Disclaimer: I Don't Own Naruto.
TKFQH
Assembly of New Rulers!
Previously on King of Foxes, Queen of Hares;
{I assure you Sires,} the Panda took a turn to speak. {Your time of the moment was not wasted as we are where we said to be. Our King wanted us to take you inside.} So, the animals approached the door and opened it to reveal the throne room and the two rulers who were already sitting in there.
"Naruto!?"
"Hinata!?"
Indeed it was Naruto and Hinata, sitting next to each other still and calm like rightful and humble kings and queens. Still, there was a feeling in the air; it felt uneasy and filled with rage. It was no surprise that it came from Naruto, who were humiliated and battened on by all but his wife and queen, Hinata.
Speaking of who, she sensed the negative feelings from her king and husband; she squeezed his hand with her own and kissed Naruto tenderly on the cheek to calm him down. Much to everyone's relief and shock, it did and the air was free from the soul-crushing emotions. It was clever that this king Naruto was not happy to see the faces of those who took him for granted and even ganged up on him when he couldn't fight back; that will make anyone resentful of them.
"Come in. We have a lot to discuss." Naruto said although his tone showed just how forced his words were. The only thing that was preventing things from escalating was that Hinata never let go of her husband and king's hand.
With the verdict summarized, it was time to review. "So we all are kings and queens of twelve kingdoms in this country called Juuni Chuumon." Shino did the start of the review while some of the kings like Kiba and Lee were excited to hear all this; they already had thought of all the things they will be given as rulers now while other kings like Neji and Shino himself were instead thinking of the responsibilities.
"This is so cool! I always knew that I will make a very handsome king!" Kiba couldn't help but be full of himself when the dog tamer got lost in the thoughts about what kings do and are treated like. The others just shook their heads as they tried to think about all this; how did they become, from simple Chunin, to real kings like they heard off only in fairytales.
"I can't wait until I see that my kingdom will be drowning in my youth, taught by Master Guy!" Of course they cannot forget someone who is as excited about it as much as Kiba, Rock Lee. This boy seriously needs to shimmer down and do a reality check on all that garbage about 'flames of youth' that his master had tainted his mind with.
"So just how are our kingdoms doing and still standing since they have someone like you in charge?" Leave it up to someone like Sasuke to kill the mood, even souring Kiba's and Lee's rants of rashness and madness. It will seem that Sasuke's ego kept telling him that there no one above him as long as they are in his sights.
"They are doing just fine." Naruto said in a sore tone, "Since you don't trust in my leading skills as a fellow king, then you can try to do better now that you are here. You all need to learn that a king is only good if he is as human as the people he rules over. That is how much I ever learned." Naruto explained and didn't explode on Sasuke because of his wife who was still worried that even she won't stop him from doing something he will regret.
"Let's just see how you were made into the King of Kings if you could even stop us from showing how weak you are?" It will seem that Naruto's efforts to help Neji change of the better had went down the drain so did the blonde's patience for this disrespect.
"Fine. I will take you all on. That ill good practice from setting in a throne for nearly all day." Naruto said and then turned to his wife. He assured her that he was going to be okay and that he is going to rid himself of his growing anger during the fight. Hinata at least smiled and nodded back before taking the girls out before they see any blood.
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While Naruto was with the boys, Hinata took the girls to the dressing room to relax after such a long talk about what has happened in the seemingly short time gap of when the couple arrived and the others did.
"So you have married Naruto." Ino said to start things off and the other girls tensed, they had to listen to Naruto give everything like a very strict teacher, no doubt because of their previous actions towards him.
"Yeah…he is the prefect husband and an example of a successful king: Peace loving and kind but not afraid to take charge and use force when it is needed." Hinata explained. "I just wish that I will be just like that as his queen if he needs to have a harem in order to strengthen his kingdom.
"Do you think that he will ever forgive us?" Sakura asked and regretted upon hearing the tone she used in that question.
"To forgive is to forget and if you think I will just forget about you did to my husband then you will have to work harder than that to earn it. I am not the same timid girl from years ago, being a wife and a queen had actually helped me with my confidence problems; Naruto is my miracle maker, my hero." That was not a fan girl, it was a real admiration and love in that voice. It was something that either girl only dreamed of at night in their beds. Hinata is one lucky woman in their eyes.
"So what do we have to do?" Tenten asked and Hinata just smirked.
"Nothing." That confused them all. "If Naruto keeps seeing you trying to 'make up' for what you all have done, it will make it hurt even more. It just shows that you only want to get rid of your right placed guilt. That is shallowness at its fineness girls and if you just do what you need to do then you will spare my husband of even more pain because even with you all here, he is still the Fox King and the ruler of all rulers so you will have to gain his favor by doing your new duties. That makes sense when you realize what you really need to do to have Naruto smile at you."
That speech had left them without their vices so the girls just tried out the various wardrobes that came with the new thrones they sit in. Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, Naruto stood strong over the fallen bodies of the seven kings that have just arrived. "You see why I was given my titles? I didn't earn them by being born as a king, I didn't beg and whine for them because I was unsatisfied as a spoiled kid. I earned them through hard work and determination that had landed me on the top. It is too soon for you to even come toe to toe with my power."
"Okay I will admit it I was wrong but just how are we supposed to be kings if we don't know how to play the responsibilities?" Shino was always the one to get to the point and out of the boys, he was able to maintain a stoic look of a lord even while lying on the hard dirty ground in defeat.
"What do you mean? They have taught Blonde and Hinata-chan how to do it, then they should do it to us." Kiba had the unfortunate crush on Hinata but since she always had her eyes on Naruto, he always had reason to be jealous of the blonde for catching the eye of his dream girl.
{Don't count on it.} That voice belonged to no human but to an animal family so when the downed kings looked into the direction, there was an assembly of nine animals plus a mantis in company standing on the side of the battlefield. {We have seen how you handle this new responsibility hoping that you will come to realize how important it is being a king. But you have instead antagonized our ruler, insulted him and disrespected him right in front of his wife. We have seen it all and heard it all. You have set a poor example for us.} It turned out that the fox among the animals was the one that started to speak while the others nodded.
{We have only taught our great kind and his lover all there is to it because they accepted it with sincerity that you never shown today. You will have to do things on your own. That will be your course of punishment.} The rabbit among the animals took a turn at talking with the others once again nodding.
{All we can say is and I quote, 'Don't call who won't come to your aid, let them call you and you will always be there'. So good luck and we will see that you will be as good kings you called dared call yourself today.} The mantis finished with the familiars leaving the kings on the battlefield after Naruto left for his own chambers, with the seven boys drowning in shame while dirtying themselves from the field.
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After a few months since the rest of the rulers had returned, Naruto's work was spread to the others so he had a lot of free time on his hands now. He even left the castle to take a stroll around the kingdom and get some fresh air. Hinata also took a break and went with her husband because it was a while since they had to leave the palace.
Meanwhile, in the various castles in the many lands of the kingdoms, each king and queen were bored out of their skulls. Apparently this whole ruler stuff had more responsibility than any of them had ever predicated. It was all just sitting in the throne while listening to a monotone messenger speak of the issues presented without even giving them time to think about them. Issues like trades, taxes, construction, people's groups and training, it all piles up so much that even sleeping in the most comfortable beds never helped and they never as much as gotten a good amount of sleep with all their nightmares and bed pains.
It was becoming clear that the familiars from inside the royal palace were not joking around, no one came when they asked for help and no one asked of theirs either. It was all because of their behavior in the council of kings. And speaking of which, there was a meeting that same place so the kings have arrived yawning and with droopy eyes with black markings under the eye sockets. It was only Naruto and Hinata who looked the most energized of the bunch.
"Thank you all for coming guys." Naruto said in a cheerful tone that only made their headaches hurt even more.
"Please have pity on us. The last few months were not the easiest." Tenten, the queen of all pandas who are expert famers and users of their own mystic arts, had begged to be spared of his political pains.
"Troublesome. I told everyone why I don't like to be a king." Shikamaru, king of the deer who are among the best trackers and protectors of the scared forests that are surprisingly scare throughout the country.
"Yes, yes you will get used to it. Anyways, we will have to because there is an enemy that had been banished from our country but the years had gained him the time to get the power in order to return and take over our kingdoms again." Anything to get them away from the paperwork and the dusty chairs for these stressed out kings. "Orochimaru of the kingdom of snakes with his general of his forces, Kabuto. The armies includes mutated creatures and rather extraordinary individuals who have given up on their freedom with talks about fame and glory as traitors." Naruto went into detail until he was intercepted verbally by yet another of the cranky kings.
"Why are all of our enemies from back home here? Is it all that hard on our souls?" Neji was the king of the Sparrows who are fierce fighters and skilled hunters that seek only the freedom of the hunt and the property of the skies so his kingdom is at odds with Ino's Falcons and Sasuke's Hawks. And this time, Neji noticed that his enemy was no different from the traitor who attacked the village during an invasion that interrupted the Chunin Exams.
"It will seem that the forces that brought us into this word had an opposite force for the same power but for different reasons as it choses instead of heroes and young ones with potential to be kings but the most despised of traitors and villains to rule their lands with an iron fist and a lust for more power and knowledge for the world's secrets." That will enough to say in one breath but Naruto was a different man altogether, this types of things are nothing to him.
"So how do we fight them if they have such powerful armies?" Kiba had lost his excitement and hadn't felt like himself for the entire time of king's duties. Trying to keep his kingdom of rapid dogs from fighting over game, food, prey and territory as they were like a million clones of himself with their own free minds.
"Why should we be so worried? You had sent him fleeing with his tail behind his legs!" Sakura was in charge of the mice Kingdom who were the best at scholarships and knowledge but also for their high voices for such small bodies; Sakura nearly got deaf after hearing all those conversations for those few months.
"Because the enemy is stronger and smart enough to be done in the same way. You should not underestimate him if he has amassed another army even after being defeat by Naruto-sama." Shino wasn't just the king over mantis but any other type of insect who are the best at identifying targets and never lose them in a chase; on the other hand, they are the best breeders and can raise any race as well as harvest any crop there is possible.
"You can be right my friend. Let's hope we actually can stand up to this new unyouthful menace." Lee was the king of the monkey kingdom which was hard enough trying to keep them in one place because their energetic personalities was too much even for Lee to handle. At least they can protect the jungles and any of the helpless animals that are hunted down by the predators. Of course he had a lower voice for the sake of his own ears but Lee can never stop talking about the 'flames of youth' as it was already far too late to rid of.
"If they do try to come to my kingdom, then we will try to old them out until Naruto and Hinata come to turn the tides." Choji was getting mellowed out and seems to be the first one to gain Naruto's respect back as the blond could tolerate him the best. At least the king of a desert filled with armadillos was honest and chose his words carefully.
"Regardless what we all have to say about this. It is best that we will not disappoint Orochimaru's efforts by becoming even stronger while he was away. If you fall then the others do so at least try to get your kingdoms together so that it won't be that easily for them." Naruto gave out the reminders to his fellow kings who just nodded under the crushing presence that clearly defined the blonde as the King of Kings. Yet despite that, it will take more than Naruto to deal with this threat for sure.
End of Chapter 4.
*Seems that I am on a roll with all these long awaited chapters that seemed to just fade away in time. It sure took a while and trying to get under one more day. I will try to keep this up because I still in summer school.
What do you think of me expanding on the story like most comic series usually do after the first chapters? It will all be in my hands to think of the rest so I will take my time and put in all my effort to think of original ideas to make this story possible. I was only able to finish two of my stories and I have over twice that amount still far from being completed. Wish me luck and have a nice night!*