Living Shrine Chapter 10, Rest and Resolutions, a naruto fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I'd like to thank a select few, who will remain nameless (you know who you are), who sent me encouraging words to me while in these hard times.

Thank you, and this chapter is for you guys.

"…by Kami…" he murmured. "…what is the meaning of this…?"

His eyes fell on his daughter.

Shocked was an understatement. Hiashi Hyuuga was way beyond that. Many thoughts were running through his head, and all of them were along the lines of 'How did this happen?' 'Why did this happen?' 'Why did this happen to her?' 'Who did this to her?' so on and so forth. The rest of the clan heads noticed their fellow leader pale considerably after laying eyes on his daughter and mumbling something under his breath. They all turned to the six that were surrounded and stayed stoic, waiting for Hiashi to speak; or for someone else to speak up.

Hinata sensed her father inspect her. She felt his Byakugan probe her being and she knew what was going on through his head. Taking the initiative, she spoke over all the ones who were present. "At the moment…" she began. "…the Hyuuga Clan Head has become aware of a situation that may place in jeopardy my ascension as the future leader of my clan and family members after his retirement; but let it be known, father, that my current situation will not reflect poorly on my performance as an ANBU Captain."

"Hinata, what happened?" he interrupted with anger and shock in his voice. "Why is there a second set of chakra pathways in your system…and what is…?" His statement shocked all who were not present during the sealing of the Gobi's powers. He dared not finish asking the question; he didn't want to know why there were high concentrations of elemental chakra in different parts of Hinata's physique. Earth on her arms; Wind and Water on her legs; Lightning on her back; Fire on her heart. 'What does this mean?'

"That would be a question that I can answer…"

All eyes turned to the now relaxed blonde man in the traveling group. "I have given Hinata-chan a gift, if you may. At the moment, she houses the penta-elemental chakra of the Gobi."

There's an old saying in Konoha's Torture and Interrogation squad: 'Silence is Golden, yet Duck Tape is Silver.' At the moment, in the Chuunin Arena, no one dared to speak after Naruto's statement regarding the state of Hinata's possession of the five-tailed demon's chakra.

Yugito placed her hand over her husband's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. She knew that something like this would happen, just not immediately after their arrival. There were going to be questions…many questions to be answered, and she would be there, next to her husband to help him carry the weight of the consequences. Her husband responded to her affection by placing his hand over her own and opening his fingers. They intertwined their digits and rested the hands once more over his shoulder.

Ino was the first to break the silence that reigned on the field. "Honorable Council of Konoha…" She opened her statement. "…as you had mentioned, you are here to present the Shinobi Rank Examination for Uzumaki Naruto, but as future Clan Head, I request that it be postponed; assign the exam in four days' time. There is something that requires his attention with utmost importance, for it is regarding the Suna ambassadors that are present." She motioned to Gaara, who shifted his sleeping sister carefully on his back to a more comfortable position up front on his chest.

The statement opening had snapped the council's attention back to full. As she finished her petition, eyes closed and they began to think what they had been told.

"This matter is regarding my sister." The stoic voice of the redhead in the group spoke. "Her health is deteriorating, and Uzumaki-sama has the knowledge in seals necessary to help her." Eyes snapped open at the Kazekage's sons' referral to the blonde.

Hinata joined in. "Uzumaki-kun has fought and bled for this village the same day he was allowed to come back as a resident. He was mortally wounded fighting the Houkou no Gobi, and not a week has passed by and is now forced to prove himself once more as a capable shinobi that fights for the Leaf? Allow him to rest for a few days. Besides, I believe his Ranking Examination is something the village wouldn't mind attending."

The seven Clan Heads that formed part of the council nodded in agreement to the reasoning behind their statements. One by one left the arena and Akimichi Chouza escorted the brown-haired Clan Head out through the gates of the enclosed battlefield. Hiashi Hyuuga stayed stoic, still inspecting the rapidly generating chakra pathway in his daughter's body. 'For a woman in the clan to have such an incredible amount of chakra…if this can be passed onto future generations…it's a blessing! But…if it's not, she would still be on par with my own chakra storages from when I was at my peak, or with Negi's…' "Hinata…" he spoke. "…the council has, as you can see, agreed to the request that was placed upon us. We shall conduct the examination for shinobi ranking at the end of the week." his eyes shifted once more to the blonde in question. "Uzumaki Naruto, please report to the ANBU examination court, on the south end of Konoha's Training Area 44 at ten in the morning, in four days' time. You will be escorted there by Hinata Hyuuga."

With that, he disappeared out of sight.

A long drawn-out sigh was shared by the group of five plus one sleeping princess. They all turned to face each other, and nervously kept their attention to their surroundings, fearing they might receive more surprises in this evening. Light had finally faded, allowing the darkness of night swallow the heavens whole, leaving the moon and stars as markers in the black sky.

"Ino-chan, Hinata-chan; you two should head back to your respective homes, as I will be doing with Yugito-chan." Naruto then turned to Gaara and spoke. "You and your sister are more than welcome to spend the night at my place. I just received my living quarters and I would assume it would be better than staying in a hotel room."

Gaara simply nodded in agreement with the blond. With his sister in need of dire attention as soon as Naruto can fully focus on her, he'd rather have him close by than having to track him down throughout the village if something were to happen. He then turned to the other blonde and brunette that stood next to him and bid them good night.

Ino and Hinata dismissed themselves to their own respective households, promising to meet up with each Naruto and the others come morning. Ino knew where Naruto's new home was located, so she informed Hinata as they retreated, who raised an eyebrow to the fact that the Namikaze estate was given to a foreign shinobi.

The four foreigners reached the estate, but were all mentally tired from the recent situations that have happened and the task that the council had placed over his head the moment he stepped foot into the village. Each went to the second story of the building, and found a couple of bedrooms and a master bedroom. Gaara bid the two good night, as he stepped inside and took one of the guest rooms so he could lay his sister on the bed. He in turn, inspected the room and was amazed at the quality and contents of it. There was only one word that would describe it: beautiful. A mahogany, bed frame with dark blue silk sheets and down pillows lay next to a window on the left wall. A nightstand was to the left of the bed, and in front of the glass exit, a matching styled wooden chair and desk. She, after having been sleeping all day, didn't move an inch, and kept snoozing lightly; something Gaara had never seen her do since the demon had been sealed into his baby sister.

He smiled at the new sight before him, and tucked a stray strand of hair from her face behind her ear and kissed her forehead, "Good night, Tema-chan. I hope you have sweet dreams." and with a nimble arm, he deftly placed a blanket over his sisters' body. He'd want this to be the most comfortable first sleep experience for her.

Gaara then sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, leaned his back to the wooden frame and began thinking of how his and his sister's life would change starting tomorrow. A small smile crept to his face as the heaviness in his eyelids became too much and he fell to a peaceful slumber.

The master bedroom was impressive. It was large enough to have at least fifty people inside with enough walking space between furniture.

A four post bed, made of oak was placed against the center far wall, hugged by two huge windows. There was a drawer and a dresser to the right wall, and to the left, the master bathroom, which was its own room by itself, with a large tub on one wall and a walk-in shower at the other. Inside the bathroom, an additional walk-in closet to the back end of the room, with a double sink to the left; a garden tub to the right, with a separate shower next to it; overall, a very fancy bedroom and amenities.

Naruto let out a whistle as he inspected his new living quarters, while Yugito procured a scroll and unsealed a duffel bag. She retrieved a few toiletries and proceeded to walk into the bathroom. A small hop to her step let Naruto know that she was a bit anxious and wanted to enjoy fully a warm, relaxing shower.

Lying down on the floor next to his new bed, the blond shinobi sighed deeply as he closed his eyes. Too much had within the span of a couple of weeks. The Gobi, him almost dying, the sealing of the five-tails' chakra unto someone else…

'I still need to explain to Hinata-chan what that entails…I hope she can cope with it…'

…new house, another sealing that needed to be done ASAP…and now, a Shinobi Examination; which with no doubt, it was to be a show that he must put up for the village he swore to protect when leaving to Kumogakure.

The blond scrunched his face and slowly undid the braid that kept his hair. "Man, I seriously don't know if there is anything that can help this day get any better than what it already is." he sighed once more. There were just too many things going on at the same time. He just wished for some peace, and quiet, and…

'Naru-kun…!'

That voice…

'Naru-kun…!'

Yes…that voice…the same voice that he came to love to listen throughout the past few years snapped him out of his trance. If there was anyone who could make him feel better in anyway, it was her. He smiled as the memories flooded his tired being…

'Naru-kun, come on! When we get home, I'll cook you ramen for dinner!'

'Naru-kun…let me wash your back!'

'Gosh, Naru-kun…if father catches you looking like that, he'll tie you up by your pinkie toes again and hang you from the ceiling for an hour!'

"I love you, Yugito…"

"And I love you too, Naruto."

Naruto snapped open his eyes, only to see his fiancée kneeling over him. She was wrapped in a single blue-grey towel, the scent of daffodils permeating her being; her hair dripping water from the recent wash it went through. Her lips were almost to his, he could feel her breath over his mouth. She leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss of her own. It only lasted for a few seconds; bit the strength of the passion behind it wasn't lost to either of them. They had been separated for almost a month, due to her being on an extended mission, and when she came back, he had already departed back to his country of origin; leaving her with her half of the promise to catch up as soon as she returned.

She smiled at his blissful, yet tired expression. Yugito could sense he was exhausted; physically and emotionally. The past few days had been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone, especially for him. She took Naruto's hair and started passing her fingers through it, combing the mass of golden strands that rivaled hers in length.

"Mmmm…" Naruto let out a small moan of pleasure. He had always enjoyed it when Yugito played with her hair, but he loved it even more when she…oh yes…she was doing it. "Mmmmmmm…right there…"

Yugito could understand why, after having your hair pulled into a tight braid, a scalp massage feels great; but her ball of sunshine here…he preferred to get his scalp scratched gently, and she would always take the initiative to do so.

"Naru-kun, come; let me wash your back so we can go to bed."

…

"Naru-kun…?"

She was silent for a moment, before her mouth broke into a small smile. Listening to the sounds of light snoozing coming from the worn-out figure that was at her knees, Yugito came to the conclusion that her blond in question was out cold.

The towel-clad girl quietly rose to her feet and tip-toed to the unsealed duffel bag, and retrieved her pajamas, which were simple dark grey pants and shirt with the decorations of five foxes on her left pants' leg, running around chasing each other; and four more on the front end of her shirt, over the left side of her stomach, playing with each other. She slipped her nightly attire on and walked back to the sleeping boy on the other side of the room.

She sighed as she leaned against the bed frame and gently lifted his head and placed it on her thighs, making sure that his hair wouldn't get in the way first; Yugito fell asleep stroking her future husbands' hair.

A small hand patted tufts of red hair over and over. She had been at it for at least an hour, and she was surprised her brother hadn't woken up. Temari smiled for the first time in a long time, her emerald eyes shone with vibrant energy she didn't know she had! She couldn't remember what it was like to sleep, and she felt that she could get addicted to it if she weren't careful.

"Nii-san…" she whispered as she pulled another ribbon from god knows where. "Nii-san, are you awake?" Gaara seemed to truly be asleep, and she could understand why he would be so tired. He would always be by her side every night, always sharing the pain of her insomnia, but now…there was nothing there to wake her up…it was like the voice she heard in her head quieted down and gave her peace and quiet for the first time in so many years. Another ribbon made its way to the ever growing mini-ponytails that were sprouting in weird angles from her brothers' head.

'Thank you, Nii-san, for everything you've ever done for me.'

Why do kids always have the weirdest ways to thank adults?

Naruto stirred for a moment, his consciousness daring to leave him once more. He moved around the hard bed that he had lain across last night, finding only comfort in the full body pillow that was under his head. 'Really, the Fourth was an eccentric man, this bed is hard as wood…although this pillow feels oddly weird.'

He searched for the covers, but couldn't find them, all he could do to shield himself from the daring rays of light that were striking his eyelids was to cover himself with the pillow, or in this case, the pillowcase. 'Must be one of those body pillows…' he thought. '…the pillowcase opens in the middle…' so he stuck his head inside said case. It wasn't until his cheek met with two fleshy mounds that he realized there was something fishy about this pillow he was using. For some reason, it smelled of daffodils, and there weren't any flowers inside the house that he could smell or see when they came in last night. Then, the consistency was really off; it was soft, yet firm…and then the fleshy mounds…'…just…what am I lying over?' So he did the only thing that could possibly solve this enigma.

He cracked open his eyes.

The result was immediate. He had no idea why he was underneath Yugito's shirt, staring at her very, very perfect and naked breasts; nor what she was doing underneath him.

A giggle made him freeze on the spot and his breath hitched on his throat. "Enjoying the view, Nauto-kun?"

He blushed. He really was enjoying the view he was receiving, yet he didn't want to admit it. Although the temperature of his face pressed against her legs might give it away; so he answered in the way he knew would get a rise out of her.

He moved slowly. He let out slow and calculated breaths. He pushed the warm air that came from his mouth and directed it to her bare abdomen. Yugito felt this, and made no move to stop him, Naruto's warm breath sending shivers up and down her spine.

The jinchuuriki's face drew closer and closer, up until his mouth touched her firm, yet soft belly. He placed his lips onto it. Yugito let out a small moan. Her hands went underneath the fabric and entangled themselves in Naruto's hair.

She bit her lip. Naruto smiled.

THBBTH!

Gaara awoke eerily refreshed. He noticed his sister was standing in front of the full-sized mirror inside the closet door. He did notice that she was wearing something completely different, and way to big to be hers. The closet, he assumed, had dresses and other accessories Temari was playing around with. He did notice that there was some makeup on her. Not that much, just enough to make her face look a bit more flushed, a pink-ish hue adorned her usually pale lips, and her eyelashes seemed fuller. 'Hmm…that's odd. I didn't know she could apply make-up on herself. I'll see about getting her some later during the day.' He smiled. Her sister never did have the opportunity to play around much back in Suna. Most dresses were also not as the ones in Konoha. He could see that she was having fun, so he waited for a few minutes, staring at the new baby sister that stood smiling, laughing, and talking like a regular child should.

Temari was having the time of her life. She didn't know whose room this was, but being how her brother was here, it was all ok.

After she woke up, she explored the new room and found that inside the closet, there were multiple dresses and yukatas for all occasions. She found some make-up, and ribbons, and bobby pins; amongst other things.

Now, she didn't really know how to put make-up on. Back in Suna, it wasn't customary to wear it. The hot weather there would cause any sort of non-shinobi grade face paints to run easily with the sweat of simply being in the country, so it wasn't imported often. She had seen it used before with the wives of people that had come visit her father a few times. She found it pretty, but it came back to the original problem.

She didn't know how to apply it. But then again, her brother was there. He wouldn't mind if she tried the stuff on him while he was asleep, would he?

Of course not!

So she got to work and applied some make-up on her sleeping sibling. She really didn't know what she was doing, but she had seen people walk around with the stuff on them, so she tried…

…and tried…

…until she got bored of trying; then went for the ribbons. She liked ribbons, and felt that white would look good on his brother's hair. After all, his face was mostly white now, with some orange, and blue, and black, and red, and more black on it.

She admired her job, and patted herself on the back. 'I couldn't have done it better on the first try!' she told herself. It was then, when she took the make-up and applied it to herself.

Temari then placed her attention on all the dresses that were hanging in the dresser. She started wearing one after another, admiring herself in the full-length mirror inside the door after each one was hastily donned.

It was in one of those, that she noticed her brother smiling at her and turned around hastily. "Onii-san! You're awake!"

She was having fun, he could tell. Temari didn't have these kinds of dresses and amounts of them back home. Gaara promised to himself, that once the sealing was all over, he'd have to remedy that.

"Hai, hai, Tema-chan. You look good, but those attires aren't yours. Put them back where they belong and later we can pick some of your own, ok?"

"Hai, nii-san."

She didn't change back into her original yukata immediately, but she did hang up some of the stuff she had laid on the bed first. Gaara stood up and stretched for a moment, popping the bones on his back.

And then he saw what his sister wasn't letting him see when she was in front of the mirror.

Two loud male voices pierced the morning peace with their high pitched screams, both at the same time, yet each for their own reasons.

A/N: Well, I guess this is the latest chapter of Living Shrine. It's been a while since I've been able to hop on my computer and simply type. Today, I literally did over half of the chapter. Unfortunately, it's a tad short, only 3,606 words long, not counting the Author Notes.

This is mainly a filler chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep on working on this throughout the week. I have the rest planned out, bit with little time to actually use the computer for whatever, I can't advance fast enough on Living Shrine.

And to top it off, I still need to work on my deceased cousin's story: A Story to Tell. *sigh* I'll do what I can.

In any case, have a good one and please Read and Review. The more reviews, the better my inspiration. Flames will be used to light my cigarettes.

-seilif a.k.a. MxSavior