Disclaimer: Livingroom. . . still trashed. . . Kitchen. . . Sinks full again. . . Sigh Nope Don't own Naruto yet.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Early Christmas

Sasuke was still sitting in his cocoon of nothing waiting for the Anbu to come release him but he was no longer sanguine about the situation. He was angry. Very angry. How dare they do this to him? Didn't they know who they were messing with? He was the last bloody Uchiha for Pete's sake and the council wouldn't stand for anyone mistreating him. He deserved respect because he was the last of his house. No other person in Konoha carried his blood. This whole situation was intolerable and when he got out of here, heads were gonna roll.

He totally forgot that if he hadn't insisted on going where he wasn't wanted he could have been safe at home and that Jiraiya wasn't just somebody's old uncle. He had his own position that quite cancelled out Sasuke's. It had also slipped his mind that Jiraiya had said he would be held here until Naruto was ready to see him because Naruto was tired of his little games of cat and mouse.

All he really knew is he wasn't used to being treated like this and it made him angry. After an hour or so of ranting in his mind and railing against his fate, he grew tired and fell asleep. He never heard the Anbu come in to feed him or felt the prick of the needle by means of which she gave him his food. They had decided it was too risky to remove the cocoon jutsu just to feed him so they would wait for this and hook up an IV. Since he would be kept in the jutsu he would never know. It was safer all around.

All of them knew he would report this to the council and they would get upset so everyone felt it was best if he could never point the finger at anyone who could be held responsible. The council wouldn't dare do anything to Jiraiya and that is why he was selected to explain to the young hothead why he was being detained. It would also be Jiraiya who would release him from the jutsu when it was time and take him to see Naruto. But at the moment he was being detained in a dark and silent void. He didn't know it but Naruto himself went to check on him several times a day just to make sure he was ok and sit near him to keep him from being alone. Even Naruto didn't know why he did that as Sasuke wasn't aware he was there due to the jutsu. It just felt right so he did it.

Shizune pulled in Hinata and Temari to help her get the party arranged. They first organized a clean and polish house party with every person who knew or had been invited at least once to visit Naruto. The only person who didn't get roped into helping was Naruto himself. Even Anbu who were off duty were roped into scrubbing and carting and hauling. Naruto was surprised to find one night when sitting in the library after dinner that he had a nice golden colored hardwood floor in the room.

Then came the organizing. Those three were dynamos of action and everyone who valued their skin just did their best to stay out of the way while the house was being redone from the attic to the basement. Gone were the old tattered dust covered shrouds that had overlaid the furniture of every room not in use by either Naruto or Jiraiya. Upholstery of warm reds and golden browns were exposed in the main sitting room and soft blues and cool greens, bright yellows, dusky oranges and smokey greys showed up in other rooms.

After they uncovered the furniture to the light of discovery, they set to work on revealing all the other hidden assets of the place. Their zeal knew no boundaries as they excavated everything. Wardrobes were polished and scrubbed until they gleamed as were the banister and the wall borders, ceiling fans and anything else the ladies hadn't reached yet. Naruto kept expecting them to fly up to the roof on Temari's fan and tackle the shingles but they didn't go that far. Jokingly he mentioned it one night at dinner and three sets of angry eyes turned in his direction. He ducked and mumbled, "Just joking. Sheesh."

"Well, it wasn't funny," snapped Temari.

"No kidding," was Naruto rejoinder causing everyone to laugh. The three cleaners smirked in spite of their best efforts not to and the meal went as normal.

The next day Hinata uncovered a hidden set of fancy wear dishes that she excitedly showed to the other girls and they counted out the place settings. They found that the set was only for thirty but with the addition of a second setting of the same size it should be good for the number of guests they were expecting. They found the fancy silver in a drawer and pulled it out to polish and count. It was also a thirty piece place setting but there was a second twenty piece setting below it in another chest. They cleaned that set also and reasoned they wouldn't need any more silver for the gathering. One the last day of the cleaning Temari found the smaller dish set. Twenty place setting of fine bone thin china decorated with flames of yellow, orange, red and gold decorated each piece and they all oohed and ahhed as they cleaned each piece. The set was a perfect match for the smaller silver set as well since the handl of each piece of the silverware was engraved with a small flame.

With full place settings for fifty people all they needed was to find space to seat everyone. So the ladies set to work on the ballroom Naruto didn't even know he had. Windows were washed and the heavy curtains pulled down, washed and aired and then rehung. They scrubbed and waxed the floor and set up the banquet tables so that people would be able to easily converse while selected individuals could be kept under close observation the whole evening. But they also made sure it would be easy to clear away the tables if later guests felt like dancing or just mixing and mingling. Comfortable chairs were arranged with small tables in alcoves where guests could wait while other guests arrived or until dinner was served.

Security would be handled by the Anbu corps very own private little black ops group. These were the guys who only came out to play when the regular Anbu weren't good enough or when the need for security was so high as to be unattainable. The black ops group were made up of only the most trusted Anbu. They did not work for the Anbu commander as did all the rest of the corp. Nor were their names in any register book of the Anbu rolls. They were completely off the books to everyone in Konoha. Only Tsunade herself knew who they were and only she could call them into service. If called, they were sworn never to reveal anything about the job they were to do. It didn't matter who asked for the information or even how old or long ago the job was. She herself could ask and they were forbidden to say a word.

And they had chosen to go with a mixed catering of Chouji's family and Teuchi. Ramen and Bar-b-que would be the main meal. Tsunade had already arranged the after dinner cocktail bar for the announcements and arranged the stage for the selected to stand on. So all that was left was getting the house ready to receive the influx and sending out the invitations. The caters and security already knew their job and the date. Everyone else would be informed only at the last minute. No one would know ahead of time lest the affair catch wind and blow into the wrong ear.

Hinata had already talked to her father and they had made plans for hand-selected Hyuuga's to tend to the waitressing needs of the party. The hand-picked Hyuuga staff for the night was Hiashi's worry but he was as selective with them as Tsunade was with her black ops. Under no circumstances would he permit anyone who's loyalty he could not count on one hundred percent. Not only did he feel he owed that to Naruto but he was going to be there along with both his daughters and his nephew. If anything went wrong it could very well end up that the Hyuugas would lose their main family in the cross-fire. So he chose carefully. Every name was gone over with a fine toothed comb looking for even the slightest hint of misconduct in the past. He finally settled on thirty names and submitted them to Tsunade for final vetting. She sent them through Ibiki and then through the commander of her black ops team before approving them. None had needed to be substituted which was good because he didn't have any alternates to offer.

Then it was just the decorating and making sure that Naruto had formal wear. He laughed when Hinata tentatively approached the idea and led her to the master room which everyone had insisted he take as his own. Once there she stopped in the door as he went from one wardrobe to another opening doors. "Would you like to pick one out for me? I'm sure most if not all of them will fit me. But I have to admit I have no idea which one to wear," he chuckled.

She stood there gasping for air. There were so many and not everything hanging there was for a man to wear. Some of it was fancy kimonos for a dainty sized girl. She saw a lovely bluish-lilac material and before she knew it she was fingering the material. It was so smooth and soft it felt like she was holding air between her fingers.

"Do you like that one, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, never taking her eyes off of it.

"It's yours then."

"I couldn't take this," she said. "This is a kimono for royalty. I'm just highborn but this is too nice a grade for me."

Naruto reached past her and pulled the beautiful kimono from the closet. "You can and will. I want you to have it. It looks like it has been waiting a long time for you so please don't turn it away." He turned to the door where Hanabi was peeking. "Come in, Hanabi. Don't you think this was made for Hinata? Be honest now."

The girl blushed and stammered but finally admitted Hinata would look beautiful in it and that it did indeed appear to have been made just for her. Hinata still demurred and Naruto finally got exasperated.

"Oba-chan," He bellowed, nearly causing both young women to go temporarily deaf and their eyes to cross. "Shizune. . .Temari. . .He continued bellowing until both Hinata and Hanabi were cringing with their hands over their ears.

"Quit bellowing, you young Bullhorn," said Tsunade coming into the room at a fast trot followed by a breathless Temari and frazzled Shizune.

"Well, I had to get you all here to convince this stubborn young lady to take this kimono and to pick out your own. As you can see, there are plenty to choose from and as I am not now, nor do I ever plan to become one, a female, I have no need of a kimono for one. And yes, Hanabi, that goes for you as well. Pick the one you like best that fits you best and have fun ladies. Oh and someone see if you can find one for Moegi. I know she doesn't own one and her folks aren't that rich so see what you can find for her." He turned and left a very bewildered group of very happy young women in a room full of free top of the line clothes. Christmas had come early to Konoha.

Naruto went out in the yard where his elemental friends were waiting for him. He still had to practice no matter how close the party was. He did his warm-ups and smiled while he listened to the excited squeals coming from the room he had left the women in. Then he summoned his weapons and his clones and got to work on his katas and element attacks. While the ladies were gushing over the clothes in the wardrobes, Naruto worked up a sweat practicing his moves. He knew he had wasted alot of time today getting things settled with the girls over the state of the house and their hard work preparing for the party but how they felt towards him was important also. He knew he would need the support of everyone when it came time to actually battle the darkness that loomed on the horizon. It wasn't just the goodwill and personal strength of will of his chosen title holders he had to foster. He also needed the good feelings of those who were not chosen to carry titles. So while not practicing his skills and moves hurt, he could do no less than take a break every once in a while to let them bond with him. It hurt though because he knew they would suffer even more when he vanished after the battle.

Author Notes: Ok I know it's a short chapter but I did find it and here ya go.