Chaotic Dynamics Final Chapter
"Alright class!" Called out Iruka, calming down the group of over excited academy students. "This is your first opportunity to test out and become a genin. You will have more opportunities in the future, so don't get down when you fail. You are all still very young and only 1 in every 100 students test out at this age… Shall we begin?"
He, and two other chuunin instructors, called out one student after another into the private testing room, giving them all an equal opportunity to pass based on their skill and understanding in the ninja arts. Within in a minute, the students started filing back into the classroom with defeat on their faces as fast as they were called out. It was at this point when the students realized that it wasn't easy to become ninja and some started to entertain the notion of quitting altogether seeing that the bar to pass was quite high.
"Hyuuga Aiko." Called one of the chuunin proctors from the door. The little dark haired, orange clad girl jumped up with a grin and hustled towards the exam room. Iruka smiled when she entered the exam room, catching the eyes of the other chuunin.
"A Hyuuga in orange?" Questioned one of them in a whisper, not believing the sight. They did hear rumors about her, but had yet to witness the phenomenon.
"Start with a henge." Iruka requested. Aiko thought while tapping her lips with her finger. They saw her smile and crouch to the ground before performing the proper hand signs.
"Henge!" She shouted, erupting in a plume of smoke. As the smoke settled, they all saw red fur covering a small, almost human sized nine tailed fox.
"Roar!" called out the distinct little girl's voice making the chuunin stifle a chuckle seeing the kyuubi roaring like a little girl.
"Ok, bushin." The little red fox cocked its head until a sudden plume of smoke erupted next to her, revealing an identical fox. The two them playfully chased each other around in circles in the room while the proctors jotted down their thoughts on the test form.
"Aiko, is that a kage bushin?" Iruka asked as he just noticed the fur reacted to contact when the second fox bit a tail of the first. The two little foxes stopped and spoke simultaneously.
"Yep, dad taught me it."
"Did he tell you the danger of using kage bushin?" Asked the middle chuunin, still pondering her relation since it was still kept very quiet among the village.
"He said that I can't make more than 30 at a time or I might pass out." She replied to the wide eyes of her instructors.
"Ahem…" Iruka coughed to get the other chuunin to focus on their task. "Makes sense given who your dad is… Do you know any attack jutsu?"
"I know a few." She replied.
"Hmm…" Sounded the last chuunin "Show us your most powerful."
"As long as it isn't a fire jutsu." Iruka interjected after recalling the mistake they made years ago with the Uchiha.
"OK." She replied after canceling the clone and her transformation. She stood up from her crouch and held her right hand out to her side and grabbed her wrist with the left. She concentrated while gritting her teeth, gaining raised eyebrows from her instructors. A pool of chakra rested in her hand swirling faster and faster in a chaotic ball of spiraling chakra. The ball finally took a perfect sphere shape and shone brightly in the room to wide eyes
"Wow…" Iruka muttered for the rest of them. "… Your dad never told me you knew the Rasengan." She looked up and smiled before closing her hand and canceling the jutsu.
"Dad did say that there are some things you should keep to yourself so you can surprise the enemy." Iruka nodded in agreement and jotted in his clipboard.
"You are a brilliant girl." He announced. "Who would have thought… must have inherited that from your mom. She was outstanding in the class room but too shy to perform well in other areas." Iruka slid his chair closer to the other three so they could discuss her results.
"Who are her parents?" The middle one asked while the last one nodded, genuinely interested in the answer since they didn't recognize her as one that grew up in the area.
"I'll tell you after your decision." He informed them as to not sway their vote. The two looked at their clipboards.
"I say pass." The middle one revealed after a quick internal deliberation. Now the attention was on the last chuunin.
"She is a little childish still, but I see no reason why she can't mature on the field… Pass." Iruka smiled and nodded.
"Aiko-chan, by a unanimous vote, you pass." Iruka announced, getting a loud cheer from the girl.
"Would you like to tell your dad, or would you like me to inform the Hokage myself?" He asked while eyeing the reactions from his peers.
"I'll go tell him!" She yelled enthusiastically and ran for the door.
"Don't forget your hitai-ate!" Iruka called to her retreating form while throwing the heavy piece at the back of her head. She turned just in time to catch it and speed down the hall.
"She's the Hokage's?" The two chorused while watching her leave
"Sure is, mix the Yondaime's legacy with a Hyuuga heiress and you get something amazing." Iruka replied happily. A moment later their high spirits were interrupted by a bulky boy walking in.
"Start with a henge." The boy attempted the transformation, but only managed to change his face into Iruka's and still had his own body. The chuunin slapped his head into the palm of his hand.
"Fail." He muttered without even writing one thing down; it was going to be a long day.
"Dad!" Aiko screeched as she came crashing through the office door. She paused when she saw numerous eyes fall on her, making her realize she just barged in on a meeting. A woman with red eyes looked down at her with a kind smile, Aiko then looked at everyone thoroughly. There were 5 ninja in total, not counting the Hokage. A guy with his hair pulled up into a spiky pony tail, another man next to him, who was of rather large girth, and the last male in the group wore a frightening spandex suit and had scary huge eyebrows. The last person was standing close to the Hokage and brought a large smile to the young girl's face.
"Mom!" She shouted and dashed through the group. She proudly showed off the forehead protector, which was already tied around her neck.
"Yosh, this one is overflowing with youth!" Lee shouted, making the others wish Gai wasn't ever allowed to teach a genin team in the first place.
"Looks like your little one passed." Kurenai mentioned to her old student who was quite pleased.
"Naruto's daughter… sure to be twice as troublesome." Shikamaru added.
"Aiko-chan…" Naruto started "… These are this year's genin sensei. Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, Kurenai, and our newest jonin, Hinata.
"Really? Which team am I on?" She asked in an excited manner, nearly bouncing off the walls.
"That, my little sweetie, will be revealed tomorrow."
"Dad…" She whined in embarrassment. "I don't want you calling me that in front of other people." The Hokage just laughed at her protest and concocted something on the spot.
"Fine." He relented but then brought his attention to the older Hyuuga female next to him.
"How about you? Can I call you sweetie?" He asked teasingly
"Naruto-kun…" She protested, not wanting to show her romantic side in front of too many people.
"Fine, I guess…" He looked around the room and smirked when he realized his idea just got more devious. "Lee."
"Yes Hokage-sama." The Gai clone barked while saluting.
"You will be my sweetie from now on." He ordered with a chuckle escaping his throat.
"Yes Sir!" He replied and jumped through the air in a trajectory that would place him in the Hokage's lap.
"NO!" Hinata screamed and pushed Lee, in mid flight, sending him tumbling across the desk, flinging papers in every direction. She turned bright red from her outburst and started unconsciously tapping her fingers together.
"Aww, I never get to be anyone's sweetie." Lee whined in a defeated tone while picking himself up frm the ground. Both Naruto and Shikamaru cringed and shielded their eyes, knowing what was coming; it always ended like this...
"Dynamic Entry!"
"Gai-sensei!" Lee cried out when he saw him enter
"Lee!"
"Dad… Make it stop." Aiko pleaded as the two green colored men were now hugging. The blonde leaned over towards his daughter with an evil glare.
"This is what happens when you don't let your proud dad call you sweetie." He whispered jovially.
"Fine!" She roared back defiantly. Her cheeks puffed out while she stomped her way towards the door in a pout. "I'm going to have nightmares thanks to you." She shouted before slamming the door behind her.
"That wasn't a very 'Hokage' thing to do." Shikamaru spoke while still gazing out the nearby window.
"Well…" The Hokage spoke with a smile on his face while scratching his head. With a sudden cough, he decided to change the subject
"That's the youngest genin this year… Are you up for the task?" He asked, ignoring Shikamaru's comment.
"It will be a challenge, but no worse than raising your own."
"That's why I chose you; Kurenai-sensei." He smiled towards the red eyed jonin and handed a scroll to her and setting others upon his desk.
"Your team details are inside; train them well." He passed out the rest of the scrolls to the jonin sensei and dismissed them. The thought of a new generation of ninja brought a smile to his face as he recalled the joy he felt when he became a ninja so many years ago.
The next day Aiko stepped into the classroom, with her hitai-ate hung around her neck. Upon entering she suddenly had all eyes on her making her pause when she realized the age difference between her and the other genin.
"Hyuuga… figures." Snickered a young kunoichi as she passed. Aiko just glared at her and took up a seat in the far corner of the room.
"Class." Iruka announced while walking into the room. "You will be divided into groups of three your jonin sensei will arrive and announce who will be on their team. You are all now ninja of Konoha; protect your village with all your might."
Iruka stepped out and the class started talking amongst themselves. Moments later a tall dark haired woman stepped into the room with her red eyes surveying the class. She wore black skin tight shorts with her upper body covered in the bandage like clothing hiding most of her fishnet chainmail armor. She smiled when she saw the eyes of her own daughter squint in a cheery smile upon her arrival.
"Tanaka Touma ,Yakumo Kyosuke, and Hyuuga Aiko; follow me." Kurenai walked out of the room with a boy dressed in all black, followed by a contrasting one dressed in almost all white, with Aiko taking up the rear. They followed the quiet jonin out of the academy and to the academy training grounds.
"My name is Yuhi Kurenai. I will be your sensei until one of you becomes jonin or are reassigned to a more appropriate group. Now, each of you introduce yourself. Tell us your name, age, your reason for becoming a ninja and your fighting style."
"Tanaka Touma." Anounced a monotone voice from the boy dressed in black. Black cargo shorts, black military like shirt, even his hitai-ate was mounted on black bandana wrapped around his black hair.
"I'm 10 years old and my family moved here from Iwa after the last war to start fresh. I use mainly defensive earth style jutsu."
"Yakumo Kyosuke." Sounded off the other boy in a more friendly tone. His unruly brown spiky hair was held out of his face with the standard issue hitai-ate. His white kung fu style outfit was accentuated with black ties in front and black kanji for 'weapon' on his back.
"I am almost 10 years old. I became a ninja so I could actually use the weapons my family makes. As such I am a long range fighter like my nee-san, TenTen."
"Im Aiko, Hyuuga Aiko. I'm seven and I'm going to try and keep the title of Hokage in the family. As a Hyuuga, I know the gentle fist which makes me a short range fighter."
"I don't recall a Hyuuga ever being Hokage." Touma interjected.
"My family name is from my mom. My dad isn't Hyuuga."
"Alright, back to the team. Our team consists of our youngest genin. Usually genin are about 12 when they graduate, so you guys still have a little bit of maturing to do before you catch up with your skills. To start off we'll have team training so we can learn how to act as a team. Once I feel you guys behave well enough together, we'll start doing small missions within the village. Let's start with lunch and go from there; but you'll have to decide where to go as a team."
Now that their first task was set up, they headed out into the village while the team continued to deliberate over where to go.
"I'm home." Hinata called out as she walked through the door into her home. She unzipped her cream and lavender coat and hung it on the coat rack revealing her usual form fitting fishnet style chainmail.
"Welcome back." Naruto replied, making a bright smile spread across his wife's face.
"How is your new team?"
"They're pretty good. You set me up with a similar style of team as mine; Kiba's nephew and Shino's cousin. I'm thinking our kunoichi may be a good candidate for medic training, though."
"Hmm, that is good news. I'll let Sakura know to put her on the list of possibles."
"Sure… Is Aiko-chan home yet?"
"Not yet, Kurenai said that they would be a bit late today."
(6 months later)
"Damn it Touma." Aiko shouted while rubbing at the scratch marks on her hands. "You were supposed to follow my lead; if you didn't charge in out of formation, I wouldn't have gotten scratched by that demon."
"Just because you're the Hokage's daughter doesn't make you the leader here." He retorted unhappily. "We could always just eliminate the problem, then we wouldn't have to catch it for the 15th time already."
"That's mean Touma-kun." Kyosuke defended. "She was entirely correct, though, you fell out of position and you need to quit making a big deal about her being Naruto-sama's daughter, she is her own person."
"You are correct Kyosuke-kun." Kurenai spoke, disturbing the team argument. "Your teamwork was spot on until Touma-kun made a move too quickly, but in the end the mission was accomplished and your teamwork is on par with any team. Let's go report to the Hokage."
The team silently walked towards the Hokage tower to give their mission report, and hopefully get a new mission since it was still very early in the morning. They hurriedly made it through the halls and into the office. After giving their mission report, they were given yet another d rank mission, much to their disgust.
"Come on dad." Aiko whined. Her long dark hair was pulled into a pony tail, dancing on the back of her orange shirt emphasizing her distaste.
"You're treating us differently than the other teams! They were even allowed to take the chuunin exams while we were off chasing the same tortured cat over and over. I mean what person allows that person to even have a pet!"
"Aiko-chan…" Naruto started in a tone that told everyone exactly what was coming.
"Actually…" Kurenai interjected. "I will have to agree with her, you have been treating this team differently from the others. We have completed over 150 D rank missions; I think you may be letting your personal feelings influence your judgment."
Naruto sat behind his desk thinking about what she said and couldn't figure a way out of it since he knew without a doubt that he was treating them differently. He just wanted to keep her away from danger until she was old enough, but the more he thought about it he didn't think she'd ever be old enough. Despite wanting to protect his little girl from danger, he realized that he was actually wronging her the most by being ever protective.
"You're correct, like usual." He muttered quietly. "OK, I'm going to allow all teams, from now on, to pick their own missions once a month. The decision will be up to your sensei, so I don't want to have this conversation again. Is that satisfactory?"
"That will be just fine." Kurenai relented. The Hokage presented her with a group of scrolls to which she looked through until pulling out her choice and handing it to him.
"C-rank…" He mumbled while looking at it "OK, Kurenai-sensei, your mission is approved."
"Thanks dad!" Aiko shouted. Naruto looked up with a concerned look, knowing that this mission would take them outside the safety and protection within the walls of Konoha.
"Aiko-chan, remember, it is dangerous for anyone to know who your father is, you and your team shouldn't talk about it when you venture outside the village." He reminded.
"Yeah, I know." She replied while waving him off on her way out of the office.
"So what's our mission Kurenai-sensei?" Kyosuke asked while shoving his hands into the pockets of his white jacket
"A wild animal escaped captivity and we are to subdue it and return it to the research division."
"What kind of animal, it isn't a cat is it?" Aiko wondered out loud.
"It's a stag; not to be confused with the Nara deer. It is a different breed that is being studied since it isn't native to this area."
"So we just have to take down a deer, that's easy enough." Touma scoffed while envisioning the quickest way to take care of the problem.
"It needs to be taken alive Touma-kun." Kurenai reminded, knowing his usual train of thought.
"This could be a multi-day mission, so go home and prepare. Meet me at the main gate in 30 minutes."
The team arrived within the time allotted with small packs thrown over their backs. The various packed items clunked and clanked with their steps as they set off out of the village. Not more than a few steps out of the village, and Kyosuke stopped and looked out at the towering gates. Noticing he fell back the rest of the team stopped and looked at the white clad boy.
"Whats up Kyo?" Aiko asked, being the most talkative of the group. Of course she inherited Naruto's tact in shortening names and not using honorifics. Even though Hinata taught her extensively on the subject, it just never really felt right to her, just like her father.
"Nothing really, Aiko-chan, I just… I've never really been outside of the village."
"Oh… It really isn't any different, just less people and better scenery." She replied, hoping to chear up his somber attitude.
"Tch, like someone of your upbringing would know of the outside world."
"Screw you Touma!" She shot back with anger. "I didn't even know I was Hyuuga or who my dad was until this year. I was just a girl living in Whirlpool Village having to cover my face and act blind because it wasn't safe to let people see my eyes. I may have everything I ever wanted now, but I didn't grow up that way!" She stomped ahead of the group with her slightly puffed cheeks showing her emotions openly on her face.
Kurenai nodded and smiled seeing how the little girl was quite able to stand up for herself. She did surprise her a few times when she looked at the girl, who was a mirror image of the younger Hinata and expected that personality, but got Naruto's instead. It was a very pleasant surprise since the Hyuuga family was known for their polite, stoic demeanor and rarely showed any emotion as opposed to her openly emotional self.
Touma growled and kicked at the gravel road as he resumed following the team further outside of Konoha. He mumbled a few non-descript words along the way, causing his sensei to make another mental note to keep an eye on him since he was acting way too similar to Sasuke. Luckily he didn't have revenge on his mind like the other, but was still stuck on his own superiority complex making it all the more difficult since Aiko was better, younger, and had even more potential to grow. Kurenai was sure that little girl would usher in a new generation of extremely powerful ninja, following her father.
"We will be leaving the main road here." Kurenai announced. "The stag was notice around here last night, so start looking for track or any other evidence of it being here."
"Kurenai-sensei; shouldn't we go towards the water and pick up the trail there?" Aiko asked as she was looking in the direction of water."
"Good call, how far is the water?" She asked, noticing the pointed look of the girl.
"I'm not good with distances yet, but I think it is 2 km from here."
"Really?" The woman asked with a touch of surprise. She knew Aiko's eyes were always active without showing it, but didn't know they were that well developed at such a young age. Again she found herself just going off of the developmental patters on her previous Hyuuga student.
"How well can you use your eyes?" She finally asked, needing to readjust her thoughts on her particular use of byakugan.
"Um… I don't know. I just use them. I get dizzy if I focus on too many things at one time, so I don't pay attention to my limits."
"Well when your mother was your age, she could only see about 50m around her and could only see about 1km in front if she focused. I was just trying to figure out at what point yours work."
"Ok, well mom says my eyes work better than hers currently do." To this Kurenai was intrigued even more since Hinata had been known to see close to 10km in a focused direction. "If I focus, I can see that dad is now having lunch in his office and mom is on a mission with her team ahead of us by about half a day's walk."
"You can tell who they are from that far?"
"Well, Dad has a very distinct chakra system and I can always find mom's chakra, but others are indistinguishable since I don't pay attention to other's systems that much. Also things can be blurry at those distances." The girl suddenly closed her eyes and placed her hand over her eyes and stumbled while they stepped off the main road.
"What is it Aiko-chan?" Kurenai questioned.
"I just got dizzy." She replied before shaking her head to revive herself.
"I guess even you have a weakness." Touma chided, while passing by her and taking the lead towards the desired direction.
"Come on man; why all the hate?" Kyosuke asked while nudging him on the shoulder.
"Hmpf…" was all he replied while continuing on.
Once they arrived at the water, they picked up the distinct trail of an abnormally large deer and started to follow it. The tracks continued in a perfectly straight line from the oasis gathering Kurenai's attention since animals tend to not travel straight. She filed it in her memories and continued on with the mission.
"Aiko-chan, does the trail continue on straight?"
"Yes, Kurenai-sensei." She replied, giving the jonin the status of being one of few she treated with an honorific.
"OK, we're going to speed up. Remember your tree climbing exercises and follow me." Kurenai jumped to the trees, with her team behind her and accelerated from one tree branch to another.
"Aiko-chan, let me know if the trail changes direction."
"K"
They traveled at their quickened pace until they started slowing with signs of fatigue. Noticing their reduced pace and the setting sun, Kurenai decided that they needed to stop for the night, hoping that their trail didn't go cold while they rested. They set up the tent and started a fire before eating a meal and turning in for the night.
The following morning, they hurriedly picked up camp and set out on the trail again; letting Aiko lead and set the pace since the young ones had the need to travel slower. With her in the lead, they were also sure to not lose the trail. After a few hours of traveling, Aiko slowed and positioned herself next to her teacher.
"I see the stag up ahead about 3 km."
"Ok, good job Aiko-chan. Are we catching up?"
"Yeah, we should be within 1km in about 20 minutes. Its stride has lessened in the last 4km."
"Got it. Touma-kun, stick close to Aiko-chan, and Kyosuke-kun, you're at the rear with me." With calls confirming they heard her, they separated into their positions and continued towards their target. When they got within 2 km Aiko suddenly stopped, causing the team to gather around her.
"The stag stopped." She whispered. The lowering of her voice sparked the jonin's interest.
"Is there someone out there?" She asked
"Yes, there is one person ahead and it almost looks like the stag is his pet, it is walking closer to him."
"Is that all? Can you tell if it is a ninja or just a outdoorsman?"
"I think…" She focused in the one direction and came to one conclusion. "It looks like a ninja, and mom is headed in the same direction."
"Really?" She voiced. Thinking it over there could only be one reason; Hinata's team was set to apprehend the said ninja.
"She can probably see us from here; so let's move to intercept."
Hinata saw a group heading in their direction and immediately recognized two members of the team and started to slow since they were obviously heading to intercept. A few minutes later, team Kurenai met up with team Hinata. The mother/daughter duo traded smiles but kept their distance.
"Hinata." Kurenai greeted, looking over her usual clothing from almost a decade ago which was hiding a more matured woman.
"Kurenai-sempai." She greeted in her ever polite way. "I noticed you guys were headed in our direction about 30 minutes ago. It is too much of a coincidence this far out. What's your mission?"
"We were sent to capture the stag… I take it that you are after the shinobi?" She saw the young jonin nod her head, which made everything make sense, including the straightforward trail of the stag.
"It should be a single chuunin. I don't see anyone else close, but we're still going to proceed with caution. Will you join us?"
"I believe so." Kurenai informed. "Your team can take the lead. Once the shinobi has been subdued, we will capture our target."
"Agreed…" Hinata replied, then looked over to her daughter. "Aiko-chan, can you see a chakra system in the stag?"
"Yeah, it has tenketsu too." She added
"Hinata, are you thinking that it may be a summon?"
"That is my impression." The older Hyuuga revealed. "I get the same feeling when looking at it as I so when looking at Gamakichi."
"Then we should approach with caution…"
"That is my recommendation." With a nod in agreement, the teams took off in their new formation.
"Hey Aiko-chan…" Kyosuke interrupted while matching stride with the girl.
"What Kyo?"
"Do you look like your mom did when she was young?"
"I think so, why?"
"N… No real reason." He mentioned with a slight blush across his cheeks when he realized that Aiko could grow up to look just like her mom. He quickly moved back to his position as they could nearly see the stag himself. Holding up a hand, Hinata stopped the combined team just outside of the shinobi's sight. With just a glance to her team, they moved forward and ambushed the chuunin.
"Wha…?" Sounded the chuunin when he looked up and saw a kid and small puppy launch into a spin right at him. He quickly pulled out a kunai and was in mid throw when he was restrained by a mass of insects from the Aburame. The flawlessly executed plan left the chuunin unconscious and the Stag fleeing.
"Doton: Ganchūrō no Jutsu (Earth Pillar Prison)." Touma shouted while thrusting his hands to the ground, resulting in earth pillars erupting from the ground and closing off the escape for the stag.
"Mission accomplished." He declared with a haughty smirk.
"Good job." Kurenai complimented and led her group to the cage.
"Stop!" Aiko suddenly commanded, but the warning came too late when a group of five ninja appeared in a flicker of light, surrounding both teams.
"Impressive…" The lead ninja commented. Hinata looked up, quite amazed that she wasn't able to detect them until they appeared. Looking at the plate on their head, she quickly recognized them as Kusa nin aka Grass ninja… or more importantly ex- grass ninja evident from the slash on their Hitai-ate.
"Who would have thought that this Hyuuga proof barrier could still be detected by this little one?" The five ninja drew their kunai and attacked before the Konoha ninja could regroup from the surprise attack. Hinata quickly moved forward at the one closest to her and struck with a well-placed strike to his heart, but found her palm striking a metallic object instead. The grass ninja had blocked her strike with a chkra blocking gauntlet.
"This one is jonin!" She called out, making Kurenai jump into action, knowing her students were in danger. She quickly melted into the ground and caught a unsuspecting ninja with her genjutsu induced plant, only to find Kyosuke caught in her web of deception.
"How…?" She looked over her shoulder and saw her whole team gathered together and even she couldn't tell which was her student.
"Hya!" Aiko cried while striking out at the Kyosuke standing behind her. Touma stared at her with his eyes wide, thinking she had gone mad and started attacking her comrades when Kyosuke faded into the form of one of the grass ninja. He managed to dodge Aiko's palm thrust, causing her to stumble forward and hit her on the back of the neck. Luckily, she saw it coming and was able to pitch her body to the left and redirect his hit to her shoulder and fell to the ground. The grass ninja then grabbed Touma and held a kunai to his throat. The black clad genin was shaking having never seen real battle, especially not of one at this level.
"Everyone, surrender!" He shouted, bringing all the attention to him. "All your weapons on the ground or the kid gets it." He emphasized his words by drawing a drop of blood with the point of his kunai.
"Don't…" He begged like the 10 year old that he is.
"Touma-kun…" Kurenai threw her weapons to the ground and held her hands up. Following her lead, Hinata and her team did as well. The other four grass ninja kept their distance from the group while they blocked them from getting to Touma and the fallen Aiko.
"Boss, what about this kid?" Called out the one with the hostage.
"Do what you want, he's worthless." The leader replied. The ninja grinned and pulled back the kunai and pointed the tip at the boy's throat. Right as he was thrusting forward, he felt his arm go numb and dropped the kunai.
"Good girl, Aiko-chan." Hinata breathed. There was a small window of distraction and she was able to pull a small kunai from the inside of her jacket and hide it in her hand and along her wrist.
"Kage bushin no jutsu!" Aiko quickly multiplied into 20 and lauched herself at the jonin.
"Suiton: Suiryūben (Water Dragon Whip)." The jounin countered quickly and struck down all the clones at once and knocked the original to the ground with a thud and a whine. She groaned and tried to get up, but fell back to the ground, beaten and exhausted. She rolled to her left side and saw that Touma had scurried away from the enemy.
"You little bitch!" The man yelled as he kicked the girl in the side. Hinata cringed and started to take a step forward.
"Hinata, don't be reckless. Two jonin and six genin are not a match for five jounin." Kurenai warned in a low whisper, "We need to wait for an opening to grab them and escape."
"Quit fucking around!" The leader shouted and rushed to the man's side, drawing a katana and preparing to strike the girl.
"Mind if I be reckless now?" Hinata didn't wait for a reply and charged forward. Her eyes flashed in anger, quickly flaring the byakugan. In an instant, she let the kunai loose in the direction of the man attacking her daughter.
"Jūho Sōshiken (Twin Lion Fists)." Her fists burst with overwhelming chakra and she made a dash for the other three ninja in front of her, while the one attacking her daughter paused his attack to effortlessly dodge the kunai. Her first fist just glanced off her target's chin. His eyes rolled back into his skull and he fell to the ground; even a glancing blow is formidable in her state. Hinata glanced up with a violent smirk when the kunai finally passed by the leader's head. The man ignored her glare and started to resume his attack when a brilliant flash of orange burst behind him and he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
"T…the flaming H..Hokage." Stuttered one of the remaining ninja. He nearly passed out when he saw the flaming form of the Hokage standing behind their leader with his hand firmly gripping the kunai buried in his neck. His fear of Naruto's arrival left him dazed and open for a full on uppercut blast of Hinata's chakra infused jukun strike.
"Don't mess with my family!" She gritted through a clenched jaw and watched lights in the eyes of the ninja fade; making him the second to fall by her hand in under 5 seconds . The last two standing grass ninja were attempting to flee from the enraged woman and kage since they knew they were outclassed, but got a painful reminder of just how far outclassed they were when two giant chakra arms gripped their skulls and threw them to the ground. They impacted the ground with such force that the earth itself trembled under their bodies. The orange flames dispersed as the Hokage went to his daughter's side.
"Aiko-chan." Naruto whispered wile wiping away the red fluid at the corner of her lips. She started to groan and even before her eyes opened, Hinata was holding her in her arms.
"Aiko-chan."
"Mom, dad?" She questioned, not quite knowing why they both were there. After wiping away the tear on her cheek, Hinata looked right at her husband.
"I told you I didn't want her to go on any dangerous missions."
"How was I supposed to know chasing down a deer would end in a fight with 5 jonin? Had I known those details, I wouldn't have let your team go either." The Hyuuga woman just sighed and let go of the girl who was struggling to get free from her grasp. Deep down she knew she was over reacting and despite the danger, her daughter managed to actually fight competitively with a jonin… at least for a few seconds anyways.
Hinata stood and turned towards her fellow ninja, almost forgetting they were there. Kurenai had gathered her other shaken team members by a large tree and was watching over Hinata's team while they tied up the two grass ninja who survived the battle. Touma was still shivering as he was leaning up against a tree to keep himself from falling over onto Kyosuke who had his face buried in his hands. Aiko hurriedly ran back to her team after seeing how shaken they were.
"Those guys were scary." Aiko chirped happily, having seemingly no effect from the fight. Kyosuke looked up and tried to smile after seeing her goofy grin.
"They weren't anywhere near as scary as your parents. If I had parents like that I'd never leave my bedroom closet." He teased, making himself start to smile.
"I… I… I'm g… gonna q…quit." Touma stammered from next to them, still being unable to calm down from the battle. They couldn't believe how shaken he was, especially since he seemed so calloused to the concept of killing. He continued to look down at the blood on his hands from his shallow neck wound and continued shivering.
"I'll take the survivors to Ibiki; you guys just get home safely." Naruto announced to the teams and with a proud grin towards his family, he was enveloped in his orange flaming chakra and disappeared.
"Come on Touma-kun, let's get you cleaned up." Kurenai suggested with a kind motherly smile. When they returned from cleaning up his wound, Hinata's team was preparing a meal with Aiko and Kyosuke
"After dinner, I think we should try to get closer to Konoha before setting up camp for the night." Hinata declared while they were seated and eating. With nods all around, it was decided.
"Welcome back teams." Greeted the blonde hokage with a glad grin across his face.
The teams of Hinata and Kurenai made it back to the village the following day after the attack during their missions. On their way back, Touma stayed silent and kept to himself more than previously; he didn't even manage a single snide remark the whole journey. All his team members tried to talk to him to cheer him up, but the events of the battle kept playing through his mind. He was nearly killed and it was his fault. The blood on his hands, and the seemingly uncaring ninja who didn't even flinch at the fluid which was spilled, caused his stomach to constantly churn all the way to Konoha, and the Hokage's office.
The Hokage congratulated the teams and took down the details of their missions and proceeded to dismiss them for the day. The teams filed out, still carelessly talking like nothing had occurred… They had almost been killed. Touma paused at the door until his team left.
"Hokage-sama." He spoke with his back toward the respected man.
"Shut the door." He heard in a soft voice, something he had never heard from their leader. He turned around and saw the melancholy face streaked with his signature whisker like appearance. The black clad genin opened his mouth to talk but stopped with the raised hand telling him to do so.
"Take a week off and talk it over with your parents and teammates. If at the end of the week you still wish for that, I will grant it. What you saw is the real life of a shinobi. It isn't glamorous or safe and I can only guarantee that injury and near death missions is all that lies in the future. Any time you clash with another ninja, it may be your last." Naruto signed and leaned back in his chair.
"We, as ninja, aren't as calloused as you might believe. We bear and endure horrible events like those so the villagers don't have to… It is all for the safety of Konohagakure." The Hokage gently smiled and waved him off without hearing a single word from the young genin, but the boy had plenty to think about since it seemed he knew everything Touma was thinking at the time.
Naruto sighed and shook his head upon coming to his office at the beginning of the following week. Lying upon his desk was a black bandana with Konoha's metal plate attached to it. He opened a large desk drawer and tossed the hitai-ate in with a group of others and shut the drawer. Until becoming Hokage, he never knew this side of the operation.
He had seen kids, which graduated academy ahead of him, randomly appear running the shops in the village at a later age, but never quite made the connection. Of those genin that graduated academy, only half would ever make chuunin and only a handful would be skilled enough to be jonin. As this was the case, it was always sobering when one would retire; never had he ever thought that it was an option at any point in his life.
Shortly after his arrival that morning, Kurenai showed up with the two remaining team members in her wake. She immediately saw the look on the blonde's face and knew the answer to her question she was there to ask.
"So it is settled then?" She asked, just to be positive.
"It is settled, Touma-kun is no longer a Konoha shinobi."
"What do you mean dad?!" Aiko demanded. Sure, Touma had told them about his thoughts, but she never really thought he was someone that would quit.
"Even if someone has talent in the ninja arts, it doesn't make them a talented ninja." HE opened the drawer at his side and pulled out nearly 30 hitai-ate and set them on the desk in front of his daughter and her team.
"These are all from genin who retired their post in the last year." Seeing all the wide eyes, he knew they could see the magnitude of the failure rate.
"Your team was made up of prodigies in the ninja arts. Each of you had skills more advanced than some 5 years your senior, but emotionally you are all still children too young to have to be subjected to battle, but so are all genin who graduate. Only those who can keep their wits during and after battle are allowed to remain. Even if Touma-kun had stayed, he might have been more seriously injured that next time he froze, and to tell you the truth; I could see it in his eyes after the battle that he was no longer shinobi. Had he not quit, I would have forced his resignation anyways. I just needed him to fully come to terms with it."
"So what do we do now?" Kurenai asked, seeing as how her team was now one person short.
"You will continue like you always do; like we always do when a member is lost. There are quite a few genin teams that are short members, so we will be doing cross team missions. This will allow you all to get more experience in teamwork outside of your team. This strengthens our forces more than having just one or two strong ninja. If our whole village can work as a team, we will never fall."
"When does cross team missions start?"
"Within the week, take a few days with adjusting your training between your current members and I'll see you shortly after once I figured out the teams… Dismissed."
Nodding, Kurenai led her quiet team out of the office and towards a training ground. They had lost their mid-range fighter, so it was about time to train the other two on how to fill in that gap. Her lips started curling up on one side; it was actually going to make them better ninja by branching out from their acquired style.
Kurenai's team took the Hokage's conversation to heart. Since that day, the team trained hard together and didn't attempt any dangerous missions. It wasn't that they were scared of meeting another ninja, it was that they decided, between the two of them, that until they felt their minds had matured like their skill, that they would refuse to advance in rank. Aiko heard many stories of her father's exploits in the years before her birth and imagining having to go through all that at that age, helped strengthen her resolve.
The day started out extremely hot, foreshadowing the impending scorcher for the day. A young girl stepped around the corner of the fenced in training ground with a wild grin across her face Her long hair flowed down to the hem of a short, bright orange sleeveless jacket. The jacket was zipped ¾ of the way up allowing you to see just the collar of the fishnet style chainmail which covered her pale skin down to her waist obscuring most of her midriff from easy viewing.
She had acquired a taste for more revealing clothing in the seven years of her training but still tried to keep it within reason. She adjusted her weapons pouch, strapped to her thigh over her tight fitting black capri style pants, then verified the Hitai-ate around her neck was fastened securely. She let out a large yawn while flopping down on the large park bench located by the fence. Her lavender eyes sparkled in the sun while she awaited the arrival of her sparring partner for the day.
Aiko sat thinking what it would have been like to have a sibling to teach ninja techniques to at her age, but knew it wasn't ever going to happen. She was still a single child, not because her parents didn't try because they did many, many, times, but because they found out after a year's worth of trying that somehow Hinata's body couldn't contain the latent chakra Aiko held in her infant form and it managed to irreparably damage her reproductive system. At first she felt bad that she was the cause, but her loving parents reassured her that even knowing the outcome, they wouldn't have changed it for the world.
"You're late." She called out without opening her eyes.
"It's disturbing to know that you can see through your eyelids." Answered a low masculine voice. One eye opened as she looked at her teammate. Although his attire hadn't changed much in the past, he now carried a large scroll with him and wore his white jacket open, revealing his flexible armor underneath it. As he walked, you could tell that the insides of his jacket were lined with small scrolls of various sizes. His green eyes looked down at his sitting teammate while he ruffled his spiky brown hair.
"It should be more disturbing to know that I can see through your pants." Kyosuke quickly turned away, earning sweet, but wild laughter in return.
"I can't see anything unless I try; you should know that Kyo." Her laughter started to die down with the fading of the color on his cheeks. You couldn't tell that he was almost 3 years older than her with the way they carried on; it was almost like she was the older one at times. Aiko stood up and started walking towards the center of the training grounds when she caught movement in the far off distance, raising an eyebrow at the revelation. Since it was just about the right time of the year; she smirked and had a wonderful idea.
"Kyo, let's start, but how about we make it a bit interesting; the loser gets treated to ramen." That bet sounded strange to Kyosuke. They have battled for that prize with the winner getting it, but never the loser. So all that he would have to do is purposely throw the practice and he'd avoid the large Ichiraku bill… It made him curious as to what she was up to, but he usually went along with it anyways.
They were facing off less than half assed for nearly 20 minutes when there was rustling in the shrubs behind the training area, alerting the white clad shinobi to the sudden presence of an intruder. Looking at his partner not move in response was all he needed to know that she set this whole match up since she saw them, 20 minutes prior. Kyosuke stepped back after dodging a painfully slow fist from Aiko and whipped a kunai at her with such a wobble that it didn't even get near her and flew towards the back of the field.
"My, my, my…" Sounded a cocky and snake like voice. They looked over and saw someone, about their age, step out from the bushes twirling the kunai which was haphazardly thrown.
"If this is evident of this year's genin, than Konoha is on a downward spiral."
"Just shut up and give him his kunai back." Aiko ordered, irritating the ninja.
"Worthless and feisty… it will be a pleasure to take you guys down." He hissed until he felt a sharp point at the back of his neck.
"How about you stop being an idiot and move along?" Asked Kyosuke from behind the guy. He just smirked and gave a quick hand gesture, resulting in nothing but silence.
"I guess your comrades aren't coming?" the intruder slowly turned and looked into green eyes and saw so deception in his eyes.
"Maybe you should watch your step, before you become a 'bloody mist'." He laughed uncaringly and pushed on the guy's forehead protector, causing him to stumble backwards, only to find a girl crouched behind his feet, resulting in his flailing and crashing to the ground. Aiko started giggling as she stood from the ground.
"Bloody mist… that's a good one Kyo." She laughed since it was a good choice of words for irritating the mist genin. "Come on, let go talk to my dad… We are so entering this year."
"Well, you all know why I summoned you here." Naruto announced to a room full of his jonin instructors. They all nodded their head in agreement.
"So then, are there any teams to be recommended for this year's chuunin exam?" The blonde leader looked across the room; this was one of his most favorite times of the year. The chuunin exams was the turning point in a ninja's career and their entire future rested on this event.
"I, Inuzuka Kiba, hereby recommend my entire team to partake in the chuunin exams." Akamaru barked loudly in agreement.
"I Haruno Sakura, hereby recommend my entire team to partake in the chuunin exams." This got a glare from beside her.
"I Yamanaka Ino, hereby recommend my entire team to partake in the chuunin exams." She stated while not taking her eyes off the pink haired jonin. Their rivalry was pushed into the next generation, causing Naruto to let out a low chuckle.
"Ok, any others?" He asked. The room remained quiet making it even easier to hear the office door creak as it opened, revealing a girl in orange and a guy in white. Naruto beamed when he saw her enter.
"Is it time?" He questioned, already knowing the answer from the determined look on her face.
"Yes dad, we are entering this year's chuunin exam."
"Excellent, upon my personal recommendation, and probably everyone else here; consider yourselves registered for the chuunin exam!"
Naruto walked back to his office chair and flopped down on it, only to feel its leg give away, causing him to fall backwards, cracking his head hard against the wall. It had been quite some time since he hit his head that hard. He slowly opened his eyes and everything around him was white. He looked to the left, then to the right. Suddenly a small icon floated above his head and the memories from almost 15 years ago came flooding back to him. Of all the struggles dealing with changing the past and especially of all the times he thought he'd never see the friends he knew.
"Your time in this reality has passed; time to move to the next one." Called out the dark voice of the kyuubi, causing Naruto to panic.
"No, this can't… I won't go back! This is my life, I can't lose my wife and daughter." He shouted. There was no way that he could ever believe that it was a fake existence, but if the past was anything to go by, it was possible and that scared him to death. Soon, though, raspy laughter echoed through the white room
"Ha, ha, ha… Looks like I still got it." Bellowed the jovial laughter of the kyuubi. "I can still make a Kage panic."
The white world faded away into reality with the laughing of Kurama fading with it. Naruto looked up at the soft lavender eyes of his daughter and started laughing as well. Everyone looked at him with the wonder if he hit his head too hard.
"Dad?" He just threw his head back and laughed even harder.
"To think, we were actually worried about Kurama wearing off on me… It looks like I rubbed off on him." Naruto pulled himself up to his feet when the laughing faded and he threw an arm around his daughter, embarrassing her in front of everyone. After experiencing that ability of Kurama's again, he realized how he could use that much later in life…
"Alright everyone." Announced the Hokage. Within the great hall sat all his friends, family and extended family. All of his precious people looked upon him with smiling faces waiting for what his announcement was. He gazed at the crowd and looked to his wife who smiled and gave him a gentle nod, showing her support.
"I want to thank you all for coming out to celebrate my birthday. If you would have told me I would be standing before you all like this 30 years ago, I would wonder what you were doing looking at my dreams. I've come a long way and now I'd like to announce the gift you all will all be granting me…"
The room fell into a hushed mumble as they all tried to figure out what he was going to ask of them. Naruto held the pause longer than he needed to just to irritate them some more.
"Well, that's enough of a cliffhanger…" He joked before turning serious. "I've lived my dream and now it is time for others to live theirs… After 16 years, I will retire as Hokage." Gasps broke out followed by voices of disbelief.
"I know, who would have thought… But to be honest I just want to grow old with Hinata, the love of my life. I want to live out my life and enjoy her companionship. And now for my final mission as the Hokage… I would like to congratulate Konohamaru for being nominated as the next Hokage, but before I turn the village over to him, I would like to promote my little sweetie to jonin. Aiko-chan; you deserve it."
He couldn't help but laugh when he saw his 23 year old daughter blush and hide her face after he embarrassed her so thoroughly. He sat down in his seat between his two women and hugged the awkward young woman before kissing his wife. His smile was so wide and as genuine as a man could have at the completion of his dreams. That grin held as the scene faded to white in his eyes, washing out all the faces before it faded back into another.
A woman with long, dark, bluish hair knelt before the narrowed gaze of a brown haired man dressed in the Hokage clothing. He held up the ceremonial hat of the Hokage to the audience which was gathered at the stadium for this event. She still wore her orange short jacket, but it was now outfitted with black sleeves for the current weather.
"On behalf of the Daimyo of Fire country and the village of Konohagakure, I Sarutobi Konohamaru hereby pass the title of Hokage to Hyuuga Aiko, who descends from the greatest line of Hokage as the daughter of Uzumaki Naruto." The current Hokage reached out and placed the ceremonial hat upon the small woman's head and wrapped the Hokage robes around her shoulders. She stood and grinned wildly at the cheering audience and waved to them. She looked to her right and saw an aging blonde man in a black and orange sitting next to a female Hyuuga, clapping and smiling widely.
Naruto stared at his daughter's face and had a tear roll down his cheek as the scene faded out into a white room. His breath was weak and labored while leaning against the wall of the white room.
"Kurama…" Called out a weak and shaky voice. His wrinkled face smiled slightly before starting to cough.
"Is it time?"
"That it is my friend… thanks for letting me relive my favorite memories one last time."
"It has been… an eventful life… sleep well."
The white world faded into black followed by one sharp gasp, and a constant high tone from the monitor next to his bed. Tears rolled down aged cheeks from lavender eyes. The woman removed her hand from the lifeless one of the man lying in the hospital bed.
"You've lived a good, long life dad… I know mom was proud to be married to you." Aiko stood and stepped out of the hospital room to the hall. She wiped away the tears on her face and smiled when she picked up her grandson with bright blue eyes and sunny blonde hair, grinning like only a child of three years old could.
"Alright my little Naruto-chan… Let's go get some ramen!"
End! It was a fun little story, anyways; I'm out of my own ideas, so let me hear some of yours... I'm taking requests. If I get one that sounds like it fits my style, I'll write it.
...Later