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...
Naruto couldn't help but feel awkward as he was dragged through the halls of the Hyuga compound on only his second time on the premises. Last time he had been here he'd had a full plan and a mission to achieve,but at the moment his only real mission was to survive the night without embarrassing himself to the point of being banished from the complex.
"C'mon, it's this way," said Hanabi as she lead Naruto towards the dining room, the blond thankful for the guided tour. Every step he took he knew there were sets of eyes upon him, and any of the clan members who had their Dojutsu activated would be able to see him stepping upon hallowed floorboards. There was nowhere to hide, which made the sensation much more frightening than facing hordes of Suna shinobi charging at him.
What the hell was he meant to do, what was he meant to say? Were over-the-top cheesy lines okay in this kind of atmosphere or was he going to have to try to be as original as possible?
A deep throaty cough brought him back to reality as he suddenly found himself standing right in front of the head of the clan, Hyuga Hiashi. 'Way to make a first impression,' Naruto internally moaned. "Lord Hyuga, thank you for inviting me to your home this evening," said Naruto with a polite bow.
"You can quit with the brown-nosing. It is unbefitting of you," said Hiashi causing Naruto to sheepishly rub at the back of his neck. "Dinner will be served shortly, but beforehand, I wish for you to join me on a quick walk around the gardens. I'm sure you remember where those are."
"I believe so," said Naruto as he looked to Hanabi for support. The last thing he currently wanted was to be stuck with the leader of the clan by himself.
"I'll see you at dinner Father, Naruto," said Hanabi before she walked in a different direction.
'Damn it!'
"This way if you please," instructed Hiashi, Naruto reluctantly following him out of fear of what would happen if he chose not to oblige. The walk down the isolated corridors was an awkward one, to say the least, as neither member of the party spoke until they exited into the main courtyard. "I imagine this place is quite familiar to you. After all, this was where you 'kidnapped' my daughter."
"Yea...sorry about that," said Naruto sheepishly.
"On the contrary. I should be thanking you," said Hiashi, causing Naruto to blink several times, believing he had misheard. "Your actions, while brash and idiotic, were just what was needed to push my eldest in the right direction. I realise now that my own way of handling the situation was incorrect, proving that despite being able to run a clan there are many things I can still learn."
"Don't worry, we all make mistakes," said Naruto, slowly becoming more casual in the conversation.
"So it would be seem," said Hiashi as he lowered his head. "It was also my failings as a father that sent her to Danzo for assistance."
"Wait, you sent Hinata to that nutcase!"
Hiashi slowly nodded. "The clan elders were pressuring me to place a seal upon her brow, one that would give any member of the Hyuga family the power to temporarily immobilize her or, in worst case scenario, even kill her. While I remained cold-faced in front of the elders, I was truly frightened. Never in my life did I want to put my daughter through such punishment, so I sought an alternative, something that would please the elders and prevent her from being branded."
"So you went to the Hokage, who told you to send her to Danzo," said Naruto completing the story.
"Indeed. It was another mistake on my part, but with no positive alternative, there was little I could do," said Hiashi, making Naruto truly wonder what happened behind closed doors within a clan's compound. He had always thought that the head of the clan had the final say in everything, but it seemed that things weren't that simple. The choices between doing what was right for the clan and what was right as a father sometimes would not align the way that they should. Hiashi continued to say, "I must also give you my gratitude for stopping what never should have started in the first place."
"Don't mention it."
"After tonight, it shall never be mentioned again," said Hiashi. "The rest of the clan knows nothing of what happened to Hinata, and I intend to leave them in the dark. I will bare the burden of knowing what I did to my daughter upon my own shoulders. She will likely never forgive me for the rest of my days, but this is a punishment I must accept."
"That's a bit… bleak."
"Indeed but it is how it must be," said Hiashi before he turned around. "Come now. I believe the meal should be ready, and we must not leave them waiting."
…
"Uzumaki, you seem to be having a little bit of trouble using your fork and knife," said Neji with a bemused smirk on his face. For some reason or another, Hiashi had seen fit to invite him to dine with his family and Naruto.
"Uhh, I'm just used to eating with chopsticks is all," said Naruto as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Don't worry, I'll figure it out."
"I would certainly hope so," chuckled Hiashi, seeming to find the scene before him as interesting as Neji. Naruto was surprised that the man didn't have as big a stick up his ass as he had previously been led to believe. Perhaps that was merely how he acted out in public. "So Naruto, why don't you tell us about your recent mission? I believe my daughter was most upset to discover that you'd be away for a sizeable amount of time."
While Hinata normally would have blushed profusely at the comment and contemplated fainting, a small red tinge rose to her cheeks as she picked at her food.
"Nee-san was so sad," Hanabi almost squeaked. Naruto had to rub his eyes to confirm that he wasn't in some kind of elaborate Genjutsu or something. While the Hyuuga Clan acted so uptight and formal out in public, here, in their own homes, they were pretty normal people.
"I just wanted you to be in the audience for the fights," said Hinata, trying to stop her family from making anymore embarrassing remarks.
"I'm sure you were amazing, Hinata-chan," said Naruto with a grin, receiving the small ghost of a smile from the girl in return.
"Hinata-sama put up an excellent fight against Lee," agreed Neji. "I was most impressed, and believe that, had she been facing any other opponent, she might have just managed to advance further in the tournament."
"Thank you…" stammered Hinata, not used to dealing with so much praise. Especially from Neji of all people.
"So… Suna," said Naruto as he thought back to his adventures in the Hidden Sand. "What we didn't know going into the whole thing was that it was an elaborate trap set up by Orochimaru for some reason. Sarutobi-jiji didn't know what for, but Sakura said that he was probably after the teme's eyes."
At the blank look he received from almost all present, Naruto spluttered for a second.
"The teme… Sasuke…. It's what I call him, you know what, never mind," said Naruto waving it off. "Considering Orochimaru was after Sasuke's eyes, Suna shinobi had been ordered to capture him alive. The rest of us were expendable."
"Are you insinuating that you were assaulted by the remaining shinobi forces that were left out of the invasion?" asked Hiashi.
"...I'm going to go with yes," said Naruto not quite sure what 'insinuating' meant. "Anyways, so we're assaulted by about… I'd say eighty, but it may have been closer to a hundred people. Oh the shit that went down, excuse my language."
"Excused."
"Thank you, so there we were, with a lot of people wanting to kill us, and trust me they gave it everything they had," said Naruto, taking a bite out of his meal before it went too cold.
"Did you sustain any injuries upon your mission?" asked Neji, fully expecting the blond to have taken some form of damage.
"Well, I did get impaled," said Naruto causing everybody to pause momentarily and look at him. A sheepish smile crossed Naruto's lips as he pointed at his shoulder, fully remembering what it felt like to have the shinobi's weapon pierce through his flesh. "Damn thing hurt like hell. I think I even went into shock."
Hanabi blinked a couple of times, wondering whether or not she truly wanted to step down the path of a ninja after hearing this story. "It was around then when I got a little...bloodthirsty," continued Naruto who looked at Hiashi, the clan head immediately understanding what Naruto was talking about. "I threw away all caution and went on a full-out slaughter."
Naruto lifted his hand up, envisioning the heart he had once held in it, blood staining his skin. "In order to protect the people important to me, I had to embrace a side of me that should never be spoken about," said Naruto as he lowered his arm and turned his head to the side. As if understanding his pain, Hinata placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder, which managed to bring a small smile to his lips.
Hiashi lifted his sake cup up and took a sip from it, carefully watching the interaction between his eldest daughter and the dinner guest of the night. He didn't really pay attention to the next few lines that were said between the children, but he could see that the atmosphere in the room had managed to become more upbeat and positive, as if a party had just begun. This boy was most likely the best influence that Hinata could ever have in her life, because if anybody knew what she was going through, it was him.
...
Sasuke's eyes snapped open.
It was a little past midnight, but after the events of the day before, he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to sleep well again. The quiet rustling that had awakened him materialised into a light rap on the door.
With a yawn, Sasuke got out of bed and grabbed his kunai pouch before heading to see who his guest was. Some part of him told him that Itachi would be there at the door, his red eyes spinning as he gave off a chilling laugh and finished what he'd started all those years ago. The more awake side of Sasuke, however, knew that such a scenario was quite unlikely.
Itachi, he had recently realised, could slit his throat like melted butter any time he pleased. And that was whether or not the two brothers were even on the same continent.
He opened the door.
"Sasuke-kun," said Sakura as she looked up a little sheepishly. "Sorry to bother you this late into the night."
The Uchiha merely arched an eyebrow in response.
"I… I've really been struggling to get to sleep," admitted the pink-haired girl. "I've not been able to take my mind off everything that's happened recently, between Naruto having an ancient demon sealed within him and all that happened with Suna. And now even Kakashi-sensei."
"Isn't that what you have parents for?" asked Sasuke as he tried not to think of his own. It never felt right, especially since he had been thinking about Itachi seconds ago. "To comfort you when you need comforting?"
"I don't think they'd understand." Sakura didn't meet his gaze as the words left her mouth. "Dad and I have never really gotten along that well, and as much as I love my mum, she can be a bit simple-minded when it comes to these things."
Unsure of what to do next, Sasuke pulled the door open a little more. "Hn, come in and take a seat. You're shivering."
With a grateful smile, Sakura gently followed his lead. "I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No," Sasuke lied as he sat down on his couch. "So what do want to… talk about?"
"I'm not sure," sighed Sakura as she slumped onto the couch opposite Sasuke. "How have things been with you? It feels like ever since Suna, Team Seven as a whole hasn't been together in ages."
"Probably because of the lack of missions we've had," said Sasuke. "I can't say I'm complaining, though."
"I thought you liked missions," said Sakura as the barest hint of a frown crossed her face. Or maybe it was that he still didn't like being on Team Seven.
"I do, but the more free time I have in the coming months, the better," said Sasuke, continuing as Sakura shot him a slightly puzzled look while she sat up straighter. "The Sandaime is going to take me on as his apprentice."
Even though she still didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Sasuke, Sakura couldn't prevent herself from gushing. "The Sandaime?"
"Yeah, in exchange for what's probably one of the most powerful swords to have ever existed," said Sasuke as he shrugged. "Itachi made a joke of me again yesterday. I'm not going to ever let that happen again."
"Naruto's going to be pretty devastated," said Sakura, a sad smile upon her face as she thought of her blond friend. "With Kakashi-sensei's hand gone, you training with the Sandaime, and me working at the T&I department, it doesn't look like Team Seven will be together for much longer."
"He'll get over it," shrugged Sasuke, unsure of what exactly Sakura wanted to achieve with the conversation. It felt a little pointless, as if they were merely talking for the sake of talking.
"Yeah, besides he's got Jiraiya to train him in the Kyuubi's chakra and all that," Sakura pointed out before shuddering a little. "He's already impossible to beat without the fox feeding him chakra, I can hardly imagine what it'll be like to go up against him once he learns to draw on its power through sheer will alone."
"Hn, speak for yourself," said Sasuke, knowing that Naruto himself was far from impossible to beat. Before shit had hit the fan the other day, he'd come close enough. "Besides, I'm not going to allow myself to fall behind."
"How exactly do you hope to keep up with the Kyuubi itself?" asked Sakura skeptically. Having witnessed the fox's raw power once - no twice, now - she wasn't sure if such a thing was even possible. Sasuke was probably a better ninja as a whole than Naruto, but in her mind, there would be no competing with the blond Jinchuuriki once he mastered the demon in his gut.
"The Hachimon Gates," said Sasuke, his voice casual and laid back. "Naruto hasn't yet mastered the full power of the Kyuubi, and I doubt his seal will even allow him to."
"Of course, people say that with the Eighth Gate open, you have enough raw power to kill a Biju!" Sakura exclaimed before pausing. "But doesn't harnessing so much raw power cause your body to wither away?"
"Something like that," answered Sasuke. "But I doubt I'll even be able to get to such a stage, much less end up in such a situation where opening it will be necessary."
"Well, as mere Genin, we've ended up in multiple situations that we had no right to escape from alive… I can't help but imagine it's going to get worse from here on out," Sakura pointed out.
"Probably," said Sasuke, aware that when he finally did detach Itachi's head from his body, the battle would be at least a thousand times as intense as Suna. "So why were you struggling to sleep again?"
"Both you and Naruto, you push yourselves forward so much that you're almost willing to die for your causes," said Sakura, a quick flashback of Naruto leaping in front of her and getting impaled as a result momentarily blinded her vision. Sasuke could see tears beginning to form in the corners of Sakura's eyes but stayed where he was as she continued. "You both have goals which push you forward at such a pace that all I can see of you guys now are shadows in the distance. You and Naruto can fight toe to toe for hours while I would barely be able to last fifteen minutes and it's infuriating how weak I am compared to you two. We're meant to be a team but we only seem to be drifting further apart and will only continue to do so."
By now Sakura openly had tears streaming down her cheeks, unable to keep her emotions in check. Sasuke meanwhile was unsure what to say, never having had someone break down like this in front of him before. So in an action that many would never believed had happened unless they had been there to witness it, Sasuke closed the gap between himself and his teammate and wrapped her arms around her protectively.
It would be several minutes later before Sakura finally dozed off having cried herself to sleep, but during that entire time Sasuke never broke the embrace that he had created, his shirt soaked with his teammate's tears.
…
"Uzumaki, do you require an escort to accompany you on your way back to your house?" asked Hiashi as he stood by the porch. "Give me the word and I'll have someone walk you back."
"I'll be fine," Naruto waved the elder off like it was nothing. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to have to disturb anyone."
"Allow me," said Neji. "I owe you a favour for talking to Hinata anyway."
"If there's anyone that should be owing Naruto-kun a favour, it's me," said Hinata as she stepped forth. "Let me take Naruto-kun home."
"Normally, it is meant to be the other way around, but very well," nodded Hiashi. Regardless of whatever Danzo had done to his little girl, he had really helped her confidence and encouraged her to do the things she desired.
He wasn't going to stand in her way.
"I guess I can live with that," Naruto poked his tongue out as he beckoned Hinata to follow him. "Thanks for having me over guys!"
"It was my pleasure," replied Hiashi with a curt nod as a sleepy Hanabi hugged his leg.
"You should visit more, Naruto," said Neji, the boy a little surprised to have found himself muttering such words. "You liven things up."
"Will do," chuckled the blond as he let his escort lead the way.
He followed the girl wordlessly out of the compound, and for a few minutes, somehow for once in his life, Naruto was at a loss of words. He kicked at the ground for a while before finally coming up with something. "... So interesting family, huh?"
He didn't need the Sharingan to see that there was a faint blush on Hinata's face as the girl turned around, her pale cheeks illuminated by the bright moonlight. "I guess you could say that."
Naruto scrunched up his face, a little unused to the confidence that Hinata was so readily displaying now. Was she still herself or merely the puppet of Danzo's will? "I was surprised that your dad wasn't as big a prick as I thought he would be. Then again, despite the small stick he had up his arse at the start, neither was Neji."
As Hinata spluttered, he got his answer. "I-I agree, Neji nii-san and my father aren't that bad once you get to know them."
"I guess they're kinda like me, then?" said Naruto.
"You've always been good, Naruto," said Hinata sternly as she looked him in the eyes. Naruto wanted to back away from the glare that she gave him, but he found himself rooted to the spot. "People just… fail to sometimes see what's right in front of them."
"Well… what's in front of you then?" asked Naruto wondering whether they were the right words to say.
"The most amazing person in the world," stated Hinata which made Naruto wonder whether or not sometime during the night Hinata had had some of her father's sake. "Naruto… I just want you to know, I mean what I say… you are… an incredible person."
Once again, Naruto found himself lost for words as he rubbed the back of his neck, never having been praised in such a way before. "I mean it," continued Hinata. "I've watched you for a long time, and you have been an inspiration to me."
'That didn't sound stalker-ish at all,' thought Naruto. "That's really nice of you to say, but to be honest, as awesome as I am, I'm far from perfect."
"You don't need to be perfect, Naruto-kun," said Hinata as she gripped his hand. She closed her eyes for a moment. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, things that nobody else I'm certain would have."
"Aww, I can hardly take all the credit for the whole Danzo thing, that was because of Kiba and Shino," said Naruto, flabbergasted with all the praise. It was strange, going from an attention-starved young boy who wore orange just to catch the eye of passersby, to receiving so much thanks from some of the most important people in all of Konoha. "And that time when I came to talk to you, that was mostly Neji's idea."
"That wasn't what I was talking about," Hinata's lilac eyes shimmered brighter than his own could ever hope to. She reached for her neck, running her fingers across the three dots that now occupied her once-flawless skin. "I don't think I could have even made it this far without you Naruto-kun. When everybody wanted to push me away because of this mark, or to pretend that it didn't exist, you were the only one who told me that it didn't make a difference. I don't know why, and for some reason I don't really care why you, of all people, were able to make me see the light again."
Naruto suddenly found himself unable to say anything as Hinata quickly closed the gap between them, locking her lips upon his whilst wrapping her arms around his shoulders. At first Naruto sought to fight against this unknown sensation, but quickly found himself flowing into this unknown realm as he wrapped his own arms around Hinata's waist, holding her closer than she previously had been.
…
"So Tsunade-hime, how much process have you made on dear little Kimmimaro?" asked Orochimaru as his tongue slithered around his lips. "I trust that he will be fully well in a matter of weeks?"
"I doubt that," said the Slug Sannin, her shoulders slumped in a defeated posture. What was the point of going on? One of her old teammates was holding her at knifepoint, blackmailing her in order to destroy her former home, and worst of all, if her throat was slit, it would be her own grandfather holding the kunai.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed in a manner quite unlike the dangerous man. "Need I remind you that if you waste my time or even try to stall for a moment, I will kill you without blinking an eye. And that won't even be the end. I'll send your grandfather on a murderous rampage, destroying his reputation and killing anyone you might still hold the slightest bit of affection for, before then resurrecting you and forcing you to do it all anyway."
Tsunade tried not to blink as Orochimaru walked across to her.
"So at the end of the day, Tsunade-hime, the choice is really yours: either cooperate and receive as a reward your grandfather, or make things difficult and force my hand."
"That's not fair," protested Shizune as she bit down on her lip, aware that speaking out to an S-ranked nin could very well end in her death. "The medical condition he suffers from has hardly ever been documented. In fact, the only medical reference to it we've found is over 200 years old!"
"Well, there is a reason I chose someone as capable as Tsunade for this task," said Orochimaru as he played with a kunai menacingly. "Perhaps you just need a little persuasion, a little motivation to finish your little task with haste."
"That won't be necessary," said Tsunade as she shook her head. Could she take Orochimaru in a one-on-one fight? Perhaps if she'd stayed in shape. Was she afraid of the man? Certainly. "It's still going to take a while. Having to almost pioneer a new sub-branch of Medical Jutsu is no easy feat."
"I'll give you two weeks. After that point, if I don't see results… Well, I don't think I even need to say what I'll do," said Orochimaru in the manner he had long mastered, which almost promised a fate worse than death.
"That's still not enough time!" said Shizune, aware that she'd have to help her teacher too. "You're going to wind up working Tsunade-sama to the bone, and then you'll have to wait even longer for your minion's disease to be cured."
Orochimaru paused for a second, the amused look on his face making it clear that he viewed the two women before him as nothing more than toys. "Very well, three weeks. If you complete your task, then you can go back to living your pathetic life as a drunk gambling addict."
Tsunade wanted to make a quick remark back about how her life was better than the path he had continued to pursue, but was too late as he left the room. With a growl, the Slug Princess picked up a nearby glass and tossed it at the wall before gripping her hair in frustration.
...
"It's good to see you out of hospital so soon," said Sarutobi as he acknowledged the shinobi that had just entered his office, the majority of the day's paperwork yet to be looked at.
"I'm a bit like Naruto in that regard," said Kakashi sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "If I spend too long in those white walls, I may slowly go insane."
"So what do I owe this visit?" asked the Hokage. To answer his question, Kakashi reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Stepping forward, he held it out for Sarutobi, who took the item cautiously. "What do we have here?"
"A request for a suspension of duty until further notice," stated Kakashi. "I'm not resigning - at least not yet - but it will take me quite some time before I am able to work with this...handicap. If I was to be deployed on any missions as of the moment, I fear that I would be a burden to the team that I was assigned to. Considering the amount that I have lost over the years, the last thing I want to happen is to lose something more when I am unable to do what is required of me."
"This seems like a lot coming from you," said Sarutobi as he unfolded the paper to read into the comments that Kakashi had written. "You're usually not this open."
"Having a chunk of you ripped away will change your perception of certain things in life," said Kakashi. "If you'll excuse me."
Turning around slowly, Kakashi began a steady walk towards the exit. "I understand," started Sarutobi, making Kakashi pause in his step, "that you refused emergency treatment the previous night. The head of the hospital informed me that he had the staff necessary to perform the Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu, despite all of the other patients in the hospital at that time. With your wound burned over, you were in no threat of bleeding to death, and many thought that you had suffered a severe shock. Despite all of that, I remember the doctor saying three words that had apparently come out of your mouth despite the condition you were in."
Sarutobi took this moment to pause for a couple of seconds, his eyes staring into Kakashi's back in an attempt to gauge if the copy ninja reacted at all. "Leave me be. According to his statement, you chanted those three words over and over as if it were a mantra, all the while sweating up a heavy fever. The doctors immediately disregarded your words until you started flailing about, threatening to reopen your wounds. So they then issued you a room and gave you the necessities to ensure that you lived through the night, and that was it; they left you be. Any of this ring a bell?"
Sarutobi stared at the back of one of his most prominent shinobi, the famed copy ninja silent for several seconds that seemed to tick on like hours. "Not at all," said Kakashi finally before he resumed his path towards the exit, not a single word more being spoken between the two shinobi.
…
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