Author's note – Kishimoto Masashi owns Naruto while Guyver is written by Yoshiki Takaya.
I make no claim to either, I am merely playing in their sandboxes.

.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

New Arrangements

.

Naruto yawned as he woke up. Trying to sit up, he found himself being held down by a weight on his chest.

"Hinata?" He whispered and Hinata muttered something indistinguishable as she burrowed more firmly into his chest. Naruto sighed and freed up his arms long enough to create a single clone.

"Kawarimi with me and then keep cuddling Hinata so that she can get more sleep." He whispered and the clone nodded, grinning widely.

"Got it, boss."

Naruto let the clone's chakra latch onto him, then suddenly he was standing while his clone was in his place.

"I'll look after her for you, boss." The clone whispered and Naruto smiled.

"Thank you."

Naruto quietly made his way out of the bedroom, gently closing the door behind him. Making his way down the stairs, he stepped outside and inhaled deeply, enjoying the morning scent. Looking round, he made another trio of clones.

"You, start making breakfast." He commanded. "You, I'm going to need another batch of explosive notes to sell, so start preparing the paper and mixing the ink. I'll nip out to the shops for the things we need, you work out what we don't have, then dispel so that I get the list."

"Shopping? In your pajamas?"

Naruto froze, then realized that he and his clones were still clad in their bed-wear.

"Dammit." He muttered. "Why do I do things like that in the mornings? All-right. You three get started, I'll get changed and then go to the shops."

"Sure thing, boss." All three clones chorused and Naruto re-entered the house, muttering under his breath while he ignored the snickering of his duplicates.

.

Hinata yawned as she heard the front door close. Snuggling closer to Naruto, she tried to get back to sleep, but the ambient light leaking in around the curtains foiled her plan and she finally surrendered to the inevitable.

"Good morning." She mumbled into Naruto's chest.

"Morning, boss-lady." Came the reply and Hinata frowned for a moment before realization set in.

"Clone?"

"Yep." The Kage Bunshin said with a gentle smile. "Boss needed to get some shopping done and he didn't want to disturb you, so he made and swapped with me so that your sleep wouldn't be disturbed. You seemed really out of it when you de-armoured last night, he had to carry you back."

Hinata blinked a few times as she ran through the explanation, then she nodded.

"That was very thoughtful of him. Thank you."

"I'll let Boss know that you're awake." The clone smiled before it vanished in a cloud of chakra smoke and Hinata sighed.

"I guess it's time to get dressed."

.

Naruto blinked as memories from the clone he had left with Hinata flashed through his mind, then he smiled as he picked up the cardboard box that the server had placed on the counter.

"Thank you."

"Have a nice day, sir." The young woman smiled before she moved to serve her next customer and Naruto made his way out of the bakery, pausing as a second rush of memories hit him.

"Huh, I didn't know I had all of that in the cupboards." He mused. "That makes things simple, I can just head back."

Moving to the middle of the road, Naruto leapt onto the nearest roof and then started to run lightly across the rooftops.

.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked and the Naruto busy chopping vegetables in the kitchen smiled at her.

"Hi, boss-lady! Boss has gone out to pick up a couple of things for you…"

"And I'm back, Hinata-hime!" Naruto declaimed from the door, extending the box he was holding. "I bring gifts."

Hinata gave him a quizzical look and Naruto opened the box to reveal…

"Cinnamon rolls!" Hinata exclaimed, almost teleporting over and snagging one. As she blissfully bit into it, Naruto guided her to the dining room chair while the clone chuckled at the sight.

"I also have more clones setting up something outside." Naruto added as he accepted the first plate and placed it in front of Hinata. "I'll show you after breakfast."

.

.

Hinata stared in wonder. Less than a hundred paces from the house, Naruto had converted a piece of wasteland tucked into the base of the cliff into an archery practice area. A shed held the targets, which could be placed wherever Hinata wanted, while a divot carved out of the lower slope of the cliff allowed for Hinata to place more targets at various elevations, letting her practice shooting targets that were higher than she was. Furthermore, a freshly-painted picket fence kept the archery range separated from the public path that led up through the cutting in the cliff and to one of the shelters located in the Hokage Mountain, thus reducing the chance of an idiot wandering onto the field while it was in use.

"This is… amazing!" She breathed. "I think my father will want to try, this is a far longer range than we have back at the compound."

"The targets are stored in that shed over there." Naruto pointed. "I've put three out already, want to try?"

Hinata's response was to summon her bow and an arrow into her hands. Raising the bow and pulling the string in the same move, she paused and then loosed the arrow, watching as it sailed through the air and impacted a bare hand-span below the bulls-eye.

"First shot." She smiled, then she summoned another arrow.

"I was wondering," Naruto said, "What is that bow made from?"

Hinata paused, looking at the weapon in her hand as her mind flashed back through the lessons that her father had given her.

"It is similar to, but different from the sort used by the Samurai." She finally said. "Hyuuga Kyujutsu has different requirements, including the need to occasionally use the bow itself as a weapon in a manner similar to Bojutsu. The Samurai use bamboo in their bows and the bows are taller than they are. Since the Hyuuga clan needs more mobility than Samurai when using the bows, we have them made from sliced bamboo and chakra wood, layered thin and glued together tightly. The use of chakra wood allows us to fire the arrow with more force then people would expect since our chakra infuses the bow and the bowstring. This strengthens the bow to the point that in the hands of an expert, it can be used to block a katana with little more than scrapes on the varnish."

Naruto whistled in amazement.

"Hinata!"

Hinata turned to see Kiba bounding towards them, Akamaru yipping in greeting from atop his head. Behind him, travelling at a more sedate pace, were Itachi and Sasuke along with another Naruto clone. Hinata raised her eyebrow at her fiancee, hiding a smile as he blushed.

"I… kinda wanted to show off what I'd done for you," He admitted. "So I sent a clone round to your team-mates to ask them to meet here instead of your normal training ground."

"It is a good area to train." Itachi noted as he looked at the new archery field. "Cliffs for wall-walking, targets for shurikenjutsu and kyujutsu…"

"An onsen for relaxing after a hard mission." Kiba intejected and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Of course, it all depends on the owner giving his permission." Itachi finished. "Naruto-san?"

"If Hinata agrees, then it's fine." Naruto grinned. "After all, this is her house too."

"Brother, don't use your sharingan." Sasuke joked, earning a confused look from Itachi and Kiba. "Hinata's smile is so bright, it'll blind any dojutsu user."

"Sasuke!" Hinata blushed as Kiba started laughing and Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Have fun, Hinata-Hime." Naruto said quietly, kissing her briefly on the cheek. "I think it's time that I get another mission."

.

.

"Ah, Naruto." Hiruzen smiled. "Just the person I wanted to see."

"Hokage-sama." Naruto bowed, smiling as he straightened up. "I have an update. Well, two, actually."

"Oh?" Hiruzen prompted and Naruto's grin widened.

"Team 10 is on its way back. Asuma wanted to go fast, so Ino is flying with Choji and Shikamaru while Asuma is running at Jonin speed. They should be back by the evening at the latest."

"That is good to hear." Hiruzen said, making a quick note. "And the second update?"

"Hinata is now armoured and trained in the basics."

Hiruzen froze for a long moment, then he raised his gaze to meet Naruto's.

"I am glad to hear that." He finally stated. "You know that the Chunin exams are fast approaching?"

"Since I helped Anko-san with that Area 44 mission, yes." Naruto frowned. "Why?"

"Because I want you to be one of the proctors." Hiruzen replied. "Normally, it is only Jonin and Tokubetsu Jonin who can be Proctors, but with your armour boosting you…"

"It would be an honour, Lord Hokage." Naruto said.

"And now for some other news." Hiruzen sighed. "We have located Danzo. Or rather, he has contacted us."

"Can I volunteer to be on the team to retrieve him?" Naruto asked and Hiruzen shook his head.

"Actually, he has set it up so that trying to make him stand trial would be a disaster, politically speaking. Have you heard of Uzushiogakure?"

"The former home of the Uzumaki clan, whose destruction was the catalyst for the Third Great Shinobi War?" Naruto supplied and Hiruzen nodded.

"It is in the process of being rebuilt and has taken in many refugees, some of whom have strong bloodlines. Their leader, the Uzukage…"

"Is Danzo." Naruto realized. "Uzushiogakure was once Konoha's strongest ally and arguably the reason why we had all the Biju at one time…"

"We cannot afford to turn against them." Hiruzen sighed. "Danzo has sent a report on how he has the village set up. While far more militaristic than I would have liked, it is not as… extreme as I expected. He is, however, sending an ambassador and I would like someone to escort him here."

"Me." Naruto stated and Hiruzen nodded.

"Your link to Ino… and probably Hinata, seems to have no range limit, so you can report back through them. It is possible that Danzo might wish to talk to you, so send word through one of the two kunoichi if he does so that we can set up a relay system."

"I understand, Lord Hokage. When is this mission?"

"In four days time." Hiruzen said as the door behind Naruto opened. "Now, you will be working with Anko here as proctors for the second stage."

Naruto half-turned to see Anko stepping up to stand beside him. "Hey, shorty."

Naruto bristled, then an evil thought crossed his mind. "Hey, flasher."

Hiruzen coughed on his pipe as he frantically tried to fight down his laughter while Anko growled.

"What? Huh, you're just jealous that you can't have someone as sexy as me!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto sighed. "There's no way you match up to Hinata-hime."

"What? Why you little, sawed off, blond brat! I'm going to…"

"Halt!" Hiruzen shouted and both Anko and Naruto snapped to attention.

"Enough." He continued. "Anko, stop trying to pick on Naruto. Naruto, stop teasing Anko."

"Pshhh, fine."/"All right, Jiji."

Hiruzen rubbed at his brow. "I would prefer it if you two could work together for this one. Now, as Anko already knows, the second stage of the Chunin Exams will be held immediately after the first test…"

.

.

"So." Anko said as she lounged on a tree branch, casting occasional envious glances to where Naruto was lounging in mid-air, using his armour to simply hover. "My plan for an entrance was to smash through a window using a banner to shield myself from the fragments, then use kunai to throw the banner up and fix it to the ceiling before I land. I've been training so that I can do it flawlessly."

"That sounds like a very impressive entrance." Naruto agreed. "Of course, I haven't quite reached that level of skill yet, but I can do this."

As he spoke, Naruto faded into invisibility, causing Anko's eyes to widen, then he faded back into visibility.

"That… is a cool trick!" Anko exclaimed. "So, what were you thinking? Fly in after me, then… fade into sight?"

"Actually, I think I should step out from behind the banner." Naruto countered and Anko could hear the smirk in his voice. "It would make them wonder if I had been standing there the whole time and they just missed me somehow."

"Get them nervous and jumpy…" Anko agreed with a smirk that would have made most genin (and several dozen chunin) run away, fearing for their lives. "I love it!"