Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Even though I don't own Naruto, the story elements contained here in belong to me until someone who can afford a lawyer tells me otherwise.
Hinata's Story: Underneath Your Clothes
Chapter 4: Too Much to Expect
They stopped to rest early the night after the attack. They hid a fair distance from the side of the road. Hinata had been dejected since the battle. She had tried to apologize to Naruto and Sakura for not working well with them as a team.
"Well don't worry about it too much," Sakura had replied, "you didn't do any worse than Naruto did."
"What does that mean?" Naruto had asked defensively.
"I told you two to stay with Renjiro," Sakura said. "And what happened, you chased after me. You couldn't stay away from a fight, then you had to run back to help Hinata."
"What do you mean, chase after you?" Naruto retorted, "I ran first!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
The argument had quickly deteriorated from there as Sakura began to beat Naruto. It seemed to be more playful than anything else. Naruto had looked up from the ground while Sakura was stomping on him. "Everything worked out all right, so don't worry about it," he said completely oblivious to the beating he was receiving.
"Yah," Sakura had agreed stopping her merciless onslaught.
"Just follow your gut," Naruto had said as he got back up and continued to walk toward Sukuro City.
Now that they were making camp, Hinata found herself alone with Jiraiya-sama, who had joined them immediately after the battle had finished. Hinata remembered that Naruto-kun had been very unhappy with his sensei. Jiraiya-sama's only response to Naruto's accusations had been to say that if they wanted to be chuunin then they would have to be able to work on their own.
His advice to Hinata had been simple. "Don't hesitate," he had said. "Make your decision and be prepared to live with the consequences."
"But if I make a mistake, the people I care about could be in danger," Hinata had said fearfully.
"Yes, but if you don't make any decision, they will be in danger," Jiraiya had said before leaving the girl to her thoughts.
She stewed about it all day as they traveled to Sukuro city. It worried her so much that she not only didn't stare at Naruto the whole time, but hardly even noticed him.
Naruto, not being the silent type tried to engage her in conversation, but she didn't seem to notice him and when she did respond it was with short, noncommittal one syllable words. Sakura's theory, which she voiced rather loudly, was that Hinata wanted Naruto to shut up.
Hinata had actually started to agree before she realized what Sakura had said and began to deny it embarrassedly. Sakura took Hinata's difficulty refuting her as admission that she was right, while Naruto just thought it was normal for Hinata. It made her kind of cute they both thought to themselves.
In the end Naruto just figured she was nervous about the new team. After all, he had worked with Ero-Senin and Sakura before, so one new person wasn't a big deal, but Hinata had never really worked with any of them before, even though she had gone to the academy with him and Sakura. So he left her to her thoughts.
The trip concluded with their arrival at Sukuro City uneventfully after the day of the attack. The enemy was either not in position to attack again, or was too afraid. Sakura liked to think it was the latter. 'Yeah, that'll show those bozos to underestimate me because I'm a woman!' The voice inside Sakura's head raged. 'Bring'em back and I'll beat them down again.' Sakura's inner voice gave her strength and confidence. She felt strong now; confident that, unlike before she could keep up with the pace that Naruto and Sasuke had set.
Hinata had once had a voice like that; a part of her that told her she had worth. It had long ago been destroyed by her father and his constant disappointed looks and degrading comments. Hinata could not remember ever being told that she was loved by anyone. It was something that inwardly she longed for.
And since the loss of her own inner voice she had relied on Naruto's inner strength. She saw in him a kindred spirit. He was someone who was also despised and rejected, but never gave up. He believed in himself when no one else did. Hinata wanted so much to be like that. She worked tirelessly to achieve some measure of his example.
He arrived at the tower two days after the failed ambush. Scaling the wall he entered through the window, despite the fact that as a part of Lord Ketsuma Yukio's bodyguard he could have entered the Palace of Fire through the front gate. The Corridors up here were dimly lit, but that didn't slow him down or make his traversal more difficult. In fact the darkness emboldened him.
The area above their entourage's quarters was used for storage; a stark contrast to the gaudy palace decorations for those pompous aristocrats. The shadowy figure liked it better up here. He felt out of place walking into a place like that. Scaling walls and slipping past security into the dark recesses was the way he preferred to enter such places. Enter stealthily, perform his function and leave quickly, quietly and without a trace. That was the ninja way. That was his way! Even though he was no longer associated with he hidden village of cloud, his services were just as needed; more needed perhaps.
"You're back early," a deep, commanding voice interrupted the former cloud shinobi's path through the darkness. Not only could he not sneak up on that man, but he knew that any time he detected that man's presence; it was because he was allowed to. But what else could you expect from a member of the Hakumei clan. They possessed one of the most feared blood limits in the world: the Kurogan /the Black Eye/. It was because of that fact that those murdering leaf ninja had focused on that clan and all but wiped it out. Now that they were numbered at only about a dozen no more than two or three were ever allowed to leave the village of hidden cloud at any one time. That was what made his leader, Hakumei Gyaku like him. They were both absent from their home of Kumo /the hidden village of cloud/ without leave.
Gyaku was the de facto leader of this group. Everyone simply did what he said if they didn't want to have their soul ripped right out of their body; something a master of the kurogan could do. Some day he'd show that self confidant, overbearing fool the true meaning of fear. He'd not be so confident after that!
"You shouldn't be back for another two weeks Hiroshi," the still invisible task master said calmly. "You didn't kill the Sutra brat did you?"
"No Gyaku-sama," Kyoufu Hiroshi responded simply. "The Boy some how managed to procure the assistance of a small team of Leaf Shinobi who managed to wipe out the bandits we were using."
"And you didn't kill them?" the still disembodied voice asked.
"I attempted to, but it appears I underestimated them and they broke out of the Reikon Isukumi /Soul of Paralyzing Terror/."
"And you just left?" the voice asked from a different spot.
Hiroshi turned to face the new direction and began to sweat. "You see, they were either very lucky to break out of the trance just as I got to them or shrewd enough to pretended to stay in the trance until I got close. They managed to injure me before I knew they were free."
"So you were playing with you food again," Gyaku said as he finally stepped close enough for Hiroshi to see him. Hiroshi was about to reply, but caught sight of the Hakumei's eyes, which were now jet black from his active kurogan. Whatever his response would have been Gyaku never heard it, because it was stuck in the fear master's throat.
"It shouldn't matter now. If lover-boy gets here he shouldn't be able to change anything now that it's all set in motion." Gyaku sighed. "Go get some rest; we'll work you back into the guard rotation in a day or so."
Gyaku watched Hiroshi meander through the maze of boxes in the store room they were in. He couldn't see the other missing-nin's body, but his soul stood out to his kurogan brightly. His blood limit among other things allowed him to see spiritual energy. He could see the living energies created by the souls of any living thing. Not only could he see Hiroshi's obviously scared and angry soul, but he could see the life essence of the insects crawling on the boxes, the mold on the walls and crates, and even a little bit of moss. It made traversing the darkness easier, but didn't show him everything.
Sighing to himself, Gyaku shook his head. It was really annoying. These ninja all looked at him to be their leader and refused to think for themselves. At first it had only been the idiots that had even dare suggest anything in his presence, and after he had shot down their foolishness no one with any intelligence had the courage to help plan anything. So every decision made by the band of renegade ninja that Lord Ketsuma was collecting had to be made by him.
There was an upside. Gyaku never had to be involved in training Lord Ketsuma's soldiers in ninja techniques. He didn't fear the consequences of those actions. If the Raikage ever found him, having trained ninja outside of Kumo would be the least of his problems. He would be put to death for abandoning the Hidden Cloud. Unless they decided they wanted his genes, in which case he would be locked away for the rest of his life and forced to help provide Lightning Country with kurogan wielding children.
It was dangerous to stay in lightning country, but the rewards were worth the risk. Gyaku had joined Lord Ketsuma because he had promised him the chance to get back at those murdering leaf ninja that had killed his father and older brother. So he had stayed in Plinth, the capital of Lightning Country's largest province serving Lord Ketsuma until his opportunity arrived. Now that he was in Fire Capital with Lord Ketsuma's son, he knew he would finally have that chance.
Hiroshi looked back into the darkness before leaving the store room. Some day he'd show that pompous, self-important buffoon that fear was an art. 'It's a spell that takes time and skill to weave,' he thought to himself as he promised himself that he would show that arrogant fool some day.
They hadn't stayed in Sukuro city very long. They had presented Renjiro to his father and then immediately been brushed aside. Servants had told them to be ready to leave by sundown as Lord Sukuro took his son into his private chambers.
The ninja had left to palace to replenish supplies. It wasn't as easy in a civilian city as it was in Konoha, but the all managed well enough in just over the amount of time it would have taken at home. This had upset Naruto and he was still complaining about not having enough time to find a ramen stand as they left Sukuro City.
This time they traveled in a caravan that suited Lord Renjiro's station. Renjiro hadn't said a word to the ninja as they left and kept to himself inside his personal carriage. Naruto had tried to ask him what was going on, but he wasn't permitted in the carriage, even when he demanded in as a body guard, and Renjiro wouldn't so much as stick his head out
Even Hinata was a little upset when they finally stopped to rest the horses after riding through the night and the next day. The sun had just set when they made camp. Renjiro had been tight lipped and wouldn't answer any of Naruto's questions as they ate.
Finally after Renjiro had ignored Naruto's questions for an hour and a half, Hinata decided to ask him what was wrong.
Renjiro was about to respond when Naruto interrupted him. "Oh, I see how it is. You don't answer me, but the second a pretty girl asks you something you speak right up," Naruto said, obviously miffed.
"Shut up, he was about to tell us!" Sakura's voice rang out as she punched Naruto in the head, knocking Naruto over and stopping Renjiro's retort. No one noticed the change in the color of Hinata's cheeks
"Don't mind him," she said giving her best smile. "What were you going to say?" she asked innocently as she sat on her knees in front of him intently.
Renjiro began his story as Naruto sat back up rubbing his head...
"My father was an important advisor to the Lord of Fire when I was younger."
"Lord of Fire?" Naruto asked.
"He's the ruler of the county we live in!" Sakura yelled. "Didn't you ever pay attention in school?"
"Oh you mean Toshiro-san." Naruto replied
"Uh, yes," Renjiro replied softly. Not even his father referred to the Lord of Fire so casually, and here this ninja acted as though he had been a personal friend.
I used to spend a lot of time in Fire Capital on trips with my father when I was a child." Renjiro continued. "I became very good friends with his daughter, Keiko."
At these words Hinata's heart skipped a beat and Sakura leaned forward. Jiraiya even got interested, but decided it was too soon to know if he'd need to pull out his notebook. Naruto just yawned anticlimactically.
"Then one day while I was in the capital I was walking around with some girls that I had run into and I saw Keiko crying. I don't know what had made her cry, but it was at that moment that I realized that I would do anything to make her happy for the rest of my life."
Hinata's heart fluttered as her hands clasped each other in front of her. Sakura seamed to go dreamy eyed wishing that someone in particular would have felt that way about her. Jiraiya waited to be impressed while Naruto waited to care.
"Last year we decided that this next year I would ask her father for her hand in marriage," Renjiro continued.
"That's great!" Sakura squeaked.
"C-congratulations," Hinata said breathlessly.
Naruto laid his head into one of his hands and shook it. Jiraiya knowing that the other foot was about to drop just frowned slightly.
Tears started to form at the corners of Renjiro's eyes as he continued, "B-but my father just got my official invitation to attend Keiko's marriage to the son of one of the regional daimyo's of Lightning country." Renjiro just managed to choke out that much before the girls couldn't contain themselves any longer.
"That's terrible," Sakura exclaimed as Hinata made a sympathetic sound. "What will you do?" Sakura asked.
"I h-have to talk t-to her," Renjiro stammered out.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe she doesn't love you?" Naruto asked simply.
Before the young lord could stammer out his rebuttal Hinata and Sakura both turned their heads and gave Naruto a glare that could have turned charcoal white. In response Naruto's complexion went whiter than Hinata's as he lifted his hands in a warding gesture. He managed to shuffle back two steps before he fell on his butt. Satisfied the two girls turned back to poor Renjiro who was trying valiantly to hold back tears.
"You don't understand," Renjiro stammered out. "We're royalty, political marriages were always something either of us might have to face, but we thought we had everything setup. Was it too much to expect that since we loved each other so much that we could spend the rest of our lives together?"
"That's t-terrible," Hinata muttered.
"So what are you going to do to fight for her?" Sakura asked excitedly while pumping her fist in the air.
"There's nothing I can do," Renjiro replied dejectedly, "not only has she agreed, but so has her father."
"But…" Hinata began.
"There's nothing we can do the stars were against us," Renjiro interrupted. "It's just my fate to be chased by silly girls that only want my name while the only woman I'll ever love is married to someone else. Why is it that as soon as I realize how wonderful something is it gets taken away from me?"
This kid needs a drink, Jiraiya thought, but before he could offer him one Naruto got to his feet. "Then why don't you keep telling your sob story to all the girls you meet, I'm sure they'll be all over you trying to console you. And maybe with all that attention you'll be able to forget about how big of a coward you are."
"Coward!" the prince stammered incredulously.
"Some men live their whole lives without ever finding someone who will love them like that," Naruto said boldly. "You had something some men only dream of having and you just throw it away when it gets too difficult for you." Naruto's yelled accusingly.
Hinata and Sakura were both too shocked for words. Renjiro wasn't. "You don't know anything about having everything you ever wanted taken away from you?" he demanded.
"Yes I do," Naruto replied quietly as he turned away from the self-pitying prince, "but complaining is for people who have already given up."
"You just don't understand what it's like to be in real pain you weak, dimwitted…Momma's boy!" Renjiro yelled after Naruto's now calmly retreating form.
Naruto didn't even look back as he calmly walked away. Something snapped inside of Hinata as Renjiro raged at Naruto-kun. If anyone understood suffering her Naruto-kun did. She couldn't stay there, so in one fluid motion she got up and began to leave in the same direction Naruto had.
Sakura felt liked the story had just been ruined. 'Some Prince Charming he is, he won't even fight for the woman he loves,' Sakura's inner voice raged within her. She got up and left as well.
In a matter of moments Jiraiya found himself alone with the poor boy. Sighing to himself he got up and sat himself down beside the pouting prince. The prince was muttering obscenities at Naruto under his breath when Jiraiya started speaking. "You know that kid is probably the biggest whiner I have ever met," Jiraiya began.
"Yah, I'll bet he complains and complains whenever something happens that he doesn't like," Renjiro muttered angrily.
"Yup, he complains about dinner, about chores, and especially mission assignments," Jiraiya continued. To which the prince only chuckled maliciously while Jiraiya took a swig from his gourd. "Yup, He always has to have the most exciting missions. He can't stand the simple stuff we do as ninja, he always wants something that will test his limits and prove how strong of a ninja he is."
"So he's a crybaby and a glory hog," Renjiro muttered.
Jiraiya continued on like he didn't hear the prince's comment. "But you know I don't think I've ever heard him complain about his parents dying the day he was born or the fact that almost everyone he meets hates him for something that he didn't do," the boy stopped grumbling an started to turn ashen as what the old man said sunk in. "I don't think he even complained when his best friend betrayed him and tried to murder him."
"W-why?" Renjiro stammered out.
Smiling Jiraiya replied, "Because he hasn't given up on those things. No when he thinks about those things he's always talking about how he's going to be the Hokage and everyone will look up to him." Renjiro was taken aback. "And he works hard at it too. I've never seen anyone work as hard as he does," Jiraiya continued. "He'll probably be the Hokage one day too. So you watch who you're insulting there boy," Jiraiya said, patting the now silent princes knee, "you may one day have to respect him as well." Standing with a grunt the old frog hermit left the boy to his thoughts.
Renjiro kept to himself for the rest of the trip. He didn't know what to say to Naruto. Was his situation even anything like the betrayal of a best friend trying to murder him? The young prince remembered what the ninja had said about men spending their whole lives without finding someone to love them. Did Naruto feel that he would be the same way? Renjiro didn't think he could talk to a man about his lost love if that man would never have a love to loose.
While Renjiro was contemplating this, Sakura was busy plotting how she was going to get those two together. She wasn't going to let such a perfect romance end in tragedy. If Renjiro wasn't willing to fight for the woman he loved she would do what had to be done. No woman deserved to have her heart broken like that!
Hinata however found she couldn't keep her mind of Renjiro's story. She wished her Naruto-kun felt that way about her. She knew that she would do anything to make him happy. And she definitely knew what he could do that would make her happy...
But every time she thought about the blissful life she would like to spend with Naruto-kun she couldn't help but think that no matter how much she wanted it, it would never happen. She might not have quite been royalty, but her father likely would choose who she would marry, and he would never allow Naruto even if she could...
Naruto seemed oblivious to the depressing mood that seemed to envelop the caravan. He merely got miffed when no one would say much to him.
The trip didn't take much longer. They were nearly there by the end of the next day, so they made the four day trip in just under three days.
They arrived without much pomp or ceremony. They were permitted through the gates, but no one came to meet them until they got to the Palace of Fire. Everywhere they passed the city was abuzz with excitement and preparations for the ceremony.
'He made quick time' the lone shadow above the gate tower thought. Had anyone seen him, they wouldn't have found him anywhere near where he had stood when they looked back.
'Everything is already in motion, there will be no stopping it now,' the ghostly figure thought, smiling to himself.
From his new vantage point he could see the three Konoha ninja. They were only children! They were definitely genin from the look of them. There was an unimpressive girl in the front followed by another; a Hyuuga. He grinned to himself. This would be his first opportunity to start his retribution on the murdering Hyuugas that had killed so many of his family. The patience he'd shown would finally pay off. The hour of reckoning was near.
Had the old man walking behind the girls seen the lone figure, he would have seen the murderous intent in his jet black eyes. He might even have said that they gleamed with a malignant sparkle. But, Hakumei Gyaku knew how to blend into a crowd. He was confident that no one could detect him.
Renjiro was escorted to a spacious sitting room to meet the Lord of Fire accompanied only by the four ninja assigned to protect him. The Lord of Fire obviously had bigger Priorities with guests from Lightning country. To tell the truth the formality and ceremony that would usually take place got to be a bit annoying, and Renjiro and his family had gotten close enough to the Lord of Fire's family that it was hardly necessary. They deserved a more casual and worm greeting. Renjiro was thinking these thoughts as the Lord of Fire turned and faced his direction and smiled broadly.
"Naruto-kun, it's good to see you," The Lord of Fire boomed out jovially.
"It's good to see you too, Toshiro-ji-san," Naruto replied warmly as if it were the natural thing.
"Oh come on Naruto-kun, I don't look that old do I?" The Lord of fire responded, with an obviously fake hurt tone. "I'm not even fifty yet."
In Response to her husbands obvious annoyance his wife, Shijimi reached over and pinched his cheek. "Some things only get better with age dear," the chubby woman said. Lady Shijimi wore traditional white makeup and ceremonial layered robes that made her appear fatter than she was. She wouldn't ever be in a swimsuit calendar, but she was by no means obese.
"Every one is against me," The lord of Fire said whinily, "You'll support me won't you Renji-kun?"
Renjiro, like Sakura and Hinata, was at a complete Loss for words. They all went rigid at the sight. Fortunately no one was there to poke them, as they would have all fallen over at the slightest tap. Renjiro had never seen anyone treat the Lord of Fire so casually. And he'd never even seen his Liege Lord act this way. He found himself barely able to move and barely able to stammer out a reply. "Y-yes," he finally got out of his mouth after a slightly obvious silence.
Turning back to Naruto, the ruler of the Fire Kingdom looked at him ruefully. "Well Naruto, it looks like Jiraiya-san has trained you well… Are these two girls with you, or is one of them with you Renji-kun?"
"No Sir!" Renji replied very quickly.
"Well Naruto, it looks like you're a chip off the old block," The Lord of Fire said jovially.
"No, no, no," Naruto said defensively. "These are my teammates. They're really awesome ninjas!" Naruto said grinning.
"Ah," The ruler said knowingly. "Aren't' you the lucky one. So which of them is your girl friend?" he asked conspiratorially.
At this point Sakura was about at the end of her rope. First Naruto had to scare her by trying to get them all killed by treating the Lord of Fire without the proper respect. Then he acted like they were old drinking buddies. You can't act like that with the ruler of a country; you could have your head chopped off. She didn't know what he'd done to make the Lord of Fire think he was some kind of Mac daddy, but she wasn't going to let him act like he had gotten it on with her. She felt sorry for him, but she didn't feel that sorry for him. And she knew that he was going to say she was his girl friend. Well she was going to put the smack down on him if he tried that.
Naruto spoke up just as Sakura was getting ready to rumble. "No, they're just my teammates," Naruto said simply with only the slightest bit of disappointment.
"Na-ru-to!" Sakura bellowed as she started to walk toward him. She'd taken a step before what he'd said sunk in and she realized that he hadn't said what she expected. Her face suddenly became blank and started to color in embarrassment before she just as suddenly began scowling again. "We are not just your teammates, we're your friends, and don't you forget it! Right Hinata?" Sakura bellowed before she gave Naruto a light bonk on the head. Though light for her would give most normal people a concussion.
"R-right," Hinata said, now that she was finally drawn from her reverie. Hinata had frozen up when Naruto-kun had begun to address the Lord of Fire. She had just about to fall on her knees and beg for his forgiveness on Naruto-kun's behalf when she realized how her countries ruler was treating Naruto-kun. From that point her mind had just frozen. She couldn't really think anything, but she found herself in awe of her Naruto-kun and overwhelmed with curiosity about what he had done during his training mission and what kind of adventures he must have had if the Lord of Fire treated him like a friend. Then, finally now that she had spoken, the implications of the conversation hit her, specifically the suggestion about her being Naruto's girlfriend. She began to redden and placed her hands in front of her as she looked down. She lifted her head in time to see the Lord of Fire's smirk before he continued to address Naruto.
Chuckling, the Ruler replied, "It seems you're doing well."
"Yeah, I guess," Naruto replied noncommittally. The last few statements had reminded him of some of the events of the past few days that were kind of depressing.
"I'd bet you're doing better than you think you are," the Lord of fire smiled inwardly at his private joke. "So don't go acting depressed, it doesn't suit you."
Naruto smiled and said, "Thank you sir," as the Lord of fire heartily slapped him on the shoulder. Naruto gave a little oof as a little air rushed out of his lungs.
The Lord of Fire grinned broadly as he passed Naruto and walked toward the rest of his party. He never saw the look of shock on Renjiro's face as he walked right past him. The ruler was focusing on the old man behind him who had previously kept silent.
"Jiraiya-san, welcome back," he said. "It's good to see you!" The jovial ruler said before doing something that shocked Renjiro even more; he clasped the Frog Hermit's hand and pulled him into a one armed hug that ended with several slaps on the back.
To say Renjiro, Sakura, and Hinata were dumb struck again would be an impressive understatement. Each of their jaws had opened so wide that a lion tamer might have been tempted to stick his head in one of them.
Chuckling Jiraiya responded to the Lord of Fire. "It's a pleasure to be back, Toshiro-sama."
"I told you not to call me that," the now upset ruler replied. "After all you've done for me, call me Toshiro."
"You're too kind Toshiro-san," Jiraiya replied smiling. "I haven't done that much."
The Lord of Fire began leading the Frog Hermit to another room, obviously intending to find a private place to continue their discussion. The continuing banter between the two old men kept the surprised trio so confused that it threatened to give them a case of lockjaw. Sakura was the first to snap. Just after the Lord of Fire had left with Jiraiya, completely oblivious to the rest of them, Sakura spoke up.
"Alright Naruto, spill it. How did Jiraiya-sensei get on such good terms with the Lord of Fire?"
"He, helped him meet his wife," Naruto replied with a little hesitation. He was obviously hiding something.
"How?" Hinata spoke up. She had surprised herself and Sakura by being so bold.
She had surprised Naruto as well, but he was a little more concerned with his answer to think about it. Reaching back and putting one hand behind his head in an embarrassed gesture he replied: "I think he took him to a hot springs to…"
"Naruto-nii-san!" a high, slightly squeaky voice interrupted Naruto. Everyone looked toward the small door in the middle of the wall on the left of where they came in. "Naruto-nii-san!" the voice yelled again as the door was opened and a little girl peeked her head in.
The girl looking in could have been no older than seven or eight years old. She wore her jet black hair short and it seemed to bounce when she jerked her head from side to side. Naruto had seen it cut once. The procedure involved placing a bowl on the top of her head and trimming the hair that was showing very short.
"Suki-chan," Naruto yelled causing the short haired girl to look in his direction. The girl had light hazel green eyes. She wore a white kimono that restricted her leg movements, so when she ran yelling Naruto-nii-san she was forced to shuffle very quickly across the floor and was able to get the whole statement before she had fully covered half the distance between the door and Naruto.
Everyone had to wait a little bit for her to get to them. When she did, she bent down as well as she could and leaped up wrapping her arms around Naruto's neck. A second later she was hanging from Naruto's neck with her legs dangling off the ground. Her kimono kept her from wrapping her legs around him to hold herself up, so Naruto had to support her with his arms.
He wrapped his arms tightly under her shoulder blades and took a couple of steps forward, away from everyone else, and began to spin. The girl laughed gleefully as Naruto spun her around, crying, "Faster…faster Naruto-nii-san!"
Hinata had a hard time deciding whether to be jealous that some other girl was being held in Naruto-kun's arms or pleased that Naruto-kun was so good with children and would make such a good father. With Naruto-kun's stamina she was sure that he would be good at becoming a father…
Sakura was shocked as well. She had no idea that Naruto could be this good with children. Renjiro was surprised too, but not for the same reason as the two girls. No one treated the second daughter of the Lord of Fire, Hiwatari Suki that way. It just wasn't done! You could be executed faster than you could blink, and Renjiro was blinking a great deal, hoping that one of the times he opened his eyes that he wouldn't be seeing what he was seeing now.
Naruto finished spinning the girl around and gently set her on her feet. Smiling at the little girl Naruto squatted down so he was at eye level. "How are you doing Suki-chan?" Naruto asked sincerely.
Jerking suddenly as if just remembering something Suki began to lower herself down on one knee. It took a bit of effort because of her kimono but she managed it just as Hinata was bringing herself out of her blushing reverie.
Hinata watched with unfeigned interest as the young lady, now on one knee took one of Naruto-kun's hands in hers and looking into his eyes and in her most sweet and innocent voice asked, "Naruto-nii-san, will you marry me?"
Hinata went into shock. She found herself weak in the knees and began to sway around dizzily. Her mind seized up and couldn't seem to move beyond Naruto-kun and Suki-san staring into each other's eyes. She felt strange, because even though she should have been jealous she couldn't. All she could feel was a cold fear in the pit of her stomach and despite her condition she would have to be pulled away kicking and screaming to keep her from watching the response to this question.
Sakura was so stunned she completely forgot about her legs for a moment and fell on her butt and despite the stone floor she didn't even notice the pain. She was shocked by how forward this girl was being. 'What are you thinking,' the Inner Sakura raged at the girl. Sakura couldn't believe that any girl would be crazy enough to actually want to marry Naruto. Sure he was a great guy. He was kind, considerate and apparently good with kids, but that was because he still acted like a kid himself. He didn't have any sense. Naruto was rude simply because he didn't know any better. He was cute, not sexy and quite frankly not that bright. Sakura was so caught up wondering what she could possibly see in Naruto that she didn't even consider her age and why she would even want to be married that young.
It wouldn't do to say that Sutra Renjiro had fallen down due to fear. So we will simply presume that he felt it wisest to be near the ground so that when the Lord of Fire saw what was going on he would have a head start kneeling in submission to beg for his life while explaining that he had nothing to do with it.
Naruto looked into Suki-chan's eyes intently. She was looking back so earnestly it was intimidating.
"Aren't we a little young to be worrying about getting married?" Naruto asked trying to sound diplomatic.
Hinata's heart began to race in anticipation of the girls reply.
"I'm ready," Suki replied. "If you say yes we can be married tomorrow," the girl replied happily.
Hinata gasped quietly. Fortunately everyone else was a little too preoccupied to notice. Renjiro was trying to figure out what he would do with the last 24 hours of his life. Sakura couldn't believe how bold the girl was. Even she knew that you couldn't be that forward or you'd scare any boy away, even Naruto.
"Suki-chan," Naruto began patiently. "Some day you are going to meet someone a lot better than me and you're going to decide you want to spend the rest of your life with him. You don't have to be in a hurry now."
"No!" The girl shouted. "I'll never find anyone better than you!" The princess was almost ready to cry at this point.
Hinata could empathize with the girl. She didn't think she would ever find anyone as good either.
"Suki-chan, I can't marry you until…until after I become Hokage..."
"Why?" the princess interrupted him.
"If we were married before I became Hokage, everyone would think that I just became Hokage because I'd married you, and no one would believe that I could protect them."
"But I can't wait that long!" the girl announced before she latched onto him and buried her head in his neck and began to cry. "You have to promise me now."
"What's wrong Suki-hime, why don't you have time to wait?" Naruto spoke softly into the girl's ear as he wrapped his arms around her back.
"If I don't get married soon my dad will make me marry some mean man like onee-chan," the girl sobbed into Naruto's shoulder. "Even Renji-kun was nicer than that mean man daddy is making onee-chan marry."
Hinata found herself released from the spell she was under. She could almost feel the tension rush out of her. She almost lost her balance again, but before she could feel relieved her heart went out to the poor little girl. She understood the girls fear, because her father might one day force her to marry someone she didn't love just to make the Hyuuga clan more powerful.
Sakura also felt her heart going out to the little girl. She couldn't even imagine how awful it would be for someone to pick who you were going to marry without giving you any say. 'Enemies of love should be struck down,' the Inner Sakura raged.
Renjiro began to hope that he could escape this situation with his head.
Naruto gently grabbed the crying princess by the shoulders and pulled her away from him so he could look her in the eye. "I'll make sure that your dad doesn't make you marry anyone you don't want to. That's a promise, so don't you worry about getting married right away. You have plenty of time to decide."
"But how can you do that?" the princess begged on the verge of starting to cry again. "What if he makes me while you aren't here? And what if..." The girl was silenced by a finger over her lips and a soft voice shushing her, but it wasn't Naruto's.
Suki turned to see one of the girls that had come with Naruto-nii-san. She had short black hair kind of like hers, but it was long in the front and she had these pink white eyes that seemed to glow with kindness.
Seeing the girl's pain had unlocked the part of Hinata's nature that instinctively made her protect people. She had knelt down in front of the child and shushed her on instinct. "Don't worry," Hinata began. "Naruto-kun promised you that he wouldn't let your father force you to marry someone you don't love. That means he'll stop it." Hinata's absolute confidence in the young man shined through her eyes. It comforted the younger princess, but her fears were not so easily dispelled.
"But how can he do that?" the girl asked hopefully.
Somehow the girl's earnestness and her pain empowered Hinata to show her confidence, despite Naruto's presence. "He's Naruto-kun; that means that he'll find a way." Hinata said. Somehow she knew deep in her heart that he would always find a way to protect the people he cared about. She also knew that she would do anything she could to help keep this girl from being forced to marry someone she didn't love.
"A-are you sure?" the little princess asked.
She looked so vulnerable that it melted Hinata's heart. She was so touched that she didn't trust her voice so she just smiled warmly and nodded her head.
Suki's face slowly changed as she began to believe. Her eyes lit up and she began to smile as tears began to roll down her face. Then without warning she leaped forward and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck, nearly knocking him over. 'Thank you Naruto-nii-san," she whispered in his ear.
Naruto just wrapped his arms around the child lightly and looked at Hinata. She seemed to be radiating warmth. Smiling at Naruto and the child she stood up gracefully and stepped back toward Sakura and Renjiro who had both gotten back up. For a moment Naruto thought she looked like an angel ascending back into heaven.
The moment didn't last long. Before Hinata could take the few steps back toward the other two occupants of the room, the door at the end where the Lord of Fire had exited reopened, drawing everyone's attention to it. Now the center of attention a young woman began to gracefully walk into the room. She wore a dark blue kimono with pink swirling shapes in it. Her hair was the deepest shade of black and it hung low straight behind her back. She took small steps as she entered the room followed by her bulky mother, Lady Shijimi.
Keiko was annoyed at her mother for insisting she come to this room without telling her why. Maybe if she'd have picked one of the moments that Yukio deemed to spend with her it would have been a blessing, but as it was she had a lot on her mind. She opened the door and peered in hoping that her mother hadn't decided that she and her fiancé needed to spend some more quality time together.
Seeing that he and his spooky guards weren't in the room she ventured in. That was when she saw him. She couldn't understand why Renji-kun had a look of pure terror on his face. Then without warning she found herself unable to move. She hadn't expected seeing him again to be so hard.
Renjiro froze in pure terror when he saw Keiko and her mother walk into the room. Suki-san was still in Naruto's arms. When Lady Shijimi saw them and told the Lord of Fire what had happened, he'd have their heads on platters before sunrise.
Lady Shijimi was ecstatic. She ran past the eldest of her two children, not even noticing that she almost bowled her over. She scooped Naruto up in one arm, took a few more steps and grabbed Renjiro. "How are my favorite boys?" she asked as she began to squeeze and nuzzle them.
Renjiro had forgotten how affectionate Keiko's mother was. Every time he was in this position he felt sorry for Tiger, the family's pet cat.
Naruto still hadn't gotten used to this, though he never complained as Lady Shijimi was the only woman who had ever hugged him. He wondered what it would have been like to have a mother to fuss over him like Lady Shijimi did. He was aware that most mothers weren't so asphyxiating, but Naruto allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of being loved, even if it did emphasize the fact that he'd never find a woman of his own to hold this way. Even though overall he enjoyed the experience, he did feel sorry for all of the times he'd recovered Tiger, a mission he'd had a couple of times when he was younger.
There were two secrets to being released from Lady Shijimi's bear hug of doom. The first and most effective was to hug back tightly, the second was to choke, turn blue in the face or show any other sign of imminent death due to strangulation. Naruto chose the first while Renjiro seemed to opt for the double-whammy of choking while turning blue in the face.
Lady Shijimi dropped them. Naruto was pleased that being let go of no longer involved a trip to the floor now that he had gotten taller. Renjiro didn't think much, he was concentrating on getting air back into his lungs.
"Well I'm sure those two have a lot of catching up to do," Lady Shijimi began as she stepped to Naruto's side and hooked her arm around his, "but you have to tell me all about everything that's been happening to you." Naruto gave Renjiro a nudge toward Keiko before Lady Shijimi dragged Naruto off by his arm out the door that Suki had entered through. Suki followed close behind.
"Keiko-chan, how…" Renjiro began nervously before he cut himself short. He didn't know what to say but continued to walk toward the woman he loved more than life.
"Did you come to ask how I was doing?" Keiko replied venomously.
"No… I just don't…"
"Why are you here?" Keiko asked angrily.
"Your father summoned me here to attend you…wedding," Renjiro had a hard time getting the last word out of his throat. He found he couldn't actually say it while looking at her.
"So you're just here because my father called you?" Keiko yelled. She didn't know why she was so upset; she didn't want him here in the first place.
"No," Renjiro answered quickly and somewhat angrily. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Renjiro, I'm not going to disobey my father. I can't and I won't."
"But isn't there…" Renjiro began.
"Now you've talked to me, there's nothing more to discuss!" Keiko cut him off angrily then immediately turned sharply on her heel and walked back out the door.
"I love you." Renjiro's voice was drowned out by the door slamming.
Renjiro let the hand fall to his side that he hadn't realized he'd reached out to Keiko-chan. He stood still; too empty to move. Tears fell silently, but freely down his cheek. Somehow a part of him believed that if he came he would be able to stop this travesty to love. That part had shielded him from the full brunt of the pain he felt now.
Hinata was shocked to see not just one girl throwing herself at Naruto-kun but now two. She'd wanted to hug Naruto-kun for so long she was jealous. She had wanted to be the first person to hold him! The whole thing had thrown her off so much that she hadn't known whether to follow Naruto or stay. She wanted to hear Naruto's stories about his training too!
Then there had been the argument between Renjiro and Keiko. She could tell that they both loved each other, but felt powerless to do anything about it. Her heart went out to them again. She wanted to cry just thinking about it. Would she one day have to face the same thing as Keiko-san? Would she one day have to invite Naruto-kun to her wedding?
Sakura was stunned. First the Lord of Fire's wife had hugged Naruto and then Keiko had told Renjiro that she didn't want him here. It looked like these two needed more help than she thought. 'These two need help from the Love Doctor!' the Inner Sakura said while rolling up one of her sleeves in front of a placard that said Haruno Sakura LD.
Naruto was rubbing his head, his posterior and a few other places that still hurt. He'd told Lady Shijimi a couple of stories about his exploits before she had let him go under the auspices of needing to prepare for dinner. He had been trying to find Renjiro and the girls when he'd stepped into a rope noose that had tightened around his leg and pulled it out from under him. He'd heard the sound of two boys grunting and falling down before a bucket of rocks fell on his head.
"You won't take Suki-sama away from me," one of the voices had yelled before they had run off.
Naruto was still muttering about the event under his breath when he ran into Renjiro. "So how did it go?" Naruto asked, suddenly cheerful again.
"How did what go?" Renjiro asked grumpily
"Your talk with Keiko-san," Naruto replied just as annoyingly.
"She told me to leave her alone and ran away from me!" Renjiro snapped at Naruto.
"Did you chase her?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Chase her? Why?" Renjiro asked scandalized.
"Sometimes girls want to be chased," Naruto replied simply.
"She said there was nothing more to discuss," Renjiro said the last part mockingly.
"Some girls don't know that they want to be chased," Naruto said completely unabashed.
"Thanks for the advice Dr. Love, but you don't seem to have much luck with the ten and older crowd," Renjiro said mockingly.
"You're right," Naruto said quietly, "but I'm not the one doing nothing while the girl I love is marrying someone else."
"What would you have me do?" Renjiro asked growing tired of advice from someone who knew nothing about his situation.
"I don't know," Naruto replied simply.
Renjiro sighed, he couldn't believe it. Here this boy who had probably never been kissed was telling him what to do about his lost love. Then he told him to stop doing nothing, but had no idea what to do? Renjiro was about to give this hypocritical busy body a piece of his mind when Naruto continued speaking.
"You're the one with all the experience with all of this intrigue and politics crap. I'm just a ninja, not politician."
"Well then oh wise one, what would you do where you come from?" Renjiro asked mockingly.
"I'd probably just beat the guy up and tell him to leave my girl alone."
"That won't work here, it could start a war. Besides her fiancé isn't the problem, it's her father," Renjiro explained in a voice that he thought sounded patient.
"Then I'd just beat up her father too," Naruto replied completely unapologetic about the implications.
"Her father is the Lord of Fire; I'd be executed for that!" Renjiro said shocked. He could feel a pressure on his throat already.
"Hey didn't I start this conversation by saying I didn't know anything about all of this politics crap!" Naruto said.
"Obviously!" Renjiro said lowering his had from his throat as he yelled at the brash ninja.
"Well, it looks like you have two choices," Naruto said
"What?" Renjiro asked surprised.
"Think of something or go tell your sob story to the girls in your fan club," Naruto said as he began to walk away. "If you want I'll find out when their next club meeting is for you," Naruto called back to the now frozen in place prince.
Keiko had tried to keep her walk slowly as she left Renjiro in that room, but as soon as she had slammed the door she started to speed up. She didn't know how long it had taken for her to be running through the halls at a full tilt run crying, but she had probably made a scene by the time she had gotten to her room and locked it.
The rest of the evening had been a haze. Her mother had come and helped her get ready for dinner stating that they had very special gests that were friends of her fathers. Dinner had been a nightmare with her sitting as far from Renji-kun as possible and ignoring both him and her snob of a fiancé, Yukio while keeping herself from crying. She had excused herself as soon as it was polite to do so and ran back to her room.
Now that she was back in her room she couldn't seem to stop the tears, nor could she stay in one place. Her heart hurt so much she just couldn't seem to stay still. She wanted to scream about the terrible injustice of it all. During her contortions of grief she managed to knock over a vase, cutting her hand.
Sakura and Hinata were preparing for bed in a room joining the princess' room. They had been asked by the Lord of Fire himself to body guard his daughter until after the wedding. Then because of that duty they had been allowed to have dinner with the Lord of Fire and his family.
Hinata remembered the event dreamily. The dinner had been a relatively small personal affair with just the Lord of Fire, his wife, two daughters, Renjiro, Jiraiya, Naruto, Keiko's fiancé and a guard and themselves. The guard had stood in the background the whole time. Suki, the Lord of Fire's youngest daughter had asked Naruto-kun to tell a story of his exploits and her father had agreed under the auspices that he told the stories better than Jiraiya. Naruto-kun had spent most of the night telling stories of his adventures with Jiraiya-sensei interrupting often. Hinata had enjoyed every second of his stories. He had told stories about his training and the last chuunin exam he was in, including his fight with the Gara of the Sand. There had been an uncomfortable silence when Sakura had yelled at him for not mentioning Sasuke's part in the adventure, but the stories had continued after a short uncomfortable silence. Hinata didn't remember how Suki-sama had ended up in Naruto-kun's lap, but she was so content listening to the stories that she didn't mind. Hinata had worried when Naruto-kun had flicked a spoonful of soup at the spooky bodyguard, but after the two of them had stared at each other for a moment nothing happened. Everyone acted like it was an accident and continued eating.
Hinata and Sakura were in their Pajamas when they heard a crash from the next room. They used the adjoining door and were in the room next to Keiko-sama in under a second, neither of them bothering to grab any weapons.
When they arrived there was no one in sight but the princess. Not even Hinata's byakugan could find anyone. Sakura was puzzled until she saw the broken vase and Keiko-sama sucking on one of her fingers.
Kneeling down to face the princess who had obviously been crying Sakura reached out her hand. "Let me see that," She said simply.
At first Keiko didn't understand why there were two girls jumping into her room from the servant's room, but in her grief-filled daze she remembered her father requesting that the two girl ninja guard her. She was to upset to care or make a fuss, but if she'd have known that they would cause here this much trouble over a broken vase she would have complained. She was about to do just that when the pink haired one asked to look at her finger.
She wasn't too surprised to hear her make simple comments that were supposed to be comforting about how the cut wasn't deep or serious. What surprised her was when the girl started making strange shapes with her hands causing two of her fingers to glow. The girl then placed those fingers on her bleeding finger tip and wiped away the blood.
"There you go, all better," Sakura said happily.
The Princess was too shocked for words. What did this silly twit mean all better? The wound was simply going to bleed some more! "What do you mean all better?" Keiko asked incredulously. She used the thumb on the same hand to try to find the cut and open it, but she couldn't find any trace of a cut on her finger. "What? How?" Keiko asked confused.
Sakura just grinned while Hinata who had finally decided she was satisfied that there wasn't a threat explained. "Sakura-san is a medical ninja. She has to be able to heal cuts much worse than that so that other ninja can keep fighting."
Keiko simply looked stunned. She had been treated by the best doctors in the country, but she had never seen anything like this.
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked calmly.
"I'm fine, the bleeding's stopped," Keiko replied snappily.
"I mean about the whole wedding thing and Renjiro," Sakura replied calmly.
"Why wouldn't I be ok with it?" the princess snapped again.
"You've been crying," Sakura replied. "Hinata, why don't you get a warm, wet towel for Keiko-sama?" Sakura waited for Hinata to leave before she continued. "You don't want to marry that guy, so why don't you say no?"
"I'm a princess. I've always known that my father might choose someone for me to marry for political reasons?" Keiko said calmly.
"But you love Renjiro," Sakura said.
"We've both known that this could happen, I'm ok with it." Keiko lied.
"You're braver than I am," Hinata replied softly as she brought a towel.
"Well I've been prepared for this since I was a child." Keiko tried to explain.
"I've known that my father would probably choose the person I will marry to strengthen our clan, but I don't think I could accept it that easily, especially since there is someone I love as well," Hinata replied as she knelt down next to the princess.
Keiko finally noticed the dark haired ninja's eyes. They were a pinkish just barely off white color. If she remembered right, that made her a member of one of the hidden village's most important clans. The eyes were supposed to give her some special ninja ability. Keiko realized that this quiet girl might be telling the truth. Her heart suddenly went out to the white-eyed ninja. "You should tell your father before he chooses someone else." the princess suggested.
"My father would never approve of him," Hinata said simply.
"How do you know unless you ask?" Keiko said desperately. Somehow all of her pain at having lost her one chance at love had turned itself into a powerful determination to help this girl get the boy she was in love with as if some how it could make everything alright for her.
"My father constantly says bad things about him and tells me not to associate with him," Hinata said choking back a tear. "Perhaps it's better if I never tell him how I feel, then I won't have to hurt him by telling him that we can't ever be together."
Keiko's heart broke hearing the young ninja's story and her concern for the boy she loved. Suddenly the young princess burst back into tears. "Renji-kun must hate me now," Keiko began. "He must think I hate him!"
"No, he wouldn't think that," Sakura interrupted.
"It just hurts so much to see him because it reminds me of all of the things I wanted but can't have..." Keiko was now sobbing in Sakura's shoulder.
"I'm sure he understands," Sakura cooed into the weeping princess.
"Don't worry," Hinata said, "I'm sure Naruto-kun will set him straight."
"Naruto," Keiko said hopefully as she lifted her head off of Sakura's shoulder.
"I don't want to sound bad, but Naruto's never really had much experience with love," Sakura said hesitantly.
"Naruto-kun always knows what to say," Hinata said confidently.
Sakura wrinkled her brow. She didn't know exactly why Hinata was so confident in Naruto, but she didn't think it could be justified. "I don't know Hinata, the last time he just called Renjiro a coward."
"But remember how Neji-nii-san used to hate the main family," Hinata began. "After Naruto beat him he stopped hating the main family and he was even nice to me." Hinata's faith had obviously not wavered.
"Well boys are pretty strange," Sakura said. "Get them into a fight and suddenly their best buddies."
Keiko laughed unexpectedly. "There was this one time Renji-kun and …" Keiko began to relate a story about Renjiro and another young man that was now his friend. The conversation from there had drifted to boys and the strange things they did with the occasional diversion into politics.
Keiko's stories all involved Renjiro in some way, while Hinata had spoken about Naruto and Kiba and occasionally Neji. Sakura hadn't been able to share much, she told a couple of stories about Naruto which Hinata listened to with rapt attention and she even managed to tell a story about Sasuke. Hinata and Sakura learned that Naruto and Jiraiya had helped Keiko's father in some way, but she didn't know what, and that is why her whole family liked him so much. Both Sakura and Keiko learned from Hinata about just how terrible Naruto's early life had been.
They talked into the night. Keiko told the two ninja the story about how she had fallen in love with Renjiro and how much it hurt her to see him gallivanting off with all the loose girls that flocked around him. Then how he had caught her crying one time and had immediately started to ignore the other girls and tried to cheer her up. That was the day they had fallen in love.
Sakura got curious about who this boy was that Hinata liked. She thought it was either Kiba or possibly even Naruto because of how much she talked about them. But she couldn't tell for sure which one it was. Keiko had figured it out, but Sakura never thought to ask her.
Finally they left to let the princess sleep. Just before they got to the servant's quarters' door Sakura turned to the princess that she hoped she could now call a friend. "Keiko, you should ask your father about Renjiro," Sakura said.
"What about?" the princess asked puzzled.
"About canceling this marriage so you can marry him of course," Sakura responded slightly surprised.
"But it's too late now," Keiko replied sadly.
"How do you know unless you ask?" Sakura quoted the princess' advice to Hinata.
"I don't think I could," Keiko responded softly.
"If it's important to you you'll do something about it instead of just complaining," Hinata said sagely. "Naruto-kun taught me that," Hinata said before turning and walking into the servant's room followed by Sakura.
"Good night Keiko-san," both girls said before closing the door on the befuddled princess.
Naruto walked into Renjiro's room with him. "Why are you coming in here with me, your room is next door?" Renjiro asked testily.
"Just making sure everything's all right in here before I go to bed," Naruto responded in the same tone.
"Eh," they both muttered together in annoyed tones.
Naruto was about to use the adjoining door to go to his room when there was a knock at the door. Before either of them could respond it was pulled open and a young man let himself in followed by another man wrapped in a dark cloak. The young man could best be described as lanky. He was dressed in all the regal finery he could muster; he had a pail complexion and bright blond hair that he wore greased back. The first man was the complete opposite of his companion. His body guard wore a thick black cloak that covered most of his dark complexion. What could be seen was that he was even taller than his employer and considerably thicker. To some he would have been quite imposing.
Renjiro however had no patience for it. "Oh how humble you are Lord Ketsuma, to enter like a servant," Renjiro told the man that had taken Keiko-chan away from him. "To what do I owe this honor? Did you come to take my laundry or perhaps to change the chamber pot? If so, please wait, because I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet."
Yukio couldn't believe he was being treated this way. He was the heir to the largest province in Lightning country. He didn't have to sit still and listen to some Fire Country red neck who thought he knew what nobility was mock him!
"I came here to give you an order." Yukio told the rival prince sternly.
"Really?" Renjiro interrupted. "Normally the Lord of Fire sends his own people for that if he can't come himself. What does he want?"
"If I were you I would think about the future. Now that I'm going to marry the Lord of Fire's heir I will soon be the ruler of this land."
"Well actually," Renjiro interrupted smugly, "according to the law since the Lord of Fire's oldest heir is marrying a foreigner, the next youngest becomes the heir. I guess that means Naruto here will become the next Lord of Fire," Renjiro said smugly cocking his head at Naruto when he mentioned his name. "I hope you can handle all of the responsibility along with being Hokage," the now grinning prince said turning to Naruto.
"You actually think that moronic weakling could become Hokage?" The cloaked man yelled out unable to contain himself. "There's no way a big mouthed liar like him could ever be respected by the other nations as Hokage!"
Renjiro replied before his ninja companion could. "I wouldn't expect some mere body guard that has to hide behind a cloak to be able to comprehend, let alone perceive the strength of on of Konoha's finest combat ninjas!" Renjiro made sure that his voice was filled with disdain.
"Why you sl…" the cloaked ninja began to curse at the prince as he lunged forward in a rage. But suddenly he stopped himself and stared and Naruto who had just leaned back against the wall with his hands behind his head.
"It doesn't seem like your future Hokage here is to keen on protecting you," Yukio said chuckling snidely. "You might want start doing as I tell you if you know what's good for you."
"Well that's just it," Renjiro said. "According to my friend here I don't seem to be very smart or know what's good for me," Renjiro replied gesturing toward Naruto again.
"I'm ordering you to leave Fire Capital and return home at once!" Yukio yelled infuriated that such an insignificant boy had the audacity to disobey him.
"But a girl's wedding day is the happiest day of her life, and Keiko and I have been friends since we were children. I couldn't possibly not be here to celebrate with her." Renjiro lied through his teeth knowing that even though the other prince knew full well it was a lie, he couldn't dispute it.
Ketsuma Yukio had never in his life had his orders so flagrantly disregarded. "Why you insignificant insect," Yukio began as yelling at the insignificant retainer that had dared to disobey him. The prince's hands hooked into claws as he stomped toward Renjiro intent on strangling him. His charge was halted by the cloaked figures grip on his collar, but his rant could not be stopped so easily. "If you don't leave now, I will personally see to it that you are no longer breathing by the time of her first anniversary!"
Before the foreign prince could continue his threats he was unceremoniously dragged out of the room by his bodyguard.
Yukio had barely waited for the door to Renjiro's room to be closed before he began to yell at his subordinate. "How dare you treat me this way? If my father hadn't taken you and your men in you would all still be hiding from Hunter-Ninjas."
"Had I not stopped you that Leaf Shinobi would have killed you," the man in the cloak responded coolly.
"How can you say that?" Yukio demanded, "You saw him lean against the wall just like I did. He was practically inviting us to kill that gutter trash."
"He leaned back against the wall to cover the motion of drawing out two handfuls of shuriken stars." The body guard replied calmly again despite his employer's increasing agitation.
"That's what I keep you around for," the prince said coldly. "Aren't you Hakumei supposed to be unrivaled in speed? You should have been able to kill them both in a blink."
"Our natural speed is difficult, but not impossible to match. The boy's hand speed was quite impressive and if that boy is in any way related to the man he resembles he may actually be able to challenge me in speed."
"Are you scared?" Yukio asked mockingly
"On the contrary, I'm beginning to look forward to killing him, but doing so now would only hamper the plan. The Sukuro boy can't do anything to stop the wedding now, so there is no great need to kill him yet."
"How dare you tell me how to execute my plan?" Yukio demanded. "I am your master, it is I who tell you how we will execute this plan and if I decide to change the plan then you had best obey!"
Hakumei Gyaku stopped in front of the young lord Ketsuma stopping the young lord dead in his tracks. Gyaku's two inches in superior height seemed to make him tower over the boy. "Understand this boy, and understand it well," Gyaku said in his deepest, most menacing voice. "I agreed to follow your father for as long as his desires match my own and no longer. I do not and will not ever answer to you!"
Yukio was dumbstruck with terror. Gyaku's eyes never changed color, but somehow knowing what those eyes could do, but not seeing it made the encounter all the more terrifying. He would never forgive the ninja for this insolence. When he returned to his own country he would tell his father of this arrogant ninja's disobedience and then one day when he was no longer needed he would be disposed of. Yes, Yukio would enjoy disposing of both Sukuro Renjiro and Hakumei Gyaku.
After educating his master about the true state of affairs Gyaku stepped aside and waited for the boy to digest the information and continue moving. It only took a few moments before Yukio began stomping away. Gyaku was beginning to anticipate this mission being far too enjoyable to let some spoiled brat interfere with it.
Renjiro waited for the two intruders to get far enough down the hall not to hear him before he turned to Naruto. "What do you think you were doing?" Renjiro yelled at him.
"Other than protecting you?" Naruto asked angrily, finally lowering his hands from behind his head.
"How exactly were you going to protect me lying back against the wall? You were practically inviting both of them to rip my head off."
"They didn't, did they?" Naruto pointed out as he slipped the shuriken that he'd removed from his hip back into the holster.
"Yeah, but you couldn't have…." Renjiro paused as he finally noticed what Naruto was doing. "When did you?" He asked questioningly.
Smirking Naruto answered the prince's hesitant question. "That's why I'm a world class ninja and you are a coward who is going to let the woman he loves go without a fight to and arrogant prick." Naruto turned and walked into his room, which unlike Hinata and Sakura's was as big as Renjiro's.
End Chapter 4
I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter updated. If you haven't been paying attention to my profile page, I have been keeping updates on my progress and will continue to do so. Unfortunately on 3/24 I found out that all work schedules were going to be cut back by an hour and a half until 4/1 (April Fools day). Then the next day (3/25) I found out that my entire project at work was going to be laid off on April Fools Day. (Kind of a bad joke you know.) We were offered the chance to move to different projects, but all but one of them involved a couple dollars an hour pay cut and instead of doing technical work, we would be doing menial work.
The Story gets long, but after a fair amount of scrambling I managed to get one of the 12 positions on the only other technical project on our site. It also came with a 2 dollar an hour raise. Whoohoo!
What this meant as far as Hinata's Story goes is that it got delayed for about 2 weeks while I tried to keep my job or get a new one. Now that I've got steady work again, I should be able to continue working on the story, but my new position will likely not allow me to write while I am at work, something I of course never did before ;)
I will still be trying to release a chapter at least every 30 days.
Before I continue I also need to mention the Kurogan. The idea was partially inspired by a few things including two stories here on I had intended to use a different name, but kuro was the only word for black I could find that sounded cool with the ending gan. Seems those authors and I agreed on that. Before anyone cries foul the blood limit is radically different in this story that it was in the others I read, it's just that the name was the coolest of all the options I could give it. I will go over it more in my reply to reviews for this chapter.
Stay Tuned for Hinata's Story: Underneath Your Clothes Chapter 5: Not too much to ask
Some cowards grow a backbone while others prove they never had one, Renjiro gets ready to rumble and Naruto opens up a can of kick butt!