A/N: This chapter and maybe the next will be setting things up for where I ultimately plan for the story to go and I felt there were details here that were important enough to my story, to be told. I thought about doing several summary paragraphs instead and then leap the story along several months, but when I wrote them out it felt so much like a cop out. Also, I had to leave a lot of my notes I had written down cut out in a separate document and that was depressing. So, for better or for worse instead of a one or two page summary I present you with a full chapter.
Finally, I am not one of those authors that needs lots of reviews to make them happy, so if you do decide to review I ask that you be understanding that this story is my first attempt to write anything on such a scale.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Naruto.
It was well past breakfast by the time Naruto was fully awake and out of bed. After getting home the night before he sat down and thought about what he had seen and done at the Holiday Dinner in the Hyuga family compound and the emotions, some old and some new, that all of it had stirred within his soul. Seeing the normally reserved clan be so animated and free with their emotions was so strange and wonderful. In the end he had been in awe of the feeling of closeness and family that he had felt being shared in the room. People who had been together their whole lives and had seen each other nearly every day and knew so much about each other that a whole conversation could be said with only a few words and a glance. Sadness of what he had missed his whole life by being an orphan had tried to intrude on his thoughts, but like so many times before in his life he pushed those emotions deep inside and tried to focus on the present.
He had went out on the balcony and stared up into the chilly night sky and thought about the gift exchange and how people's eyes lit up when they received their gifts. His thoughts focused on one person in particular and how he had never seen her so happy and vibrant before in all the time they had known each other. The sight of seeing her twirl about with that beautiful smile, yeah beautiful was the only way to describe the smile she had as she twirled around with the kimono, it made him feel so warm inside. It was a happy feeling, but happy just didn't quite describe the feeling of warmth in his heart when he saw her smiling. He felt it again, but more intensely when she had come and given him a hug. Could that feeling have been love? He had loved someone else his entire life and his chest didn't ache like that when they had embraced that one time or on those few occasions when they had sat and talked so closely together about what they wanted to do with their futures. That had been a different feeling and if that had been what love felt like, then what was the feeling he had with Hinata last night and still felt when he thought about the special smile she had given him just before they embraced. It had been this confusion that had kept him staring up in the sky and later at the ceiling of his bedroom late into the night rubbing the strange ache he was feeling in his chest.
Now the room was fully bathed in light and he was looking at the ceiling of his small apartment again thinking about how good it had felt to be a part of something for a change and not an outsider peeking through the window. He looked at the box with the kunai and smiled thinking about the gift and especially the giver. It was those blades that finally motivated him to get up and start the day. He decided that he might go to one of the training fields and start training with the blades to see what he could do with his different chakra natures infused in the blades. He would definitely have to be careful when he tried to infuse Kurama's chakra into a blade because there was no telling what damage it might be capable of or if the blades could even handle that much chakra.
He had to eat instant breakfast ramen today and most likely would be for a while after spending nearly everything he had on clothes and the gifts. Not that he would ever begrudge a little discomfort after seeing Hinata's smile, so missing out on eating Ichiraku's ramen would really be a small price to pay in the end. While sitting there eating his breakfast, he looked over at the scroll that states he is the heir to his master's book royalties. It might be worth checking out and hopefully those sleazy books might have earned enough money that he could afford a few meals at Ichiraku's, at least until the Hokage let him go out on missions again. So he got cleaned up and headed out to see what his old master had left him in the will.
A little while later he is sitting impatiently at the desk of the bank manager, Naruto looked about the building checking out the people and the decorations. Being young and never having any more money than would fit into his froggy the concept of leaving money with somebody else was hard to imagine, but it was something that now he was becoming older he would have to learn about.
The manager had looked at the scroll and then at Naruto critically and had gone off somewhere to confirm the signatures and pull up the account. He now came back with a much more polite look on his face and offered the boy a handshake. "Everything checks out and we would love to continue holding the balance of the account for you."
"Could I just have the money now?" He was thinking that he could use the money to maybe refill his froggy and treat himself to a nice lunch if there was enough left over.
The manager went pale at the boy's request. "Well, it is your money, but it would take me a little while to collect sufficient funds to give it all to you at once."
"You are a bank, don't you have the money here?" Naruto was starting to get confused by the man's actions and was starting to wonder if they had not taken some of the money for themselves when they heard that the Pervy Sage had died.
"Well yes we do but withdraws of this size are not common." He pushes over a piece of paper with a fairly large number written on it and smiles nervously. "He is still getting deposits from the publisher of his books and they need somewhere to be deposited, so maybe you would like to just take a portion out now and come back for more at a later date?"
Naruto was stuck between shock and anger so he just nodded at the manager's suggestion. The shock was that there were so many people out there that liked to read his old master's perverted writings. He had tried reading one of those books before and stopped reading halfway through because some of that stuff just made him blush so badly that his head spun. By the amount in the account there were a lot of perverted people out there.
He tried to control his anger when he thought about all those times the old pervert had pleaded poverty and he had been forced to pay the bills for them both at hot springs, hotels, meals and so much sake. The man had been loaded and acted like he had really dug deep to buy a birthday ramen, and had made him stop at five bowls. He could have bought the whole ramen stand and not even blinked at the cost by what was in this account.
"Sir is everything okay?" The bank manager's voice broke him out of his thoughts of the old pervert. He looked down to see that he had nearly ripped off the armrest of the chair in which he was sitting.
"Yeah, sorry I am a little overwhelmed at the moment. I think that your idea is best at this point in time, so how about I take a couple of hundred and leave the rest here for you to hold and receive any future deposits?"
After a little paperwork Naruto leaves the bank with a full froggy wallet and makes his way towards Ichiraku's thinking about the feast he will soon be having. As he was about to enter his favorite place to eat ramen a man walks towards him and hands him a small scroll. "I was told you were not a hard person to find, but I have been looking for you all morning. Finally, I was told if I would wait here that you would eventually show up and they were right I guess."
He looks at the scroll with what may be the Hokage's signature written on the side and then at the young man in confusion. "What is this all about?"
The messenger bows nervously before continuing. "You are to go meet with the Hokage at 2PM sharp. You are not to be early or late but to show up exactly at the time appointed and to not open the scroll till you are in the meeting." He bows again and runs off saying that he is late for his other deliveries.
After the messenger leaves Naruto goes inside and orders his first bowl of ramen before examining the scroll. Above the Hokage's signature is a short message that reads, "Do not open till you are with the Hokage." The handwriting is familiar and could be granny Tsunade's or even Shizune's, but he could not be sure. He sets the scroll down and stares at the thing wondering what was inside and why she would want him to wait and open the scroll in front her since she already knew what was inside. By the third bowl the curiosity was starting to get to him because maybe she wanted him to learn the new jutsu contained inside or maybe she was ready to recognize his true potential and it was the official offer for him to become the next Hokage.
Halfway through the fourth bowl his thoughts turned darker and he started thinking about the strange messenger that delivered the scroll. He did not recognize the guy and wondered if the scroll could contain something potentially harmful. It would be best if he checked out the scroll first before potentially exposing the Hokage to danger. He was about to open it right there before Ichiraku disturbed his thoughts by asking him if he wanted another bowl. He declined, paid for his meal and began to make his way to the old Team 7 training grounds.
He summoned a couple shadow clones and had them take the scroll to a clearing while he hid behind a large tree a good distance away. The clones opened the scroll and nothing happened for a moment so he looked around the tree just in time to see them drop the scroll and start running before there was a loud boom and the clearing was now a bright green color. The clones were dispersed by the explosion and the memory from the clones told him that written inside scroll was 'Baka, I told you not to open this scroll.' There was also a seal inside that began to glow before it exploded.
He walked over to the scroll and felt his shoes stick to the still wet paint and gently picked up the now green scroll getting paint all over his hand. "What the heck was this all about?" Determined to find out what, he made his way to the Hokage Tower and without thinking about why he had been avoiding the front door lately he walked through and made his way upstairs. He entered her office without even knocking and did not even notice that she was currently talking to two other shinobi.
The Hokage gives the boy a critical look and seeing the perturbed look on his face decides to launch the first assault. "It seems that you still cannot follow a simple order Naruto and by the looks of your hand and shoes I can see that telling time is not your only problem."
An exasperated looking Shikamaru and nervous looking Hinata step back out of the direct line between the obviously angry Naruto and the Hokage.
"What the heck were you trying to prove with this crap granny?" Naruto holds up a green fist clenching a green scroll.
Lady Tsunade crosses her arms defiantly and gives the boy a smug look. "Is it not obvious? I was trying to see if you have learned anything over the last few years, especially if you were able to follow just the simplest of orders from your Hokage." She slams both palms down on the desk and snarls at the agitated shinobi. "The green paint on your hand and shoes answers that question."
Naruto points an accusing green finger back at her. "Now just wait a minute. A strange nervous looking man that I have never met before hands me a scroll and told me that I am not to open it up unless you are around. The whole thing sounded fishy to me and so I opened it up to check what was inside."
Straightening back up the Hokage's eyes narrow, but the sneer is still plastered to her face. "Would you like to explain a little more on just why you thought it was necessary to look inside the scroll?"
He throws his hands up and starts pacing around the room. "Well isn't it obvious? What if that guy wanted to hurt you and was trying to use me to deliver a paper bomb hidden inside the scroll? I could have gotten both of us killed if that had been the case." He turns and points at her again. "Also, If that had been a joke scroll from somebody else and I had opened it up and got paint all over you and the office you would have most likely beaten me to death, so either way I would have been killed." Tsunade smirking and nodding in agreement with his last statement did not improve his mood.
"Would you mind telling where you opened up the scroll?"
He started pacing back and forth in front of her desk in agitation. "I took it out to the training grounds and used shadow clones to open it up so if it was a bomb then nobody would get hurt." He turned back to Tsunade ready for another round of arguments but was baffled by the sight of her standing there with her hands on her hips smiling at him proudly.
"Good job. You nearly got a perfect score on your first test." She begins to chuckle at the sight of him standing there with his mouth agape in confusion.
"Test, your test nearly caused me to repaint Ichiraku's." He reaches up and tugs at his blonde hair in frustration. "You made me so mad that my head hurts, for a test?"
He shakes his fist at the Hokage. "You had that delivered to Ichiraku's on purpose. If I had opened that there I could have destroyed my favorite place to eat or even been banned for life because of the paint job. Sometimes you really piss me off old lady."
Tsunade smirks at the angry boy. "You eat too much ramen anyways and it would have served you right for being stupid."
He points at her accusingly. "You honestly would destroy my favorite place to eat just to make a point."
She leans back in her chair with a satisfied smile. "Don't tempt me Naruto, you don't want to find out just how far I am willing to go to make a point."
His next tirade is checked when he sees Shikamaru with one hand covering his face as if he too had a headache and Hinata who has her hands over her mouth in shock at seeing him so angry. Seeing Hinata looking at him like that cools his anger somewhat and he turns back to the Hokage and asks in a much calmer tone, "What do you mean I nearly passed?"
Seeing that his anger has begun to cool, Lady Tsunade smiles as she takes her seat and calmly begins to speak. "If you were so concerned that the scroll might be a trap why did you not take it to the security force or even the ANBU for examination?"
"Simple, those ANBU guys seriously creep me out. I had a few encounters with security force when I was younger and had some of them drag me up here to the Third more than once, so I try to avoid encountering them when at all possible.."
She nods as if she had similar feelings towards the ANBU group but would not say them out loud. "Finally, what if that paint had contained a poison or biological agent? You could have gotten yourself killed or even worse, had spread something deadly over a good portion of the village on your way here to my office when you picked it up with your bare hands."
He was temporarily stunned at the thought that he could have easily done what she had just suggested, which took the last of the anger from his spirit and he looked down. "I guess I wasn't thinking about that possibility? I just got mad when I thought that you had played a trick on me and wanted to know why you would do that to me, okay?"
Her heart softens at seeing him so sorrowful for what he might have done. "It's okay and you did well on a test that you had no idea was coming. You keep saying that you want to become the next Hokage, but being a skilled shinobi is not enough to do the job right and lead the people of this village the way they deserve. Trust me when I say that if you ever sit behind this desk you will pray every day that nothing ever happens to the village that would require you to fight, because then that means a truly powerful threat has come knocking on our gates. Since becoming Hokage I have had to fight twice and one of them nearly destroyed the entire village and the other the world itself and I was not strong enough to stop either one of them by myself." She points to the other two shinobi in the room. "I have assigned Shikamaru and Hinata to help you in your training to see if you really have what it takes to sit behind this desk. I can honestly say that before you are done that you are either going to thank me for this or curse yourself for ever wanting to become Hokage. Most likely it will be both before you are through with this training.
Naruto turns and looks at the two friends and smiles broadly.
Shikamaru rolls his eyes at seeing the blonde shinobi give that big grin and thinks about how much work they all have in store for the next few months, maybe years. The Hokage has made this a B-rank mission so that they will all be getting paid while he and Hinata try and mold this powerful shinobi into someone capable of being the next leader of the entire village. He remembers watching the reanimated First and Second Hokages during the War and how much the First Hokage had reminded him of Naruto and that it had been the younger brother, the Second Hokage, who had been the more practical minded of the two and most likely been the real reason the village had been so successful in those early years. As he had watched those two he knew that if Naruto were ever to ascend to the position of Hokage he too would have need of practical guidance and now that troublesome revelation has come back to bite him in the ass. He should have never mentioned what he saw to the Hokage.
Hinata for her part was a bundle of emotions at the moment and could not seem to hold on to any one of them for very long. She was proud of Naruto for taking the next step to his goal and happy that she could be of some help. She was nervous that she might not be up to the job and was scared that if she failed that he might fail too. The excitement that they would be spending a lot more time together was thrilling, but what if he got sick of being around her so much studying all of the time, and then later when he became Hokage he did not want to see her anymore. She just took a deep breath and thought about what she and the Hokage had talked about earlier before Shikamaru and Naruto-kun had arrived.
FLASHBACK
As she had been finishing breakfast a messenger from the Hokage had arrived with a summons to meet in her office at 11:00 in the morning. The fear that she would be sent on a mission that would take her away from the village before her birthday dinner with Naruto swept over her and she nearly dropped her tea as she read the message. Hinata dressed for an audience with the village leader and left with a heavy heart, tears threatening to fall at any moment. It seemed like the two of them were doomed to never be together because every time something good would happen to bring them closer something else would arise to pull them apart. She had hoped that when her only rival Sakura had chosen Sasuke and they had become an official couple that her chance had finally arrived. Unfortunately Naruto had run away from the heartache and they were separated even more than before.
She reached the Hokage's office and at the appointed time she knocked and went inside. The Hokage was seated behind her desk and gave her a friendly smile as she entered. "Please have a seat Hinata there are things the two of us need to discuss." The Hokage had gestured to a pair of chairs beside a table that Hinata could not remember ever seeing before and she took a seat. Strangely on the table was a tea set for two along with some small bite-sized cakes.
Lady Tsunade took the other chair and poured them both a cup of tea. "I think that it is time that the two of us have a private chat about a certain young man."
Panic immediately rose up in her heart. Had her father contacted the Hokage about last night and asked her to intervene? Was that why he was so quiet this morning at breakfast? Was the Hokage about to order her to stop seeing Naruto because he had become too dangerous and unpredictable lately for her own safety? She wanted to run away before those words were uttered so she would not have to defy an order and bring shame on her clan's honor. Her eyes quickly looked about the room trying to decide if she could make it out the door before the Hokage could stop her from fleeing.
Seeing the girl's sudden panic Lady Tsunade reached out her free hand and gently placed it upon Hinata's to try and sooth her trembling hands. "It's okay, I believe that you and I both want the same thing. We both want him to be safe and happy." Seeing Hinata nod ever so slightly, she smiled and continued to talk in a calm voice. "I know that you have had feelings for him for a long time and I have been watching you during the council meetings. I have seen the concern on your face as the reports have come back about Naruto's descent into depression and that his disregard for his own safety has gotten to a nearly suicidal level. I will not lie to you, those same reports have kept me from a good night's rest for a while now and I truly want to see the happy gleam I saw in the eyes of the boy I met so many years ago return."
Hinata just listens quietly to the Hokage trying not to let her emotions gain control or she knows that she will be unable to stop the flow of tears. She had hoped that by sitting in the back and keeping her head down that no one would have noticed the pain she felt when each report came back from teammates about his actions during their missions. "The report you gave us in the council meeting did not tell the full extent of the injuries that he and the Kazekage had sustained in the training exercise."
Lady Tsunade caught as she was for not disclosing the full details looked away for a moment. "I thought it was best that certain members of the council did not know the full details of what had happened or that he had come close to killing himself and the Kazekage." She looked back at Hinata concern written clearly on her beautiful face. "He has lost his way Hinata and I know you can see it as well. I want him to remember that he used to want to become the next Hokage and to stop trying to run from his past. I can't do it alone and that is why I have asked you to come here and talk with me today because I think he will listen to you Hinata. He may be the most powerful shinobi alive today and he is without a doubt the most well-known, but jutsus alone will not help him lead this village. He needs to learn to use diplomacy and at times to have patience among other things. Your upbringing as the next heir of the Hyuga clan included such training." She leans closer to Hinata and the look in her eye was less of a leader concerned for a soldier and more like a parent worried for a child. "I won't order you to do this Hinata, but..."
"But I want to help!" Her voice had come out in a sudden burst. She bowed her head in shame for interrupting the Hokage in such a rude manner and her voice lowered to nearly a whisper. "I mean that I would love to help… him." She looked up with an expression of near desperation. "You did not see him the other night in the park. We had won a snowball fight with Konohamaru and a bunch of genin and he started laughing so hard he cried, but it was like a dam gave way and all the emotions he had been holding inside came pouring out. I really don't know how long he had been building that emotional wall, maybe since Jiraiya's death, Sasuke's leaving, all the way back to his childhood, or something more recent was causing his pain." The thought of recent events being the cause of his pain stung Hinata in the heart and made a very tiny part of herself to think about finding that source of his pain and tear out her pretty pink hair.
"Seeing him fall apart like he did made my heart ache till I thought I was going to start crying too, but I was strong for him and comforted him till he fell asleep on my lap." Tears had flowed down her cheeks as she remembered seeing him curled up and weeping. "I wanted to do more, but I just didn't know what else to do to help."
Tsunade had leaned over and wrapped her arms around the girl and let her cry while she rubbed her back and said soothing words while tears of her own rolled down her cheeks. As their tears slowed and the sobbing eased she had changed the subject to hopefully a happier topic. "I heard a rumor that the Hyuga clan had a special guest last night for dinner." When Hinata had leaned back the sadness on her face had been replaced with a shy smile. "I would love to hear about how things went Hinata and if you got any special gifts." She does not bother to mention that she had already read the report from Shizune about what Naruto had purchased and all of the pointers she had given him on proper etiquette. Now was the time to see just how serious Naruto had taken those lessons.
Hinata told Tsunade about the previous night's meal and everything that had happen till he had left for home. "I really think that father was impressed with how Naruto handled himself last night. This morning at breakfast, while he did not say anything kindly about Naruto, he did not make any negative comments either. He just asked if I had enjoyed myself and wanted to know if there was anything that I would like for my birthday. He has not asked me about my birthday like that since mother died and my training began. To be honest when you called me in here I thought that he had not said anything to me this morning because he had decided to ask you to act officially to keep us apart. I can see now that we have talked that I was just being stupid and irrational."
Tsunade smiled at the news that everything seemed to have went so well at the party. "I think that you are the reason he tried so hard last night to make a good impression." She held up a hand to stop the girl's protest. "I have known both of you for a number of years now, and I have noticed that when he would be acting all loud and obnoxious over some issue that if you happen to come by he would calm down, if only a little sometimes, when anyone else would have to use threats to get him to shut up." What she does not say out loud to the young kunoichi is that she has also noticed over the years that after contact with him that Hinata would become a little more assertive and confident, if only for a little while.
Hinata's reply was cut short by a knocking on the Hokage's door.
Tsunade reached over and patted Hinata's hand affectionately. "That would be Shikamaru arriving right on time." She stood and looked down at the young woman. "I know that you grew up without a mother and from time to time you have probably had questions or needed some motherly advice. I never had children of my own but I have had my own share of life experiences so if you ever need someone to talk with please feel free to come by and I promise that I will make time."
Hinata thanked the Hokage for her offer and stood up to greet Shikamaru when he entered the office.
Once he entered Lady Tsunade explained his new assignment and that he would be working with Hinata to get Naruto better prepared to be Hokage candidate, if that was to be his destiny. She would be letting him go back on missions soon and when Naruto is home his time would be filled with various training programs. She assured them that he would not get her nomination for the position unless she felt that he was worthy to take up that role. It was shortly after that declaration that Naruto burst into the office.
END FLASHBACK
Hinata must have blanked out while she was thinking back on her talk with the Hokage because she blinked and then suddenly Naruto was standing inches away. He was waving his hand back and forth and calling out her name.
"Hey Hinata are you okay? You've been standing there a while and have not moved or said anything." She blushes in embarrassment and from him being so close. The crimson goes a whole new shade of red as he places one of his strong hands against her face. "You are not getting sick from going outside last night without a coat on are you Hinata?" The boy's concern for her health was obvious. "I'm sorry, we should have gone back and got you a coat before you walked me to the gate."
She reaches up and gently touches his hand, wanting to grab ahold and crush it into her flesh and never let go, and gives him a gentle smile while trying to focus on not fainting in front of him and the Hokage. "I am okay, I was just thinking about all of the work we have ahead of us to get you ready to become the next Hokage."
Shikamaru steps up to the couple with a bored expression and points towards the open door. "I think that we have taken up enough of the Hokage's time and can discuss what we will be doing outside."
"To be honest I think that I would rather go with all of you, but Shizune would just follow me around with a stack of papers until I read and signed each one." The Hokage points at Naruto and then at the large pile of paperwork sitting on her desk. "This is what your reward will be if you become Hokage, an endless pile of paperwork that seems to multiply by itself every time you look away. I swear that sometimes out of the corner of my eye I can see the stack growing. You should really ask yourself Naruto is this the life you really want?"
Naruto smiles and gives her a thumbs up. "Don't worry Baa-chan nothing is going to stop me from becoming the next Hokage." He turns and struts proudly out of the room. Hinata gives the Hokage a bow and a smile that says 'I will not fail.'
Lady Tsunade just smiles and shakes her head. "I really don't think that boy listens to a word I say sometimes. Shikamaru, will you stay for a moment?"
Naruto turns back to Shikamaru, the proud smile still on his face. "Go ahead we will be on the roof when you are done."
The dark-haired boys normally bored expression changes to one of confusion, but instead of voicing his question he just shakes his head and closes the door.
Hinata, confused as well at his choice of the meeting location, asks the obvious question. "Why are we meeting on the roof?"
He turns but the smile he was wearing has changed ever so slightly. "The three of us have a lot to talk about, because I want to get started as soon as possible so I can beat my dad's record of being the youngest Hokage." Part of the reason was that he wanted to avoid waiting in the lobby, just in case a certain person might come over with reports from the hospital, but the main reason was a surprise for Hinata.
"But why the roof?" She can tell that he is trying to avoid answering her question.
"The view of the village up there is great, and because it is private we can just hang out till he is done without being bothered." He heads towards the stairwell and looks back with an eager smile that makes her blush.
Neither of them are prepared for what they see when the door to the roof is opened. There before them is Shizune in a passionate embrace with Kakashi the copy ninja and by the disheveled look of their clothing the two of them had been enjoying each other's company for a while. His vest was discarded on the floor and his face is buried in her neck while she is working diligently at trying to finish removing his shirt.
Whether it was the sound of the door creaking open, Hinata's little 'eep' of surprise, or the loud gasp of surprise from Naruto that alerted the couple that they were no longer alone ultimately did not matter. The fear of being discovered by the Hokage was enough to break lust's spell and they quickly began adjusting their clothing.
"Oh Kami, I am so sorry we did not expect to find anyone up here, if I had known we would have went someplace else." Naruto began studying the suddenly interesting scratches on the doorframe while Hinata took interest in the strangely shaped crack on the floor. Naruto's gasp broke the silence as he pointed towards Kakashi realizing he had nearly seen something unprecedented. "Wait a minute, you had your mask down." He could not believe that he had missed the chance to find out the answer to one of the great mysteries of his youth. What does Kakashi-sensei look like without his mask?
His mask now in place Kakashi turns around while zipping up his jacket. "Well of course, Shizune prefers it when there is nothing between her flesh and my lips. Besides she has seen me with more than my mask removed." His one visible eye squints in victory at the obvious discomfort his admission has upon his former subordinate and the deep crimson on Hinata's face. He turns to smile at Shizune expecting to see her enjoying the youngster's discomfort as well, but sees instead that she is turning a shade of red that rivals Hinata's. "Ahh, what I meant to say was…"
Shizune places a hand upon his shoulder to stop him from saying anything else. "Please don't say anything else Kakashi." She turns to the blushing teenagers. "Can you tell me why you are up here on the Hokage's tower?" Mentally she was hoping that they were still too stunned to ask her the same thing.
Naruto nervously scratches the back of his head. "We just finished talking with the Hokage and we are waiting for her to finish talking with Shikamaru and I thought we would come up and enjoy the view." He reaches in this pocket and pulls out a couple of pieces of chakra paper. "I was also thinking of using the opportunity to work with Hinata on figuring out her nature affinity." He gives his old sensei a sheepish smile. "I know that after interrupting you guys this might seem a little forward, but since you are here and have a lot more experience at this sort of thing Kakashi would you mind helping Hinata with the affinity test?"
Kakashi does a sweat drop at the boldness of the request, but agrees to help anyways.
As Kakashi and Hinata walk over to a corner and begin talking Naruto walks over to Shizune. "First, I really am sorry Shizune. Second, I was going to come find you today anyways and thank you for all your help yesterday. I did my best to remember your advice and since I was not thrown out or was asked to leave I will call it a success. I could not have done it without you Shizune and if you ever need anything just ask."
She looks over at the infectiously happy shinobi. "How about you and Hinata never tell a soul what you saw here today and we will call things even?" He agrees to the deal and they both share a chuckle before she turns and looks at him with a curious smirk. "So how did she like the gifts you got her?"
"I gave her the Kimono and she seemed to have really liked it by the way she jumped up and twirled around with it before giving me a hug." His usual fox grin takes on a much softer smile as he thinks back to last night's embrace.
"What about the birthday gift you picked out? To be honest I was really surprised by what you picked and I can't think of a gift she would enjoy more." She leans forward eager to hear the news. "Tell me what she thought about her birthday gift?"
Caught off guard by Shizune's eagerness to hear about the gift he takes a nervous step back. "She asked me if I would wait and give it to her on her birthday and I said yes. Fortunately it is only a few days away so I don't have to wait long."
Shizune is about to say something when Hinata runs up all excited.
"Naruto-kun look, my nature affinity is water and Kakashi-sensei said that it was a strong response." She holds out the piece of paper that is nearly saturated with moisture with a proud smile.
He smiles as well, happy to see that her nature affinity is something that he has some experience with so that they can spend time together training. "That is so great Hinata. We can train together till you find somebody who can train you better in how to use water jutsu, and don't expect me to go easy on you either." He begins to explain how it feels to use water manipulation to Hinata.
Kakashi and Shizune take the chance to slip away quietly while the two young shinobi are distracted and pass Shikamaru along the way down.
Shikamaru decides that it is too much trouble to ask why they were just on the roof and keeps going. He finds Naruto excitedly describing to Hinata about how he uses his chakra to gather and manipulate water to form a ball. After a couple of tries Shikamaru gets their attention long enough to suggest they head to his place to discuss what sort of topics the Hokage suggested that they cover. Naruto and Hinata just nod and follow him to his home the whole time Naruto never stops talking to Hinata about water nature and all of the possibilities he thought she might be able to do with it in combination with her Gentle Fist technique.