Well, seeing as it was requested, allow me to expound upon the currency system. Sit tight; it's a wild and confusing ride.

The Ryo was originally a weight developed in China, much like many other things in most Far Eastern countries. The Ryo was approximately 15-16.5 grams of gold depending on what reference you see. The other name for a Ryo coin is the Koban.

Basic research says that one Koban coin is worth 60,000-80,000 yen. During the Edo time period the punishment for stealing item and currency equaling over 10 Koban was death. Ironically, 10 Koban was the same gift that was given to distinguished Samurai. As a reward for their exemplary service, these Samurai would receive 10 Koban that were crafted specifically for them. Actually, I haven't quite figured out if it was 10 Koban pieces or one piece worth 10 Koban. Historical sites conflict at times.

GOLD COINS

1 Koban is 15-16.5 grams of gold (this weight is known as a Ryo).

4 Bu equal one Koban

4 Shu equal 1 Bu

During the early periods of Japan coins that were mainly used were made of Gold. However, during the Tokugawa era it was established that Silver would also be used. This was mostly due to trading with the West. The slogan was, "Silver for the west, Gold for the East."

The base measurements for silver coins were the Mom'me. Depending on the exact time during the Edo Era the exchange rate fluxuated around 50-60 Mon for one Koban. Later another piece of currency was released that was known as the "Nanryo Nishu Gin" which was firmly established that 8 of these silver coins equaled 1 Koban.

Still, none of this information actually answers the question posed by Saotome Kyuubi. I could always just try a cop out and say 10 Koban 1 human life, but I'm not that lazy. The actual problem arises that the trading with foreign powers is what caused the instability of the Japanese monetary system.

The Japanese government set the worth of their coins as the weight and purity of the metal. The rest of the world really didn't always care about the purity, just the amount they could get for the coin. So in other words, it was traded poorly while in Japan, but once outside Japan the Koban could be exchanged for Gold Bullion, if that helps anyone understand.

Now we'll go a little further and say that Spain was the one that everyone looked to as the standard for gold coins. So if one traded 20 Koban for the equivalent weight in Spanish Doubloons...that's about 300 grams of gold which then turns into about 10-12 Spanish Doubloons…which doesn't really translate well. Suffice to say all that I can figure out is that 10-12 Spanish Doubloons pretty much meant that you could retire if you really wanted to. Sadly there isn't much else I can do on the subject. Trade was still the main way of doing business in many areas so actually finding a conversion chart is a bit hard. Hopefully this clears up any questions for this subject. I don't mind doing research, in fact I enjoy it.

To clear up another question, by the definitions a ninja would be part of the eta class, but that would assume that you knew it was a ninja. The thing that scared many of the people during the time was the fact that ninja could be anyone. A ninja could move anywhere they wanted undetected, destroying the security that the Japanese of the time treasured. So yes, technically they would be eta, but to be truthful the ninja were skilled enough to be able to act as any class at any time doing just about any job.

If anyone else has other questions I'll do the research and put it up at the beginning of the story. If I don't get a request, next time I'll start on Japanese monsters/legends and then Japanese mythology. See you at the end of the chapter!

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The Hyuuga Way

Chapter 8

Discomfort

Oi!

Naruto had never before been in such an interesting predicament. He was trapped. Not by people, not by society, not even by hunger. Right now he was trapped by something that was totally oblivious to his discomfort.

Time.

The meal had been awesome. He'd never had so much fun while eating in his life. As an added bonus, he'd been able to ask Hinata more about herself as well. He'd been meaning to ask for a while now, but every time he'd thought about it there was something else going on. That had been the best meal he'd had in a long time.

However, being on his best behavior was hard work. He didn't know how Hinata managed to do it. Here he was counting down the minutes until he could bounce and yell and Hinata was just as calm as ever. How did she do that?

To be truthful, he really didn't mind walking back with Hinata, forced calm or not. Even a kimono couldn't hide that figure…

Ack! Stupid Ero-sennin! He couldn't think about Hinata like that! Hinata would...would…well, she wouldn't kill him, but he was sure whatever happened would not be good. He knew that Neji would kill him however and if Neji failed, then her father would kill him. More than likely, Tsunade would patch him up before he actually died, but then she'd send him back to the hospital for being a pervert. None of these things truly appealed to Naruto.

Quickly, Naruto moves to open the gate and allow Hinata to enter the Hyuuga domain. He really couldn't call the entire thing a house, the sheer area that the Hyuuga family owned put his measly room to shame. To his knowledge there were only two other houses in Konohagakure that rivaled the Hyuuga home in size. The first was the Uchiha household, though most of that was now just empty manor. The second was the historical home of Tsunade's family. He'd never actually caught what her family name was, but he was pretty sure she lived in the huge home that was considered somewhat of a landmark. After all, four of the five Hokages had lived there over the years now.

Hinata removes her sandals and puts on the slippers for walking around the house before turning to Naruto, "I…I hope you enjoyed the meal Naruto-kun."

Naruto pauses, waiting a few moments. He wanted to make sure of the time. Finally! The trademark broad grin crosses his face, "It was awesome Hinata-chan! The noodles were weird, but they tasted pretty good and the koi! You have to tell me about koi sometime!" There, he'd done it! He felt at least a little better now.

Hinata smiles, glad to have heard the honest answer instead of the polite answer. There was indeed too much of a good thing when it came to a polite Naruto.

Naruto scratches his cheek in slight embarrassment. If Hinata's father was here then he'd have to listen to how he shouldn't act so rude around Hinata. Gees this place had a lot of rules, "Still up for some training?"

Hinata gives a nod, "Yes Naruto-kun. I…I'll go get changed and be back in a few moments."

Naruto looks over at the Cadet section of the house, "That's ok. I need to go pick up my stuff too." With that, Naruto heads off to hunt down the Hyuuga members from earlier. He needed his shinobi gear and they'd know where it was.

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Gracefulness was something that many attributed to Hinata. Floating was not. The kimono may have hidden the feet of the young Hyuuga, but those that encountered her knew that Hinata did not normally glide like that. The smile upon her face seemed to light up the entire area she walked and for that the branch members were grateful.

Something was going right for a change. A few of them debated telling Hinata about the odd demands that Hanabi had been giving them, but decided it could wait until morning. The mood given by Hinata was infectious and they could not help but to continue their business with a light heart.

Hinata politely bows to one of the branch members as she reaches her room, "Excuse me. When I have changed, will you please clean this kimono? I would like to make sure it is ready for the next time I wear it."

The branch member gives a small bow in return, "Of course Hinata-sama. Consider it done. Do you require anything else?"

Hinata shakes her head, "Just one more thing please. I did not see father when I arrived home. Could you tell him that I will be out practicing this evening and will be home late?"

The Branch member bows once more, "Yes Hinata-sama. I will make sure that Hyuuga-sama and Neji-sama know where you are."

Hinata pauses as she enters her room, "Neji-oniisan is out as well? If it is not too much trouble, where did he go?"

With a shake of the head, the branch member replies, "The Hokage summoned him for some unknown reason. I'm sure that he will be back when his business is finished."

Hinata nods once more and closes the door to change. Perhaps Neji was getting a new mission. It had been almost a week since his last one and Neji enjoyed staying busy.

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Neji glares across the table at Tsunade. "Let me get this straight. Naruto-san doesn't know he's going to marry Hinata-sama yet. You're going to tell him about the arrangement, but you want me to tell him how it works."

Tsunade takes a moment to think and then nods her agreement, "Yes, pretty much."

"And why do I get the honor of telling the idiot about arranged marriages?" Neji presses. He could think of quite a few other people much more qualified than him to talk about such things.

Tsunade gives Neji a quick look to remind him not to insult Naruto in her presence, "You're the only one that would give Naruto-kun a straight answer about how it works. Everyone else would try and make it into something it's not. I trust you to make sure he understands what and why this has been agreed to."

With a frown Neji gives a nod, "Fine, I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. However, I pick the place, the time and how much information."

"Fair enough" Tsunade concedes. After all, Neji was doing her a favor and for free at that. She couldn't really get a better deal. As Neji stands to leave the office; Tsunade speaks up again, "One question before you go. Have you ever encountered trouble with the person in accounting?"

Neji nods his head, "She's a rude, self-righteous person. I dislike her for not knowing her place, but I dislike being in the office more."

Tsunade nods and motions that Neji can leave, then turns back to the papers on her desk. That was not the reply she had been expecting. It would seem that she was not the only person who did not wish to stay in that room.

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Now fully changed and ready to go, Naruto almost bounds off the walls as he waits for Hinata. The bit of movement helped him feel a bit better. Personally, he didn't want to be there when Hiashi came home and that look he was being given by the youngest Hyuuga didn't exactly make him feel welcome either.

The look was kind of the like the Sasuke 'you're a moron' look combined with the Neji 'you're an insult to my presence' look with a bit of the general 'I wish that you'd die and leave me alone' look that most of the villagers gave him. Naruto was quickly convinced that the young girl would grow up to be an excellent specialist in assassination or interrogation. Of course, with Neji and Hiashi at the manor she did have good people to learn from if she wanted to learn how to look like an Ice Queen.

As the moments tick away, Naruto was debating if he should have taken a bit more time in getting ready. Nah, Hinata would be there any moment.

"So, you're Uzumaki Naruto…you don't look like much." A voice comments from beside him.

Resisting the urge to jump, he looks over to see who it was. The girl…um…Hanabi! Hinata had been telling him about her younger sister earlier that day.

Immediately, Naruto decided he didn't like her much. Something about her rubbed him the wrong way. "Neither do you, but then it's hard to compare to Hinata-chan."

Now that he knew more about Hinata he felt justified in returning to the more familiar term for his friend. Besides, she's cute in a way he really couldn't explain. It was yet another thing for him to try and figure out. He'd have to talk to Sakura later about all this. She'd know more.

Hanabi gives a scoff, managing to look dignified while giving the slightly rude gesture, "I'm better than Hinata-oneesan, how can you even start to compare me to her and who gave you permission to call her Hinata-chan? We are leagues above your station. You should know your place."

Naruto gives a dismissive wave, "Yeah. I heard it all from Hinata-chan yesterday actually. Station…place…whatever. You want respect? Earn it. Hinata-chan and Neji-san both earned it. "

Hanabi glares once more, "I am Hyuuga Hanabi and I demand that you give me the respect I deserve!"

Blatently ignoring Hanabi, Naruto smiles as Hinata comes out of the manor wearing her typical shinobi gear, "Hey Hinata-chan! I'm ready to go when you are!"

Hinata blushes slightly and then replies, "I…I'm ready to go Naruto-kun."

"Hey! I'm talking here!" Hanabi pipes up, not enjoying the fact that she had just been brushed off by someone lower ranking than she.

Naruto makes it to the manor gate before turning to look back at Hanabi, "I know and I'm giving you the respect you deserve. See you later Brat-sama." Yes indeed, Naruto decided he liked using these honorifics now, in a pinch they could be used for very good insults. With that Naruto disappears out of the manor to join Hinata. "Heh, let's go have some fun."

A worried expression crosses Hinata's face, "Naruto-kun you should not have insulted Hanabi-chan like that. It might make her harder to deal with later."

"She'll either treat you with respect or she'll get no respect. Besides, what can she really do to me?" Naruto laughs.

"Umm…" Hinata starts to comment, then almost thinks the better of it, "Y…you are still coming to d…dinner next week aren't you?"

Naruto frowns, having forgotten about that for a moment. Then grins once more knowing how important it was for Hinata for him to be there. It had to be important for her to stutter so badly. "Of course I am! You wanted me to meet your family right? It's supposed to be important so I can't miss it for something as stupid as your bratty sister."

Hinata breathes a sigh of relief. Everything was still in place. If Naruto didn't show up to the dinner then the entire betrothal would be ruined. If that happened, she wasn't sure what she would do.

"Hinata, you ok" Naruto asks, shaking Hinata from her thoughts.

Hinata blushes slightly as she replies, "I'm fine Naruto-kun."

"Great! Let's get started then!" Naruto beams. He was sure Hinata would have no trouble with the Kage Bunshin.

A few hours later, Naruto sits cross-legged watching Hinata to the seals again.

He didn't understand it.

He knew Hinata had the required chakra available to her. He'd seen her use it back during the Bikochu mission. So why wasn't she getting it? Every time she attempted the technique it just seemed to upset her more. Already he'd made Hinata stop at least three times to keep her from getting too disappointed.

"Hinata maybe you should take another break." Naruto states.

For her part, Hinata was upset. Not so much upset at not learning the technique, but the fact that Naruto believed she could do it, but she just couldn't get it to work. In a slightly undignified manner she plunks down in a sitting position, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun…"

"Hey! No saying sorry when it comes to jutsu! I'm just trying to figure out what's going wrong…" Naruto admits. It was a puzzle and sadly Uzumaki Naruto wasn't that great at puzzles.

Hinata shakes her head, "I…I just don't have enough chakra for it…"

Naruto blinks as he looks over to Hinata as if she just told him that Konohagakure had run out of ramen, "What do you mean you don't have enough chakra? I've seen your chakra in action before! You have plenty of chakra! More than any of the other girls, except maybe Tsunade-obaasan…"

Hinata tilts her head, "H...how do you know I have so much chakra?"

Naruto pauses, a small bit of red tint coming to his face. He really didn't want to tell her how he was sure. It was slightly embarressing, at least if he had to talk about it with Hinata it would be. "Well…um…It's a trick that Ero-sennin taught me. It has to do with looking at a person's chakra reserves…" Yes, it was a lie and a poor one at that, but from what he'd seen Hinata had the largest chakra reserves of any of the girls of the rookie 9…and more than most chunin he'd seen around the village.

However, the opening to blame Ero-sennin for any misunderstandings was too good to pass up. The only two women he knew that had plenty of chakra but didn't use it regularly were Tsunade and Hinata. Since they did all kinds of chakra control exercises that increased chakra ability and increased chakra reserves without actually expending much energy on a daily basis the chakra had to go somewhere right? It wasn't his fault if the places where the chakra collected made him seem like pervert! Hopefully, Hinata wouldn't ask him to explain further and cause him to look like one though.

Hinata could tell the subject made him uncomfortable. Perhaps he didn't want to share the training for being able to see chakra reserves and that's why he was lying? After all, it would be a rare ability and many other ninja would hound him if they found out, so it was probably best for him to keep the jutsu to himself, although how he'd managed such a jutsu without symbols she didn't know. "I don't know. It's a high classed jutsu. It…it might just be too powerful for me."

That comment knocks Naruto's mind back on track, "What? Hinata-chan you can't think like that! Lee can't use genjutsu or ninjutsu, but he's mastered taijutsu to a level most jonin couldn't dream of! Neji shouldn't have been able to learn that Kaiten technique, but he made it on his own! I learned the Kage Bunshin in a single night! Why? Because we BELIEVED we could do it!" By this time, Naruto was on his feet pacing back and forth as his hands wave animatedly, "I can teach you the hand symbols. I can tell you how the chakra needs to be molded. Heck, I can ever stand here and remind you that you're awesome, but if you don't believe in yourself the move just won't work. It's like ramen without the noodles. You can't have ramen without noodles. You need to have them for it to work!"

Hinata stops, the entire speech sinking in as she sat there, though she had wanted to giggle at the talk about ramen. He was right. She hadn't really thought she could do it. She hadn't thought she could do a lot of things. Maybe that was why she had always failed? Maybe…maybe she just needed to believe she could do it. If she could do this then she could do all the other things she'd failed at. Finally, her voice gives words to her insecurity, "But…what if it doesn't come out right?"

Naruto grins, "Then if you don't get it right, but you can still use it, you've made a new jutsu! Come on, nobody expects you to be me. I'm not expecting you to be me." He was ranting, but man it felt good! Being forced to be polite all day meant a lot of pent up energy. "There's only one Uzumaki Naruto! And there's only one Hyuuga Hinata-chan! Even if we do the same jutsu there's always going to be differences. Believe it!"

Hinata nods, picking herself up off the ground, "O…ok Naruto-kun. I'll practice it some more tomorrow. It is late and I need to be ready for tomorrow."

Naruto gives a false frown, looking as if he were sulking, "Ok, but you have to promise that you'll keep practicing the jutsu when you can."

Hinata gathers a few of her things that she had left on the grass, "I will Naruto-kun. You will keep practicing your manners as well?"

Naruto feigns thinking, teasing Hinata for a moment, "It's pretty hard work being polite and all, but I guess if you promise then I will too."

That was plenty enough for Hinata. She knew that Naruto never went back on his word.

The return trip to the Hyuuga manor was spent in small talk, mostly Naruto talking about small details concerning the Kage Bunshin.

Finally, when Naruto stops Hinata asks, "So, when do you have to go to the talks with the Sand again?"

Naruto pauses to think, he knew he'd been told. It had been two days so, "I have nothing tomorrow The morning of the day after has more of the talks. Then maybe the next day as well, I'm just filling in for Shikamaru I think." He pauses, "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you…who's getting married?"

He didn't know? At that moment, Hinata didn't know whether to be relieved, scream in frustration, or cry. Without being able to decide, she did the only thing that came natural when she was stressed…Hinata fainted.

Quickly, Naruto catches the falling Hyuuga and moans, "Aw man…"

Minutes later, Naruto enters the Hyuuga domain carrying the unconscious Hinata. A slightly cross Hyuuga Neji stands at the door.

At least it wasn't Hiashi right?

"Naruto-san, what happened to Hinata-sama?" Neji questions, letting Naruto know that he fully expects a real answer.

"Well, we were walking and Hinata-chan asked about when the next talks were so I told her. Then I remembered something about the about one of the Hyuuga family getting married. Tsunade-obaasan and Gaara-san both seemed excited so I asked Hinata-chan and she fainted!" Naruto hurriedly explains. He knew that it was best not to keep Neji waiting. True the two were friends in a way, but he didn't want to push the bounds of that friendship.

Neji looks at the unconscious Hinata and then back to Naruto. That went over better than he had expected. What had Hiashi and Tsunade been thinking by telling Hinata about the arrangement but not Naruto? Oh well, as Hinata's guardian it was his duty to protect her and as Naruto's friend he needed to at least hand the guy a clue. That didn't mean he'd like it…

Neji motions for Naruto to follow, "Let's get Hinata-sama to her room to sleep. It's been an eventful day. Then you need to go home and rest as well. Tomorrow. 7AM. Hyuuga bath house. Be there or I'm going to hunt you down and make you wish you were dead before we talk."

Naruto nods. Something told him whatever the information was he probably wasn't going to like it.

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The next morning Naruto made sure to wake up early, get his morning training done early and then get to the Hyuuga manor before the time he was told. Neji was not someone to upset. Tsunade he could play with, they had an understanding of sorts. Neji hated to be kept waiting. With great trepidation Naruto enters the bath house on the Hyuuga manor, and begins to change to take a bath. Hot water. This would certainly be a change from bathing in the river.

As he changes, Neji steps into the changing room, smiling slightly, "Morning Naruto-kun. Hopefully you slept well. I didn't want you to lose any sleep by having this talk last night."

Naruto blinks, 'What the…'

Seeing Naruto's confusion, Neji gives a small laugh, "I see you haven't gotten to the bath house lessons yet. Let me give you a quick run down. Basically, the bath house is a neutral territory. In here, you're Naruto-kun, I'm Neji-kun and we can chat like normal guys. Trust me…we're going to need it."

He smacks Naruto on the back and smiles, "Come on, it's time to soak and talk about the scariest thing in the world…women."

Whew! I'm finally back where I wanted to be and back to my normal writing style. I'd like to thank Tellemicus Sundance for his story "Naruto: Legend of the Razengan" specifically. Whenever my muse has problems his story tends to help me get in the mood and make me return to the ever popular question…WWND? (What Would Naruto Do?)

Also…I've been through the profile of just about every person who has reviewed my story and read at least one of the stories. Good stuff. It keeps me thinking about what to do. Sundance-san just happens to have one of stories that really kicked off my story writing muse for Naruto. The other story being Team 8 by S'TanKan.

For those that are looking at the last part and going "OMG WTF Dairy Queen BBQ?" all I have to say is…actually, I can't say anything because I'm probably laughing too hard at imagining the reaction.

Anyway, that's how bath houses used to work. Everyone needs to be clean and it's one of the few places where you can talk about anything with anyone and there's plausible deniability when it's all done. In other words…Neji can just be Neji and not Hyuuga Neji, genius jonin ninja and all around badass. If anyone asks if he said anything to Naruto he can say "no" cause who are they going to believe, Him or Naruto? You think this part is scary…you have no idea what else is up my sleeve. Mwaahahaha! Bwahahaha! Gwahahahahaha! 'hack' 'cough' evil laughing's hard.

Again, this is pretty much a transition story. I'll be skipping a few days after this. I really don't think you want me to go through every day to get to eventual dinner at the Hyuuga house. I know I don't want to. Still, the plot must go on and it requires a few chapters like this and the previous one. Foreshadowing is my friend!

I like this one much better than the last chapter. It flowed more and there was much less looking at the screen and going…"What in the 9 hells am I going to do now?" That question is listed under my 'bad things' category.

Anyway, hope you all liked and I'll see you in review replies or in the next chapter! Have fun!

Edric Loto