Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

This was originally was supposed to be a one-shot, but I was contacted publically and privately asking me to continue the story. I have mapped out an arc and do have a completion to the story in mind, but as I write the number of chapters are increasing so be patient and we will get there in time. Reviews will be appreciated, but I ask that you be respectful since this is my first attempt at writing a multiple chapter story.

I am planning on switching this to an M rating. I have not decided yet if I will have any sort of lemons in the story, but if I do at least you are warned ahead of time that I may add one to the story. If you have opinion either way on the subject let me know.

On top of a light pole outside the Hokage's tower a lone figure balances like a cat looking towards the upper level offices. His blue eyes scan the windows looking for the one person who he hopes can help him out with his current problem. He has never been to a family holiday dinner before and the only holiday gifts he was ever given were by Jiraiya, so he has no real clue on what to buy Hinata.

Until the last year he used to know her schedule down nearly to the minute and could have told you exactly where to find her any time of the day with some pretty good accuracy. Now he could not tell you where she would be and guessed based on old patterns that around this time of year she should be home wrapping the last of her gifts. Otherwise he did not want to think about where she might be tonight.

Movement catches his eyes and he sees the woman he has been looking for and seeing his target enter her office he leaps from the pole to the railing barely making a sound on the snow covered material. He looks inside carefully to make sure that she is alone.

Shizune tired from trying to get the Hokage to wrap up a small mountain of paperwork before she goes into her holiday downtime at the local bars walks into her office carrying the signed paper for sorting and filing. A pair of large blue eyes staring at her through one of the windows scares her so bad that she just drops everything and screams. Her scream wipes the big smile completely off his face.

Startled that Shizune would scream upon seeing him, and worried that if she kept screaming that someone he did not want to see might come and investigate, he throws open the luckily unlocked window and rushes in to try and calm the woman down. "Hey, it just me Naruto I am sorry I scared you I need your help."

SLAP!

"We have invented things called doors why don't you try and discover how they work and use one next time." She clutches her throbbing hand to her chest. 'Damn his jaw is like a rock. It is probably tough from all those beating he got from Sakura while they were growing up together.'

"Ow, I am really sorry Shizune, but I just didn't want to… I mean I was afraid to…" He puts his head down in shame at not being able to say her name out loud and bends down to pick up the scattered files.

Shizune can clearly see the raw hurt in his face and feels ashamed for striking the heartbroken boy. 'Damn, that girl really messed him up. I never thought anything could get under his skin. He has faced monsters like Pain and Madara Uchiha without flinching, but even thinking about saying her name has him acting like a child during a thunderstorm.' She bends down to help with the file retrieval. "I'm sorry Naruto it's the old ninja training kicking in that caused me to slap. You said something about needing my help, what do you need?"

He stands up and places the stack he collected onto Shizune's desk. "I'm sorry to be such a bother but something has come up and I really don't know who else to ask. You see, I got invited by Hinata to attend her family's holiday dinner tomorrow night and I need to bring a gift." He looks at her with a look of sad desperation. "I have never eaten a holiday meal, or really any meal to be honest, with a family before and I don't know what I should wear or what kind of gift to bring. You grew up with a big family and you have been helping granny Tsunade for years with Hokage related stuff so I figured you might be the best person to ask about what kind of gift to bring with me to a dinner with a family as influential as the Hyuga clan." He turns and walks back towards the open window. "I know that you are probably busy with your own stuff and don't have the time to spare so I'll go and figure something out."

Her heart went out to the boy and she knew that Lady Tsunade would throw her out a window if she refused to help the boy who she thought of as a son she never had. "No, wait. I need to do some last minute shopping tomorrow so why don't you join me and we can do it together. I need a male perspective on one of my gifts anyways."

He gives her one of his big fox grins and rubs the back of his head. "You are a real life saver Shizune. I'm sure if I showed up with the wrong kind of gift or wore the wrong kind of outfit that old man Hyuga would have me thrown right out of the place."

"Well, you might want to start off by not saying 'old man Hyuga' especially while inside the family compound. He might not take being called old as well as Lady Tsunade." Shizune cover her mouth as she giggles at the sudden fright that washes over the boy's face.

"That is a scary thought; granny Tsunade actually did throw me out her office window last year when I call her 'old lady' by accident, and she made me pay for the repairs." He made a mental note to try and use formal titles tomorrow night while at dinner. He grabs Shizune's hand and bows deeply. "Meet me at Ichiraku's in the morning and I'll treat you to some breakfast ramen before we hit the stores." He smiles and heads back out the window before she can comment.

"I forbid it Hinata. Were you not listening at the council meetings? The boy has become irrational and self-destructive over his infatuation with a girl who is in love with the Uchiha traitor. From the reports I have read she has made it clear for years that she has no romantic feelings for him and yet he still persisted. It was not until she publically embarrassed him right there in front of everyone in the aftermath of the final battle when she embraced the traitor and declared her love did he finally see the truth." Hiashi could not believe that his daughter, the one he has selected to take over the Hyuga clan one day, would seriously consider inviting the Jinchuriki into their home for the family's holiday dinner. He knew from reports that his daughter had developed feelings for the boy when they were children, but he had hoped that over time that she would grow up and see the boy as a poor match. It seems as though he would have to take a heavier hand in the situation.

"Father, please hear me out." Hinata could not understand why her father was so angry at her decision to ask Naruto to be part of this year's holiday dinner. If only he knew Naruto the way she did then he would understand why she had asked him to come to dinner. All her father knew of Naruto was from the reports of his activities as a lonely child acting out to get just a little bit of attention and recognition. Then to a reckless fighter who at times does not address authority figures with the level of respect their station demands. He has not seen the determination that Naruto possess to overcome any obstacle that gets in the way of his dreams or threatens his friends. Father was not there for the battle against Pain and only read the reports of how near the end he lost control and the Kyuubi nearly took over completely and destroyed acres of the countryside during their conflict.

Hiashi was becoming exasperated that they were still even having this discussion. "What is there to discuss the Jinchuriki were created as a weapon for war and now that the war is over weapons like those should be put away."

SLAP!

Hinata could tell what her father meant by 'put away' and that he thought the nine-tailed fox should be resealed within Naruto or even worse removed and seal away elsewhere. "Not you or anyone else is going to hurt Naruto do you understand me?" She braced herself for her father's strike, but unlike when she was a child being disciplined for her failures and she would turn her head and shrink within herself to try and lessen the pain of the strike. This time she stood there with her eyes staring directly into his and her posture told of a woman prepared to be beaten till there was barely a spark of life left within her body.

The slap made his left ear ring and his fighting reflexes took over as Hiashi raised his hand to strike back, but her eyes held him still and his mind was thrown back in time to one of the few instances that his wife had not let him win an argument. She had been a gentle person, too gentle really to be the wife of the clan leader, but her quiet nature had been a soothing influence on many decisions he had made while she was alive. In one particular instance one of the clan had lost an eye during a battle and the eye was stolen by shinobi from another nation. Hiashi had wanted the man executed for allowing such a precious thing to be taken, because it was the law within the clan to defend that secret with their lives. His wife had given him this same look as she told him that the man could in time find this thief and retrieve what was lost because a dead man is just that, dead, and of no more use to the clan. She had been right and a year later their paths crossed again and while he died in the fight he also destroyed the eye that was stolen along with the thief, regaining his honor. Unfortunately she had died before then and never knew that her position on that subject had been correct. Now he was seeing that face again so many years later in his daughters face and held his anger in check.

"Father, the invitation has already been given and accepted it would bring dishonor to our guest and to our own reputation if such an invitation was taken back. I ask that you please trust my judgment on this subject as your successor and allow my guest to come to dinner tomorrow night." Hinata's heart was in a flutter that for the first time she had taken a stance against her father's wishes and was holding firm on the decision.

"And if I have the guards refuse his entry into the clan compound?"

"Then he and I will have holiday ramen together at Ichiraku's tomorrow night while the rest of the family has dinner without the heir's presence." She hoped that her voice sounded as sure to him as her words, but she could barely keep the butterflies in her stomach under control.

He wanted to laugh out loud at hearing the weak defiance in her voice, but it was defiance and not the meek child that had always done as she was told. "I see that I have no choice but to allow your guest to attend the family's holiday dinner tomorrow night, but be warned that if his behavior becomes a distraction I will ask him, politely, to leave. Do I make myself clear? You may be the heir Hinata, and tomorrow I am allowing you to assume the role fully for the party, but I am still the leader of Hyuga clan and I expect my decisions to be obeyed." He looked down critically into his daughter's eyes watching this woman he never expected to be hiding within that timid shell. 'If this hidden strength of hers could be nurtured to where she could draw upon it anytime then I might have less reservations passing on the leadership to this generation.'

She wanted to jump for joy and wrap her arms around father to thank him for relenting and letting her have her way this one time, but she held onto propriety and bowed deeply to her father. "Thank you very much father for allowing my friend to attend dinner with us tomorrow night. I will talk with the staff to make sure that they are aware of the seating changes for the meal. Since he is my guest he will be seated to my right and Hanabi to my left." After her father nodded in agreement she left and had to stop outside the room to catch her breath. 'I can't believe I slapped my father and I was not carried out of the room unconscious by servants afterwards. I think I'm going to be sick." She takes a few calming breaths and runs off to talk with the staff about the changes in tomorrow night's seating arrangements.

Later that night Shizune enters the Hokage's office with another stack of paperwork and barely dodges the pen that flies past her head and sticks like a kunai to the closed door behind her.

"Dammit you said we were almost done an hour ago and here you are with another stack bigger than the last." Lady Tsunade's had become moody shortly after the sun went down and it had deteriorated ever since. She was not going to miss Shizune next time if she returned with any more paperwork tonight and she would make sure where she hit would be painful and take a while to heal.

"I'm sorry Hokage, I promise that this is the last of tonight's paperwork and your schedule is clean for the next two days." She sets the files on top of the in-box on with the other files that still remain unread and unsigned. "You are not going to believe who was just in my office."

"By the screaming I heard my guess would be Kakashi again, but I'm sure the two of you would not break a promise about doing that during office hours or anywhere near files that I might have to touch later." She gives her old friend a dirty smirk that contains a warning as well.

Shizune holds up her hands and shakes her head. "You made it plainly clear when you interrupted us the last time that we were banned from doing such things inside the Hokage's tower. We have kept our personal business outside this building since that time." She nearly blushed when she remembered what happened on top of the Hokage's tower a few days later. "What I was trying to say was that Naruto was just in my office."

The mention of the boy's name immediately changes Tsunade's attitude from annoyed to obvious concern. "What? Why did he come to you? Is something going on that I should know about Shizune? Speak woman!"

Shizune waves her hands back and forth trying to get the Hokage to calm down and let her speak. "He came into my office asking for some help."

Tsunade's eyes narrow in suspicion at the mention of Naruto asking for help. "What did he ask for help with Shizune?" So help me if this is about him and Sakura I will have somebody from the Yamanaka clan wipe every trace of her from his mind. I don't care if he is a gibbering idiot afterwards, it might be an improvement over the way he is acting lately.

"Please Lady let me finish and you will know everything. He said that Hinata Hyuga had invited him to her family's holiday dinner tomorrow night and since he grew up as an orphan he has no idea on what to wear or even what sort of present is appropriate to give at such an event. A simple thing that most of us really just take for granted." She gives her friend and mentor a sad smile. "He asked if I would meet with him tomorrow morning and help him pick out something nice to give Hinata and I said yes."

Tsunade leans back into her chair and rubs her chin thoughtfully. "So the little Hyuga girl has finally found the courage to make her move. It has been tough to watch her in the council meetings lately sitting there behind her father, learning about the responsibilities that will be hers one day, and see her holding back the tears as Naruto's recent issues have been discussed openly by the council. When they read aloud the part about his injuries during his sparing session with Gaara I thought she was going to faint. I cannot blame her really when I read the initial report about the incident I did not know whether to cry or punch something." Looking over her shoulder she smirks. "They did such a wonderful job replacing that wall. I should send a thank you letter to the carpenter and his son for doing such fine work."

Shizune remembers well that day and how it took four men to haul the desk back up to the office after Tsunade had thrown the whole thing through the west wall and out onto the street below. The ANBU had sent three squads to check on the incident and did not seem surprised at all by what they found.

"Shizune I want you to make helping Naruto get ready for the dinner your top priority tomorrow. I don't care what other plans you might have had I don't know how much longer I am going to be able to keep certain factions within the council silent. Not only is his chance at ever having a shot of becoming Hokage at risk, but his very freedom." She reaches into a drawer and pulls out two scrolls. "Give these to him tomorrow, Jiraiya entrusted them to me before his death and I think that it is time for Naruto to read what they contain."

She nods her head at the request but worries that her own shopping list might go unfinished if things take too long tomorrow so she begins working out a mental list of everything that will need to be done. "I will do my best."

Tsunade writes something onto a piece of paper and hands it over to Shizune. "Get me these files and then go home and get some rest. I will finish these up and leave them on your desk." Seeing the unbelieving look on her friend's face she adds, "I promise that I will finish these before I call it a night, just have somebody bring me up some tea and a snack, I will probably be here most of the night."

She turns and looks out the window at the falling snow once she is alone. "Dammit Sakura, you made a real mess of things and now that boy's future and quite possibly his very life might all rest upon the fragile shoulders of one introverted little girl. If I did not love you like a daughter I seriously might have broken your neck for causing us all this trouble." Lady Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage, puts her hands together and says a silent prayer for guidance.