Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…
Chapter 5 – Homecoming, good, bad, and angry…
It was just another boring day for both Kotetsu and Izumo, as they were on guard duty at the East gates today. They had already gone over the possible strategies for repulsing a full scale incursion from Iwagakure no Sato from the East no less. They had played over fifty games of Janken (rock-paper-scissors), with no conclusive results, they were by now completely bored and they still had an hour left on their shift.
Izumo glanced down the road in an effort to not fall asleep, he noticed five figures coming up the road towards the village gates. He elbowed his partner, as they looked down the road. One of them was a large man carrying a rather large sword on his back. There was a woman who appeared to be familiar. Then there were what appeared to be three children about the age of most genin graduates. One caught their eyes in particular he had a head crowned in golden blonde hair. "Go get tell the Hokage that 'he's' back," Izumo said, as Kotetsu nodded and disappeared in swirl of leaves.
Izumo got up and left the shack, which was basically his guard station and moved to the middle of the gates. "Halt and identify yourselves!" he called out when the group moved to within fifty feet of the gates.
Naruto shook his head. "You have to be kidding me. You'd think they wouldn't have forgotten me so soon," Naruto said, as he sighed and cupped his mouth. "Fine, its Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Uzumaki, Kurenai Yuuhi, and guests, Zabuza Momochi, and Haku Momochi respectively," he yelled at Izumo
"I can identify four of you, but I would like for Zabuza-san to set all weapons on the ground and step away from them. I would also like for Haku-san to do the same thing, so that Zabuza-san can be taken into custody for determination from the Hokage," Izumo ordered.
Zabuza shrugged, as he put his sword on the ground followed by a couple weapons pouches, and several scrolls. Haku also put her weapon pouches on the ground in front of her and moved behind Naruto. Zabuza looked at Izumo and shrugged, and asked "Is that good enough? The gaki told me this might happen."
Several ANBU appeared around the group and put chakra cuffs on Zabuza. "You're coming with us 'Demon of the Mist'," The bear ANBU ordered, as Zabuza offered no resistance and was led away.
Zabuza looked directly into Naruto's eyes, as he was led away, and ordered, "You take care of Haku, or else."
Naruto smiled warmly and nodded, as Zabuza disappeared around a corner. "So do we wait here or do we get to see Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked playfully, both Hinata and Kurenai didn't miss the anger in him calling the Hokage by his title.
Kotetsu appeared next to Izumo and whispered into his ear. "You can go see the Hokage, and Kurenai-san, he's expecting a full report," Izumo stated, as he moved aside for the four to enter.
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Haku had noticed the angry glances the villagers had kept giving the group, she deduced that they were angry at Naruto for some reason. Their earlier discussion had made her understand how she and Naruto were alike. In Water Country bloodlines were hated and they would either kill the possessor or they would try to run them out of the country, death was preferable for the people of Water. She had asked why Naruto showed such deep hurt in his eyes, but he would never answer. Hinata had told her that Naruto was not liked very much because circumstance surrounding his birth, and that he would have to tell her himself.
This had confused Haku, as she didn't understand why people would hate Naruto enough to give him as bad a life, as Hinata had described. She was not sure of this Kurenai woman either, but she seemed to be on the good side of Naruto and Hinata. "So what can I expect when we meet the Hokage?" Haku asked.
Naruto chuckled, as he said, "he's old." Naruto teased, with an annoyed look on his face.
"Naruto-kun, be nice. I know he wronged us, but he should be able to make some of it up to us by now," Hinata stated, as she also looked rather annoyed.
Kurenai sighed, "Naruto, Hinata, I know that he did do some things wrong, but are you going to hold it against him forever?" Kurenai questioned.
Naruto stopped in the middle of the road and looked directly at Kurenai. "Kurenai-sensei, we both got the short ends of the stick, and he even added to our misery. Should all be forgiven so easily?" Naruto quipped.
Kurenai smirked and looked up, "Well you 'are' engaged to two pretty young women, who are quite talented and they seem to be quite taken with you," she replied. She then looked Naruto in the eyes, and continued, "If he had not done what he had done, he and Haku might be dead by now."
Naruto sighed and lowered his head in recognition, and said, "I guess you're right on that one. Kakashi might have killed Zabuza and if he found out about Haku here. He might have either killed her or brought her back to the village as a trophy for breeding stock for her special 'gift'," Naruto replied, as Kurenai nodded and Haku became angry at the possibilities of her being away from Naruto's protection, let alone his side, or even worse, as some breeding whore.
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Naruto allowed the females to enter the office before him and Haku entered just before Naruto, as if to show that she might be a boy, instead of a girl. Naruto inwardly smirked at Haku's antics. "So Hokage-sama, I heard you wanted to speak to us when we returned," Naruto said in a bored tone.
Sarutobi rolled his eyes, as he knew now Naruto had yet to forgive him. Sarutobi read the paper that was handed to him by Kurenai, as he began to acknowledge the people who had just entered his office, "Yes Naruto, I wanted to know how your vacation went with your lovely fiancé. I hope you haven't taken the dive into marriage just yet," Sarutobi teased, with a blush on his face hidden by the paper.
Hinata sighed at this quip, she then said, "Hokage-san, we are not ready to do that just yet."
"I see from this report and the other one that you were in league with the wanted criminal, Zabuza Momochi. Care to explain Hinata?" Sarutobi purposely wanted to get the information from Hinata, as she was more than likely be less angry at him, he was mistaken.
Hinata glared at Sarutobi, she angrily replied, "First, you accuse us of taking of the forbidden fruit of marriage, and then you accuse of willingly consorting with criminals." Haku was surprised that Hinata taking such a forceful approach with a Kage.
Sarutobi sighed, as he understood that putting Hinata on the spot wasn't the right choice. "So then fill me in on what happened then," he asked in a pleasant tone.
Hinata looked at Naruto who nodded, she then said, "We had just finished collecting a bounty on some bandits on one of the coast roads when we ran into Haku and Zabuza. Naruto-kun decided to not look threatening when we saw the two of them, as he recognized Zabuza from the book Kurenai-sensei left with us," Hinata admitted.
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, as he looked at Kurenai, but only said, "Please go on."But the look on his face told Kurenai that she could expect a tongue lashing after this meeting.
"Zabuza-sensei…" Hinata attempted to continue, but was interrupted by Sarutobi.
"Sensei, why are you referring to him as sensei?" Sarutobi asked in an attempt end his confusion.
"I was getting to that, Hokage-san. Zabuza-sensei recognized that we had training, but he also decided he would train us. He gave us little choice in the matter, thus the reason why we call him sensei," Hinata explained with an annoyed tone.
"You do understand that you spent time with a wanted criminal, do you not?" Sarutobi asked, as both nodded. Sarutobi sighed, "Now are you ready to start the academy?" Naruto began to snicker and Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, "What is so funny Naruto?"
"Well if your rookie of the year is any indication of the skill of your genin then you should send them all back to the academy with us," Naruto exclaimed.
"I'm not sure I want to know, but what do you mean?" Sarutobi asked.
"Naruto-kun beat Sasuke Uchiha in a sword fight, with training swords," Haku explained.
Sarutobi looked surprised and then looked at Haku, "And who might you be?"
Haku bowed. "I am Haku Momochi, Zabuza's adoptive child. I would also say that if you were to rank them, Naruto-kun is high level genin, Hinata-chan is mid level genin, and I'm low level chuunin in abilities. That is if you were to ask, otousan is a slave driver, though," she admitted.
"And we work great as a team," Naruto proclaimed.
"I should hope so, with your future wife by your side, you should work well as a team," Sarutobi stated in attempt to get a reaction out of Haku, he could swear that he saw a blush from the boy. 'I must be getting old,' Sarutobi thought to himself. "Kurenai-san, I want you to do an assessment on these three to see if they make a good team, and I want a report by the end of the day tomorrow. After I get the report I will decide if they are ready to become genin of the Leaf. Also I want to know why you were fighting Sasuke," Sarutobi ordered.
Naruto smirked at this request, "We were ordered by Gato to kill the bridge-builder, Tazuna. I also heard Gato getting set to betray us, so I proposed to Sensei, that we go meet this Tazuna fella and figure what is worth more, a man who asks us to do jobs, but does not pay us or a man who just wants to rebuild his country. I convinced sensei that if he followed Gato, that he would not make a good Kage. So after trading some insults with my former classmates, Sasuke-chan and I played a little. Apparently your darling Uchiha-chan got his head handed to him by the 'dead-last' of the class. Don't worry, I didn't hurt him… well, other than in his pride," Naruto explained with a chuckle. "Oh, and Gato is no longer a problem."
"So we performed your team's mission and protected the bridge-builder. Do we qualify at shinobi yet?" Hinata asked.
Sarutobi sighed, "What happened to the shy little Hyuuga girl we all knew and loved?" he asked.
Hinata and Naruto scowled at the Hokage. Hinata lifted the leather headband and pointed to the curse mark on her head, and yelled at Sarutobi, "This is what happened to her! The Hyuuga clan assaulted me and branded me, even though I was never supposed to receive it! You forget that we have both been hurt by that clan! Yet, you did nothing to either ease the pain or even believe us! We could also leave and go to another village," Hinata angrily proclaimed.
Sarutobi coughed, but he said in his defense, "Even though I didn't visit after the assaults, I did worry about both of you."
Naruto burst out laughing. "You proclaim that you are there to protect the village, yet you don't protect it, from itself. What if they had killed me in the assault and 'it' go out?" Naruto hinted, as Sarutobi noticed the confused look on Haku's face.
"So are you ready to go back to the academy?" Sarutobi asked, attempting to change the subject, yet again.
"Let me see… No!" Naruto shouted. "Give me the exam right now! All three of us could pass it right now, and I swear if there is a genjutsu on my test I will break all the genjutsu within a mile radius," Naruto proclaimed, much to Sarutobi's surprise.
Sarutobi nodded, "Fine, go to the academy tomorrow with Kurenai-san and have the test administered. If you all pass then you may become a genin team."
Naruto smirked. "Okay, Hokage-sama. We will take the test and become a new team. Time to go home Hinata-chan, Haku," Naruto said, as he left the office, both girls right behind him.
Sarutobi looked at Kurenai, "So what is the story of the boy, Haku?"
Kurenai smirked at Sarutobi who raised an eyebrow. "'She', is Naruto's second wife-to-be, documents have already been filed in both Wave country and here in Fire country. Other than her being skilled and Zabuza's adoptive daughter, I haven't much information to give you, as the three of them were quiet on the way here. I know Zabuza did it to protect Haku, but I'm not sure why," Kurenai explained.
"So he's still mad at me," Sarutobi said in a sad voice.
Kurenai scowled at the Hokage. "Well, you didn't visit them after the attacks. He looked up to you, and then you chose to not even go to see them. They broke five of his ribs and his right arm, luckily the Kyuubi healed him. This village has turned its back on a hero, and he feels you did too. Added to that the scroll incident and you're fighting an uphill battle with them," Kurenai admitted with a sigh. "He doesn't hate you, though. He is just deeply disappointed and hurt. You kept them in the dark about things you shouldn't have," Kurenai chided.
"You know as well as I do that there are things to be considered, politics is one of them. The council in a concession to my law, and forbade me from revealing his heritage until he made genin for his first scroll and jounin for the second scroll," Sarutobi admitted.
Kurenai shook her head. "And we all know how well they kept his secret from the village. How about how they have pushed for the banks and business to treat him? He either isn't allowed into places or is overcharged for inferior quality goods and foods. Why do you think he buys so much ramen? He knows now the nutritional value of it, and yes he does like the flavor, but thanks to them his diet may have ruined his growth. Apparently Hinata and Haku have worked on changing his diet, so that he gets the proper nutrition he needs. Also have you investigated the deaths of his family? I'm sure he will be asking, he currently assumes that you haven't and wants to give you a little more time," Kurenai admitted.
"Yes. The investigation is nearly complete in both cases. I'm afraid there can be no prosecution though," Sarutobi stated.
Kurenai looked surprised, "How can you and the council protect murderers?" she demanded.
"By the persons who perpetrated the crimes already being dead, they were Uchiha," Sarutobi admitted.
"How convenient, Naruto will not be pleased about that. He might even turn Sasuke in to a eunuch, if he finds out that Sasuke's family had something to do with their deaths and more than likely the closing of several of the Uzumaki clan accounts. He also is not pleased with the council, and I hope you remember what happened at the bank," Kurenai reminded Sarutobi.
"Yes, I remember. The council was furious that he now has access to the money from the Uzumaki clan. They wanted to immediately seize the funds and put them into the village general fund. I stopped it stating that they would be stealing from refugees from another village. This stopped them, as they didn't want to tarnish the village's reputation," Sarutobi stated angrily.
"If word got out how we treated Naruto, the son of one of our Hokage's, and that he was a jinchuuriki, there wouldn't be much left to our village's reputation. Is there anything else, as I have to talk to Iruka-san to get the test ready for the three of them tomorrow?" Kurenai asked in a neutral tone.
Sarutobi shook his head, and said, "No, that will be all for now. Report here before you go and test them in the morning."
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Naruto, Hinata, and Haku climbed the stairs to the door. "I hope otousan is okay," Haku commented to no one in particular.
"He will be fine. We will check on him tomorrow. He gave up without a fight and gave no resistance, so he should be fine. He knew that this would happen, I'm just hoping that sensei is released," Naruto admitted, as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly.
Naruto opened the door, letting the girls lead the way into the single bedroom apartment. Hinata suddenly gasped and Naruto ran in quickly. "What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, as he looked around for a threat only to find the interior of his apartment had been changed.
The kitchen was now larger with a newer fridge and more counter surfaces than before. There was a solid oak table with four chairs. The expanded living room had a couch and newer television on a stand.
The three wandered down into the bedroom to find it also enlarged with a queen size bed. They left the bedroom for the bathroom which was cozy for two before now could fit all three of them in comfort at the same time with a couple showers, two toilets, and a large bath.
They found stairs leading down, near a storage closet. The area below appeared to be a workshop/training dojo. It was not big enough to do jutsu, but they could practice taijutsu and weapons training down in this area.
Naruto whistled, "Looks to me like the old man wants to get back on our good side, doesn't it Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, as Hinata nodded.
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Kurenai knocked on a door to have it opened by Iruka. "Hello Kurenai-san. What can I do for you?" he asked groggily.
Kurenai smiled, and said, "They came back today." Kurenai nodded, as Iruka's eyes asked if it was true, and continued, "Apparently Naruto has gotten himself into more trouble."
Iruka laughed. "What did he do this time? I hope Hinata-chan isn't pregnant," Iruka stated worriedly.
Kurenai smiled, shook her head and chuckled lightly. "No, she isn't. No, Naruto now has brought back Zabuza Momochi and is also engaged to his daughter. They were also, all his students, they met up with him along the way and he trained them," Kurenai explained, as she entered Iruka's apartment at his bidding. "Zabuza gave himself up at the gates without a fight, but told Naruto to take care of Haku-chan. Oh, and do not spread that Haku is a girl or Naruto will be quite angry, as will Hinata-chan. And now for the reason I came by. You need to get three genin graduation exams ready by tomorrow so that we can test the three of them," Kurenai said.
"Okay, I can do that. I have a few left over from the last exams," Iruka replied. "So, how are they really doing? And what can you tell me about this Haku girl?"
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Naruto looked at the fridge and stood in awe, and said, "Fresh food and none of it spoiled!"
Haku was worried about her future husband, if he reacted to fresh food in this way. "Naruto-kun?" she asked.
"Yes, Haku-chan?" he replied.
"Why are you impressed by fresh food?" Haku asked knowing that Naruto would answer, but she was not ready for the answer he would give.
"Haku-chan, please sit down, there are few things we need to discuss," Naruto said in a worried voice, and this only amplified Haku's worry. "There's something I need to tell you about me and want you to hold judgment until after you have heard me out," Naruto said and then sighed, as he prepared himself to begin. Hinata moved up and began to rub his shoulders. Haku now knew this was important. "Haku-chan, I need to know what you know about Bijuu and Jinchuuriki."
Haku contemplated the question before giving an answer, she began, "Bijuu are tailed beasts that have ravaged the elemental nations from time to time. Jinchuuriki are those people have been used to stop those rampages, by having the beasts sealed within them."
Naruto nodded, "Do you know how old I am?"
Haku smiled, "Yes, Naruto-kun. You will be thirteen in a couple weeks," Haku answered happily.
Naruto weakly smiled at Haku, "Have you heard of the Kyuubi?" he asked, but she heard the quiver in his voice.
"Yes, it is considered the strongest of the Bijuu, and it attacked… Konoha… about thirteen years ago…" The realization hit Haku and her smile faded to a frown. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. You're the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, aren't you?" she asked timidly, as she put her hand over her mouth.
Naruto nodded, as Hinata continued to try to relax Naruto, and then she asked, "Are you afraid of him now that you know his biggest secret?" Hinata asked timidly.
Haku shook her head, as tears streamed down her face, "No. I don't hate Naruto-kun. How could I hate the boy that I love?" Naruto looked up at this statement, hope shown in his eyes, as Hinata smiled warmly at Haku. "As you know, I was also spurned because of something I couldn't control. You have heard of the bloodline purges in the land of Water, right?" Haku asked knowing that they would have some knowledge if only a little. Naruto and Hinata both nodded. Haku continued, "Those in Water with bloodlines are hated and hunted. My mother had one of these bloodlines, the Hyouton, or Ice Element bloodline. I of course didn't know this as she hid herself in an attempt to have a normal life. She met a man, and fell in love, they had a child, me. I grew up a happy child, until my bloodline began to surface. As a child, I didn't know I was doing anything that was considered wrong, my mother found me and told me to never do it again. Unfortunately my father had also found out and murdered my mother. Later that day, I found her dead at home, after I had come home from playing outside," Haku recounted, as the tears continued to flow. "My father and several of the villagers found me at home and I had to defend myself," Haku's voice quivered, as she spoke.
Naruto and Hinata both moved around the table and embraced Haku in a hug. "Haku-chan, we both love you and are here for you," Naruto said in a reassuring tone.
"Thank you both, but I must continue. I lived on the streets for a year or two before otousan found me. You know most of the rest from that point on, as he gave me a purpose to live," Haku stated, as she leaned into Naruto's shoulder and hugged Hinata's waist. "All three of us have known pain. It's just strange that we are all now going to be family. Hinata-chan, as my sister in marriage to Naruto-kun," Haku admitted happily, as she wiped her tears from her eyes.
Naruto held Haku, as Hinata moved away to make dinner. The three quietly ate dinner and then went to bed. Naruto laid in the middle of the two girls as they fell asleep, Haku snuggled tight to Naruto as if to never let him go.
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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have the next chapter ready. The reason for the short chapter was because I found a good breakpoint for the story.