unfortunately everyone who had known the secret was killed by the Kyuubi, whose Initial suprise attack had struck and completely destroyed The Uzumaki's Manor and the majority of the family with it. The rest had died in the weeks of fighting shortly thereafter.
"Y.e.s… Yes I suppose I would be. Don't worry about it though, I'm not likely to bring it up, and nobody else would believe it unless I got Tsunade-Baba to announce it."
Hinata was having a hard time breathing, It was as though someone had taken her fondest dream and made it a reality.
N…Naruto-kun is one of the princes of Konoha! F…Father c…can't dis-approve if I were to…if we wanted to… I could… I…
While she was thinking Hinata had stood and started to cross the room subconsciously trying to touch Naruto to make certain that this was really happening and not just another beautiful dream. Naruto watched with a slightly detached interest, His mind dwelling on the fact that he could actually claim a title… of course he was Technically already a shadow lord, but since he was also the last of the Uzumaki, nobody but himself was supposed to know that. He was snapped out of his musings however when Hinata suddenly pitched foreword in a faint. Without stopping to think He jumped foreword to catch her, stopping her mere inches above the carpeted floor. The last thing Hinata saw before she blacked out was a bright flash, and Naruto's worried face.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!