Chapter X
"Thanks, Sasuke. You're a lifesaver!" she cooed and smiled then returned the phone back to him. He paused midway in pocketing his handy-dandy device. He looked up to her. Ino held up her hands in an effort to stop what he was about to say. "Don't look at me like that. I only know that you're searching for some genin whom you think Hinata fell in love with. Your objective is clearly vague from my mind so don't pressure me any further."
"You still talk too much," he commented. She turned to glare at him, which he countered with his scrutinizing eyes. "Let me guess… Lee told you about it?"
"Idiot," she told him and sat at the bench. "He wouldn't do that even if it costs his life. Lee's too loyal to betray his 'sworn secrecy'. Although he did gave some hints."
"Uh…huh…" He walked to her side but did not attempt to sit down.
"I won't tell you even if you follow me to the end of the world, which is impossible since the world is round and there isn't such a thing as the edge of the world where people fall and got eaten by monsters but I still won't tell you."
Silence.
"I already told Lee. It would take less than a minute for Lee to tell the information to Shikamaru, and it would take less than a second for Shikamaru to know who the guy is so back off. I won't tell you."
"Uh-huh…" This time, he was sitting beside her, apparently listening to what she was saying.
"I won't tell you, Sasuke-kun. Okay, quit it. You can even kneel but it wouldn't work. Hinata told the Sixth she likes him and used a genin for a cover up-." she gasped and stared at him. He grinned. "Damn," she cursed, covering her mouth.
"In times like this, I usually say 'I'm the Uchiha. I always get what I want.'" He winked.
"Double damn," she cursed again. "I don't know how you even did it!"
"If it would make you feel any better, I already know it was the Sixth."
She glared at his sarcasm. "It's not funny."
"I'm not laughing." He cleared his throat. "So, since you already spilled the beans, can you now tell me why Hinata choose a genin and not someone with a higher rank? Comparatively speaking, a Hokage is way above of a genin."
"Look she liked him ever since our Academy years. Would you prefer an Academy Student than a genin?" she countered.
"So she used a genin to not bruise his ego any further?" He stared at her unconvinced.
She rolled her eyes then glared at him. "Alright, you win. We had this talk. Sakura told her to tell it to him indirectly but I told her not to tell him that sort of-"
"So why a genin?" he cut her off knowing that this conversation would be longer if he did not.
"I don't know. I'm the one holding the 'Tell him directly' flag. But maybe…"
"Yes?" From experience, Sasuke knew that only women could understand a woman just as men understand a man.
She looked away from him and stared at the bright scenery of the setting sun. "Maybe she's the only one who looks at Naruto differently. Well, ever since he was inaugurated, I had this special distance on him. He's not the same old Uzumaki Naruto I could smack or punch. He's on this pedestal I could never reach, and I thought if I reach for that pedestal I might be hurt. But… Hinata is different. She still acts the same way as before in his presence. Probably because she always stutters every time she sees him."
"Uh… Ino what's the point?" He was getting tired of all this drabbles.
She smacked him in the head. "Baka! I'm a jounin and you're a chuunin so you better respect me!"
"Itai…" He rubbed his injured head. "Hai… Hai… So what exactly did you mean?"
"It's like this. We see Naruto as a Hokage, our superior, while she sees him as a genin, the person she fell in love with. Get the point?"
He shook his head. "What's the connection between our superior and the person she fell in love with?"
"They're the same person!" she almost yelled.
"Then why didn't she just tell him directly? It would have made this a lot easier!" he replied in an as a matter of fact tone.
She stared at him as if he was insane. "You're missing the 'Tell him indirectly' part."
"Oh… So she didn't say it directly because she was suggested to say it indirectly," he concluded then frowned. "Man, I don't understand you women."
'Triple damn,' Ino cursed in her brain.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Lee."AAHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"
"Lee-kun! Calm down," Kakashi reprimanded the younger jounin while covering his ears.
"Demo… Demo… Kakashi-sensei!" screeched Lee. "Look!" He almost smacked the Copy-nin with his phone. Kakashi grudgingly took the phone and stared at the screen.
GIRLTXT. Join the hippest girl talk on land: GIRLTXT! Learn about the latest fashion trends, the hottest talks, the coolest gigs plus more! To join text GIRLTXT to 2209.
"You're planning to join GIRLTXT?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Ah?" Lee grabbed the phone back. "Sumimasen. I opened the wrong message." He punched a series of codes then handed the phone back to Kakashi. The man took it and read.
---------
From: Sasuke
Subject: It's me, Ino!
To: Lee
Lee! 012607. You do know what I mean. right?
----------
'012607? Looks familiar,' Kakashi mused as he stared at the phone. When he looked up, Lee was eyeing at him as if what he was going to say would be the salvation of the whole country. "Judging from the number itself, the ninja probably graduated a year after you."
"Is that right, Kakashi-sensei? Then the person must be around my age?"
Memory dawned to Hatake Kakashi. He nodded at Lee. "Hai. So what are you planning to do with the Sixth?"
"Nani?"
"The registration number belongs to none other than Rokudaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto-sama!" He nodded sagely. "I would recall any registration number immediately, especially if it belongs to one of my kawaii students."
"Nani?! Anonymous Genin #1683 is the ROKUDAIME?!?!"
They broke apart, chests heaving in exhaustion.
"And if you ever miss another ceremony again without so much as a warning, I'll have your head!" Temari lost hold on her fan and it dropped parallel to her side.
Shikamaru smirked. "Hai… Hai… Troublesome woman…"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing," he drawled lazily. He walked closely to her and bent to pick up her weapon. He almost fell down from its weight but he survived. "Look I'm sorry."
"Hmmp," Temari retrieved the fan and looked at him pensively. "Alright, you're forgiven."
"Really?" His face brightened up.
She nodded. "One question though. What's your mission about?"
He gulped. "Well… it's troublesome to explain but…"
She quirked one delicate eyebrow when he finished his story, arms crossed. "I'm not impressed."
"I did not apply any effort to make it impressing. The mission really pisses me off," he explained.
Temari just shrugged. "If you really don't want it, you could always tell your Hokage. I believe you consider him as one of your friends."
"Hey. Just because he's my friend doesn't mean I could use his political powers to get what I want. And he can really be scary sometimes," he clarified and flashed an alarmed look at her. "I still don't know how he got it."
"Probably Tsunade-sama trained him to apply a little force. With you as a ninja, a Kage really should have a tremendous amount of convincing powers to get your lazy ass working."
He sneered. "You don't have to rub it in. Industriousness does not become of me. "
Temari sighed hopelessly. "I guess you're right. It's not everyday that 'He who had the IQ of over 200" is serious in his work. I wonder what your Kage did…"
Kring… Krang… Kring…
His phone vibrated in his pocket, indicating that someone was calling him. Temari nodded to let him know she approved that he should answer it. He quickly did.
"SHIKAMARU-SAN! I WAS WITH KAKASHI-SENSEI IN GAI-SENSEI'S FAVORITE KTV BAR! THEN SOMEONE TEXTED ME SAYING THAT SOMEONE#2 IS SOMEONE#3! THIS IS A MAJOR EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Shikamaru winced at the volume of Lee's voice. "LEE! Calm down. If you break my eardrums, my neurons would be of no use," replied calmly by the strategist. He could hear the junior green beast of Konoha's sheepish laugh from the other line.
"So sorry, Shikamaru-san. You see I got over excited over this super-ultra cool tidbit of information that I just had to shout to let you confirm it!"
"Okay." Shikamaru placed the about a yard away his ear. "I'm ready!"
"Anou sa… Shikamaru-san! I just found out from Kakashi-sensei that Anonymous Genin #1683's registraion number is 012607 and he is none other than ROKUDAIME-SAMA!!!!! Of all the people, our target was just within our reach all this time!"
Two doe eyes narrowed. With an incredible amount of speed Temari hadn't known Shikamaru possessed, he placed the phone again in his ear. "What did you say?"
"Anou sa… Shikamaru-san! I just found out from Kakashi-sensei that Anonymous Genin #1683's registraion number is 012607 and he is none other than ROKUDAIME-SAMA!!!!! Of all the people, our target was just within our reach all this time!"
"NANI?!"
"Anou sa… Shikamaru-san! I just found out from-."
"Yeah! Yeah! I got that part! So the target is…"
"Rokudaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto-sama!"
Shikamaru cut the connection.
"Shikamaru, you're too loud. What were you yelling about-," her voice lost track when she saw his expression. Shikamaru was past the point of hearing.
"Chouji! Go to the Hokage building and look for ninja with the registration number 120607! Don't ask any more questions! Just do what I tell you!" Shikamaru frantically screeched over the phone. "Temari!"
"Hai?" The lazy genius was so angry it sort of freaked Temari.
"Let's go inside! I need Team 8 immediately!" With that, he darted to the hospital entrance, unmindful of the sand defense the Kazekage summoned a while ago.
"Oi! Why the heck are you running so fast?"
"Mendoukusai! Why can't I contact Neji?"
"Shikamaru, hey! Answer me! Answer me, damn it!" the kunoichi bellowed on the Konoha ninja busily digging his fingers on the phone.
"Achoo!" Neji sniffed. "Where is that charger? I'm sure I placed it on the table last night," he mumbled under his breath as he searched for that wired device in his side table. He opened the drawers, and then closed them when he didn't find it. Somebody lightly tapped his sliding rice-paper doors in the middle of his hunt. "Who is it?"
"It is Saezaki, Neji-sama. I beg your pardon but Hiashi-sama would like to have your audience. It appears that a certain ninja from Suna is here to see you."
"From Suna?" He looked up from his drawer.
"He identified himself as Yashamaru, Neji-sama." Saezaki took two steps backward as the door coolly opened.
"Who's that?"
The man sweat-dropped. "We would like to ask you the same thing. Will you help us clarify his true identity?"
Neji nodded.
The door opened again. This time, a feminine figure stood at the doorway, arms crossed. "What did you two do this time?"
Normally, Kiba would have flinch from the sound of that authoritarian voice. However, this fic was not made to be normal and so Kiba smiled at the figure. "Shizune-neechan?"
The former Hokage assistant went to his side. "Explain yourselves."
"You see… Shizune-neechan, we were trying to visit the Sixth then these sand-nins blocked our way so we had no choice but to fight-"
"And that resulted to three cracked walls, an almost demolished lobby and twenty-five injured ninjas?"
Kiba thought of it for a moment before he vigorously nodded. He earned a punch from Shizune. "Ow!"
"Next time you destroy a public property, make sure it's not the hospital!"
"Demo… Demo… Demo… They killed Shino!" defended Kiba.
Shizune stared at him for a moment then looked over to Shino. She stood up and walked to where Shino was. Her slap sounded within the four corners of the room. "WAKE UP, BAKA!" She screamed then started shaking him up.
Kiba sweat-dropped. "Shizune-neechan! It's not good to dishonor the dead. They might haunt you!"
"Ughh… Uh…" Shino opened his eyes. "Shizune-neechan?"
Kiba gasped. "Sh… Shino! You're alive."
"Apparently your suppose-to-be dead friend was unconscious." Shizune whirled at him. "Seriously, Kiba-kun, are you really a jounin? Shino-kun was just out cold."
The dog-trainer stared at her, next to Shino who offered him a sorry-I-had-to-lie smile. His left eye twitched. "ABURAME SHINO!!!!!!"
"Eh?" Hinata suddenly stopped walking when she heard the scream. "Kiba-kun?"
"It appears that your friends are having a little chat," the advisor mulled over as he walked passed her. He stopped and turned around smiling. "Do not worry yourself. They are in good hands."
She offered a weak smile. "Do you know where they are, Sai-sama?"
"Of course." He nodded at her, signing that they should continue on their way. She had no choice but to comply. Although Sai greatly improved and could express his emotions, his smile still unnerved her. It seemed as though he knew something she did not: something that would cause her downfall.
"Something the matter, Hinata-sama?"
His honorific startled her, breaking her reverie. "Eh? Why the honorific, Sai-sama? I should be the one giving respect to you."
"Just practicing incase…" he let his voice trailed off.
"Incase?"
"Incase someone makes a daring move and courts you," he frankly remarked, mindful of her deepening blush.
"What are you… tr-trying… to say?"
"Although it was improper, I overheard your conversation with the Sixth a while ago," he elucidated his ill manners. "I know it was unethical but I did not know he was with someone. Still I hope for your forgiveness. Do not worry. I won't tell anyone about the talent portion."
Her cheeks reddened even more. "It's… alright…"
"I'm glad." He stopped and looked at her, making her stop. His eyes were clearly fixed on her, those unmerciful black orbs that told her to listen to what he was going to say or else she wouldn't see the sunrise again. "I would like to make it clear that I do not think you suit the Sixth very well." Her eyes widened. "You belong to the Hyuuga Clan, one of the pillars of the Konohagakure no Sato. I believe the people would agree to you but I do not imagine the Hyuuga elders accepting Naruto-kun so easily as you have. All they would see is a normal boy who was raised without parents. A commoner." He gave emphasis to the last word. "You see, to like the Sixth, you have to look pass his childishness, his lack of potential and his misconducts. You have to see who he really is to be able to accept him. I do not think that your leaders would do that. The Hyuugas, in exception to you, think highly of themselves. They would not care if he were the Hokage or a village hero for your sake. Do you see why I do not favor to you?"
Head bowed, she replied, "Hai."
"If he were to court you, he would have to suffer greatly. He would have to risk his title just to reach you: an acknowledgement he wanted ever since he was a kid. The villagers might resent him again, assuming that their Sixth left them for just one woman. You do know that?"
"Yes." Hinata managed to look up.
"I'm glad that you see that his life would be miserable." He smiled at her. "Shall we continue our way?"
She nodded, heart heavy with the resent deliberation she had received from the advisor. She walked stiffly, like her whole world was breaking. She hadn't considered those options. Of course, he would leave his title for her. But she knew the sacrifices he made for that name. Was she really that important to him? Would he risk everything for her? That would make her immensely happy but it wouldn't be the same for him. He would be happy with her, she'd make sure of it, but he wouldn't be completely happy without his title.
"I'll train and search for Sasuke! Then I'll inherit the Hokage name, dattebayo!" She recalled his statement back when they were genins. 'What to do?'
"Hinata-sama?" Sai stopped again. She followed the suit without answering. "There are still two other things."
"Umm… Okay…"
He studied her thoughtfully before he continued, "The Sixth formed a team composing of your friends for a special mission. It would really be a great help if you could give them this." His hands wandered inside his formal kimono and brought out a folded piece of paper. "This is a valuable piece of information. Please hand it to them then tell them to return it to once the mission is done. I trust you would not read this." He handed it out to her. "Be careful. It's Hokage property."
"I see…" She now held the paper with pride and kept it in her kunai holster.
"Hinata-sama, one other thing."
"Hai?"
"Those things I said earlier, I meant them, regardless of the fact that they hurt you."
Her eyes lost their sparkle. "I understand."
"Demo…" he started. "I see the way he looks at you. And if you are the only who could truly make him happy, then I would gladly accept you."
"Can I ask you another question?" Sasuke blurted out all of the sudden at a haggard Ino.
She managed a nod. "Sure. I think I could still take another stupid question."
Sasuke snorted but decided to press on. "Hinata loved Naruto ever since day one. He doesn't acknowledge 'til the Chuunin exam but still, her feelings remained unaltered. Why?"
"Geez… Why are you so hooked up with their love story? You desperately need a love-life, don't you?" He delivered a weak laugh for her comment but chose not to reply. Ino seemed to feel his change of mood and answered with a sigh. "Loving someone who doesn't love you is like watching a star you know you can never reach. But you just have to keep on trying. You know why?" He shook his head. "Stars fall, right?"
His eyes widened, then he looked away.
"Sakura told me that when you left. You're her star, bright and always there to guide. But when you disappeared, she wanted to bring you back. 'Life is incomplete without him,' she said."
"I guess I ruined it, didn't I?"
"A perfect someone only exists in dreams. But in reality, we should learn to appreciate the real someone. It may not be the one you expect, but someone you deserve," she quoted.
"Real-… huh?" Sasuke saw his handy-dandy cell phone in Ino hands.
"Be careful in letting go of the things you thought were just nothing, because maybe someday you'll realize that the one you gave away is-." She didn't have time to finish because the Uchiha irritably took the phone back. "Hey!"
"And here I thought you were quoting all those from your head," he replied complaining.
"What am I? A quote addict?" she glared doom, death and destruction that he glared back.
Kring… Krang… Kring…
He rolled his eyes and gingerly picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey! It' Shikamaru! I just heard this troublesome information and I really want you to confirm-"
"Anonymous Genin #1683 is Rokudaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto-sama? I got that from Ino," he clarified.
He dialed Shikamaru's number. "Hello, Shikamaru? We can't find 012607."
"Okay." Shikamaru sounded really pissed over the phone line. "Chouji."
"Yah?"
"Do me a favor and go to the local KTV bar Gai-sensei always goes to. You'll find Lee there. I'll assemble the rest of the Team while you make sure he doesn't drink any liquor. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" He ended the call. Chouji smiled at the figure behind the desk. "Thank you for your cooperation, Godaime-sama."
"It's my pleasure to help my cute little successor."
Chouji froze over that sparkle. It meant something. "That's a good thing, right?"
There was a dangerous glint on Tsunade's eyes.
It took Neji a half hour before he managed to convinced the Hyuuga interrogation corps to stay away from the perimeters. It was tough, especially with Hanabi-sama glancing him an uncertain eye, but he managed to do so.
"Alright," he said once he had closed the door. "Who are you?"
The man stared at him for quite some time before half of his face was dissolved into a pile of sand. It was only for a short while, but Neji already guessed who it was.
"I'm not really sure you're supposed to break into these walls," he said. "Regardless of you position."
"I have my reasons."
"I see." Neji wasn't quite sure he understood but this was Gaara he was talking about. He really doesn't understand anything going on inside the red-head's mind.
Silence loomed among the two. It was hard to form a conversation.
"Hyuuga Neji."
"Yes?"
"Who is this Hyuuga Hinata?"
If Neji was more disoriented than he was a while ago, he would have laugh at the question. However, he was Hyuuga Neji and the Hyuuga Neji did not laugh. Secondly, he was at the presence of the Godaime Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara-sama. This scene was the combination of the two icy ninjas during the NARUTO series. They seriously wouldn't laugh at each other.
So Neji, upon knowing those reasons, just coughed discreetly instead. "She's the Hyuuga heiress, one of the premiere kunoichis of the village."
"Is she anything similar to Hyuuga Hanabi who handed me to the interrogation corps a while ago?"
Neji coughed again. "To tell you frankly, they are completely different from each other."
"In what way?"
Neji closed his eyes, trying to meditate. "To put it simply, Hanabi-sama is like the sun while Hinata-sama is the moon." Gaara just stared at him. Neji seemed to get the point and elaborated. "Hanabi-sama is the sun. Showy, arrogant, pig-headed, she outshines everything that surrounds her. She's the personification of the clan surname itself. Hinata-sama, on the other hand, is the moon. You would not see her true brilliance until everything is dark. She guides everyone through the darkness, offering comfort and having nothing in return."
Gaara still stared at him.
Neji sighed. "It's hard to explain."
"Thank you very much again. And sorry for the trouble we caused you." Hinata gracefully bowed at the two before straightening up and went to her friends: thinking Shikamaru, a glaring Kiba, a happy Akamaru, a scared Shino and a confused Temari. Well, Shino wasn't exactly scared. He was only tensed. But Shino being tensed was a big thing.
"Geez… While I was stuck with a lying bug-user, Akamaru was actually petted by those sand-nins," muttered Kiba.
"We don't have much animals in the desert," defended Temari.
"But he was having a paw-massage!"
"Oi, Shikamaru. Are you okay? You looked pretty so beaten up," said Kiba. Shikamaru only shook his head.
"Oh. That's right!' Her hand wandered into her kunai holster and brought out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Shikamaru. "Sai-sama wanted me to give you this. He said it's for your mission."
Seeing that Shikamaru was beyond human comprehension, Shino took the paper and read the inscriptions on the paper. "Please return it to me once you're done. 1683 -Sai."
Like a person who was dragged to a nut hole and brought back, Shikamaru came back alive. His left eye twitched.
Temari noticed that and dragged Hinata to the direction of her home. "Come on. I'll take you home so your dad won't have any bad ideas," she said to Hinara. "You boys take care of that lazy jounin over there, 'kay?"
The two remaining sane man nodded, not fully comprehending what was happening. When the two kunoichis were at a fairly good distance, Shino unfolded the paper and read. "This is-."
"What?" asked Shikamaru as he peeked. His eyes widened.
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Ninja Registration Number: 120607
"Oi, Shika-kun. Why are you blinking at that registration paper so much?" inquired a peculiar Kiba. He peered on the paper. "It's Naruto-sama."
"This is it…"
"Did you say something Shikamaru?" Kiba asked.
"Anonymous Genin #1683 is the Sixth," Shikamaru heavily concluded.
Sometime later at the local KTV bar…
"So our target is the Sixth," Chouji repeated that same line as Sasuke notified them about the information he got.
"Yes, Chouji," confirmed Sasuke.
Lee frowned at his fortieth milk shake. Kakashi went outside so that the boys could have their talk. "Where's Neji?" he asked all of the sudden.
"He said he'd try to catch up. Apparently the Kazekage broke into the Hyuuga Compound and Neji is finding some miraculous way to clear his case. " Shino ignored his still glaring former teammate. "Don't you get tired at all the glaring, Kiba?"
"It's none of your business," growled Kiba.
"I can't believe my 200IQ was put to waste," Shikamaru sniffed. "Is he truly 1683?" The rest of them sourly nodded. "Mendoukusai."
"But seriously. Rokudaime-sama fits 1683's description. Just disregard the genin part," Shino pointed out. "I mean, his name is Uzumaki Naruto."
"Is he lively and caring?" asked Shikamaru.
"Yes."
"Kind?"
"When he wants to be."
"Always cheers everybody up?"
"There are some things he cannot hide."
"Mendoukusai," Shikamaru said the word as if it was a curse. "Now that you mentioned it, just how many guys are like the Rokudaime himself?"
Chouji patted him affectionately at the back. "It's okay. We were fooled as well."
"Now we have a bigger problem."
Kiba paused in gulping his drink. "What?"
"We have to capture the 1683, right? How are we supposed to seize him? That's treason!"