Naruto arrived at Shikamaru's house at 6 o'clock and stood just looking at the door, 'What if they don't like me or think I'm a demon. Maybe I should just go home' Naruto thought while frowning at the door however before he could move the door opened and there stood Shikamaru. He smiled at Naruto "Hi Naruto, come in" Naruto looked at him and smiled back feeling a bit more relaxed. As he walked inside he saw Hinata sitting down talking with a woman, with dark hair and black eyes 'that must be Shikamaru's mother', "Come and sit down Naruto" Shikamaru said and gestured to Naruto to sit with Hinata and his Mother, Yoshino "My dad is coming now" and with that both Naruto and Shikamaru sat on the sofa opposite the chatting Hinata and Yoshino.
As soon as they sat down, Yoshino turned away from Hinata and looked at them "You must be Naruto, it's lovely to meet you", Naruto looked nervous "It's nice to meet you to, thank you for inviting me over". Before she could say anything else, Shikamaru's dad Shikaku entered "Hello, you must be Hinata and Naruto, good to meet my son's team, Yoshino how long for dinner?" Yoshino looked at him "Soon dear, I'll go check on it and next time announce yourself don't just barge in and interrupt ok?" looking slightly scared of his wife as she glared at him, he nodded however as soon as she was in the kitchen he muttered "troublesome" 'That must be where Shikamaru gets it from' Naruto thought. Just as Shikaku started to talk to the three gennin, Yoshino popped her head out from the kitchen and announced dinner was ready.
When they had sat down, Yoshino said "I hope this is okay, I made ramen, Shikamaru told me it was your favourite Naruto" with that Naruto couldn't stop the smile on his face at the thought of ramen, Hinata nodded at Yoshino and smiled.
As they ate Yoshino started asking questions "So Hinata are you going to be doing any extra clan training now that you are a gennin?" at this question Hinata stopped eating and looked down unsure of how the people around would act with the answer she was going to give. Taking a deep breath she looked up and saw concerned faces, knowing that they cared somewhat gave her courage "My father had a meeting with me when I got home, he said that he has to stop my training as I am too weak and to not be a burden to my team" As soon as she finished speaking, the whole table started speaking, Yoshino and Naruto were saying things like "How dare he talk to his daughter like that", while Shikamaru was talking about how strong Hinata was, however Shikaku sat in thought.
When everyone had quietened down he spoke "Then we will just have to show him won't we. Why don't you and Naruto join us at the weekends for training?" Yoshino smiled at her husband and kissed his cheek, while Naruto and Hinata replied with an emphatic yes. Naruto was happy to get more training while being around people who were nice to him and Hinata just wanted to get stronger. They then all looked at Shikamaru "Sounds good, a bit troublesome though" but smiled at his teammates. The rest of the evening went well Hinata and Naruto found Shikamaru's family lovely and friendly and couldn't wait for the weekend when they would come over.
As they were saying goodbye, an ANBU knocked on the door and asked to speak to Naruto, he whispered his message and left. When he had left Naruto looked angry and sad, "What's wrong Naruto?" Hinata asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked reluctant to tell them so Shikamaru said "You can tell us Naruto, remember we are your friends" Naruto looked round at the room, everyone looked worried, he felt better knowing that these few people cared about him, he spoke "The ANBU informed me that my apartment caught fire and that they caught the people responsible"
At this news Yoshino rushed to Naruto and hugged him, never having been hugged like this Naruto wasn't sure what to do but he slowly hugged back. Hinata looked like she was going to cry while the two Nara men were thinking. "Oh my Naruto, how could people do this" Yoshino said when she pulled back from the hug however she noticed that Naruto was a bit reluctant to let go. "It's okay, it has happened before and I know why" Naruto said with a sad look on his face. With those words Shikaku looked up then at Shikamaru who nodded and indicated Hinata then at his wife who had a shocked look on her face. "Naruto, you know why, you know about what is sealed in you?" Shikaku said, not directly saying the word demon as he knew the Third's law was in effect.
Naruto looked at them "Yes, Mizuki told me, but don't worry I know we are different, Hinata and Shikamaru helped me realise the difference. I just wish the rest of the village would understand" Shikaku and Yoshino looked with pride at Shikamaru and Hinata for helping him. Then Yoshino noticed what else Naruto said "Naruto, you said it has happened before, what do you mean?" at this Naruto looked embarrassed, "well sometimes the villagers get angry, so they do things like this, or charging me extra for food and clothes and when I was younger they used to beat me" At this Yoshino and Hinata did start crying while Shikaku and Shikamaru looked angry. Shikamaru spoke first "Well Naruto since your apartment is currently unusable, you can stay here" Yoshino and Shikaku looked at their son and then at each other and nodded "Shikamaru is right, you are staying here and no arguing" Yoshino said and Naruto closed his mouth as he was going to protest, but sighed and then smiled 'hmm I can't believe they want me to stay. First friends and now more people who care, I even got a hug'.
After everything was sorted out, it was agreed that Naruto would stay and share a room with Shikamaru, which had Naruto excited and Shikamaru saying it was troublesome if Naruto snored. Hinata left but not without receiving a hug from everyone and telling Naruto it would be alright. That night Naruto fell asleep thinking 'This has been the best day ever! I can't wait for tomorrow'.
The next morning Naruto and Shikamaru were waiting for Hinata at the training ground, Naruto was ranting about how good Yoshino cooks while Shikamaru was watching the clouds. Hinata soon came, they good mornings and settled down to wait for their sensei. 10 minutes later Kakashi arrived "Okay team, today will be a bit different first we are going to the Hokage's office, as he has something to tell you Naruto however it is up to you whether you want Hinata and Shikamaru privy to the information" he stopped and looked at Naruto who smiled "of course I want them to know, we are a team and they everything about me already" Hinata and Shikamaru nodded at Naruto. Kakashi smiled at his team knowing their teamwork and friendship was something special "Okay then, after the Hokage we are going to come back here and have a team meeting, I've been thinking about how to train you and decided I want you all to have a focus, something you wish to learn, a specialism if you will" He paused again and looked at the three gennin who looked interested at this prospect of a specialism. "Well let's not waste time, to the Hokage's office".
When they arrived at the office they knocked on the door and heard the Hokage say "come in". They entered "Hello team 7, thank you for coming. Now Naruto I have some very important information to give you and by the presence of your teammates I assume you are okay with them knowing?" The Hokage looked at Naruto who answered "Of course, they are my teammates and friends, Grandpa" The Hokage smiled at Naruto's name for him, he coughed "Okay then now, I am going to activate the privacy seals" He placed his palm over a seal on his desk which glowed. "Now Naruto what I am going to tell you, you cannot tell anyone you isn't here in this room ok?" Naruto nodded but didn't say anything as the Hokage looked really serious. "Naruto, I am going to tell you about your parents"