Edit Note, 9th of September 2016: Nothing major, really. I just corrected the effect of the seal slightly to better describe what I had in mind. It doesn't really changed the effect and absolutely not the story at all. Just small corrections.
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Authors Note: I know I said this would be Hinata's birthday chapter - but I realized two major mistakes while I was writing.
The first was that there was just no way to get both the birthday preparations and the birthday into one chapter with the limited amount of time I have (my chapters landed on an average of ~9000 words lately and that's a bit limited as well).
The second was my brain complaining about the timeline. Hinata's birthday is late in december, but I'm still some months away from it, theoretically (without ever having mentioned what month or time we are in currently - but my brain does have a plan). And I just couldn't write a few month timeskip without starting events that they could do during the skip, so...
I realized these things two days or so into writing so I had to change the direction slightly, turning this into a kind of filler chapter. There will be some loose strings picked up and explained (some current ones but also an older one) with slight advancement of the events as well.
I really do wonder if the older loose string was on anyones mind or if you simply discarded it as something given? Anyway, it should be good for a few smiles and laughs.
Next chapter will be about the birthday preparations and the start of training for them (at least Naruto - he's going to get something new/different - I finally decided on a first tweak to his future skillset). And the chapter after will then be the birthday chapter.
Hope you aren't disappointed now. Enjoy this chapter - and yes, they are there again: my evil, evil cliffhangers (or more loose strings I can pick up at later times)... ;-)
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A Tale of Two Sisters – Chapter 9: Afterglow
"Ah, the little one. It seems like fate saved you from the future she planned for you. I would have decided in another way, but I guess you know that already, huh? So, how can this dead man help you?" C spoke calmly, watching Hanabi into her eyes.
Hanabi stayed silent for a few moments, breathing deep and calm, before she spoke up. "I wanted to thank you for helping me realize some things. Guess we might have become friends if we met another way..." she watched him carefully before looking towards her sister. "Sis? Got some words for him too?"
Hinata nodded and looked C into his eyes, blushing slightly. "I... thought about your words. I was upset about them, but I guess you were correct. Thank you for helping me realize." she said quietly, getting a small smile from C and a surprised look from Hanabi, who of course knew what her sister were talking about.
"No problem at all. It was a pleasure having met you. Little one, I would like to give you something." he pulled a single card out of his sleeve and handed it over to her. "The Ace of Clubs. You do remember the Ace of Hearts I used? This one is similiar, but contains other things. I'm sure you will figure out how to get the contents in the near future and you might or might not want to use them. It's up to you."
He gave her a smile before looking towards Kakashi. "So, Copycat, how's your decision? As you can see, I haven't run and I will accept what is to come. I even made peace with my latest victims, I'm having no regrets." he spoke calmly, waiting patiently. Kakashi looked towards the girls, getting a shrug followed by a nod from Hanabi, who turned around to walk back to the carriage to release Naruto, Hinata following her.
"Well, emotionally should I kill you for kidnapping kids from my village. Logically should I arrest you for your crimes and bring you to T&I that we can get more information about your organization." he stated his thoughts as matter of facts. "Humanly however, seeing that the kids are alright and that the girls don't hold a grudge on you as person... could I let you go, hoping that you won't engage with your organization again."
C was raising an eyebrow at that last statement, looking at Kakashi in disbelief. "You are kidding, right? My life is over, no matter what, and you are really thinking about letting me go? Are you insane or something?" Kakashi simply shrugged at that statement. "Fine, if you really don't want to get your hands on me..." he went through a short set of signs before speaking. "Card Tricks: Card Return." on which all cards shattered around were flying back towards him, forming one huge pile which he picked up and put away.
"In that case will I take my leave and go into hiding. If she finds me am I dead..." he stated matter of factly. "Here, catch." he tossed a joker card towards Kakashi who catched it with ease. "If the little one ever becomes a shinobi, give her that, will ya?"
Kakashi nodded. "Can do that, sure. Well, I should take the kids back to the village I guess." he spoke lazyly while walking towards the carriage to pick the kids up, not looking back to C who was disappearing into the forest.
Hokage office
"...and that's what happened on my rescue mission, Hokage-sama." Kakashi finished his report, standing inside the Hokage office together with the three kids. He explained his confrontation with the earth user and the fight against the card trickster.
"So you are saying that your opponent tricked you and managed to get away while you wanted to finish him? I see... at least are the kids back safely." the Hokage smiled at the kids. "Though I'm worried that they had one of our guard teams under their control."
Kakashi nodded. "That's really worrysome. But it would explain why the kids could leave the village undetected. The question is, who wrote the report Cat collected."
"Indeed. I'll let a team investigate this case. Anyway..." the Hokage addressed the kids now. "Would you please tell me what exactly happened? What you were doing out in the forest and what you can remember from being taken prisoner? Any information regarding these people might help us."
"I'm not remembering much, old man..." Naruto said quietly. "I was knocked out most of the time." he looked down to the ground, seeming to be frustrated by that.
Hanabi stepped forward. 2Uhm... there wasn't much we could tell. They were all wearing full body suits, hiding everything that would identify them. Though it seemed like they were lead by a fearsome woman. They never used names, only addressing her as she." she calmly explained.
"Hmm, I see. That really isn't much but it has to do. Anything else? I heard you were investigating the ruins?" the Hokage was smiling honestly at the kids.
"We did. And we found a sealed scroll in a hidden basement room." Hinata said, pointing to Naruto. "I'm not sure if they took our stuff... Naruto-kun, do you still have the scroll?"
Naruto blinked his eyes a few times, trying to clear his mind for the moment. He looked towards Hinata and then down his clothes before searching for the scroll where he put it. After a few moments did he find it and stepped forward to place it atop the desk. "Here it is, old man. We tried to open it but it didn't work."
The Hokage checked the scroll and raised an eyebrow. "That's an old seal. It will take some time to figure out how to unseal it. I will inform you once we were able to. Anything else?" placing the scroll in one of his drawers did he look back at the group in front of him.
Hanabi looked at her sister and then towards the Hokage, shaking her head. "No Hokage-sama. That's all that happened."
"Very well. Again, I'm glad that you are back safely. But please stay inside the village from now on. That's the second time you left it and the second time you got attacked. I don't want to risk you out there again. Understood?" the Hokage stated calmly, getting nods from all three kids. "Very well, you all are dismissed."
While the kids left the office did Kakashi stay behind, waiting for the door to close before speaking up again. "Actually, there is one more thing."
Pulling out his pipe and firing it up did the Hokage let out a sigh. "Knowing you did your opponent not flee but you let him go, right?"
Kakashi nodded at this statement. "He wasn't an ordinary bandit or something. From what I can tell did he do the things he did out of some kind of honor or duty. With his failure is he unable to go back to this organization and, in my eyes most important, did the girls forgive him. They seemed to get along quite well and he had unique skills. Said he would go into hiding but also left something behind to give to Hanabi once she becomes a kunoichi."
The Hokage took a deep breath of his pipe, exhaling the smoke. "I understand. I trust your judgement on this. Hopefully will he appear again and provide us with informations. Anyway... I'm sure I will see the girls again soon." he smiled slightly, getting a confused look from Kakashi. "Oh, don't mind me. Just an old mans rumbling."
In front of the Hokage tower
"I'm starving..." Naruto complained loudly, holding his grumbling stomach. "It's been ages since I ate something..."
Hanabi giggled. "If you hadn't provoked them to knock you out would you have got something. Shall we go to the ramen stand from before?" she asked, getting a frantic nod from Naruto who was already on his way.
"Always thinking with his stomach it seems." Hinata said while giggling herself. "Uhm... I guess we will have a talk once we are home?" she asked quietly, looking towards Hanabi who gave her a knowing smile and a nod.
"We sure will, sis. But now we should try to catch up with Naruto. Common!" she said smiling and running in the same direction Naruto left before just a second later Hinata was also following.
Naruto was sitting inside the ramen stand, having already ordered for all three of them when the girls finally arrived. He was giving them a big grin while they sat down. "Took you long enough. So... that was our last adventure for the time being, huh?" he asked, looking towards the girls.
Hanabi shrugged her shoulders. "Well, Hokage-sama said so. Not much we can do I guess. But maybe should we focus on Academy anyway. We weren't able to do anything at all and we need to learn how to defend ourselfs."
Hinata smiled slightly. "I'll always defend you, Hanabi. No matter what happens."
"I know sis, but... all our clan is good at is taijutsu. The last time were they attacking with fire style from range, this time did they trap us with earth style. What could we have done, even if we were stronger?" Hanabi tilted her head, looking her sister into the eyes.
Hinata looked back, before averting her eyes and looking at the ground. "I... don't know. You are right. We need to learn more varity." she said quietly.
"I'm sure you two will become super strong, so don't worry about these things!" Naruto was smiling brightly while thinking about what he heard while being prisoner. 'The boy doesn't have any style or visible talents, that's what they said about me. I need to learn and train too.' he frowned to himself, before suddenly cheering up, seeing Tauchi serving the ramen.
"Here you go, kids. Enjoy!" he exclaimed with his natural happyness, giving them all a smile. "And you aren't fighting anymore as I can see. That's a good thing too."
"Fighting?" Naruto asked confused before starting to eat his ramen, not really knowing what Teuchi is talking about.
"Oh, right..." Hinata said quietly, getting an evil glance in her eyes. "There is someone here who spilled my secret to someone who was part of this secret..." Naruto was suddenly feeling not too well, gulping loudly at the look Hinata had in her eyes.
"Sis, be a good girl. I think we had enough stress because of this topic already. No reason to bring it up again." Hanabi gave her sister an innocent smile. "Or shall I overthink what I'm going to do? I haven't forgotten..."
Hinata sighed and let her head hang for a moment, before nodding and starting to eat as well. Naruto chuckled nervously, not really knowing what just happened. But the reminder of the girls loud argument inside his apartment was something he didn't need right now.
They finished their meals in silence and said their goodbyes, heading to their respectives homes. The things that happened consumed the whole day and it was late evening already. When the girls reached their home were they relieved that nobody stopped them to question where they were during the day or why they came back that late. Seems like the information of the kidnapping didn't made the round yet.
Hyuga Compound, Hinata's room
"Okay sis, we need to talk. The things C said, the things you said. Am I figuring your feelings toward me right?" Hanabi asked her sister, not giving any time for an awkward situation to create itself or her sister to think about something. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.
Hinata was looking at her younger sister, touching her lower lip in thought before nodding slowly. "Yes, I'm sure you do. The first thoughts came to me when we were ambushed. And after having time to think about them do I have to say that the words of C are indeed correct. I am yours to serve and to be commanded... misstress..." she said quietly and looking at the ground, her face blushing.
Hanabi was silent for some time and Hinata felt uncomfortable by it, but didn't dare to look up. Five minutes passed before Hanabi finally spoke up. "You really changed a lot, sis. In a good way. You are open minded and your shyness more or less gone. You could live your life without me now and not have any trouble at all. But hearing your words..."
She walked over to her sister, grabbing her chin and lifting Hinata's head to look her into her eyes. "I won't let you go, sis. I think I need you as much as you need me. We are meant for each other and should never be seperated. We are bonded not only by blood but by something deeper as well. Do you understand me?"
Hinata gave her sister a nod. "I... do understand. I will always be by your side, Hanabi. As your sister and as your slave, whichever way you need me at the time to come."
Hanabi gave her a big smile. "Hey sis, that sounded someway poetic. Well said." the smile turned into a grin. "Now would you please get me the book? Think I want to read a bit before finally doing to sleep."
Hinata nodded and walked over to where she hid her treasure chest, pulling it out and placing it on her desk. It took her just moments to get the book out of it to hand it over to her sister who still had this big smile on her face before wishing a good night and leaving to get to her own room.
Hinata waited a few minutes at her desk, not doing anything. When she heard no sounds outside her room anymore did she pull something out of her pocket. She carefully slid her fingers over the object, over every detail of it, feeling the texture of the material. She smiled at the object before placing it inside her box, next to the souvenir she had from her last adventure.
"I know my place in life now and I am thankful for that." she whispered to herself, focusing on the object she just placed in her box with her eyes. "However, I will never forget the moment my sister... no, my misstress was in the same place than me. I just hope she won't mind it at all..." she slid her finger over the engraved name of Hanabi on the tag attached to the collar, before closing the treasure chest and hiding it again.
'But it's kinda strange. When I first picked up an item as souvenir from an adventure turned it out to be a damaged slave collar. And now have I gotten another one. This time is it even a new one with a readable tag. I wonder if I can find more on my adventures. I should try to make a collection out of them or something.' she giggled to herself at her own thoughts, before heading to bed to get some well needed rest after this stressful events of the day.
Naruto's apartment
Naruto was in a real bad mood this evening. He was sitting on his couch, thinking about the events that happened. "It's so frustrating..." talking to himself about his own thoughts, getting more frustrated by that. "I really couldn't do anything. I was useless and couldn't protect the girls. That's..."
He gave his couch a punch and laid down on it, looking at the ceiling. "But who would teach me new ways to fight, who would train me to become stronger? I could ask the girls, but they said themselfs that their family style is pure taijutsu. We would have been in the same situation even if I could fight that way. I never managed to reach the ones that were attacking us..."
Standing up and walking towards his bedroom did he continue to talk to himself. "Iruka-sensei said I am talented with traps. He was impressed by the modified schoolbag I used for the paint bombs and that I should focus on that, but... that wouldn't have helped us either. I can't place a trap when the enemy is already engaging us..."
"Beside, who could or would teach me in these kind of things? I doubt that Iruka-sensei has too much knowledge. Argh... it's so frustrating. No matter how I look at it, I was useless to protect the girls and the ideas I have for becoming stronger wouldn't really help as well. It's totally cursed..." he sighed while he got out of his clothes, getting ready to sleep for that day.
"I will totally become stronger, believe it!" he shouted to noone in particular. "I just don't know how..." he gave a last sigh before laying down on his bed and pulling the blanket atop himself, trying to get some sleep after this eventful day. A day that showed him that he is weak right now. That he has to improve if he want to protect his friends.
Somewhere unknown
"What did you say?" a furious woman asked her subordinate who was backing away from her. "It sounded like we lost our merchandise because C lost against the Copycat. But I'm sure that I must have misunderstood what you were saying..." she had an evil glance in her eyes that promised lots of pain.
"I can only tell what I found out. C was the one for information gathering... I found the carriage inside the forest. There were signs of fighting all around and he and the merchandise was nowhere to see. I even found three used and empty joker cards scattered there and by the looks of it did he also summoned Black Jack. The evil aura of it could still be felt. I really don't know why he lost..." the thicker man with the deep voice explained.
The woman shook her head by these informations. "I can't understand that. He never lost and the Copycat should have been an easy target for him. Sure, his bounty was high, but C took out higher ones..." she sighed. "So we lost the profit from the merchandise and weren't able to get the bounty in addition to loosing one of our best man. No good month at all... J, somehow will suffer for that."
"If I may suggest changing countries? I don't think it would be safe to stay here any longer for the moment." the man now identified as J said, shuddering by the look he got in reply and trying to ignore her threats to punish someone.
"Don't push your luck..." the woman hissed quietly. "But I guess it might be better. Fine, we'll leave. Do the usual once everyone is gone. No mistakes, understood?" her tone was one you shouldn't argue with if you knew what was good for your life.
"Understood. Nobody will be able to find this hideout once I'm done." he answered, breathing deeply once she was gone. "I know why she is the leader, but she still scares me to death..." J mumbled to himself, preparing for his work.
One hour later was the base abadoned by the organization and J went through a complex set of handsigns. He knew that his maze hadn't done much to delay the Copycat cause it was created in a hurry. But he had no rush right now, he was careful and fully concentrated on his work.
"Earth Style: Hide in Earth." he mumbled quietly, putting his hands on the ground. The landscape protested to his jutsu, but had no chance. Just 30 seconds later was the hideout and attached cavesystem gone, completely sucked up by the earth. Nobody ever found the things he hid in the earth. And where are no traces where no followers. He smiled, knowing that his work was the major reason why nobody knew about their organization. Smiling to himself was he leaving the place, following her to their new area of operation.
The next morning
It was early in the morning and the sun just started to rise when Hinata woke up to a noise and movements of her bed that shook her body slightly. Opening her eyes slowly was she seeing the outlines of a figure sitting on her bed. She blinked her eyes a few times to clear her vision and realized her sister sitting on her bed, grinning at her.
"Hanabi?" she mumbled sleepy. "It's too early... let me sleep." she turned around in bed and wanted to go back to sleep, but was suddenly fully awake when Hanabi dropped a heavy book right in front of her face.
"Naughty girls shouldn't sleep when the sun is rising." Hanabi said grinning, watching her sister trying to realize what this book in front of her is. It took her some moments but then did her eyes turn wide open and she slightly paled before averting her eyes from the book to her sister.
"You... read it, right?" it was more of a statement then a question and Hanabi just nodded. "And now?" she asked quietly. "Will you tease me about it?"
Hanabi reached out to pat her sisters head. "I would never do that sis. Who do you think I am?" she grinned from ear to ear seeing her sister let her head hang in defeat. "Okay, that's really all I wanted to do. I'm just wondering why you hid this book. It's way more fun to read then the ones I have. Less painful and deadly and more fun."
Hinata sighed and looked up again at her sister. "It was embarassing when I got it from Naruto and decided to hide it away. The topics are... not normal." she said quietly.
"And you were afraid that I would buy you a cage or something?" Hanabi rolled her eyes. "How crazy do you think I am, sis? That would be way too strange and we would been found out in no time." she explained.
Hinata was silent for a moment. "With other words you would do it if there were no risk in being found out. Really Hanabi, you can be scary at times..."
Hanabi shrugged at that comment. "I just like to try new things. That's no secret at all." she stuck her tongue out at her sister. "Speaking of, you should get up and get dressed. We should talk to father if there is a way to learn more or other things. There must be more than our taijutsu and we should find and learn it. Don't want to be helpless again..."
Hinata nodded and got out of bed, dressing herself in a plain grey-brown t-shirt with matching pants. She did agree that they needed to learn more things for the future, but she wasn't too eager to talk to her father about it. Gladly will Hanabi do most of the talking and she was thankful for that.
Ten minutes later were they sitting in the kitchen having breakfast together with Hiashi. The situation and silence between them was a bit awkward and the girls figured that their father wasn't aware of the events of the day before or he would act differently. So how to start the topic without raising suspicions on his side?
Hanabi tried to start the topic somehow innocently. "Uhm, father? Could you tell us more about our clan's fighting style?" she asked, looking curious in his direction.
Hiashi raised an eyebrow at his daughter before answering. "What exactly do you want to know? You both are trained in it for some years now and should know the basics about it. The more complex moves and techniques will follow once you are shinobi and older."
'Great, an answer that isn't answering anything...' Hanabi thought to herself, before continueing. "Yes, I know that. We are more intrested in knowing what else there is to it. I mean... we can damage a body real good and so, but it's all just taijutsu. What if there is an opponent using ranged attacks?" she tried to word it carefully, not giving away what happened.
"Well, we have techniques that can defend against basicly any kind of attack, even ranged ones. But they are hard to learn and harder to master. Also we can attack on range as well, using the same method as for our style but instead concentrating on hitting the air with it." he explained, watching his daughters.
Hinata kept silent while Hanabi was thinking about her fathers words. "So basicly are you saying that we aren't good against ranged fighters, right? If the defense is hard to master and this attack is the only one..." she trailed off her sentence, falling back into thoughts.
"That's no nice way to put it, Hanabi. Our clan is pretty talented and with our eyes are we able to see attacks others wouldn't see. I don't see your problems with that. Besides, there are reasons why ninja teams consist of four people. No ninja is good in all aspects and that's why they support each other." he was slowly loosing his temper by his daughters backtalking. Sure, he was glad that she showed intrest but she clearly was too negative about it.
"But what if your team isn't around? If you got seperated? Shouldn't you know at least something for these cases?" she asked, some worry in her voice. "Why not some simply elemental jutsu's? We should have an element like everyone else, right?"
"Okay little lady, now listen and listen good!" that's it, he lost his temper. "We always were succesful with our Gentle Fist style and never got problems with the things you are thinking about. The Hyuga clan isn't using elemental jutsu's and we aren't starting now. You understand me? If you are afraid then don't become a shinobi. And if you want to overcome your worries then train harder!" he was enraged by the time he finished his speech and left the kitchen to cool off.
The girls sat there for a while before Hinata spoke up. "That... went not too good..." she sighed. "So, what are we doing now?"
Hanabi shook her head. "I'm not sure, sis. I'm not sure... I'll think about it. Hopefully will I have an idea soon. As sooner we start on the problem as sooner won't we be helpless anymore." she stretched herself a bit before smiling at her sister. "Change of topic. Your birthday is coming, sis. And we will celebrate it!"
Hinata looked kinda dumbstruck at her sister, blinking her eyes a few times. "My... birthday? Hanabi, that's still over three months from now. Aren't you a bit early with planing a celebration?"
"You think so? Can't start early enough with preparations. The location, the invites, the presents, activities, food, presents, guests, presents, security to keep idiots away and not to forget the presents!" Hanabi grinned at her sister who only shook her head.
"Why do I feel like you are sheming something? You said presents four times... I'm a bit worried now..." Hinata said quietly, not looking into her sisters eyes. She was sure that there would be a evil glance in it and she didn't want to see it right now.
"Huh? Did I?" Hanabi played innocent but knew quite well that her sister got her right away. 'I knew that you are smart as well, sis. Well, now do you have three months to worry about it and I have more then enough time to prepare everything. That will be so much fun.' she thought to herself, not being able to keep the smirk away from her lips.
"Anyway, I'm going for a walk through the village. Some fresh air and time to think a bit sounds good right now. Feel free to do whatever you want today, sis. Seeya." Hanabi gave her sister a wave and left the kitchen, leaving Hinata behind. She thought about speaking to her sister but kept silent, figuring that she as well could need some time to think. Not even twelve hours ago were they held prisoners and on their way to be sold...
Somewhere inside the village
Hanabi was walking through the streets of the village deep in thought about ways to become stronger and to learn new tricks. The talk she had with her father was everything else but successful and she wasn't sure who she might ask for help. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and it took her by surprise when someone grabbed her from behind to stop her.
Out of shock and reflex did she turn around and slapped the person right across the cheek, preparing to furious yell at whoever it was, just to stop the moment she realized who it was she just slapped.
Naruto was rubbing his cheek, feeling uneasy by the way the people around them looked at the scene. "What was that for, Hanabi-chan? That hurt, you know?" he was slightly concerned by her actions but not too surprised, considering what happened the day before.
"Uhm... sorry..." she said quietly. "I was in thought and got surprised when you grabbed me. You okay?" realizing that they got many looks right now did she grab his hand and pulled him with her, getting away from the villagers. They could talk while walking.
Naruto wasn't resisting and followed Hanabi while answering. "Yeah, I'm okay. Guess the events are haunting you, huh? It's the same for me. I was awake half of the night, trying to come up with ways to become stronger. I wasn't able to protect you two and that really bothers me. Speaking of... it's rare to see you without Hinata-chan."
Hanabi nodded. "Yeah, I wanted some thinking time for myself. And sure thing are the events on my mind. We talked to our father this morning about learning something else beside our clan's fighting style but he got all upset. I've no idea right now as well..." she was still pulling him by his hand through the streets not really paying any attention to it.
Naruto however being kinda used to the looks, stares and hate from the villagers noticed that right away and got kinda angry that their looks were now placed on Hanabi. "Hey, why don't we go to my apartment to think about things? I don't like how the villagers are looking at you right now..." he said quietly that only Hanabi could hear it.
She blinked her eyes a few times, finally watching around her. Not only did she realize the looks they got but also that she was still holding his hand which she let go off quickly, before nodding. "Sounds like a good idea. Had enough fresh air for the moment anyway..." she answered as quietly as Naruto and they headed towards his apartment.
Somewhere else inside the village
Hinata was strolling through the village with no real destination. It was the first time in quite some while that she was out by herself and not following her sister around. She kinda felt uneasy by that but realized that it was simply because she was used to being at Hanabi's side and not because of her old shyness. Smiling to herself did she think about how much she had changed during the last two years and because of the recent events.
"Hey, Hinata-chan!" a voice called out for her and she looked around, trying to figure out who was calling. It sounded at least familiar. It took her a moment before she spotted Ino a bit down the street who was waving and smiling at her so she headed in her direction.
"Hello Ino." she greeted the blonde. "It's nice to see you. You... look a bit stressed. Are your free days that busy?" she tilted her head and smiled at Ino.
"Stressed, well, actually, yeah... See, I was looking for you since yesterday but you were nowhere to find. Well, til now at least. Glad I found you." she talked quickly and jumped from one thought to another, slightly confusing Hinata who couldn't help but giggle.
"Calm down, Ino. You found me, right? So, why were you looking for me?" she walked over to a near bench and sat down with Ino following her. After a moment of hesitation did Ino sit down as well.
"I wanted to appologize to you. You know... because of the whole gossip thing at the ramen stand. Should have been more careful with what I was saying and I felt guilty for the situation that started between you three. It's just... I didn't knew how to appologize properly..." Ino explained while Hinata was listening.
Hinata took a deep breath before calmly speaking. "It's okay Ino, really. Just... please don't mention it anymore, okay? I already had two fights about that topic with Hanabi while Naruto-kun was watching and... just please don't mention it anymore, okay? We kinda settled it." she gave her friend a small smile.
"Uhm, okay, sure. I still wanted to appologize to you and I thought about how I could do it, so... I thought about what things you might like and was looking for something small I could give to you." Ino kinda struggled with her words and took a strand of her hair between two fingers, twisting it. To appologize to someone seemed to be one of her weak skills.
Hinata giggled and pulled Ino into a hug. "You didn't need to. I already forgave you for that you know? You should know after these two years that I'm kind and forgiving, right?" she had a caring smile on her face while Ino nodded slightly.
"Yeah, I know. But still..." she put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a small stuffed animal fox, placing it in Hinata's lap. "As I said, I was thinking about what you like and all I could think of was Naruto. And when I spotted this small fox, well... it kinda has the same whisker marks and I thought it would be a good thing to get you."
Hinata was stunned for a moment, watching at the small plushed fox sitting in her lap, before picking it up. "Ino, it's so cute. Thank you so much." a bright smile was entering Hinata's face. The fox really reminded her on Naruto.
Ino smiled as well. "Glad you like it. So, what were you doing yesterday? I'm super curious because nobody seemed to have seen any of you three." and she was back to her normal self and into gossiping mode.
Hinata paled slightly at that question and gulped once before answering. "I... don't want to talk about it, Ino. Please... just leave this topic alone, okay?" her voice was pretty quiet and serious which surprised Ino who simply nodded in return. She made a note for herself to ask Hanabi or Naruto later and entered a simple smalltalk with Hinata for now.
Naruto's apartment
"I don't get it! Why do they hate you so much? And they even gave me the same looks this time. And why? Just because I was close to you and holding your hand? Stupid villagers..." Hanabi was angry right now, walking up and down Naruto's apartment. He was used to these kind of looks, but it annoyed him as well that from time to time the girls got them too. But today was the worst so far.
Naruto sat on his couch and sighed. "At least haven't they really tried to attack or kill me since I started hanging out with you two. I know it's mostly just because they know who your father is, but still. It's an improvement." he gave a weak smile, not really buying his words himself. But it kinda worked to calm Hanabi down a bit.
"Yeah, I know. Have you ever tried to ask the old man about it? Or maybe we could ask Cat or Spooky?" she offered before sitting down on the couch as well.
"The old man is always avoiding the topic when I ask. No chance. But... well, it would be a try to ask the others. Also..." he gave her a grin. "Spooky? Decided that spooky white hair guy is too long?"
Hanabi giggled. "Exactly. I mean, the time you need to call him spooky white hair guy is more then enough for him to be already gone before you finish. And beside of being faster is Spooky also quite catchy, don't you think?"
Naruto couldn't help but to laugh at that explanation before nodding. "Absolutely. I really like how your mind is working, you know? Always quick on new situations and full of good ideas."
"But don't you dare fall in love with me, you hear? I don't want to be the target for when Hinata really get pissed." she laughed as well.
"Speaking of Hinata-chan, now that she knows that everyone knows, well... I thought about getting her something small. I still have the money from the C-rank because I'm not really able to buy anything by myself..." he sighed at his own reminder of how he was treated by the villagers.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. Her birthday is coming soon. Well, okay, in three months and still far away according to her, but still." Hanabi got an evil smirk on her face. "I already teased her about it this morning and she thinks that I'm up to something. Wanted to start the planning soon and you should get her something nice as a present then."
"I hadn't thought about that. Three months, huh? More then enough time to find something I guess." he strechted and relaxed on his couch, thinking about what to get for Hinata.
Hanabi was also relaxing and in her thoughts, having her eyes closed. As usual did her Byakugan activate itself in this situation but she wasn't really paying any attention to it this time. She slowly started to at least ignore it but she still didn't figure how to cancel this auto-activation.
However, some moments later was she starting to pay attention to her vision and she spoke quietly to Naruto. "Uhm... do you know who owns this apartment?"
Naruto got out of his thoughts and looking at the closed eyed Hanabi, wondering about that seemingly reasonless question coming out of the blue. "Not really. The old man gave it to me to live in. Why are you asking?" he was curious to say the least.
"Because I can see seals inside some of the walls..." she stated quietly. "It's the first time I get to relax here completely without Hinata around. For some reason did we always get into an argument between us. But now... am I completely unfocused and spotted these seals by random luck or so." she shrugged slightly.
Naruto thought about the recent fights the girls had in his apartment and nodded. "Yeah, your arguments... well, more like fights... were kinda strange. It was so not like you two to shout at each other. Anyway, what kind of seals do you see?" he asked her, a bit worried now.
"I'm not sure. I never saw something like that. I know how a seal for silencing a room looks, but it's something different for sure." she opened her eyes, deactivating her Byakugan. "But if the old man gave you this apartment should we go and ask him about these seals, don't you think?"
Naruto jumped from his couch. "Sure thing! Who knows what they are for and who placed them. Let's go right away, Hanabi-chan!" he exclaimed loudly, already halfway to the door.
Hanabi was following him quickly. She really wondered about these seals, not to mention that she was worried about them. She had no idea how long these seals were placed there so Naruto might live with them for who knows how long. That needed to be taken care of or at least investigated.
Hokage office
The kids charged into the Hokage office without knocking and ignoring everyone who tried to stop them. Well, they don't really tried. In fact were the guards ordered to always let Naruto pass no matter the situation, not that he would know that. The Hokage cared for the boy, that was something known to the people around him, so they didn't really try to catch Naruto or the Hyuga girl right now.
Once inside got they some angry looks from the two people inside the room. The first was the Hokage, not really happy about the interruption. They could have at least have knocked. The second was a feral looking female they hadn't met so far, but she kinda looked familiar to them. Must be the red face markings that looked like the ones Kiba has.
Realizing what they just did and seeing the looks on them did both gulp, not finding any words to say in this situation. They figured what they did wrong and expected a matching reaction now. What they didn't expect was what happened instead.
The feral looking woman started to laugh. "Got to say, these pups have guts for charging in here just like that. Though it's a shame that they lost them right away as well." she grinned at the kids.
"It's just said that they seem to have no manners at all. I'm used to it from Naruto of course, but I expected the young Hyuga to have better manners. Maybe I should have a talk about it with Hiashi?" the Hokage said, smiling slightly to himself. Hanabi was paling at these words.
"So she's Hiashi's daughter then?" the woman showed off her fang-like canines and licked over them. "So young... must be Hanabi Hyuga then? I heard you gave my pup a hell of a beating, huh?" she was still grinning and Hanabi felt like she was shrinking. Forget the whole kidnap and being sold as slave thing, this woman was way scarier.
"Oh, yeah, I heard about the evaluation fights of the first day. Though it didn't really sounded like a beating to me. More like she was toying with him before averting one of his attacks into a wall I believe." the Hokage took his chin between his fingers, slightly stroking his beard while thinking about it.
"Whatever. He was out cold and that's all that matters. This pup must be talented after all to beat one of my clan that easily, even so it only was my own weak pup." she laughed heartly. "Well, we were done anyway, eh Hokage-sama? Gotta leave now."
The Hokage looked at the woman and nodded. "Yes, your debriefing is finished. You are dismissed. Have a nice day." he smiled gently at her while she walked toward the door.
When she passed the two kids did she stop, patting Hanabi on the head. "Name's Tsume Inuzuka by the way. Thanks for beating up my pup. Hope that was a good lesson for him." she gave Hanabi a grin and opened the door. "But watch out, he's pissed and out for revenge." she laughed again before closing the door behind her while leaving.
Hanabi was still not moving out of shock and wasn't reacting when the Hokage spoke to them. Naruto grabbed her shoulder and shook her lightly. "Hey, snap it. She's gone now. Remember where we are?" he spoke into her ear.
That got her back to reality and she blushed slightly. 2Uhm, yeah, right. Sorry for... intruding, Hokage-sama." she said quietly, slightly bowing towards the Hokage.
"Well, seems like at least some manners are present." the Hokage chuckled. "Would you mind explain to me why you charged into my office like that?" he looked at them curiously, pondering what might be the matter. They just got rescued by Kakashi the last evening. They can't be in trouble again already, can they?
"Sure thing, old man. See, the apartment you gave me? Who does it belong to? Hanabi-chan found some strange seals inside the walls today. I thought I could trust you, old man. But seems like I was wrong, huh? If she wouldn't have found them by chance..." Naruto was entering a rage while talking to the Hokage with Hanabi only nodded to his story.
The Hokage raised an eyebrow, watching the kids. "You found... seals inside the walls? I'm aware that the Byakugan is able to do that, sure, but there shouldn't be any. It's just an apartment. What did they look like?" he addressed the girl standing before him.
Hanabi couldn't help but to shrug at that question. "Totally strange to me. They aren't anything like the silencing seals used inside our compound and they are not even close to any I have seen inside of books..." she shook her head. "I am absolute clueless, Hokage-sama. But they are there."
The Hokage was thinking about what he just learned. Under normal circumstances there really should be no seals inside an apartment. But considering who lived in this specific one should he at least take a look into it to make sure that there were no danger around.
"Alright, I'll come with you right away and take a look at these seals. I'm concerned just like you and want to make sure that everything is fine." he got up from his desk and was smiling. "Well, let's go, shall we? But please not too fast, I'm an old man as you can see."
The three of them left the building and headed towards Naruto's apartment. But since they were walking slower this time would it take some while, so they started some talking with the Hokage. "Say, old man, about what happened... do you know how I might become stronger? I couldn't protect the girls and that's nagging at me..." Naruto said, looking towards the Hokage.
"That's why you are attending the Academy, Naruto. There you are going to learn about being a shinobi, about jutsu and how to use them. I think that should be enough to become stronger." he smiled at the boy.
"You are kidding, right? While I'm thankful that Iruka-sensei is teaching me things am I totally weak. The weakest of the class. Most of the others are trained by their families for years now. And even they wouldn't have had a chance in the situation we were... I need something super special secret to protect the ones close to me!" he exclaimed loudly, getting looks from the villagers around them.
The Hokage noticed the looks with a frown, before focusing back on Naruto. "But something super special secret is exactly that for a reason. Either a secret that none will tell you about or super special that it will only passed inside a family. You would need to find someone willing to teach you anything like that and usually is there none willing to openly share these things..." he explained calmly, noticing the frustration entering Naruto's expression.
"What about you? You are someone special, known for many things. Why can't you teach me?" Naruto asked, watching the Hokage spot on into the eyes with determination.
"Me?" the Hokage asked amused. "I'm just an old man, Naruto. I wouldn't be able to teach you at all. Besides I do have my work as Hokage keeping me busy." he gave Naruto a small sad smile with his words.
"That's no fair, old man. You know that nobody in this village would teach me anything and if the only one caring for me isn't either..." he let his shoulders hang in defeat, sighing.
"Uhm... Hokage-sama? What about the scroll we found? Were you able to open it already?" Hanabi asked, her mind pondering about possibilities.
"No, not yet. The seal used on it is pretty old and we haven't found a way to remove it so far. Why are you asking, Hanabi?" the Hokage raised an eyebrow at the girl, wondering about her thoughts.
"Hmm... well, I understand that. Let's say the scroll contains information on a fighting style or jutsu or something, would you allow us to learn them since we found the scroll?" she had a smile on her face when she finished her question.
The Hokage was thinking about it quite some time before finally answering. "Basicly do I see no problem with that. But even if there might be something like that inside might it be that none of you would be able to learn it. As you should know is everything based on something and with that are things sometimes impossible to learn. First however do we need to find a way to open the seal to see it's contents so it's pure speculation at this point."
Hanabi was grinning from ear to ear. "But you said yes. Maybe now we can learn something new, Naruto. Something that will help us in a situation like we were into."
Naruto wanted to respond to Hanabi, but got interrupted by the Hokage. "However, if the scroll contains secret informations or something like that, what is most likely considering the ruins are an old outpost of the village, will you two, or actually three, won't be allowed to even have a look on it. For your own safety of course."
"Aww, common old man, that's not fair. You don't know what we went through to obtain that scroll in the first place." Naruto protested angrily, glaring at the Hokage.
"I don't know? How long do you think that I'm a shinobi? Retrieving a scroll out of ruins is a C-rank, a B-rank if we know about enemy shinobi being involved. I may have not done something like that at your age, but I have done it quite often. You shouldn't say out things you aren't able to proove, Naruto." still smiling at the boy was he hoping that they would reach his apartment soon to get out of this conversation.
"Soooo..." Hanabi's grin got even wider. "You are saying that what we did was worth a B-rank, right?" she couldn't help but giggle seeing the Hokage slightly pale when he realized what he just said and what Hanabi was hinting.
"Don't twist my words, young lady. I'll think about it, but no promises." he stated calmly. "Well, seems like we arrived. So why don't you show me where you found these seals you were talking about?"
Naruto nodded and opened his apartment, letting Hanabi lead them to a wall in the living room. After activating her Byakugan to check the wall did she point at a specific part of it. "There is one, Hokage-sama. Another one is at the opposite side of the living room and additional three inside the bedroom. They seem to be all identic and these five are the only ones I can see."
Nodding at the information did he channel some chakra in his hand, placing it at the place Hanabi pointed at to get the seal visible. He was raising an eyebrow at the design of it. "That... really is no common seal. It seems custommade to me by someone who has talent in these things."
Hanabi and Naruto were watching the Hokage closely hoping to learn a little about what he was doing right now. He pulled out a piece of paper and placed it atop the seal, channeling more chakra into it. "Alright, I'm drawing a copy of this seal to analyze it properly... all done. And now..." he thought about his options for a moment and decided on one, going through a short set of handsigns and placing both hands atop the seal.
"So, all done. I've deactivated all five seals with this and I will take the copy to analyze it's function. Once we got some information will I send a messenger to inform you. Same goes for the scroll you found. Now if you'll excuse me, my job is a busy one." he gave the kids a gentle smile before leaving the apartment.
Hanabi sat down on the couch again, sighing. "He's hiding something. He does know something about this seal. I could see it in his eyes for a moment when he had a first look on it. His surprise seemed real to me, but he sure recognized it..." she said, stretching her upper body.
"You think? Well, guess we have to wait if and what he will tell us about it, huh?" Naruto answered, getting something to drink for them out of his kitchen. Now that everything important was done for the day could they just hang out and relax a little. Without a plan for becoming stronger was that the best action to do right now, to overcome all the events of these last days.
The Hokage was on his way back to the office and deep in thought. 'Jiraiya, what have you done? I will always recognize your seals when I see them, but what on earth have you created here? What have you used this apartment for before you said that I shall give it to Naruto? Do I really want to analyze your seal or should I simply send a bird and ask you?'
He got interrupted in his thoughts by a high pitched voice calling out to him. "Sarutobi-san, please wait up. I got a message for you from Jiraiya." the voice said, stopping the Hokage right away who turned around to see a small toad messenger behind him.
"I should have known that this might happen. I wonder what he has to say..." he pondered aloud, waiting for the toad to hand him the scroll containing the message over. Once he received it did he waste no time in opening and reading it.
'Dear Sensei,
I'm sending you this to ask just one simple question. Why? Why did you have to deactivate the seals I placed inside the apartment that I asked you to hand over to Naruto? These were wonderful seals I created that should help Naruto finding himself a girl and you ruined that.
I know you good enough that you took a copy of them to analyze, so I'm saving you the trouble and will explain to you what they were doing til you deactivated them. As I said, I created them to help Naruto find a girl. These seals, strategically placed inside the apartment, are sending constant, untrackable impulses into their surroundings.
These impulses do not have any effect on Naruto or any other male that might enter the apartment. They do however have an effect on females and will bring out their true self no matter how deep it's hidden as long as they are inside the range of the seals. The effect of course will vary by each individual based on mental strength, the own feelings and such things. I don't want to bore you with the details.
You are an evil man, declining the boy such helping hands from me. You should have known the moment you saw the seals that I created them and should have figured what kind of purpose they might have. An evil, evil man...
I just hope you have a good explanation...
Jiraiya'
Sarutobi chuckled once he was done reading the scroll. However, he got surprised when a voice behind him spoke up. "That really does sound like a genius seal. Mind giving me the copy of it?" a male asked him to which he turned around.
"Kakashi, you know that sneaking up on people and reading their post isn't something nice to do? And no, you can't get it. It's worse enough that you read Jiraiya's books..." he shook his head in disappointment at Kakashi who simply shrugged.
"And you know that reading a scroll on the street inside a shinobi village isn't the wisest thing? I saw the toad and figured that Jiraiya must have send something, so I got intrested. Well, if you aren't giving me that seal... gotta go. Bye." he disappeared in a swirl of leafs and was gone, before Sarutobi addressed the messenger toad.
"Please inform Jiraiya that his help isn't needed on this matter and that as far as I can tell he found two. He will know what I mean by that and can work with this information." he explained to the messenger toad who gave a quick salute and disappeared inside a smoke screen.
'I should have known that you build a failsafe into your seal that would transport the chakra information of the person deactivating it to you. You may be a pervert, but you sure know how to create seals. Well, guess I shouldn't tell the kids what this seal was doing. They might freak out or something. Well, nothing happened so no reason to worry about it.' he thought to himself before he resumed his way back to the office to get back to his waiting paperwork.
He might have been worried if he would know about the relation between the Hyuga sisters and the fights these two had in Naruto's apartment...