Disclaimer: Ah. . . so quiet now. . . Boys are at school or sleeping (two-tails) Hubby sleeping. . . Prime writing time. . . Now if only I had that maid to clean up the house for me. . .But I don't. sad face Still don't own Naruto.

Chapter Thirty: Preparations

Tsunade and Shizune called all the invited people into her office and told them about the dinner party Naruto was hosting. She didn't give them much time to prepare but they had enough time to go home and dig out their fancy wear and change into it. Some of them already knew and the caterer's were already at the house cooking. Hiashi had already sent his chosen staff for the event out to prepare the place while Temari and Hinata were decorating the grounds with the help of the Anbu. So really it was just those of the Rookie nine plus three who didn't know. Tsunade made it clear that they were not to go shooting their mouths off about it as Naruto didn't want any trouble at the event and there were people in town who would crash it just to cause problems. She reminded them all that this was Naruto's first time hosting a party for any reason and warned them that if they caused him any problems they would answer to her for it. Several gulps were heard throughout the room but every head nodded. Then she dismissed them to go prepare themselves. She told them to wait at their residences and someone would be by to pick them and their guests up for the festivities.

Then she finished her paperwork and did her rounds at the hospital. She and Shizune had to reassign their patient load to other doctors before they left and release those patients who were well enough to go home. Tsunade didn't want to have to worry about sick patients over the next few weeks while she prepared for what ever was to come with Naruto.

By the time she was finished the sun was making it's way across the afternoon sky so they decided not to go back to the office for the day. They headed out to Naruto's place to get ready instead even though the party wasn't scheduled to start until sundown. Neither of them wanted to be less than their best in the finery he had given them. And both were sure there would be last minute problems to handle.

But when they arrived Hinata and Temari had things well in hand. Both girls were running the show as if they'd done this a thousand times before. Naruto was out in the yard practicing just as if it was any normal day. Tsunade smiled and shook her head as she went inside to get ready. She checked on Iruka and found him to be awake and fretting to get out of bed.

"I feel better now. I can move without pain now so I really should get back to my class." He made to get out of bed.

"Whoa. Not yet, you don't. I have someone covering your classroom for now. When I am satisfied you're completely healed, we'll discuss your going back into the village," said Tsunade.

"But my students. I can't just abandon them. They need me."

"You aren't abandoning them but you have other duties now also. You are Chosen just as I am. We both have to think of what's best for helping Naruto now also. It may be that after the dinner tonight neither of us will go back to the village until this Battle Royale has taken place."

"But we have no idea how far off that is. We can't just both stay here, hiding out. That's cowardly. We're ninjas. I may not be one of the best like you are but I can defend myself."

"I didn't mean to imply you can't but they already grabbed you once and the way they did it, it could have just as easily been me they got. That's no stain on you or your abilities. I just think that if we are out and about we give Naruto an extra thing to think about and worry over when he needs to be concentrating on his skills and abilities to the exclusion of all else."

"I will go to his dinner tonight. You're not keeping me in bed during that." Iruka looked at her mulishly.

She laughed. "I wouldn't even try. See? We even went and got your formal kimono for you." She patted his shoulder and said, "You really are recovering nicely, Iruka and I don't want to upset you but I really don't want any of us to be a burden on Naruto now."

"I'll think about it but I don't like being away from the kids like this. It really does seem cowardly to hide out just because someone might want to hurt me."

"Maybe but which is better? Hiding out knowing he doesn't have to worry or going about your daily routine knowing he is worrying?"

"Hmm."

"I'll make sure someone comes by to help you get ready for dinner. Try to get some more sleep until then." She turned and left the room as Iruka leaned back against his pillows and closed his eyes. A small part of him was glad she had suggested he stay here until this was over. It gave him more time with Naruto something that he really enjoyed but his students needed him also. And another part of him did feel he was hiding out from a non-existent danger.

After seeing to Iruka, Tsunade went down to the kitchen and sat playing cards with Jiraiya. They played for toothpicks for a change because neither of them were really concentrating on the game and neither wanted to lose any money to the other.

"So Tsunade-hime have you thought of what steps you'll take after tonight to ensure Naruto needs not concern himself with your safety?"

"I will stay here with Shizune. We discussed it and although I'm sure no one would try anything against me, that doesn't mean Naruto wouldn't still be worried for me every time I left the grounds. Since I already split my patients out among the other available doctors, Sakura will cover at the hospital and I can have my clones cover at the office. It'll be hard to do that way but, if Naruto can do it, than so can I."

"Good. I was concerned you'd think it was needless worrying on his part and go about your life as always."

"We only have a short time left with him and I want to spend as much time with him as I can before he's gone forever. I think we all feel that way. None of us wants to say good-bye but to know we could have stayed here and seen him every day of the last few weeks he has and choose not to do so. . . well, I don't think any of us will pass on it."

Jiraiya played a card and thought about it. "I wonder how he's gonna find room for all of us. This is only a four bedroom place. I suppose we could all bunk up and share the rooms but, if there is too long between now and the final Showdown, it's going to get mighty crowded."

"I'm going to use a jutsu to stretch the house out once I know how many rooms will be needed," said Naruto coming into the kitchen where they were semi-playing poker.

"That''s a good idea but where'd you learn that at?"

Naruto shrugged. "Don't know. I just know when I was talking to the Elementals about how to keep you all safe it occurred to me I could do it. So I will once I know you'll stay. It really is a viable concern, Baa-chan. I know you think you can protect yourself from anything but you aren't stronger than the Gods and that's what you'd be facing."

"You sound so sure. But we have no one in the village with God powers. I am a Sannin for Pete's sake."

"The enemy has done this before. Oh, not this particular person but the other side has. And he is instructing his tool in what needs to happen just as Kami instructs me. He is preparing his Warrior for the battle just as she prepares me. He knows if he can weaken me, by grabbing and killing those I hold dear, it only helps his Warrior. And right now, since his Warrior is coming here, he is already taking a weakness. This is the chosen battleground where I have the advantage. Remember? So he really needs to do something to weaken me as much as he is weakened by being too impatient to try and force me to come to him. Trust me when I say you will be in danger every day from now until the battle. You have been from the moment I named you but since that was done in private your danger was less than it will be after tonight. Tonight the village will know who my chosen are and why I am here."

He grabbed a bottle of water and went back outside to the practice yard. The cards lay forgotten on the table as both players thought about what he had said. Teuchi and his daughter and the Akamichi's worked around the two Sannins where they sat lost in thought at the table. Since Teuchi and his daughter were also invited to the dinner, they left the Akamichi's to the final steps of the preparations and went to get dressed for the event. Teuchi and his daughter didn't get to many fancy affairs when they weren't the ones serving the event and they were looking forward to being on the sitting side of the dinner table for a change.

Two rooms had been set aside for those who were at the house to change in. One was designated for the women and the other was for the guys. In the women's room, both Temari and Hinata were aiding Ayame to get ready. Temari worked on her hair while Hinata helped with her make-up. Both girls were determined to show Ayame just how it felt to be pampered. Only when they were happy with both her hair and her make-up did they move to her kimono. The pretty white and pink kimono was a perfect fit for Ayame and by the time the girls were done she hardly recognized herself. She felt nervous like she had at her first dance as she sat watching as both Temari and Hinata got their own kimonos on. Across the room from them Shizune was helping Tsunade get ready and vice versa. The room was filled with chatter and laughter as all the women forgot their cares and relaxed.

The men's room was quiet in comparison though there was plenty of chatter there as well. It was just more along the lines of complaint about being pored into straight jackets instead of the more jovial chatter from the women. The guys would rather have worn their tried and true everyday outfits but the women wouldn't hear of it. Only Teuchi was looking forward to wearing something grander than he normally did. He figured it couldn't be any worse than what he wore when serving fancy dinners. He shortly found out how wrong he was when Jiraiya and Gaara started layering the outfit on him. His protests were lost in the folds of cloth as the material was wrapped around his frame. Neither Jiraiya or Gaara would have listened even if they hadn't been but as it was they didn't even have to pretend not to hear them.

While they were getting ready Naruto finished his sparring practice and then did his jogging and other exercises. He ran up and down every tree around the grounds startling his special Anbu where they perched on high limbs that allowed them a greater view of the grounds. Then he did his push-ups and sit-ups using the energy fields of chakra to build resistance making them harder to perform. Only when he was done did he clean up the practice yard and go inside to get ready for the occasion himself. In his room he laid out the kimono Tsunade insisted he should wear and went to shower. He even shaved for the evening after his shower and put on cologne though he was still trying to figure out why the girls had said he should wear that stinky stuff. But he put it on like Iruka had shown him before going off to get dressed.

Back inside his room with a towel draped over his hips he was surprised to find a Hyuuga manservant waiting to help him put on the complicated folds of material. The flame red, orange, gold and yellow kimono was very bright and loud and he wasn't sure why Tsunade had insisted on this one in particular but as soon as she'd seen it hanging in the wardrobe she'd said he had to wear it and only it would do. She wouldn't explain why he couldn't wear the crystal blue with green and yellow accents that he preferred. Just said he had to wear this one. He'd complied because it seemed to mean so much to her.

He saw nothing special in it once the servant was satisfied with the drape of the cloth and the fit of the outfit. But apparently everyone else did. People, including the servant that put the contraption on him, kept bowing to him. As soon as Jiraiya had seen him in the thing he got tears in his eyes and turned away to go back into the men's room while Tsunade just gave him a sad smile and a tight hug. He went to stand by the door with Tsunade to await their guests. Within a few minutes he was joined by Hinata, Iruka, Gaara and Jiraiya. They talked quietly while they waited but Tsunade and Jiraiya kept mum on the reactions Naruto was getting for his kimono.