Underneath the Underneath

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Back once more with another chapter! Once again I would like to thank everyone that has stayed with the story since it was first published and then revised and welcome newcomers to the story. I apologize for the delay as I have been trying to come up with a decent update schedule that doesn't flood you with chapters but doesn't make you wait too long for the story. I also apologize because this chapter was 75% done when my keyboard broke and I had to buy a new one so it has been sitting on my computer almost done. Some reviews and then the story!

Ryan: Yes he still needs to do that before the date. I almost forgot to write that in thank you.

AlphaMike369: You have a very good point about that, however, many are not as good as Itachi with genjutsu. He is one of the few that can fight an entire battle and win with illusory techniques alone. While more tactical fights are most often seen in ANBU I hope that my story will see the ninja fights have a more tactical feel to them without being overtly so.

"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking

'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals

"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling

"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking

'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking

hello jutsu

*********Fathers and Picnics*********

Naruto was a mess as he tried to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything. He wanted to make sure that the majority of the work was done ahead of time so that he wouldn't be late for the picnic. As he was placing the finishing touches on the fruit salad he was making he froze as a thought came to the forefront of his mind. The color began to drain from his face and he felt himself begin to shake a little.

'Naruto? What's wrong?' Kushina asked her son sensing his distress.

'I'm going to die.'

'Why do you say that?'

'I still have to talk to Hiashi about dating Hinata...He's gonna kill me! They won't even be able to recognize me when he's done!' Naruto yelled mentally as he began to panic. Kushina and Minato felt themselves sweat drop at Naruto's antics.

'He is not going to kill you!' Kushina yelled to get the blonde's attention. Minato laughed as Naruto's thoughts continued to race as if he hadn't even heard Kushina.

'NARUTO!' He yelled catching the boy's attention. 'Hiashi will not kill you if you can prove to him that you have no dishonest intentions with his daughter. Just be yourself and be honest with him. He will ask you questions to ascertain why you want to date Hinata and he will try to intimidate you into changing your mind. This is so that he can test your resolve to stay with Hinata regardless of the adversity you face.' Minato explained. Taking a deep breath Naruto whimpered and entered his mind in order to speak to his father more directly.

"Dad he has already made his position on Hinata dating clear though the last time that someone asked for permission."

"Regardless of that fact you have to ask yourself right now, do you want to date Hinata?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to do anything for her up to and including dying for her?"

"Of course I would!"

"Then you just have to convey that to Hiashi," Minato said watching as Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"So the other people who have tried..."

"Wouldn't have gone that far for her and he picked up on it." Taking a deep breath Naruto nodded and then looked at his parents.

"So...how do I ask for an audience and what do I wear?" Kushina laughed as she hugged Naruto and began to give him tips.

One hour later...

Naruto gulped as he was led down the hallway towards Hiashi's study. He felt weird in the formal kimono that he was wearing and even weirder without Kimiko nearby. Pausing for a second he allowed himself a calming breath before he entered the room before him. The room itself was large and for the most part seemed somewhat empty. The bookshelves and cabinets lining the walls did nothing to detract from the empty, hollow feeling that the room emanated. In the center of the room was a low writing desk and behind it was the patriarch of the Hyuga clan.

"Come sit down Naruto." His tone was even and for some reason instead of reassuring Naruto it only made him more nervous.

"You may leave us," Hiashi said to the Hyuga in the doorway. Despite obeying Naruto could tell that the man was less than thrilled with him being in the same room as Hiashi.

"I apologize for Ko. He takes his assignments to seriously at times. Now, what did you wish to speak to me about?"

"I wanted to ask for permission to...uh...date Hinata..." He said quietly as his minimal reserves of courage began to leave him. Hiashi raised an eyebrow at the blonde and remained quiet for several more seconds as he watched the blonde begin to fidget.

"Why?"

"In all honesty because I like her. She's very pretty and very talented. She is one of the few people that never shied away from me or teased me and she was always trying to get up the courage to be my friend in the academy. She is a really nice person and I want to get to know her better. I'm also going to shut up now because I think I am starting to ramble." He said adding the last part in quickly. Hiashi raised an eyebrow at the boy and said nothing. In truth, he had nothing against Naruto. He reminded him of his good friend Minato. He had always thought that, because of the way he acted while in the academy, he would have more of Kushina's personality. However, ever since the Mizuki incident he had been showing more and more of Minato's personality and it was comforting to know that his friend was still around if only in the form of his son. In honesty, he could hardly wait for Minato's return, yet he dreaded when that would happen as it would mean that Naruto, and by extension, Hinata would be facing an S-class shinobi. Despite that, he knew he could trust Hinata's safety to him. His mere presence alone had seemingly helped Hinata to begin breaking out of her shell and she was becoming more confident each day. However, she was his daughter and he wasn't going to make it easy.

"I see. What do you intend to do with my daughter on any dates you go on?"

'It's the intimidation phase Naruto stay calm.' Kushina whispered.

"Well, first and foremost I would enjoy her company. I would also get to know her better than I do now. What else would I do on a date with Hina-hime?" Naruto asked innocently. Hiashi felt his exterior crack a little at the innocent question and internally debated telling him what else could be done but decided against it.

"I see." After a few minutes of silence, Hiashi looked down at the form he had been filling out. "She is to be home by nine every night. Earlier if there are any clan functions that you will be informed about beforehand." Naruto, Kushina, and Minato blinked in surprise at the ease at which he had given permission.

"So I can take her out tomorrow for a picnic right?" Naruto asked hesitantly. As Hiashi nodded in confirmation Naruto felt a grin threaten to split his face in half.

"Bear in mind that should anything happen to Hinata while she is out on a date with you I will personally see to it that not even the nine tails will be able to heal your injuries." Gulping in fear Naruto nodded before receiving a dismissal. Darting from the compound he ran home in order to finish the preparations for the picnic.

With Hinata...

"I don't think that I could wear that Ino...It's so revealing..." Hinata squeaked in embarrassment. After deciding that she had nothing to wear for the date she had enlisted Ino's help in selecting an outfit for the picnic and a part of her was regretting it.

"Hinata considering what you used to wear every day at school everything is revealing." Ino quipped as she put the outfit back. "What kind of a date are you going on anyway? You never said. It would be easier if I knew what you were doing."

"It's just a picnic..." Hinata whispered blushing. Despite being an heiress and having a lot of clothes due to the functions she was required to attend for her clan she felt as if she had nothing appropriate of a casual date, let alone a picnic.

"A picnic huh? Well then perhaps a sundress." Ino suggested nearly pushing Hinata through the store. Part of Ino was hoping that Hinata would tell her everything about the date and who she was going with but she doubted that she would. It had taken her almost twenty minutes to pry the date out of her when she asked what they were shopping for. Quickly moving to another rack she stopped and nodded to herself as she pulled a dress away from the other clothes around it.

"How about this Hinata?" She said thrusting the garment at the shy Hyuga. After inspecting the outfit Hinata slipped into the changing room to try it on. Thankfully just in time as Sakura entered the shop. Despite having been friends before, Ino had found herself questioning how she had befriended the pinkette recently. After the outburst in the academy classroom, she had taken a closer look at her life goals and had found them lacking. Ever since she had been trying to better herself by removing the things that were holding her back, like her dieting and a few 'friends' that she had come to realize were anything but. She still didn't know where to stand on Sakura though.

"Ino! What are you doing here?" Sakura cried out running over to the Yamanaka.

"Shopping." She replied curtly. The last thing she wanted was for Sakura's big mouth to ruin the occasion for Hinata.

"How is your training lately? Have you seen Sasuke-Kun?"

"Training's good. Better than expected actually and no I have been to busy to look for the revenge-obsessed boy." She said making a face. Sakura glared at the girl in front of her.

"Wouldn't you want to get revenge if someone did that to your family?"

"Only if I knew the whole story, knew I was a match for them and had accomplished everything else I set out to do first. Sakura he is focusing on revenge first and foremost. He isn't even thinking of getting to Itachi's level first. He isn't thinking of making a family in order to revive his clan before going after his brother! All he is going to do is get himself killed at this rate." Ino countered the pinkette who recoiled.

"Think of it Sakura. He goes after Itachi now and one of two things is going to happen. He is going to get destroyed by the older shinobi and killed. Or he is going to be beaten within an inch of his life and maybe even crippled or castrated! All he is thinking about is killing his only family and he isn't even thinking of what happens next." Staring at the girl who used to be her friend Sakura felt herself growing very angry at the blonde. How dare she talk about Sasuke like that!

"If all you want to do is gossip about Sasuke then please leave me to my shopping Sakura. I moved past him already." No sound or movement was made for a few seconds before the pinkette turned and stormed out of the shop in a righteous fury.

"Thank you Ino," Hinata whispered from behind her friend. Turning to reply Ino let the words fall from her mouth and smirked.

"Hinata, I think we found the dress for your date."

The next day...

The next day saw Naruto heading to pick up Hinata for their date fifteen minutes early. He was nervous and didn't want to be late or get distracted. Reaching the front gate he took a deep breath and looked at the guard in front.

"I came to pick Hinata up for our date." The guard raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he let the blonde pass. Now he knew why Hiashi said that Naruto wasn't to be stopped from coming into the compound. Entering the front hall Naruto found himself resisting the urge to pace and instead began to explore his surroundings. Like the rest of the house, the feeling of emptiness permeated even here. He wondered to himself how Hinata could stand to live here when he realized that she had been born here and may not even notice.

"Naruto-Kun?" Hinata's voice rang out from behind him.

"Sorry, I'm a little early Hina-hime..." Naruto found himself at a loss for words as he got a good look at his date. Gone was the battle kimono and in its place was a beautiful lilac sundress that seemed almost as if she had been born wearing it. She looked beautiful. A light cough drew his attention away as Hiashi came around the corner.

"I trust that you remember the rules Hinata, Naruto?"

"Hai." They both said quickly and Hiashi nodded as the two left. As the door closed he felt a ghost of a smile make its way onto his face. He had reacted in a similar manner when he had taken Hitomi out on their first date. It was nostalgic.

With Hinata and Naruto...

The walk through the village was pleasant as the two seemed conflicted as to what to say. Naruto wanted to talk to Hinata but every time he thought of something he realized that it all went back to their training and that probably wasn't a proper topic for a date. Hinata was having the same problem. She had no idea what to talk about as she had never been on a date before. Mentally, Kushina and Minato were holding their heads in exasperation. Normally the boy was so talkative he would be able to come up with a topic in seconds but he was letting his nerves get to him. After a few minutes, they smiled as they caught the tail end of a thought pass through Naruto's mind.

"Hinata-hime, you still like flowers right?"

"Hai."

"Follow me then! There's this place that I know you will like!" He chirped excitedly. Nodding in embarrassment Hinata followed her crush (boyfriend?) through the village and to one of the many smaller lakes that could be found in the village's borders. She was confused at first until Naruto wrapped his chakra around her and then threw both of them into the lake. Her first instinct was to yell at him for it but then she realized that the chakra around her had formed a bubble that was not only keeping them dry but was also acting as a source of oxygen.

"Naruto-Kun how is this possible?" She asked in amazement.

"Water and wind chakra manipulation." He replied smiling as they passed through a hole under one of the lake's embankments. When they finally came out of what seemed to be a tunnel and above the water Naruto made sure that none of the water had leaked through the bubble and then turned Hinata to see the field of flowers that seemed to stretch out endlessly.

"You like it?" He asked as she stared in shock.

"It's gorgeous!" She nearly squealed with happiness. "How did you find this place?"

"I was trying to avoid Iruka-sensei while skipping class. I think that the Nidaime made it, at least the location. I have no idea if the Shodaime knew about it though. It's beautiful and well separate from the village. I think that he used to come here in order to relax and unwind from the stress of being Hokage. The only way in is through the lake and Iruka-sensei never found me so I think that the shunshin doesn't work in here either." He explained unsealing the picnic basket. Hinata smiled and sat down next to Naruto to enjoy the day away from all of the stress that she had been under lately as well. Internally she was hoping that the day wouldn't end.

Several hours later...

Naruto and Hinata were heading back to the Hyuga estates laughing as they told each other jokes and relived some of the pranks that Naruto had pulled off during the academy. When Naruto had mentioned that he had to get her home she felt the depression that seemed to engulf her returning. Naruto had picked up on it and immediately told her a joke which cheered her up. Now it was almost as if the date hadn't even come close to winding down. As they approached the gates of the compound Naruto smiled at her.

"I had fun Hinata-hime."

"Me too, Naruto-Kun." The two remained silent for the rest of the trip to the front door. As she opened the door to head inside Naruto spoke up.

"Hey Hinata-hime, do you think we could do this again sometime?" Hinata turned red and smiled at the blonde.

"Spend time together or go on another date?" She asked coyly.

"Both." He replied to the girl he was quickly falling in love with. Nodding Hinata kissed his cheek and then darted inside happily. Smiling stupidly for a moment Naruto turned and ran out of the compound happily hoping that he would be able to make it home before he started acting like an idiot.

Nearby, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He had been hoping to find one of them since he had heard they had the day off and when he had they had just been coming home, probably from a date. He had hoped that Naruto would leave before they came into sight of the Hyuga estates but he was once again left disappointed. One of these days he would find out the secret to their sudden increase in strength and when he did the dobe would be sorry for embarrassing him. As he turned to leave he caught a quick glimpse of a foxy grin and slightly red eyes before his world went black.

Looking down at the Uchiha, Kimiko snickered quietly to herself as she picked him up and headed through the village quietly. She had followed Naruto all day to ensure that his date hadn't been interrupted and she was glad that she did. Several people had tried to interfere as they walked through the village and she had managed to intercept every one of them. While she couldn't stand humans and couldn't even begin to understand their courting habits she also knew how much courage it had taken Naruto to ask for the date in the first place. He was stepping out of his comfort zone and the last thing she needed was him putting walls around himself and returning to the clown he pretended to be because someone felt it prudent to make him miserable.

"Don't worry Uchiha-teme, I won't hurt you or remove your Sharingan. However, you will learn your lesson one way or another. I will not have you following us anymore." She hissed to herself. She looked forward to the morning.

*********T.B.C***********

A/N: I'm back! Once again I apologize for the late update. I spilled soup on my keyboard and had to get it replaced. Since I hadn't saved a copy of the chapter on a flash drive I couldn't finish typing it on my laptop either. I will most definitely be more careful in the future. Anyway, I am thinking of updating every two weeks. If that is acceptable to everyone else then I will start the new schedule after the new year. Until then I will see you soon! Ja ne!