"Talking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons
Flashbacks and Setting
Nope. Don't own Naruto. Any of it.
Chapter 5: Narumi's Birthday
7 Years after the Kyuubi Attack; 3 Years after Naruto's Induction as ANBU
"ONII-CHAN!"
Naruto was woken up by his little sister's shout and the excited pitter-patter of her little footsteps which rang throughout the hallway. He groaned as he turned in his bed, trying to protect his blue eyes from the rays of sunlight which threatened to wake him up for the day with finality, using his blanket to cover his face. Perhaps he could still go back to sleep. It proved futile when a red mass of excitement leapt up into the air and body slammed him.
"Onii-chan! It's my birthday! My birthday! I'm finally turning 7! You know what that means right? Right?" Narumi rattled out rapidly.
"Mhmm. Happy birthday Narumi-chan." Naruto drawled out in a voice still slurred by sleepiness as he rubbed the sleep off his eyes. He shouldn't have stayed up so late last night, but he had to get all the work out of the way to clear his schedule for today.
"Thanks! Now hurry up and get ready! I'm hungry Onii-chan, and you said I got to choose what we have for breakfast!" Narumi nagged as she jumped up and down on her brother's bed to wake him up.
"Fine, fine, I'm up." Naruto sighed as he resigned himself to his fate. Would it kill Kami if he got more than 6 hours of sleep for once? "Let me guess, Ichiraku's?"
"You know it! I'm already ready to go so you need to hurry up!" Narumi continued to pester Naruto as he started to change his clothes.
"Did you brush your teeth? Wash your face? That's what you're gonna wear outside?" Naruto went through her morning checklist.
"Yup, yup, and YUP!" Narumi replied with a wide smile, showing she was ready to go.
"Fine. Put on a jacket though. It's October. Chilly outside these days." Naruto advised her, similar to how his parents once did for him. "Also, you were planning to out with your hair like that?"
The little redhead gave a cute pout. "Hey! I was waiting for you to get your lazy butt up so you can brush my hair like you always do!"
Naruto chuckled. He loved to rile up his little sister. Her reactions were too cute. "Fine, fine, bring me your brush while I finish up getting ready."
A few minutes later, they were in the living room. Naruto sat on the couch with Narumi's brush as Narumi sat on the floor, with her back facing her older brother so he could brush her long, red hair.
"So, after breakfast at Ichiraku's what do you want to do?" Naruto asked as he brushed away. When Naruto wasn't away on missions, this is how they started their day, Naruto going over what he had for the day, and asking Narumi if she slept well, and asking about her plans for the day.
"Well, since the party starts at 5, I want to play with my friends until then. You think I can go to the rides at the festival this year?" Narumi asked her brother, hoping to receive affirmation.
"You can hang out with your friends for a bit after breakfast. But don't go to the festival. I want you to come back home by 4 though." Naruto told her, as he finished brushing her hair and pinned her bangs to the sides to frame her face. She looked just like Kushina when she was younger.
"Fine. No festival then. Now let's go!" Narumi jumped up and pulled Naruto out the door.
At Ichiraku's
"Hi old man! Ayame nee-chan!" Narumi greeted cheerfully, as she sat on her designated spot.
The proprietor of the Ramen stand and his daughter smiled warmly at their favorite customer and greeted her back. "Happy birthday Narumi! You're already 7 now! Growing up so quickly. Seems like it was just yesterday when you came to our store for the first time and had your first 3 bowls of ramen." Ayame chuckled with a hand covering her mouth as she remembered Narumi's expression when Narumi's eyes were first opened to the Ambrosia of the gods that was known as ramen.
"Hello Teuchi-san, Ayame-san." Naruto greeted the two in a more polite greeting as he sat down next to the birthday girl.
"Welcome to the Ichiraku's, Naruto!" the ramen chef warmly greeted. "What can we get you two?"
"I'll have 3 portions of the pork miso ramen, with extra pork, as usual. As for Narumi, it's her birthday so can we get something special for her?" the blonde ANBU asked as he made his own order.
"Something special huh. Well luckily for you, we got just the thing! How would you like the Narumi birthday special?" Teuchi presented with pride in his voice.
"Narumi birthday special? Is that a new menu item?" Naruto asked, hearing about this for the first time.
"YES! YES! That's the one I want! My birthday special! I get my own ramen named after me? This is awesome! BEST birthday ever!" Narumi was jumping in her chair in excitement.
"Well, we kinda just came up with it. Well by we, I mean me. Anyway, it's a premium ramen with a pork broth and miso base, but with 7 servings of noodles, 7 soy-marinated hard-boiled eggs, and 49 slices of chashu pork slices. It's served in the dough kneading bowl." Teuchi beamed in pride, with a gleaming smile that was reminiscent of Konoha's resident taijutsu master.
There were stars in Narumi's eyes, as she clasped her hands together, mouth ajar, drooling. This was straight out of her dreams. Literally. She had had this dream before. She pinched herself to make sure it wasn't a dream so she could actually eat this and not wake up right as she took her first mouthful. It was no dream; it was a nightmare. Luckily for her, this time she felt the pain from her pinch, indicating that this was real life.
"YES! Teuchi-jiji! I'll take that one!" she squealed in joy.
"Excellent! I'll get to it right away! Ayame! Get 10 portions of noodles in the pot! Oh. By the way it costs 14,000 Ryo." The ramen chef added in sneakily.
Naruto's eyes bulged, as he choked on the complementary tea. "Fou-14,000 Ryo?! A-are we still talking about ramen?" The cheapest ramen on the menu cost around 500 Ryo, while the more premium ramen could reach up to 1,500.
"I guess it's a little pricey. We could cancel that if you want. So does she want the regular Miso Ramen as well?" Teuchi asked.
"NO! Wait! Please, Naruto nii-chan? Pretty please? Could I get the Narumi Birthday Special Supreme Ramen Deluxe 2000?" Narumi begged with her puppy dog face.
"It's just 'Narumi Birthday Special'. Just throwing that out there." Teuchi corrected.
Damn Narumi and her cute, irresistible puppy dog face no jutsu. She knew her brother's weakness and took full advantage of it. She'd make a damn fine kunoichi.
"Pretty please? I promise I won't be distracted during my training! I'll make sure to eat all my vegetables, and I'll clean my room too! Please? Please onii-chan, it's my birthday!" She pleaded, sticking out her lower lip as she intensified her puppy dog face.
"…Fine. You can have the stupid Narumi Birthday Special Supreme Ramen Deluxe 2000." Naruto sighed in defeat. Coming here was a mistake his wallet would have to pay the price for. Damn that puppy dog face of hers.
"YAY! Thanks, nii-chan! You're the bestest brother in the world, ya know!", Narumi cheered, as she danced in her seat in victory.
The real winner was Teuchi and his store though, as he gave a sly smile in victory. He loved having the Namikaze-Uzumaki family over. They practically accounted for 30% of their entire profit. "Well, I'll get working on that right away." Teuchi slinked back to the back of the stall to prepare the gargantuan meal.
Naruto glared at Teuchi's retreating back. If only he didn't genuinely like and care for him and Narumi and give them food for free in the past. If only he didn't make the best damn ramen in the world, he would have had words with that old man.
An hour later
"Thanks for the meal old man! You should add that to the menu officially! It was amazing! Narumi Birthday Special Supreme Ramen Deluxe 2000 is gonna be a huge it! Believe it!" Narumi yelled out as she waved goodbye to Teuchi and his daughter Ayame.
"Glad you liked it! Come back again anytime! And it's just Narumi Birthday Special!" Teuchi greeted. "And happy birthday again sweetheart!" Ayame added.
Naruto cried as he paid. Naruto lived a very frugal life, but when it came to Narumi, he always ended up spending more money than he intended to. That damn girl had 2 servings of that monstrosity, which he had to admit tasted fantastic when he tried a bite. Breakfast cost him 31,000 Ryo. He and Narumi could have stayed at a premium hotel at the capital for that price. Damn Teuchi, and damn that delicious Narumi Birthday Special Supreme Ramen Deluxe 2000.
"Alright Narumi. So, who are you going to hang out with, and where?" Naruto asked, as he kept looking at his wallet to make sure it was as empty as it looked. He wasn't hallucinating, was he? He wished he was.
"Ya know, my friends! Sasuke-chan and Hinata-chan!" Narumi informed Naruto, as if it should have been obvious.
She had practically grown up with Sasuke, and the two of them were almost siblings.
Narumi befriended Hyuuga Hinata, the Hyuuga clan heir, a little later, when she was 3, following what came to be known as the Hyuuga incident.
Flashback
Naruto was heading back home from the Uchiha compound, having picked up Narumi.
"So, did you have a good time with Mikoto oba-chan and Izumi? What did you guys do?" Naruto asked his 3-year-old sister.
"Uh huh! Mikoto oba-chan read us a story, and Izumi nee-chan did finger painting with me and Sasuke! I drew onii-chan and me and our new house! I'll show you when we get home! We also made necklaces with some beads and noodles. Here you go Onii-chan!" Narumi happily told her brother, as she put the necklace she made around her blonde brother's neck.
"Thanks, imouto! I love it. Does it make me look cool or what?" Naruto replied.
Narumi giggled as she replied, "The necklace is pretty, since I made it, but you look like a dork!"
"Hey! That's not nice! I'm not a dork! I'm awesome, ok?" Naruto replied defensively, though jokingly.
"Mhmm. Sure, whatever you say Onii-chan." Narumi teased. She suddenly stopped and began to feel tense. "Onii-chan? I'm getting this weird feeling. I can feel someone feeling really scared. I-I think they need help."
"Help? What do you mean, you can feel someone is scared?" Naruto was confused, but he never outright dismissed his sister. Did she have some sensory abilities that allowed her to sense emotions?
"Yeah! Someone is really scared! I can feel their worry from here! Go left at that street! I'll tell you where to go!"
Being a shinobi, Naruto knew not to ignore gut feelings, and decided to follow where his sister led him to.
Moments later he felt a strong raiton-natured chakra hiding in an alley nearby. He put a finger on his lips to tell Narumi to be quiet and she obeyed her brother. He suppressed his chakra signature and sneaked closer to the source, only to find the Kumo-nin ambassador who had visited the village to sign a peace treaty. A closer look showed the Kumo ambassador with a squirming sack over his shoulders.
Naruto looked at Narumi, who was still on his back, for confirmation. Narumi pointed to the sack and nodded. He put Narumi down, behind the corner so she was out of sight of the Kumo Jonin, and got ready for a fight. Narumi quickly dashed off to hide behind a barrel nearby.
"Damn those Hyuuga bastards! I'll have to hide for while until they stop searching for me. Where can I hide that would hide me from their damn Byakugan?" The Kumo Ambassador whispered through gritted teeth. 'I need to cause a distraction like I did with the explosion at the Hyuuga compound, so they don't have the time to look for me.' He thought to himself as he looked around for a distraction.
Only the Kumo Jonin's reflexes saved the man's life, when a kunai was suddenly embedded itself deeply into the wall behind where his head had been a mere second ago. He turned his head on a swivel to look for the owner of the kunai.
He instinctively raised a kunai in defense, blocking a slash from Naruto's sword. The kunai became useless after that block however, as Naruto was channeling his wind chakra through the sword, and it nearly cut the kunai in half. He jumped backwards to gain some space and tossed his damaged kunai away.
'Damn, this blonde brat can't be past academy age and he's giving me a tough time! I can't even channel my lightning chakra through my kunai to strengthen them, since he's channeling wind chakra through his sword! This is a bad matchup for my raiton!' the Kumo kidnapper thought.
Naruto didn't give the man more time to think as he charged in towards the Kumo-nin at a blinding speed, intending to cut him to pieces. However, his opponent was a Jonin, and the head-nin of Kumo, second-in-command to the Raikage. He dodged most of Naruto's initial slashes and used the kawarimi jutsu (replacement technique) on a nearby barrel, switching places with the barrel.
He looked down and saw a little girl with red hair looking back at him with a scared look in her violet eyes. The Kumo Jonin's head was instantly reminded of a girl that Kumo tried to kidnap, decades ago. He had been part of the squad that was waiting to link up with the team that went to kidnap the little Uzumaki girl, and provide reinforcement if they were pursued.
The team never arrived. At least not alive. That damn blonde Minato had to get involved.
He suddenly saw the parallel between that incident and the predicament he found himself now. This could be his chance to snatch up this girl, who had to be the Uzumaki's brat, and complete the mission they had failed all those years ago. The only person in his way, was probably an offspring of that thrice damned Yondaime Hokage, if looks were anything to go by.
He dropped the sack and grabbed the scared redhead, and put a kunai to her throat. "Stop! Or this girl gets it!" He threatened Naruto.
Naruto froze. That bastard! How dare he use Narumi as a hostage! He was not going to give this man a quick death.
The Kumo Head-nin yelled at Naruto, "If you want this girl to live, walk away you little brat! You're 100 years too young to be fighting me!"
Naruto's face mirrored Minato's steely gaze, often the last thing seen by their enemies before they died.
He stealthily formed one handed seals behind his back, setting off a chain of jutsus in conjunction. He first formed a kage bunshin, and consecutively used kawarimi twice to seamlessly replace himself and a third person, and cast a henge on himself in his new location. The head-nin of Kumo underestimated the blonde, and didn't see any of this, as he was busy keeping an eye out for others, considering the blonde to be stalling while the real help arrived.
He also cast the Kokuangyo no Jutsu (bringer of darkness technique), a genjutsu that blocked the sense of sight, on Narumi, so she would only see darkness all around her. He didn't want her to see the gore that was about to take place.
"Fine. I surrender, just let her go." Naruto's clone said as he dropped his mother's sword, and threw his hands up in the air as he slowly walked backwards.
"Smart move brat. Though I never said I'd let her go. She'll be coming with me!" the Kumo-nin declared as he reached for the squirming sack.
Narumi, hearing her brother give up, and the Kumo-nin stating his intent to kidnap her, while not being able to see anything, began to panic. When she was jerked closer by a rough pull from the Kumo Jonin, she snapped. A chain shot out of her back and stabbed the surprised Kumo Jonin through the shoulder of the arm he was using to hold her.
Using the momentary pause of the Kumo-nin's shock as an opening, Hinata cut her way out of the sack she was in with a sword and struck the Kumo-nin twice. An arm and a leg hit the floor. The Kumo-nin looked at the meek 3-year-old Hyuuga heiress in shock, only to see her transform back into Naruto.
"If you left my sister out of this, I'd have given you a quick death. This is all on you." He flew through one handed seals and whispered, "Futton: Mizurappa (boil release: water trumpet)!", and spat out a stream of water on the downed Kumo-nin. The man screamed in excruciating pain, as he slowly felt his body burn and dissolve away. Naruto had made sure not to make the jutsu too caustic, so his sister's kidnapper could feel more of the pain.
The Kumo Ambassador's flesh was dissolved, revealing his dissolved muscle tissue and bones in some places, but he wasn't quite dead yet. Naruto decided to finish the job and get rid of the evidence of his bloodline when he was sure the man had suffered sufficiently for his crimes.
"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu (fire release: dragon flame technique)!" He yelled out, and a stream of blue flame incinerated the dissolving man, which left nothing behind, but burned, brittle bones, which crumbled in the wind.
He released the genjutsu from Narumi and ran over to see if she was ok.
"Narumi! Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"
"Nii-chan! I was so scared! I thought that bad man was gonna take me away forever!" She cried out as she buried herself in her brother's chest.
The blonde Chunin hugged his sister to comfort her. "Shhh. Don't worry. He won't ever hurt you again. You're safe now. Your Nii-chan will protect you. Promise."
Naruto's clone walked over with a scared Hinata, who the clone had been hiding to also spare her from the violent scene.
"T-thank you shinobi-san for rescuing me." Hinata said in a quiet, still scared voice.
"It was nothing. She's the one you should be thanking anyway. I wouldn't have known you were in danger if she didn't sense your distress." Naruto said as he pointed to his sister.
"Thank you… I-I didn't get your name." Hinata said to her red-haired savior.
*Sniffle* "I'm Narumi. And this is my Onii-chan, Naruto." Introduced Narumi, as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"T-thank you Narumi-san, Naruto-san. H-how can I repay you?" asked the Hyuuga clan heiress. Her father had drilled into her young mind that a Hyuuga must never be in debt.
"Wanna hang out with me sometime?" Narumi offered as a small smile began to form on her face, even as her eyes were still teary.
"H-hang out? Like play together?" Hinata asked, making sure she understood what she was being asked. After all, Hyuugas didn't use such low-class vernacular often.
"Yeah. You know, play together and stuff. We could be friends?" Narumi asked hopefully. She didn't have many friends, and was desperate to make more.
Hinata was also a very lonely child, and didn't have many friends her age, due to her clan being so uptight. She was happy to make a friend. "That sounds nice, N-Narumi-san." She stuttered, but had a small smile on her face.
Narumi's smile reached her ears when the pale-eyed girl agreed to be her second friend ever. "Sweet! We can play at the park with Sasuke-chan!" She squealed in joy, though her eyes weren't dry yet.
Naruto smiled at the scene, happy for the two young girls, when the Hyuuga finally appeared.
"Hinata-sama! Thank Kami-sama you're safe!" a 12-year-old Hyuuga main family member, and Hinata's caretaker, named Ko said as he ran over to see if she was alright. Hyuuga Hiashi, the clan head, and Hyuuga Hizashi, his twin brother and head of the branch family, arrived shortly after.
"Hinata! You're alright!" The Hyuuga clan head said in relief as he swept up his daughter in his arms.
"O-otou-sama! T-these two people rescued me from the b-bad man." Hinata explained to her father.
Hiashi looked at the blonde chunin and his sister, and looked over to the charred and crumbling bones of the Kumo-nin, the only identifying remains of the man being the severed arm and leg that lied close by.
"Thank you for rescuing my daughter, Namikaze-Uzumaki-san. The Hyuuga owes you their gratitude. Let me know if there is anything we can do for your service to us." Hiashi said as he bowed slightly.
Naruto remembered this man, the man who set off the chain of events that had him and Narumi grow up in an orphanage, and enabled the council to steal their inheritance. He hated the Hyuuga clan head, but didn't want to get in the way of his sister's new friendship with Hinata.
"I guess you could start by letting them play together every once in a while." Naruto said in a neutral tone, not even bothering to look directly at the man.
"… I suppose I can allow Hinata to spend time with the Kyu-with your sister. Under proper supervision of course." Hiashi answered back, managing to cover up his slip of the tongue.
Naruto heard the slip, and was seething inside, but held his tongue. He simply nodded.
"If that's all, we will be heading back to the compound. It has been a long night for Hinata after all." Hiashi said as the Hyuuga clan members all turned to leave.
Naruto and Narumi also left, after Naruto explained what happened to the ANBU and the Uchiha Military Police Force that came to investigate and clear up the site.
Naruto was fuming inside at the way Hiashi looked at Narumi, but hid his feelings, not wanting to spoil Narumi's good mood.
"I finally made a new friend Onii-chan!" Narumi was practically skipping the whole way back home. Naruto's anger died down looking at his sister's happiness. This is what he sacrificed everything for. To make sure his sister could be happy.
His mind snapped back to what had happened and mused about Narumi unlocking her chakra chains. She was truly his mother's daughter. His face showed a smile as he began to think of training regiments for her.
Meanwhile, Hiashi glared at Hizashi as they walked back. "You will be punished for your failure to watch Hinata properly." He whispered through gritted teeth as they walked back.
Hizashi said nothing.
End Flashback
"Right, right. The doujutsu duo. Alrighty then. Have fun. And remember, come back home by 4 so we can get ready for your party, ok?" Naruto reminded Narumi, who nodded and ran off to meet her friends. Naruto went back home to set up for the party.
At 5 pm
The guests began to show up at the door of the Namikaze-Uzumaki sibling's house. They piled up their gifts at the end of the table that held the food and drinks, and the kids began to play the party games Naruto had prepared during the afternoon, while the adults and shinobi talked with each other.
"Thanks for coming Mikoto oba-chan," Naruto greeted the Uchiha matriarch.
"I wasn't about to miss our little Narumi's 7th birthday party," Mikoto replied with her warm smile that reminded Naruto of his own mother.
"She was quite excited to present her gift to Narumi-chan after all." Came Itachi's calm, slightly mono-tone voice.
"He can hardly tell if you're being sarcastic with your tone like that, Itachi," Shisui joked, and Izumi agreed.
"I try to get him to show a bit more emotion but it's like trying to teach a cat to bark." Izumi complained in good-nature.
Kakashi stood in the corner watching everything going on, though appearing to read his orange book of smut. Being the only other non-Uchiha guest, he was approached by Hyuuga Ko, who had accompanied Hinata to the party as her chaperone.
"Must you read that smut at a children's party? I do not want Hinata-sama to be corrupted at a birthday party." Ko asked Kakashi.
"Interesting way to start a conversation, Hyuuga-san." Kakashi replied as he put the book away. "I guess you found a way to read your collection when she's not around then, huh."
"W-what? I don't own a collection!" Ko said, flabbergasted. How did this man know! He was sure nobody was around when he went to the bookstore.
"Your reaction told me everything I needed to know." Kakashi replied with his characteristic eye smile.
The guests were having a good time, besides for Ko, who became paranoid of people finding out his secret. Hyuuga were supposed to be dignified after all! His eyes darted nervously around Naruto and Narumi's living room. 'They know! They all know!' he thought to himself.
It was starting to get late, and became time to cut the cake and open presents before everyone went home.
Sasuke decided to give his gift first, and he went over to pick an envelope. Narumi tried to guess what it was, and Naruto hoped it was money. When the birthday girl opened it up, she found 10 pre-paid coupons for ramen at Ichiraku's.
"Sasuke-chan! How's anyone gonna top this! I love it!" Narumi yelled out in true appreciation. Naruto was disappointed that it wasn't money, but changed his mind when he realized it was 10 less times he had to open up his wallet for her ramen addiction. Well, more like 2 less times. She'd probably use 5 of them at a time.
"Hnnn. Also, it's Sasuke-kun. I'm not a little child anymore, so don't call me Sasuke-chan." The young Uchiha boy answered back.
"Sure thing Sasuke-chan!" Narumi replied cheekily, causing the boy to scowl.
The adults laughed at the scene.
Narumi's second friend decided to go next, and gave Narumi a small box that turned out to hold an expensive set of hair accessories, which Narumi immediately took out of the box to put on her hair. She loved it and gave Hinata a warm hug, bringing a smile on the Hyuuga heiress' face.
Next was Izumi, who gave her a set of pretty, but still practical clothes that she could wear when she entered the academy soon.
Itachi gave her a shiny new set of kunai and shuriken, and Shisui gave her some scrolls for D-rank jutsu she could work on when she found out her elemental affinity.
Kakashi gave her a wooden training sword, so she could get started on her mother's style of kenjutsu.
Mikoto came next with her gift. It was a very motherly gift. Not very exciting for Narumi but very necessary. They were all the textbooks she would need for the academy, as well as other supplies. Narumi still appreciated the gesture, and not being a spoiled little brat, she thanked her warmly with a hug. Naruto appreciated the gift a lot more, meaning he wouldn't have to spend money on her academy supplies. Score!
Finally, it was Naruto's turn. Narumi was excited to see what he prepared this year. He always went above and beyond to get her nice gifts.
"Since you're entering the academy in the following spring, I decided it was time to start teaching you our parents' style of sealing. This is part of their legacy you know. He presented her with an assortment of books and scrolls on sealing for beginners, as well as a sealing kit.
She had never met her parents, and was starved for any knowledge, story, anecdote, or connection to her parents. She was very excited to connect with her parents in a practical way.
She ran over to hug him. "Thanks, Nii-chan! I'm gonna be the best sealing master ever! Even better than you!"
The real surprise came after however.
"That's not all," Naruto continued, hiding a knowing smile as he walked over to a closed closet.
Narumi wondered if he hid a gift in there as she walked closer in anticipation.
"You ready?", Naruto asked, and Narumi nodded.
She was not prepared for what was next.
When Naruto swung the door open, the closet was revealed to be filled to the brim with all sorts of instant ramens, collected from every corner of the elemental nations, ranging anywhere from spicy ramen from Suna, curry ramen from Kumo, green tea ramen from Ta no Kuni (Land of Tea), goat ramen from Iwa, seafood ramen from Kiri, and a plethora of other exotic ramens.
Narumi's eye's bulged before she passed out.
She had a huge smile on her face. 'Best. Day. Ever.' Were the last thoughts that went through her mind.
*Author's Note*
Thanks to everyone who left reviews and voted! I enjoy reading all your opinions and comments immensely. It's a big motivation to keep writing, seeing your feedback.
I hope you guys liked the newest chapter! I hope its clear that Naruto and Narumi has a good relationship with Teuchi and Ayame, and they don't take advantage of the siblings.
I decided to pace the story a little slow in the beginning to make it feel peaceful and ramp up the pace as things feel more urgent later. I feel like its a good opportunity to flesh out relationships and characters too.
Writing this chapter, I realized I left out Ayame from the voting list! She's actually pretty high up in my original candidate list but I totally forgot about her. Also I think I'm gonna remove the OC. She's a great character, but Naruto has enough great characters that don't get enough screen time anyway, so might as well use them. I'm gonna remove Tsunami as well unless people want her in. I'm also adding Princess Koyuki.
I'm also not sure if I'm gonna do a harem or multi-pairing, as the Naruto in this story is kind of an emotionally stunted person and connects with very few people. I feel like it also means more when you're devoted to one person, and I want it to feel special when Naruto finally opens up to someone, but I'm also not completely against the multi-pairing idea either.
Anyway here are the voting results at the time of posting.
Shizune 8
Samui 6
Tayuya 3
Anko 3
Yugao 2
Ryuuzets 2
Temari 2
Mei 2
Kurotsuchi 2
Kurenai 1
Izumi 1
Mabui 1
Fuu 1
Yakumo 1
Shizuka 1
Hana Inuzuka 1
Yugito 0
Ayame 0
Princess Koyuki 0
Other (your suggestion)
Anyway, thanks again for reading my story! Please continue to vote and leave reviews! I look forward to your reviews the way some of you may look forward to new chapters lol.