The early morning sun rose over Konoha, illuminating the Hokage Monument with orange rays of light. From his balcony, Naruto studied the face of the Yondaime, a man he now knew was his father. He leaned onto the railing, wondering what he must have been like. The sun rose just a bit higher, causing the shadows casted upon the rocks to shift, showing the carved likeness of his father to almost appear as if it was smiling.
Returning the rock's apparent grin, Naruto pushed off the railing. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed since just the other day. Reaching up with his hand, Naruto blushed as he touched his lips that had been kissing Hinata just yesterday. It caused the blond no end of joy to think that he finally had someone to love. It had never been something that had crossed his mind before, as he had always just accepted the fact he was alone in the world. But now he had found his light, the one thing he knew he wanted to protect more than anything else in this world. Looking again towards his father's face, he wondered if his dad felt the same way about his mom?
Almost skipping back into his apartment, Naruto couldn't wait until Hinata returned from her home. They had reluctantly parted as night fell, having spent the day doing nothing more than holding each other and talking. It had felt so right, to have her small frame nestled in his arms. Feeling her lithe body fit into the grooves of his own body, her warmth spreading into him. Naruto had stood outside his door watching her leave, and couldn't help but chuckle at the fact she was turning around to look at him until she turned a corner that broke their visual contact. She promised to come over the next morning, with Naruto telling her he had a surprise for her. While he didn't know how much a surprise it would be for her, he wanted her to be the first person he shared the knowledge of his parents with, along with going through his parents belongings.
Deciding to get his morning training out of the way, Naruto began his morning routine, deciding to keep it light and only what he could do inside his apartment so he didn't risk missing Hinata.
XXXX
Sarutobi stared at the report he held in his hands with his brow furrowed. After spending two full days searching, the team of Inuzuka – which had been the entire clan – couldn't find any trace of Sasuke outside of the village. Reading the comments left by Tsume, which were leaden with crass and vulgarities, they had searched all around the village, managing to find a small trail that was fresh, but it disappeared while the village was still within sight. She had pushed her clan to ride around both days non-stop for miles on end in all directions of Konoha but found nothing. The only thing Tsume could think had happened was they used some form of jutsu to cover their tracks. But even with dogs trained to sense such chakra cloaking jutsu, they found nothing.
Sarutobi set the report down and grabbed his lit pipe that was resting nearby. Scratching his chin, The Professor began to ponder. There was no surprise that Orochimaru would have thought to order the covering of tracks of whomever had stolen Sasuke, but to be able to cast a jutsu of enough caliber to fool even an Inuzuka hound's nose was impressive – and rare. Something didn't sit right with him about the situation, and it needed further investigation. The first thing, however, would be to find the location of Otogakure and learn more about it. As he began to pull out a scroll to write down the appropriate orders, he felt a presence make itself known at his door, a knock being heard soon after.
"Enter." Sarutobi spoke, knowing already who would be behind the door. The door creaked open to reveal Jiraiya, who looked none too pleased.
"What'd ya have to summon me for that was urgent enough to have an ANBU come and get me for?" Jiraiya asked, clearly annoyed. It had been his early morning 'research' time and he had found some of the most perfect specimens with the biggest pair of –
"I didn't know you had more pressing matters to attend to than respond to a personal summons from the Hokage." Sarutobi spoke, cutting off Jiraiya's thoughts. He was only half-joking about it, his student's tone hitting a nerve with him.
"Tch," Jiraiya replied, folding his arms. "You know I'm not an active duty ninja anymore, I'm free to do what I please."
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, as he sat his pipe down. "I would remind you Jiraiya that it was I that allowed you to do what you please and am more than capable of revoking it. Now are you going to continue to give me this childish act or will you listen to what I called you here for?"
Jiraiya met the older man's stern look with a glare, not happy in the lease about being talked down to in that way. "Fine."
Sarutobi grunted, but decided to let the disrespectful tone pass for now. "I'm assigning you a mission. I want you to escort Naruto to the ruins of Uzushiogakure and assist him in searching the city, it may take a while so prepare for that."
Jiraiya's face turned stoic, losing it's earlier defiance. Keeping eye contact, Jiraiya was silent for a moment. Then, frowning he replied, "No."
"No?" Sarutobi mirrored, his voice slightly raised.
"I can't devote that much time to –"
"Jiraiya!" Sarutobi roared as he shot up from his chair. His outburst caused Jiraiya to scoot back an inch, staring at his old sensei. Sarutobi felt his heart beating hard, as it wasn't used to sudden bursts of emotion from it's long time user. "Are you still so lost in your grief that you will continue to ignore your Godson? You shame yourself!"
Jiraiya ground his teeth, as he stomped forward a few steps. "Don't talk to me like you know what it's like to lose someone you love like I did!" he exclaimed, pointing his finger at Sarutobi.
Sarutobi's jaw tightened, as he tried to cool his temper. "I have withstood much from you Jiraiya. Enough to the point where I even allowed you to completely ignore any and all responsibilities to your village and Naruto! A grave mistake that I have only admitted to recently." Sarutobi harshly spoke, glaring into the eyes of his student. "Tsunade has been missing now for almost twelve years! When are you going to accept the fact that she's dead?!"
"No one has yet to find her body! That alone is proof enough my search isn't in vain!" Jiraiya spat back.
Sarutobi sighed, his anger starting to dissolve and it was replaced by pity, looking at his student. "Jiraiya. If she had been alive we would of heard some small bits of information about her. She wouldn't have just vanished from the Elemental Nations. You need to accept that a woman who never returned your one sided feelings is gone. You're throwing your life away on a wild goose chase and ignoring the child of your own student who trusted you to watch over him after he was born!" Sarutobi watched as Jiraiya's expression fell into a mixture of grief and rage. He could feel nothing but pity for the shameful creature his once proud student had turned into.
Twelve years ago, Tsunade had vanished, reportedly she came under attack by a group of unidentified ninja and was killed, or it was assumed as such as her body was never found and no trace of her had been found since. Jiraiya had loved the girl whom had once been his teammate, and the news of her death had hit him hard. It had been at that point he began searching for her, covering his intentions with the excuse of wanting to build a superior intelligence network for Konoha. At the time, Sarutobi had allowed it, figuring his student needed some space to come to terms with Tsunade's disappearance. But years passed, and the Toad Sannin showed no interest in ever returning to Konoha unless it had been with Tsunade.
Sarutobi shook his head, knowing it had been partly his own fault for allowing him such freedom and letting him get as bad as he was. Looking up towards Jiraiya with resolve, he continued. "If you insist on wasting your life pining for a woman who never wanted you, and whom may never be found, that is your choice. If you wish to disgrace yourself and the memory of Minato by ignoring your responsibility to your Godson, that is your dishonorable choice that I cannot force you to fufill, as loathe as I am to admit it. But I will not allow you to shirk your duties to the village any longer. As your Hokage I am issuing you this mission — If you refuse it I will take it as direct defiance and declare you a rogue ninja! Have I made myself clear?"
Jiraiya looked up at Sarutobi, his expression unreadable. "Crystal." Turning, he threw open the Hokage's door and slammed it behind him as he walked out.
Staring at the door for a moment, Sarutobi let out an angry sigh, sitting back down in his chair. Grabbing his pipe, he tried to take a puff, only to notice the tobacco inside had irritatingly all burned up.
XXXX
Naruto sighed deeply, as he rotated a kunai on his kitchen table by the ring. He kept his eyes trained on the kunai point as he continued to rotate it around, the sound of it scraping against the wood table not annoying enough to stop him. He had already been awake for three hours now, and it was nine A.M.
"Man, when is Hinata-chan going to get here?" he complained to himself, thinking she would have shown up around eight. He couldn't help but feel his face light up, thinking about seeing the girl again. He had to admit the idea of getting to kiss her again. . . Naruto shook his head, clearing the thoughts out of his mind as he started to feel weirder thoughts creep up to him. Looking over towards the clock, he saw it read nine o' five, and with a frustrated yell he jumped out of his seat. "Gah! I can't take it anymore! I'll just go see her myself!" Running out his backdoor to his balcony, Naruto jumped out into the village.
As he ran from roof to roof, he made sure to keep his eyes out for Hinata, hoping he wouldn't miss her if she had already left for his house. Hitting the halfway mark to the Hyuuga compound, Naruto grumbled to himself, wondering if what he was about to do would be too weird. What if she thinks I'm a creep for not being able to wait to see her? Oh man. . . maybe I should turn around. Naruto was so deep into his thoughts that he wasn't watching where he was going. Looking up at the last second, Naruto yelled out before slamming face first into a water tank, with a familiar imprint next to where he crashed.
Naruto groaned out, making sure to stick himself to the surface before he fell. "Goddamn . . . water tank. . ."
Naruto 0 – Water Tank 2
After cursing heavily at his nemesis and swearing vengeance one day, Naruto resumed his trek to his destination, he had no time to deal with the steel menace.
Naruto had to eventually hit the streets, the area where the Hyuuga compound was located was within an upper scale residential area where wealthy merchants and prominent members of Konoha society lived within private residences. Navigating the intersecting alleys of walled off properties, he finally came to the largest compound, where two Hyuuga stood guard in front of the gate. Walking up to them casually, they turned towards him as it became clear he was doing more than passing by.
"State your buisness." one spoke, looking down towards Naruto.
Naruto scratched his cheek, feeling strangely nervous. "Uh, Is Hinata-ch- Hinata around? We were supposed to meet today." Naruto asked, catching himself on using the informal honorific around her family members.
The two guards looked at each other, then the one that spoke looked back towards Naruto. "She is."
"Eh?" Naruto asked, getting a strange feeling that something was off. "Well. . . could you tell her that Naruto Uzumaki is waiting for her outside?"
"I can." the guard replied stoically.
Naruto growled, getting tired of the guards flippant responses and cracked his neck, about ready to charge in swinging when a voice called out to him from behind the guards.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Neji asked, walking in between the guards nonchalantly. He was surprised to see Naruto, the teen he was about to go and look for.
Naruto looked relieved, seeing Neji. "Good thing you showed up Neji, I was about to knock some sense into these clowns." Naruto started, glaring at the guards who wore equal looks, "They won't let me see Hinata."
Neji nodded, understanding, and his look became stern. "That's because they can't let you, Naruto, she's been confined to her room for the time being."
Naruto grew confused as he tilted his head, "Why in the hell would they do that?"
"She hasn't told you yet, has she?" Neji asked with a small sigh.
"Told me what?" Naruto asked, "What the hell is going on?" he didn't like how secretive Neji was making this all sound. It made Naruto beyond concerned.
Looking at the guards, Neji shook his head. "Not here, come with me." he replied, walking away from the guards who followed Neji with suspicious eyes. Naruto wordlessly followed, getting the sense that he was about to hear something he wouldn't like.
After turning a nearby corner, and waiting a moment to ensure that neither of the guards had tried to trail them, Neji spoke. "Tell me, how much has Hinata told you about what's happened since Hiashi-sama's death?"
Naruto frowned, shaking his head, "Nothing." The only things they had talked about the previous day had been miscellaneous things, they had been far too wrapped up in each other to think of anything else.
"I see. That would explain a few things." Neji replied, nodding his head to himself, "Hinata had asked me to deliver a message to you, that she wasn't going to be able to meet with you today but she had been very direct about asking me not to tell you why."
Naruto was slowly grinding his teeth, trying not to speak out of turn and explode. All this sidestepping of the issue was driving him insane.
Seeing the other boy's impatience, Neji spoke, "To give you the short version, after things had calmed down in the village, the Hyuuga Clan met to discuss about the next heir to the clan. Because of Hiashi-sama's untimely death, his father Youta Hyuuga, the previous Clan Head, was installed as defacto leader." Giving a pause to ensure Naruto was able to keep up with the subject, Neji continued, "His first order had been to place the Caged Bird Seal on more of the Hyuuga, those that were either not first born or deemed unfit," Neji's tone grew tight and strained, the memory deeply upsetting him. "When he announced that Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister, would be branded and Hinata made the heir, she refused and demanded to be branded instead to save her sister."
Naruto had been keeping up, trying to block the questions from his mind as he started to feel like he didn't know as much about the girl he loved as he should. "What's the Caged Bird Seal?" Naruto did ask, dread creeping into his voice.
Reaching behind his head, Neji undid his forehead protector. Underneath was a layer of bandages that Neji unraveled, which revealed what appeared to be a seal, a simple green manji with a long line on either side of it. "This is the Caged Bird Seal. It's a fuinjutsu that the Hyuuga Clan has used to separate the Hyuuga Clan into the Main and Branch Families. It's main purpose, if you believe the Main Family, is to protect the Byakugan from falling into the wrong hands. Upon a branded Hyuuga's death, it seals our eyes away so that an enemy could not steal them."
Naruto stared at the ominous seal, not liking it at all. Again, he had questions but he knew it wasn't the time for them, so instead he asked, "I take it there's more to this seal?"
"The other effect of the seal is that it forces obedience to the Main Family. The Main Family knows the hand sign required to activate the seal. When activated, it begins to basically kill your brain cells, it can kill the affected Branch Family member if held long enough."
"What?!" Naruto roared, causing Neji to take a step back as he could see a red aura start to emanate from Naruto like sparks of lightning running across his body. His visible eye flashed red and his teeth were clenched. He could see it far too perfectly in his mind, the sight of Hinata bearing the same seal. She would be at the whim of any bastard that could activate it and kill her with it!
Seeing a bad situation unfold Neji placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Naruto, calm down. She hasn't gotten the seal yet! We can't have you loosing your cool now!"
Naruto stared at Neji, his eye boring into Neji's pale ones as he tried to calm himself down, feeling the Kyuubi's chakra start to come unfiltered into his system. Neji felt a chill run down his spine, sensing an unholy killing intent radiating from the blond, yet it wasn't directed at him. With a large roar Naruto flipped around and slammed his head as hard as he could into the nearby wall. The force of the blow caused a small crack to form and blood spayed from where he hit his head.
"Naruto!" Neji exclaimed, pulling the boy away from the wall.
Naruto glared at nothing in particular, his nose broken and blood pouring from it. His breathing was ragged and unchecked, as his chest heaved from how utterly furious he was. He could feel the Kyuubi's influence start to mess with him as the images in his head got even more grotesque and horrible. Naruto covered his face with his palm, as he tried to regain control of himself. He knew the Kyuubi was trying to take advantage of his state and goad him into losing his cool. Breathing deeply, he repeated in his head over and over, Stay calm. Hinata's fine, she's not going to get that seal.
Neji watched the boy, worried for him as he saw the strange aura slowly dissipate from him. He think he understood now why his cousin was so adamant about not letting Naruto know about her predicament. He also watched with surprise as Naruto's nose began to fix itself. Neji stared at it as he watched the cartilage and flesh re-set without any outside stimuli. Just as he was about to ask however, Naruto interrupted him.
"Neji." Naruto wheezed out. "What can we do. Tell me an alternative besides violence, because I am about three seconds away from marching into your clan's compound and shoving my fist up the asses of whoever wants to hurt Hinata and turn them inside-fucking-out."
Neji nodded, getting the sense that the blond youth wasn't joking in the slightest. "I've been trying to figure that much out myself. There may be avenues we can take but they have to be diplomatic and up front."
Naruto growled, not liking the idea in the least. "Fine. Where do we start looking for information to help us? I doubt just going in and asking nicely won't do much." he asked, leaning forward and resting his head against the cracked wall. He could feel his right hand clench and ache, as if it was screaming for blood. Naruto narrowed his eyes, he knew that the amount of influence the Kyuubi could exert over him was great, but this was on a whole different level. He could almost feel two separate personalities emerging and retracting, and his chakra felt like it was playing tug of war within him.
"As a Branch Member I only have access to a limited source of scrolls from our library. I would suggest we head to the public library, I would imagine they might have something we could find." Neji spoke calmly, seeing Naruto was trying to recover from something more severe than an outburst.
Naruto pushed off the wall, focusing his mind as sharply as he could on the memory of the night before when he had been happier, that he could say with utmost honesty, than he had ever been. "Alright." He started turning towards Neji, wiping off the blood from his nose with the back of his hand. "Let's go."
XXXX
Hinata sat in her room, her eyes closed as she tried to think about just how to get out of her predicament. Last night, she had been walking home in a complete daze, feeling like she could just float along the ground. She had bumped into more than one villager and barely avoided a few corners. Her face wouldn't stop burning up as she held her cheeks, thinking about the feeling of Naruto's kiss. It was real, not something she had dreamed up! It had been so much more amazing than she could have ever thought. Humming a sweet tune, she almost skipped home.
Her joy was to come to a screeching halt however, as when she had arrived home she was met by an unpleasant surprise in the guise of her grandfather. He stood upon a higher ground than she, propping himself up with his cane and looking down his nose at her. He had looked at her in such a manner that it almost felt like he was regarding her as something less than human. With a cold glare, he told her that he had one of the Hyuuga shadow her and he had witnessed her kiss Naruto through the boy's living room window.
"How dare you. Even the lowest of the Hyuuga would never even go near that wretched child. And yet you would . . ." Youta seemed to struggle with the next word as he grit his teeth.
Hinata bit her lip, feeling her body shake from the hateful words her grandfather spoke. She had finally found happiness, true happiness. Something she had never found within her own clan. She wasn't about to let this monster badmouth the most important person in her life."Don't talk about Naruto-kun like that! He's not wretched or anything of the sort! He's the kindest, strongest person I've ever met!" Hinata replied, taking a step forward. "I love him, and sealed or not, you can't stop me from being with him!"
"I can and I will!" He roared back as he slammed his cane down for emphasis. "Your status as a ninja shall be revoked, I will see to it that you shall not leave this compound after you're sealed! You will work as a servant and live as one! It is the only thing a girl like you that would consort with such trash deserves!"
Hinata grit her teeth, wanting nothing more than to knock his out. Taking two quick glances to her sides, she saw that she was getting flanked by two of the Main Family's guards. Knowing she had to leave and soon, she jumped backwards. She had to get out of the compound!
But the guards were too quick to follow after her. As she landed they tackled her to the ground and pinned her. "Stop!" she yelled out, resisting as hard as she could, "Let me go!" she tried to get her hands behind her back together to form a seal for substitution, but the guards had already grabbed onto both of her hands.
"Forgive us. Hinata-sama." One spoke, his eyes closed. Hinata recognized him as a Branch Family member.
Youta walked up towards the still squirming Hinata, and looked down upon her as if she were no more than an insect that dared cross his path. "This is your place in life now girl." He spoke, and put his foot on top of her head, shoving her face into the dirt below. "You have only yourself to blame, for daring to defy the will of the Main Family."
Hinata pushed up with her head, beating out the old man's strength as he tried to keep her face in the dirt. Turning her head up, she glared at the old man she refused to acknowledge as anything close to family.
With a growl, Youta raised his cane. "You WILL learn to submit! Insolent girl!" he roared as he swung the top end of his cane down and smashed it into the side of her temple.
Hinata cried out briefly, feeling her skull explode in pain, but she blacked out as soon as the pain registered.
Hinata reached up, feeling the bandage that had been tied up around her head. She hissed as she felt the wound Youta had inflicted on her, the only treatment she had received while she had been out was no more than a bandaging. When she had woken, she found that her room was under complete guard by four Hyuuga, with two standing at her door and the other two outside her window.
She had already tried convincing the guards to let her sneak out, but they had vehemently refused. Hinata could only believe that Youta had somehow threatened them or their families if she had escaped, it was the only thing she could imagine. She would truly hate to think her clan would turn upon her like this so quickly just because she didn't bow and scrape to the 'will' of her diabolical grandfather.
No escape attempt she had tried had worked yet, each time she was caught before she could even get an inch out the window. Both sets of guards were middle aged ninja of Chunin rank or higher, there was no way she was going to be able to fight them and get away. Her only option, would be to try and find a way to get out when they changed guards or at the latest when they came to retrieve her for the sealing ceremony.
She had already called for Neji to deliver her message to Naruto, which had been difficult enough to convince the guards to let him speak to her through the door. She knew that if he found out what was happening he would charge in to save her, something that could get him killed. She would never let him risk his life for hers like that, she had to try and find out some way to get out on her own. Her heart ached at the thought of never getting to see Naruto again, to feel his warmth once more. Shaking her head, she tried to re-focus her thoughts on how to escape.
XXXX
Naruto had already earned more than one death glare from the people inside the library, his behavior and actions loud, ringing through the building. The librarian had tried to hush him or kick him out but a hard glare from the boy sent her back to her desk quietly.
Neji stood behind Naruto catching any books he roughly tore from the shelf and shoved into his arms. Everything from history books with clan dealings to histories on the Hyuuga and other major clans were his target. "N-Naruto, I think we have enough." Neji whispered, feeling his arms start to shake and give from the combined weight of the books.
"Sorry Neji. Let's go look through the ones we have so far." Naruto replied, his mind obviously focused else where as his tone of voice showed. Grabbing another book to hold himself, he threw it open to the table of contents as he walked towards the tables.
Neji sighed, walking behind Naruto, the boy's single mindedness wearing on Neji. Though in truth, he was glad how seriously the boy was taking it. He was of the same mind frame as Naruto, except that Neji was more sober for the fact that he could be killed at any moment he tried to rescue Hinata. He may not even be safe from that fate yet, if Youta's recent actions had been any indicator, even just being associated with an attempt may earn him an early grave. But he would risk it for his cousin, the girl who had helped him let go of his anger through her selfless actions. Reaching the table, Neji grabbed a book himself and started flipping through it.
Naruto tore through the books as fast as he could, while making sure to carefully scan every word thoroughly while reading. What he was looking for could be easily nothing more than a sentence buried within walls of paragraphs. After going through a full three books, he grabbed the first book he put into Neji's arms, A General History of Clan Politics. The whole book seemed to be relevant, but Naruto decided to jump to the chapter that concerned previous politics that had occurred between clans. Reading through the chapter, Naruto stopped on one line.
Neji looked up from the book he had been reading, starting to feel strained from all the reading, and saw Naruto staring at one of the pages with an odd look on his face. "Naruto, have you found something?" he asked.
Naruto's face turned beet red and he slammed the book shut looking up at Neji surprised. Stuttering out nonsense, Naruto jumped to his feet. "Neji c'mon w-w-w-we gotta go see the Hokage about something!" Naruto yelled out, running for the exit.
"Naruto, wait up! What did you find?!" Neji replied, terribly confused as he looked around at the books and people inside the library, feeling his want to fulfill his manners to put the books back and apologize for his companions un-library-like behavior. After seeing the heated glares sent his way though, he decided to book it out of the library. "Dammit Naruto, wait for me!"
XXXX
Sarutobi bit into another piece of his lunch, having gotten one of his aids to run out to his favorite BBQ restaurant to pick him up some meat skewers. He had no time for a break, all the clerical work still more than piled up since the failed invasion. He breathed a small sigh of satisfaction, the spices and savory taste of the special BBQ sauce that coated the skewered chicken, coating his tongue and treating his taste buds to a delight. Enjoying the quiet of his office, Sarutobi chewed his food.
Then, his ears perked up as he heard what could only be described as a stampede charging through the Hokage tower and coming straight for his doors. Grabbing his tea cup, Sarutobi took a drink to wash down his food, already having a solid guess as to who was making the noise. As he set his tea down he could hear muffled voices before his door was thrown open in an explosion of sound and a blond shinobi coming to a sliding halt in front of his desk.
"Old man! Is this right?!" Naruto yelled, as he held up a book and pointed towards a sentence within.
"Naruto! You can't just -" Neji started, right on the heels of his companion, but seeing the Hokage he dropped into a deep bow, "Hokage-sama! Please forgive our beyond rude interruption!"
"Hey! You can't just barge into the Hokage's office punk!" Sarutobi's aide exclaimed running up to Naruto, having been on his heels since he first blew into the tower from the roof entrance.
Sarutobi chuckled and held up his hand, "Jun, it's no issue. Naruto is welcome into my office whenever he wants." he started, looking towards his aide. Then, seeing his aide bow and shoot Naruto one more annoyed look, he turned his attention to Naruto who was red in the face and looking frantic. "Now Naruto, let me see that book, and calmly tell me what your problem is." Sarutobi chuckled, for some reason taking delight in seeing the blond act as he used to when he was still an academy student.
Naruto nodded and thrust the book out for Sarutobi to read it. Finding the line Naruto had pointed out in particular, Sarutobi raised his eyebrow. "I imagine there's quite the tale behind this. Explain, if you would."
XXXX
Back at the Hyuuga compound, the two guards who were standing in front of the main entrance were almost hoping for the blond to show back up, bored out of their minds. Then, out of the corner of their view, they saw him reappear as if on command, but had Neji and the Hokage in tow. They both straightened their backs, and bowed deeply as the Hokage came close. "Hokage-sama!" they both exclaimed in respect.
Sarutobi nodded, recognizing the gesture. "I've come to speak with Youta and Hinata." he stated simply. After hearing Naruto's and Neji's tale, he had been in a neutral state, keeping his cool on the outside, but he was in truth rather annoyed. "You will let me through, won't you?"
Both guards felt a hard chill run up their spine, hearing the Hokage's tone suggest he knew about the current lockdown and wasn't pleased. Bowing again, they quickly stepped out of the way.
Smiling, Sarutobi nodded, walking forward. "Thank you. Come along Naruto, Neji." he spoke, causing the two to walk behind him, with Naruto flipping off both guards as he passed them. As they passed, one of the guards disappeared with a shushin, teleporting into the compound.
Sarutobi had been inside the Hyuuga compound many times within his life, and he had never come in for good reasons, or to have a friendly chat. The elite clan had been rather standoffish with him in his long tenure as Hokage, never in a disrespectful way, but it wasn't hard to get the feeling he wasn't the most popular person to visit. It was a well known fact the Sandime disapproved of the Caged Bird Seal, though in the name of keeping the peace with the clan he never forced his hand to make them stop. However, after hearing of the young Hyuuga's plight, he wasn't able to stay quiet about it. He knew Youta and his heavy handed approach to ruling over the Hyuuga Clan, as he had met with and put up with the older Hyuuga for many years. He was Sarutobi's age, and as such the two had fought and grew up in the same generation. He was never fond of the old Hyuuga, always spouting off about the pure nobility of the Hyuuga and other nonsense. Though this latest affair was just ridiculous, even more so than what Youta had done in the past when he was first the Clan Head.
Without needing to look, Sarutobi could feel Naruto's anxiety and knew he was sweating bullets. He chuckled to himself as he thought of the solution Naruto had found. He would let Naruto suggest it, if the Hyuuga elder denied it, Sarutobi would step in – and gladly.
Reaching the meeting room the Hyuuga enjoyed using for everything, Sarutobi scoffed to himself quietly as he saw Youta was already in the room, kneeling down on a pillow. He didn't see Hinata anywhere in the room.
"Hiruzen. What is the meaning of this?" Youta asked, his tone none too pleasing to the Hokage.
Walking closer to the defacto clan head, Sarutobi frowned down at Youta. "I see you're still as amicable as ever Youta. You should know full well why I am here, and I do believe I asked that she be present for this conversation."
"She will not. I have conf -"
"You forget yourself." Sarutobi interrupted, his voice deadly calm and even, yet it felt as though it was the loudest yell ever spoken. He glared down at Youta, who to his credit still possessed a well practiced poker face. "I am the Hokage of Konohagakure, and though I allow the clans to be mostly autonomous, do not think that means I will allow any insubordination. Especially when it concerns one of my Shinobi. You will have her brought out or I will get her. Am I clear?"
Youta's face grew tight, the deep wrinkles on his face coming together to warp his face. Turning towards a terrified servant Branch member he spoke through clenched teeth. "Do as the Hokage asks, now." The servant managed a quick bow before scrambling from the room to avoid being in it any longer than she needed to.
From behind the Hokage, Naruto's vision was focused on Youta, and he could feel his blood boil with rage as he was finally face to face with the bastard that had threatened Hinata. He clenched his right fist, wanting nothing more than to summon up a hard punch to completely cave in the old bastards face. He felt a gentle touch from the Hokage land upon his shoulder however, silently telling him to remain calm.
Youta moved his vision between the two accompanying the Hokage, and saw Neji. "You." Youta growled, staring directly into Neji. "How dare you bring this upon us. Did you share our clan's private buisness with outsiders?!"
Neji swallowed his fear, as he could feel his palms sweat. He knew that depending on his answer his life may end.
"Youta. I will only say this once. Take any disciplinary action against Neji and I promise you that it will be the last thing you do. He was correct to bring this to my attention. Do not take my allowing you to place that barbaric seal upon Hyuuga as kindness or acceptance. I would just simply rather avoid having to exterminate the Hyuuga Clan, you are a valuable asset to the Village after all." Sarutobi spoke, getting tired of the clear disrespect he was being shown. He was by far the most lenient Hokage that had lived, with perhaps the exception of Minato and only because he never had much of a chance to show otherwise. But even for him, there was only so much he would take.
Naruto looked up at the Hokage with respect and no small amount of wonder. He had never seen this side of the Old Man before. Sure he'd seen him cheesed off before, but never in a very official Hokage manner. It was rather refreshing.
Before Youta could bark back a reply, a noise was heard from the connecting hallway and Hinata stepped into view with two guards flanking her, holding her by the shoulders. She looked up and over towards the Hokage, her eyes widening as she saw him and, "Naruto-kun. . ." she whispered out, seeing the blond.
Naruto stood with his mouth agape, as he looked and saw the large bandage covering the right side of Hinata's head, a bruise forming underneath. "Hinata. . ." he breathed out. His blue eye flashed red and he took a hard step forward, splintering the wooden floor from the force. Looking toward Youta he reached back for his sword, but an outstretched hand from the Hokage stopped him.
"Naruto, stay your hand." Sarutobi spoke, his tone of voice stating he wasn't in the mood to argue. Seeing the girl's injury, caused Sarutobi's mood to sour. He saw now just how depraved the old Hyuuga had become.
Neji too was stern, not knowing that she had been injured at some point during her captivity.
"Youta. Before I make you answer for harming one of my Shinobi for no reason I've come today to present an ultimatum." Sarutobi spoke, taking deep breaths to calm himself. His age made it harder for him to control his emotions, even if he had been a ninja his whole life, age still took it's toll. He saw Youta about to spout something off, so he continued. "Young Naruto has a proposal, if you accept it then we can go about our merry way and the consequences will not be overly severe. Refuse, and I take matters into my own hands."
Youta laughed once, crossing his arms. "What folly. Why should I even entertain such an idea?" The look on the Hokage's face gave a clear answer as to why. "Very well then, what is this proposal?" Youta scoffed, looking back towards Naruto.
Hinata had been standing by quietly, feeling a strange sense of hope as she listened to the Hokage. She wanted to free herself, to show she could get out of this by herself, but the fact that Naruto had come to save her, that he had gone so far as to get the Hokage involved make her happy.
Naruto's anger was all but put on the back burner, as he suddenly remembered why he had come in the first place like this. His face went red, a large blush spreading from cheek to cheek. Walking forward stiffly, his legs not wanting to respond correctly, Naruto stepped forward. Taking a deep breath, Naruto stared down at Youta, then moved his gaze to Hinata. "I-I . . . well t-that is. . ." He started, finding it physically impossible to continue talking, as Hinata looked on with some confusion and a hint of amusement. "Well I-I. . . I mean, w-would – Gah!" Naruto yelled, grabbing the sides of his head. In one breath he finally yelled. "Hinatawouldyoumarryme?!"
Hinata's tilted her head at Naruto, having not fully heard him, "Naruto-kun, speak slower, what did you say?"
Biting his lip, looking like he had to pull of a rather large band-aid, he tried to slow it down and re-say it. "I said, would you marry me?!"
Hinata stared at the blond for a moment, her ears having received the sound waves, and her brain having recognized them as familiar language. What stopped the general process of understanding spoken word however was the order in which the words had been spoken. Going over it again twice more in her head, Hinata finally understood the message. She turned a shade of crimson so powerful her face almost appeared to glow. "W-W-W-W-W-What?!"
Sarutobi chuckled, seeing the two, but quickly added, "In accordance with ancient clan laws, if a male member of another clan seeks the hand of another clans daughter in marriage, any laws pertaining to the daughter will be null and void as she would become a member of the male's clan. Of course it has to be agreed upon by both respective clans for it to take effect."
Youta was already beyond angry, hearing and seeing the foolish display in front of him. "And what clan would this brat be from?"
"Uzumaki. They're still a recognized clan within Konoha and with Naruto being the only member within Konoha that makes him the Clan Head for the time being, so all it would take is your acceptance, and we can just let this matter go – for now." The Hokage replied, ensuring to put emphasis on the fact that Youta wasn't going to get away scott free from his actions.
The older Hyuuga's face twisted in rage as he seethed from his seat.
Hinata on the other hand, was covering her face with her hands, the previous question having all but thrown her mind into another place entirely. Her mind started conjuring up images of her wedding and the beautiful kimono she would be dressed in when she exchanged vows with Naruto to be his wife. It had been something she had thought about before but, this was so sudden! T-T-T-this is all to sudden! We only just kissed yesterday, t-then does that mean we get married tonight and then –! The poor Hyuuga girl's mind almost caused her to black out as she felt a weird sensation.
Naruto too was biting his nails as he waited for a response from Hinata, who seemed to be out of her mind, staring at the ground and giggling to herself, her eyes covered by her bangs. He also had Neji to worry about who was staring at him with a slack jaw. But before the other boy could even begin to complain at Naruto or yell at him, Youta exploded.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Youta roared, causing all those present to focus on him, any previous joy from the young teenagers being immediately snuffed like a candle flame. "You come into my home, into my clan and spout such nonsense!?"
Sarutobi frowned, but he had expected this. "It was an offer for a more peaceful solution to all of this, since it is clear that you no longer wish for your granddaughter to be apart of your family anymore." Sarutobi spoke the last part with some disgust, being unable to hide his feelings on such a despicable thing. "You have always been a fool, Youta. But what you have become is beyond a fool, you have become nothing more than a horrid person."
Youta growled and shot to his feet. "If you think I would let this trash," he spoke, pointing towards Hinata, "roam free after disgracing our clan so by whoring herself to the Kyu –-"
It happened in a flash, with no one in the room prepared for what would happen next.
Youta had been cut off by the Hokage, quite literally. He looked down in shock, seeing the Hokage having appeared next to him in a blink of an eye with a kunai, held firmly in a reverse grip in his hand, which now was forced quite far into his throat. He tried to breath, only to find it was impossible with an inch thick of steel piercing your larynx. Youta feebly moved his head towards the Hokage, looking at him and his blood splattered face.
Sarutobi glared at the older Hyuuga, not blinking even as a small trail of blood ran down his wrinkled forehead, moving through the creases until it hit his eyebrow and dripped off. Speaking in a low voice, the Hokage began "I have never liked you Youta. You have always been beyond a thorn in my side and your disrespect of this village and any thing that did not fit within the will of the Main Family, as you so loved to spout off. But I always allowed it in the name of keeping the peace of the village, and the security of having elite dojutsu users would bring. But what you've done since your son's death is beyond deplorable." Leaning in closer to the dying Hyuuga, Sarutobi whispered, "So I should thank you for giving me an excuse to kill you, in the name of keeping an S-Class secret and to keep my promise to ensure Naruto's happiness." The resistance from the older Hyuuga stopped, and Sarutobi let go of the kunai, allowing Youta's corpse to his the floor.
The room was silent, the genin within staring in shock at what had happened. Naruto looked down at the dead Hyuuga, then back up to Sarutobi. He wouldn't be missed. Walking over towards Hinata who was looking at her deceased grandfather, he put his arm around her, and she subconsciously leaned into him.
"I apologize for that." Sarutobi started, as he calmly reached into his robes to pull out a handkerchief. "But he was about to break an S-Class secret, One that is punishable by death if spoke aloud to those who are not aware of it's existence." He wiped the blood from his face, and then with the same grace dropped it upon Youta's head, whose expression had been frozen in one of horrified disbelief.
Looking down to Hinata, he continued. "For now let us leave. Hinata I'll place you under my clan's care until further notice. Will this be acceptable?"
Hinata snapped out of her trance, looking up towards the Hokage. Nodding once, the Hokage nodded back. "Good, gather your things and meet me outside."
Naruto looked towards Sarutobi who turned and walked past Neji, who had the ghost of a smile on his face. "What about him?" he asked, referring to Youta.
"Leave him for the Main Family to clean up. Such is the will of the Hokage."
XXXX
Mmm. That felt good.
Hope you all enjoyed, and weren't too weirded out by the sudden change in atmosphere at the end, but good ol boy Youta done said the one thing you don't wanna say.
And, as a quick explanation, you may have noticed that I have a bit of a running gag with Naruto and Water Towers. This is kind of a personal joke with myself due to playing the very first Naruto: Ninja Storm on the PS3, when the game gave you free roaming around in Konoha and you could jump from roofs and such. Well there was this super dash you could do as Naruto to move from one area to the next quickly and I swear to god every time I threw myself I ALWAYS slammed into a goddamn water tower.
There was also another one of my beloved puns in this chapter, very easily spotted I would imagine. But can you spot it?
Things are gonna start going into a whole different level of AU come these next few chapters folks. I think I've already proven that you can't expect my story to follow canon by much, so I hope that what I have planned for the future continues to please. And for those who have been favoriting my story and adding it to their alerts, thank you! I'm so very pleased that you find my fiction worthy enough to spend your time to read! Don't think I don't appreciate everyone even if I don't hear from ya in a review!
Next chapter is on it's way soon, stay classy until then folks.
Shinobi no Ryu