The New Namikaze Clan 1
It was about noon when the two travelers finally arrived at the gates to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. They had awoken before sunrise and walked all day, but Naruto was not tired, in fact he was more alive than he could ever remember being.
After hearing about the legendary village of his birth for the last twelve years of his life, he was more than eager to see it with his own eyes for the first time.
The young boy managed to restrain himself enough so he wouldn't simply sprint passed the guards and explore his new home till he collapsed. Instead, they calmly, at least on the outside, strolled up to the pair of chuunin blocking entrance to the village.
"Please state your name and purpose for visit." the guard with a bandage across his face asked in what was supposed to be an intimidating voice.
Usually the guards would have been more polite, but when a tall, muscular white haired man in kabuki gear and an almost as tall younger man wearing black shinobi pants, a black chain mail shirt and a blood red trench coat with a heavy looking black pole strapped to his back, walk up to the gates emitting powerful auras, it tends to make people a bit nervous.
Still, Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow at the question. "What are they teaching you kids these days?" he mumbled shaking his head and getting into position to perform his infamous introduction dance.
Before he could begin however, he was interrupted by the blonde at his side.
"He's Jiraiya of the sannin. And I'm Naruto, his grandson and apprentice. We are here so that I can take the gennin exams and become a shinobi of the leaf." the boy declared impatiently, wanting to hurry up and explore already.
The guards flinched at the name and immediately bowed low to the sannin.
"Forgive us Jiraiya-sama, we should have recognised you earlier. Please go on through."
The toad sage chuckled at their reaction whilst Naruto just started walking passed the still bowing men.
As soon as they were in the village, Naruto stopped and stared, absorbing the new sensations as his senses were overloaded. Never had he been in such a large village before, and certainly never one with as much significance to his life and heritage.
Jiraiya laughed at the boy's reaction. "Come on kid. We can gawk later, now we better go see sensei."
Immediately Naruto whipped his head around and stared disbelievingly at his grandfather. "We're going to see the Sandaime? Why didn't you say so?" before another word could be said the boy disappeared in a burst of speed.
Jiraiya sighed and counted down from five. When he reached zero the boy reappeared with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Since you have no idea where the Hokage tower is, how about I lead the way?" the sannin asked with a chuckle.
"Ok but hurry up!" Naruto demanded impatiently, eager to meet one of his heroes.
They arrived at the Hokage tower a short time later, mostly due to Naruto dragging his grandfather along much faster than he would have otherwise travelled.
Frantically, the boy pulled the older man up the stairs and to where he was told the Hokage's office was. He only paused momentarily to wink flirtingly at a young assistant, before approaching the two ANBU posted outside the large double doors.
Though you couldn't tell due to their masks, both ANBU were staring wide eyed at what appeared to be the reborn form of the Yondaime.
It took Jiraiya clearing his throat after a minute of waiting to snap them out of their stupor.
"Jiraiya-sama? It is good to see you again. Hokage-sama just finished a meeting, so feel free to go right in." one of the ANBU stated once he was able to speak.
Jiraiya nodded and entered the room, his young apprentice following behind with a mixture of apprehension and excitement.
Inside, they found the elderly Hokage sitting at his desk filling out some paperwork and muttering under his breath.
"So they did stick you back behind the desk, eh sensei?" Jiraiya teased.
Sarutobi looked up and nearly gasped in shock at the blonde standing next to his student.
"Minato?" he asked quietly.
Jiraiya laughed out loudly. "Not quite, sensei. This is Naruto. Although I guess they really do look a lot alike."
The Hokage nodded and cleared his head. "Of course, my apologies Naruto. But it really is startling how much you look like your father."
Naruto just nodded dumbly, staring at the hokage with something akin to disbelief.
"Is he ok?" the old man asked Jiraiya after getting no response.
The sannin chuckled and smacked Naruto on the back of his head.
"He's fine. He just has a bit of a fetish for the Hokage's, so meeting you is a little overwhelming." Jiraiya explained.
"I see. So tell me young Naruto, how are you?"
"F-fine Sandaime-sama. It truly is an honour to meet you, Hokage-sama." Naruto stuttered nervously.
Sarutobi laughed warmly at his nervousness. "Relax boy. If anything the honour is mine, to finally meet the hero that saved our village all those years ago." Hiruzen insisted, bowing low to the boy.
"Thank you Hokage-sama." he replied, bowing low in return.
"Well that's enough of that. Now, when is that gennin exam? The little punk is eager to finally get a chance to put his training to the test. Not that he couldn't have done that stupid exam five years ago." Jiraiya muttered.
Sarutobi's ears perked up at the sannin's statement, since he had no idea what the boy was capable of, other than he apparently was decent with a staff since Jaraiya kept asking for scrolls and books on the subject.
"So you say that he is beyond academy level?" the old man enquired curiously.
Jiraiya snorted indignantly. "Academy? I doubt you have many jounin that could keep up with the kid when he gets serious."
Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his head at the praise.
"Is that so? Well then I shall be excited to see what you can do Naruto-kun."
Naruto laughed nervously. "I'll do my best Hokage-sama."
"Please Naruto-kun, there is no need to be so formal with me. After all, if what Jiraiya says is true, you'll likely be taking my place in a few years." he said with a warm smile that was returned by the young blonde.
"Ok kid. Why don't you run along and explore, me and sensei have some boring stuff to go over. I'll catch up with you when we're done." Jiraiya said, motioning to the door.
Naruto took the hint and left to go explore his new home.
Once he had left Sarutobi turned to his student, the smile gone and his business face clearly displayed.
"So what can the kid really do?"
Naruto excitedly walked down the street, ignoring all the stares and mutterings of "Yondaime-sama?" that followed him.
Before long, he came to a small park where there were a number of children his age playing a game of some sort. Eagerly he ran over in hopes of joining them.
"Hi there! I'm Naruto!" he called out excitedly as they stopped to look at the stranger coming over to them.
"Hey Naruto. I'm Ino and this is Sakura." replied a blonde girl, indicating to the pink headed girl next to her as 'Sakura'.
'Oh man. Girls my age are always flat as cardboard.' he thought dejectedly as he checked out and then quickly dismissed both girls.
"Hey I'm Kiba and this is Akamaru!" yelled a scruffy kid with a white puppy on his head. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the strange kid.
"Don't worry bout him, Kiba's just like that. That lazy bastard sleeping under the tree is Shikamaru. The chubby guy next to him is Chouji. The creepy one with the hood over there is Shino, he doesn't talk, unless it's to bugs. It's really gross." Ino ranted, pointing to the various children as she named them.
Naruto listened with a polite smile, though inside he was frowning at both the girl's descriptions and piercing voice. Suddenly something caught his attention.
"Who's that?" he asked pointing to a girl with dark blue hair and milky white skin. He was interested partly because Ino chose not to introduce her and partly because he could tell that she was hiding some rather impressive assets under her bulky white coat.
"Hm? Oh that's Hinata. She's really quiet and kinda weird. She..." Ino continued her verbal marathon but Naruto was no longer listening, intrigued by the pale beauty that was being ignored by her peers.
Without saying anything, Naruto walked over to where the girl was sitting under a tree reading a scroll of some sort.
"Hi there." he greeted quietly with a warm smile.
The girl 'eeped' and blushed brightly before looking up at the Naruto, where the blush immediately increased to near tomato levels.
"H-hello." she stuttered timidly.
"My name's Naruto. What's yours?" he asked, crouching down to her level.
"H-Hinata." she replied, her pupil-less, lavender eyes finally coming into contact with his crystal blue ones.
"Nice to meet you Hinata-chan." her blush was now full neon red. "I was wondering what a beautiful lady such as yourself would be doing sitting by herself on a lovely day like today."
Hinata started to feel faint, overwhelmed by the cute boy and his compliments.
"I-I was reading a s-scroll." she answered, fighting desperately to stay conscious so as to not embarrass herself in front of the handsome newcomer.
He chuckled warmly at her innocent response. "I can see that. Do you mind if I ask what it is about?"
She had to bite her lip to not lose it when he laughed, the warm, friendly noise damn near sending her over the edge.
"I-it's about my f-family's fighting style."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Ah yes the Jyuuken, correct? I've heard it is quite magnificent to watch. Would you mind giving me a demonstration one day? I would love to see it performed by someone as lovely as you, Hinata-chan."
Hinata's eyes widened considerably. "I-I-I-"
"Of course, I would be more than happy to take you out to lunch, for your trouble. So, what do you say Hinata-chan? Is it a date?"
The Hyuuga heiress pinched her leg sharply, using the pain to counteract the spreading darkness in her head. Not trusting her voice at the moment she nodded weakly at him.
Naruto smiled brightly. "Wow thanks Hinata-chan. I'll come by the Hyuuga manor tomorrow and pick you up at say, eleven. Is that ok?" again she nodded slightly.
"Great. I've got to go look for my grandpa, so I'll see you then." he said excitedly before leaving with a bright grin and friendly wave.
The second that he was out of sight, Hinata lost her fight and fainted, a shy smile adorned on her pale face.
As he continued to wander aimlessly around the village, Naruto thought of the shy girl and thanked Kami for having figured out a while ago that his grandfather's super direct approach to women simply didn't work on anyone but hookers, and even then it was hit and miss.
As he was passing through a business district, a heavenly scent caught his nose and he was powerless to resist its call.
Following the delightful aroma to its source, he found himself at a small counter with a sign that read 'Ichiraku ramen' hanging above it.
"Hey there, welcome to Ichiraku ramen. What can I get for you today?" asked a cute brunette with moderate bust.
'Sweet Kami, I'm in heaven.' Naruto thought as he gazed at the beautiful waitress.
"Um, are you alright?" the girl asked, snapping him out of his daydream.
"Never been better." he answered with a flirty smile.
She blushed lightly at his smile and approving look.
"So what would you like?" she asked politely.
"What would you recommend, cutie?"
"Well the Ichiraku special is very good. I'm sure you'd enjoy it." she answered, her blush increasing at his compliment.
"I'm sure I will." he replied suggestively, "Perhaps we should start off with that, then see where we go from there."
She nodded and offered a flirty smile at his innuendo. "I think I'd like that." she purred softly before writing down the order and passing it out the back to her father.
Naruto couldn't help but check out her ass as she turned around and deliberately let her see that he looked when she turned back.
"So, I haven't seen you around before. You new in town?" she asked, trying not to blush at having caught him checking her out.
"Yeah I just got in today. My name's Naruto by the way." he offered, his approving smile still in place.
"I'm Ayame. Do you mind if I ask why you came here?"
"I'd heard there was an angel working at a ramen stand and had to come see for myself. Unfortunately it seems as though the stories do you no justice, Ayame-chan." he answered smoothly.
The girl's blush increased dramatically at the praise. "Well thank you Naruto-kun. It's not often I get such kind words, working in a place like this." she admitted shyly.
'Oh man, another busty shy girl. This really is the greatest village in the world!' the blond thought cheerfully.
"Well, I'll have to make sure I change that, wont I? Beauty such as yours should be proclaimed from the rooftops, though I'm sure any man would love to keep you all to himself, I know that I certainly would." he countered with a sly grin and a wink.
"Order up!" yelled a gruff sounding voice from the kitchen, startling the waitress and causing her to jump lightly.
Quickly handing the handsome blond his meal, Ayame had to force herself not to squeal when their fingers touched and he gave her hand a light caress.
"Itadakimasu." he proclaimed softly, not taking his eyes off the woman in front of him throughout the meal.
After finishing he let out a satisfied sigh. "That was amazing Ayame-chan. Perhaps I can taste your offering some time?"
Blushing a new and giggling lightly, she took his bowl, getting another hand caress. "I think I would like that very much Naruto-kun." she cooed softly, despite cheering internally for having the courage to engage in the risqué banter.
Naruto smiled brightly. "Perhaps tonight then? What time do you get off?" he asked with a devious glint in his eye.
"N-not till 10."
"Well, I'll pick you up then. Until we meet again, Ayame-chan." he said softly as he kissed her hand, and left, leaving more than twice the cost of his meal on the counter.
Having sated his hunger, Naruto found himself wandering aimlessly, mostly marveling at the quality of women present in Konoha.
'Now I can see why ero-jiisan wanted to come back so much. It's incredible how many gorgeous women there are around here!' he thought with a massive grin as he noticed two female jounin sitting at a dango restaurant. One, with shoulder length black hair and startling red eyes, wore a tight wrap-around dress accenting all her curves whilst still being modest. Her friend on the other hand did no such thing. She wore only a trench coat, mesh shirt and a tiny miniskirt, leaving only the most explicit features hidden. Her hair, which was totally upstaged by her outfit, was a violet, purple colour and pulled into a high, messy ponytail.
Naruto was ripped from his appreciation of the view, when he felt his sensei's chakra flare. In an instant he was gone, leaving the two jounin, who had noticed his staring, startled and suspicious.
"What happened?" Naruto roared as he smashed through the window of the Hokage's office, his clenched fists surrounded in a blue haze of chakra.
Moving swiftly as he felt two new chakra signatures enter the room, he found himself with Rasengans stopped inches from the terrified faces of two ANBU.
"Naruto stand down!" Jiraiya ordered after regaining his bearings.
Cancelling the attacks slowly, Naruto turned back to his grandfather, eyeing the anbu suspiciously.
"What happened? I felt your chakra surge from near the ramen stand." he asked confused but still guarded.
"You felt that from over a mile away and got here in less than a half a minute, before pulling out two perfect Rasengans?" the Hokage asked disbelievingly.
The boy nodded but kept his gaze locked on Jiraiya awaiting an explanation.
"Sensei just told me something upsetting and I lost myself for a moment, nothing to worry about kid." the toad sage reassured calmly.
Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "The only things that get you that upset are your teammates, Tou-san and the village council, all of which are very good reasons to worry." the young man stated simply.
"Fair point." the toad sage admitted after a sigh.
"So? Are you gonna tell me what's going on or do I have to beat it out of your wrinkly ass?" the young man threatened, slipping into his taijutsu stance.
Raising an eyebrow at the stance and his student's slightly fearing reaction, Sarutobi watched silently as Jiraiya attempted to calm the angry blond in a disturbingly familiar scene to the days of his training of the sannin.
"Perhaps we should just tell him Jiraiya, he's going to find out eventually." the hokage offered calmly.
After picking himself up off the floor and dusting his clothes, Jiraiya nodded and sighed again.
"Well Naruto, you know how you've always had varied tastes in ladies?"
The boy nodded slowly, caught between suspicion and confusion.
"Well, the good news is that you're gonna be able to marry as many women as you want." the white haired man announced in a fake excited tone.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he considered this. "So they're finally accepting me as the new head of the Namikaze clan that was automatically created when Tou-san became Hokage. But since Tou-san and Kaa-san died during the bastard fox's attack, I'm the only member of the clan. And as I'm a male that makes me eligible for the Clan Restoration Act." Naruto stated glumly. The two older men nodded, accepting what he said, though Sarutobi was shocked by the boy's knowledge of obscure Konoha laws.
Naruto sighed as he slumped into a chair. "Of course the catch is that I have to have a certain number of brides by a certain date or they pick for me. What are the numbers?"
"At least 4, by your 14th birthday." Jiraiya answered simply.
"So I've got a little over a year to find four times what most people search a lifetime for? Just great. I knew you said coming back would be fun, but I never imagined this." Naruto declared sarcastically before getting up and walking out the door.
"Being raised by you, I thought he'd be excited by the prospect." Sarutobi said confused.
"I'll admit the kid may have a greater than average level of appreciation for the finer sex, but at heart he's a romantic through and through. Being stuck with someone that doesn't love him, I couldn't think of a worse torture for him."
It had been hours since the altercation at the Hokage's office and since then, Naruto had done little but wander aimlessly through the village he'd returned to after being absent for essentially his entire life.
He drifted out of his musings when he recognised a heavenly scent nearby.
Looking around at the empty, darkened streets, he realised it was already quite late.
"Shit! My date with Ayame-chan!" he yelled, sprinting full speed towards the ramen stand.
When he arrived, he was relieved to find the lights still on. Taking a moment to catch his breath and straighten his clothes, the blond was delighted to see the clock indicating nine fifty as he walked past the flaps and sat down.
Hearing someone enter, the middle aged owner of the stall stepped out from the kitchen area.
"Sorry kid, but we're closing for the night." he declared in a gruff but polite tone.
Naruto grinned widely, "Oh I'm not here for some of your fantastic ramen this time, I'm here to pick up Ayame-chan for our date." he proclaimed cheerfully, though his grin slipped when the man got a sinister look on his wrinkled face.
"Is that so! And what exactly are your intentions for 'Ayame-chan'?" the man asked, his expression practically murderous.
"I...we...she...umm..."
"Tou-san! What do you think you're doing?" yelled a very different looking Ayame as she appeared from the back.
Like a light switch the man, now revealed to be Ayame's father, changed demeanors entirely.
"Nothing Ayame-chan, just having a little chat to your friend here." he replied with an innocent smile that was undermined by the terrified blonde sitting behind him.
"I'm sure. Sorry about him Naruto-kun, he can be a total ass sometimes." Ayame apologised after throwing a quick glare at her father.
"Not a problem Ayame-chan. He was ju...wow." Naruto muttered, his mind nearly shutting down at the goddess before him.
Ayame had exchanged her practical, work clothes in favour of a knee length, spaghetti strapped dress that seemed to flow around her body like a delicate mist, gently caressing and hinting at her curves rather than hugging them. Her chestnut brown hair now flowed freely down to her mid back, accentuating her matching brown eyes.
"You look amazing Ayame-chan, but you didn't have to go to such trouble, I was perfectly happy with how you looked in your work clothes." the blond said softly as he continued to drink in her appearance.
"Thank you Naruto-kun, but I wanted to, I don't often get a chance to go out or dress up." she replied shyly, fingering the hem of her dress.
"Well I certainly can't complain about the results. Shall we go?" he asked with a warm smile.
She gave a nod and accepted his hand, calling out "Bye Tou-san. Don't wait up." before they passed the curtain and walked into the night.
For over an hour they wandered aimlessly around the village, with Ayame pointing out some attractions whilst they got to know each other. Each of them recounted the basic story of their life (with Naruto omitting some aspects of his, choosing to say only that his parents died during the Kyuubi attack and he left with his grandfather shortly afterward). Naruto regaled her with tales of his adventures, slightly exaggerated of course, and she listened with a warm smile and genuine interest, impressed with all the young man had seen and done in his short life.
They ended the night sitting atop the Hokage monument watching the stars, Ayame sitting between his legs leaning against his chest with Naruto's strong arms wrapped around her stomach, giving her a warmth and security she had never felt before and never wished to leave.
Finally, Naruto realised that she had fallen asleep and carried her back to where she had indicated her home was when they passed in on their walk.
"Aya-chan, it's time to wake up, you're home." he softly whispered into her ear, making her snuggle closer into chest before she realised what he said and looked up at him.
"Oh Naru-kun? How did we get here?" she cooed gently, still clutching to his muscular chest though he lowered her to the ground as she spoke.
"You fell asleep on the monument, so I decided to bring you home." he answered, enjoying the contentment brought by their simple embrace.
"I see. Good night then Naru-kun." she said quietly, fighting back a whimper as she pulled away from the warm embrace to go inside.
Before she could take more than a single step, she was spun around and the world froze as she was brought into a tender, yet passionate kiss from the man that had captured her heart after only a few hours.
"Good night Aya-chan." he whispered softly as he gently caressed her face and walked off into the night, leaving the shocked and starry eyed teen to wander into her house, where she completely ignored her father and collapsed into her bed with a dreamy sigh which was quickly followed by an excited squeal.
As he had done for as long as he could remember, Naruto awoke with the sunrise. Despite not getting home till after midnight and then enduring an hour of interrogation from his grandfather, he felt completely refreshed, in fact, he felt lighter than he ever had. Jiraiya decided that it was love and proceeded to tease the young blond relentlessly until he finally fled, saying he was going in search of a training ground to begin his regime.
Fifteen minutes later, Naruto was standing in the middle of a hundred clones, all of them looking eager to begin as they always were.
"Ok guys, since we're going to meet Hinata-chan in a few hours, I can't afford to get too tired, which is why there is so few of you today. Aside from that, everything will be as usual. Ero-jiisan said that Sandaime-sama gave us free access to the village library, so I want thirty of you guys to head over there and find anything that looks interesting or useful. Another thirty will come with me for our usual tai and ken practice. And the rest will work on our wind manipulation, I want that final exercise mastered by the end of the week."
"Hey boss, why can't we work on new jutsu? I wanna finish that new Rasengan we've been working on." one clone whined.
"Because, idiot, we're in the village now. We can't afford to be messing around with something that powerful and unstable, we might hurt somebody." another clone explained.
"Yeah, or some butt muncher might try and copy it. There might be one of those thieving Uchiha's around." another yelled indignantly.
"Hey dumbass, they were all killed years ago remember? Ero-jiisan said one of their own snapped and slaughtered the whole clan." yet another clone yelled.
"Not all of them, he left his little broth-"
"That's enough! Get to work before I kill the lot of you and start again." the original yelled, still put off by the sight of copies of himself arguing with each other.
Naruto had been training for a few hours when he felt two powerful presences approaching him. Immediately, all of the clones stopped their tasks and took up defensive positions, preparing for whatever may come.
They were thrown off however when the two beautiful jounin from the previous day appeared.
Relaxing his stance at the sight of their headbands, Naruto ordered the clones to resume training and stepped up to the women.
"Morning ladies. To what do I owe the pleasure of such lovely company?" he asked with a flirty smile.
"Well we noticed you wandering around yesterday and since you're clearly a shinobi but have no headband, we thought we'd come find out who you are and what you're doing here." the red eyed one explained, while the other eyed him with something alarmingly similar to a hungry predator watching its prey.
"Oh I see. Well, as you can guess, I'm new in town. I assure you though, I am a citizen of Konoha. I just left shortly after I was born." he explained with a nervous grin, off put by the strange exposed woman.
"Why did you leave? And why come back now? And why aren't you a ninja if you are obviously so skilled?" the same woman asked, while her friend continued her staring.
"Well, I left because my both my parents were killed in the Kyuubi attack and my grandfather travels alot so i had to go with him. We returned, because I'm finally old enough to take the gennin exams, which is why I am not a ninja yet. Any other questions?" he replied, his tone noticeably darker at the unpleasant content.
Seemingly unfazed by his tone she spoke again. "Actually, yeah. Who are you? You say that you're only just old enough to take the gennin exam, that means you're only twelve. Yet you look like you're at least seventeen and judging from what we've seen so far, you appear to be at least at a high chuunin level." she questioned, her polite tone fading quickly.
"I believe its common courtesy to introduce yourself first when asking someone's name." he replied curtly, his clones once again stopping their tasks at the darkening atmosphere.
The dark haired one opened her mouth apparently to yell at him, but was cut off by her friend.
"I am Anko Mitarashi. And this is Kurenai Yuuhi. So who are you, handsome?" she asked, her tone oozing sensuality.
Grinning at the woman's tone, Naruto answered. "My name is Naruto. And while it has been a pleasure meeting such beautiful and obviously talented kunoichi, I'm afraid I have a prior engagement, so if you'll excuse me."
He then turned to leave, dispersing his clones wordlessly.
"Hold on, you're not going anywh-" Kurenai started as she grabbed him by the arm only for him to vanish in a puff of smoke.
"He was a Kage Bunshin? But when did he make the switch?" she gasped in confusion.
"It was probably a clone from the start. You gotta admit Nai-chan, the kid got you good." Anko teased as she draped herself over her friend's shoulder.
Kurenai just gave a 'hmpf' before walking back to town.
Anko grinned widely at her friend's behaviour. "You're so cranky Nai-chan. Do you need me to give you one of my super special massages?" she taunted as she ran to catch up.
Naruto arrived at the Hyuuga mansion at 10:50 and couldn't help but smile at the nervous looking form of the waiting girl. She was dressed in the same outfit as the day before, but had obviously put more effort into her appearance. Her hair and clothes were all carefully prepared and she even looked to be wearing a small amount of makeup.
"Good morning, Hinata-chan." the blonde greeted warmly, deliberately reducing his usual level of enthusiasm so as to not make the self conscious girl uncomfortable.
"G-good m-morning, Naruto-san." the pale girl stuttered, blushing because she hadn't noticed him despite her 'noble Hyuuga blood', and because an attractive man was apparently taking an interest in her.
"I must say Hinata-chan, you look especially beautiful today, I hope you didn't go to any extra effort, just for me." Naruto complimented, causing her blush to increase dramatically.
"W-well I-I..."
"Well, whatever you did, it's somehow managed to make you even lovelier than I remember, and here I didn't think such a thing was possible." Naruto proclaimed smoothly.
Hinata offered no response other than to blush even brighter and mumble something inaudibly.
Choosing not to draw attention to the problem, Naruto offered his arm to the girl with a warm smile. "Shall we get going, Hinata-chan?" he suggested gently.
The blue haired teen was clearly struggling with something before she finally took his arm and nodded demurely.
"So, is there a particular training ground that you like to use, Hinata-chan?" the blonde asked as they walked in a random direction, neither overly concerned with getting to a destination.
Hinata shook her head softly. "I-I have o-only used the grounds at th-the compound."
Naruto noticed the slight flinch the girl gave off when she mentioned training at her home and it wasn't hard to figure out why. From what he knew, the Hyuuga were one of the most prestigious and powerful clans in the village, someone as shy and sweet as Hinata, would likely be looked down on by the rest of her clan, she might have even been abused because of it, which was ironically, the most likely source of her timid demeanor in the first place.
"That's ok. Let's just wander around until we find a good one." The Namikaze heir suggested, getting an appreciative nod from the Hyuuga.
A few minutes later, they found themselves in the middle of a wide open training ground that looked to be unoccupied.
"How about here Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.
Hinata nodded and walked a few meters away from the blonde. "S-so w-what would y-you like to s-see, Naruto-san?" she asked nervously.
Naruto had to fight back his urge to grin at her innocent question, and instead gave a warm smile. "Well, why don't we have a quick spar? I think the best way to get an appreciation for your technique is if I'm receiving it." He suggested, trying not to laugh at the double entendre.
The shy girl gasped in surprise and shook her head. "I couldn't Naruto-san! You would get hurt!" she exclaimed, not noticing that she didn't stutter.
The blond boy smiled at her concern. "Don't worry about me Hina-chan, I may not look it, but I'm pretty tough." He joked, though he got no reaction from the girl who was too shocked by his new nickname for her.
Noticing her lack of response he slowly walked over to her and tilted her head up to look into his eyes. "Don't worry Hina-chan, I'll be fine. Besides, I've always wondered what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of Konoha's most infamous taijutsu style."
Hinata still hesitated and Naruto let out a small sigh. "Ok, Hina-chan, where is the least painful and damaging place you can use the Jyuuken on?" he asked, getting a confused expression from the girl.
"The c-calves. They have less p-pain receptors than a-arms and are r-relatively easy to repair." She stuttered nervously.
Naruto smiled widely and took off his coat before rolling up his right pant leg. "Ok then Hina-chan, I want you to close the Tenketsu in my calf. That way, we can see if I can handle the damage, and if I can't, you will be able to fix me right up again."
Hinata seemed shocked for a moment but eventually gave a subtle nod and activated her Byakugan, earning a gasp from the blonde. She quickly turned away from him, not wanting to see his, once approving eyes look at her with disgust like everyone else. She couldn't look away however, when he gently moved her head back so she was staring straight into his concerned eyes.
"Why did you look away Hina-chan?" he asked, though he could already guess the answer.
"I-I didn't w-want y-you t-to s-see m-me l-like this. I-I l-look s-so…"
"Beautiful." He interrupted, getting a small gasp from the girl. "You are a beautiful woman, Hina-chan, and these," he said as he gently stroked the raised veins around her eyes, "do nothing to change that. If anything they make you more appealing as they show the incredible power that you hold within you." He declared tenderly, but firmly.
Hinata tried and failed to stifle the sob that broke through at his kind words. For most of her life she had been ridiculed, either by her family for her weakness and timid nature, or by other children for her strange eyes. Having someone, as attractive and smart and confident as Naruto obviously was, compliment her in such a way was too much for the poor girl and she broke down and started to cry.
Naruto tentatively pulled the sobbing girl into a comforting embrace, rubbing her back and whispering sweet words into her ear, whilst inwardly cursing whoever had hurt the girl so much that she broke down after a simple compliment.
The moment was interrupted as a spiteful voice called out from behind them. "So the princess embarrasses the clan again? Why am I not surprised?" the voice sneered.
Gently releasing the fragile girl, Naruto was not surprised to find the voice belonged to another Hyuuga, a boy, probably a year or two older than Hinata, who was standing with a combination of disgust and self righteous anger written across his face, barely covered by a mask of indifference.
"Why don't you just leave pretty boy? This doesn't concern you." Naruto declared as turned back to Hinata.
"How dare you speak to me like that? I am a Hyuuga, and you will pay me the respect I deserve, or you will regret it." The boy declared angrily, getting into his family's fighting stance.
"I believe I did pay you the respect you deserve. Anyone who speaks against someone as beautiful and kind as Hina-chan, is obviously a fool, and I will treat them as such." Naruto replied, holding Hinata's hands and giving them a supportive squeeze.
"You are the fool! Look at her, she is a disgrace! A pathetic failu-"
"Hold your tongue, Hyuuga, lest you force me to do something that you will regret." Naruto interjected coldly, making Hinata flinch.
"Please Naruto-kun, just let it go. He is my cousin Neji, he's hailed as the greatest prodigy the clan has seen in a century." Hinata pleaded, trying to avert the fight that was undoubtedly going to erupt if the conflict continued.
"Of course, Hina-chan, I'm sorry if I upset you." The blonde said softly as he began to lead her away, not sparing the raging Hyuuga behind them another glance.
"Don't you ignore me!" the boy yelled as he charged the two, aiming a vicious attack at the blonde stranger's exposed back.
Before he was within striking distance, however, the boy vanished only to reappear in front of the wide eyed gennin, his wrist gripped firmly in the blonde's hand. "You better think very carefully about what you do next, Hyuuga. I am not yet a shinobi of this village, meaning you just attacked a civilian of Konoha with intent to cause grievous harm, last time I checked, that is a very serious offence for a gennin, such as yourself. If you continue your attack, I will have no choice but to subdue you and report this incident to your sensei."
"That will not be necessary, blonde-san." declared a strange, leotard wearing Jounin as he appeared via Shunshin behind the shocked Hyuuga.
"I take it you are the boy's sensei?" Naruto asked as he released his hold on the Hyuuga, causing him to stumble backwards in the process.
"That is correct. My name is Might Gai, and this is my student Neji Hyuuga." The jounin explained as he looked on Naruto with an evaluative eye.
"I am Naruto. It is a pleasure to meet you Gai-san, I heard much of your incredible taijutsu, even in my absence from the village." Naruto announced, with a slight bow of respect to the older shinobi.
"Oh so you have been away from Konoha? Do you mind if I ask why, Naruto-san?" Gai asked curiously.
"My parents died when I was a child, so I was taken in by my grandfather. Unfortunately, he travels a lot, so we have only yesterday returned so that I may take my gennin exam."
"I take it your grandfather was the one that trained you?" Gai asked, getting a nod from the blonde. "Do you mind if I ask who he is? Your speed is very impressive for someone so young."
"of course not, my grandfather is Jiraiya."
"As in the legendary sannin, Jiraiya?" exclaimed a voice from behind the green jounin.
Everyone turned to look at the new comer to find a girl with brown hair pulled into two buns and an athletic build, and a boy who appeared to be an exact scale model of Gai, only without the jounin vest and bandages wrapped around his forearms.
"If he's your grandfather, you must have met his teammate Tsunade-sama, right?" the girl asked as she practically pounced on the startled blonde with stars in her eyes.
"Uh no, I haven't. They haven't seen each other since she left the village almost 20 years ago." Naruto explained, feeling sorry for reason as he saw the girl's excited expression fall.
"Oh, ok." She muttered dejectedly as she walked away from him.
'That was weird.' He thought to himself as he watched her wander off. 'Maybe I should try and make it up to her. She may not have Hina-chan or Aya-chan's tits, but she's got a great set of legs on her. And I hate to see a pretty girl sad.' He was going to say something, when he remembered a lesson his sensei had taught him once.
FLASHBACK
A slightly younger Naruto and Jiraiya sat in a booth at a seedy bar, the toad sage already having had quite a bit to drink, was talking even more than usual.
Abruptly, he leant over to his young protégé and pulled him in close, as if about to offer the greatest secret in the world.
"Remember this lesson well, Naruto. If you are ever in a situation where you are on a date with a woman and you see another woman that you would like to take out, never, under any circumstances, do so in front of your date. You will either crush their spirit, or piss them off, either way, your chances with them are done. Its best to wait till a later time, when you are alone, then approach the other woman."
FLASHBACK END
Usually, Naruto would have disregarded his grandfather's drunken ravings, but for some reason that lesson stuck with him, and lucky it did, because as he looked over to Hinata, she already looked downtrodden at his paying attention to another woman. Smiling warmly, he walked over to the saddened girl and gave her a quick embrace, before pulling back and looking into her eyes.
"If you'll excuse us, Gai-san, Hina-chan and I have a previous lunch engagement that we should really be getting to. It was a pleasure meeting you though, if only it had been under better circumstances." Naruto declared as he grabbed the girl's hand and began to leave the training ground.
"Of course Naruto-san. I apologise for my student's behaviour, I assure, it won't happen again." Gai promised, offering a rare glare to the Hyuuga prodigy, who snarled back.
"I should hope not. Next time I may not be so inclined to restrain myself." Naruto threatened without looking back as he walked away with his date.
The rest of the afternoon went much more peacefully for the two preteens. They enjoyed a quiet meal at a small café of Hinata's choosing and shared various stories about their past, though most of the talking was done by Naruto, he made sure to include the girl in the conversations, and she had opened up considerably by the time they left, several hours later.
Naruto smiled warmly and pulled the girl into a comfortable embrace as he dropped her off at her compound. "I'm sorry that things didn't go according to plan, Hina-chan, I hope you managed to enjoy yourself anyway." He said as he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"It's okay, Naruto-kun. I had a very nice time with you." She replied softly, inwardly cheering at her lack of stutter.
The blonde smiled brightly at her and leant in to give her a delicate kiss on the lips. "I'm glad Hina-chan, and I really hope we can do this again soon." He declared as he pulled back from the heavily blushing girl.
Hinata only gave a nod, having lost her voice after the tender kiss. Naruto smiled brightly again and left with a warm goodbye and simple wave, leaving the Hyuuga heiress to float absently back to her bedroom, where she collapsed into her bed and passed out, the increasingly familiar bright smile gracing her delicate features.
Chapter End
A/N: So there it is. Naruto has returned to the village, been placed under the CRA and gone on dates with two beautiful ladies, with three more being brought into play. Next time, the gennin exam and team selections, who will Naruto end up with? I honestly have no idea, I haven't planned that far ahead. Which means that the next chapter may take a few days, till then, please be patient and let me know what you think.
Mr Chunk