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.
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Chapter Thirty-One
Anticipation
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Hiashi activated his byakugan and then blinked at the sight of not one, but two… wait, three armoured figures flying through the sky. Rising from his desk, where he had finally finished working his way through the kami-damned paperwork, he walked out of the mansion and stopped on the edge of the porch, turning to look up at Naruto, then motioning for him to come down.
Within a few breaths, Naruto plummeted down, coming to a stop just above the ground.
"You wished to speak to me, Hiashi-sama?"
"I do." Hiashi stated. "There are three armours now?"
As if in answer to his question, the other two figures descended. Hiashi cast an expert eye over them,noting that their designs seemed to be remarkably similar and that they were differentiated primarily by their colour (one being a pale violet, the other darker hued) and subtle but discernible differences in the mounting of their elbow blades as well as tiny variations in their faceplates.
Hiashi's thoughts stuttered to a halt as the pale armoured figure tapped her forefingers together in a very familiar way.
"Hinata?"
"Hai, Tou-san?"
Hiashi looked at his daughter for a long moment before suddenly realizing that he was staring. Forcibly re-centering himself (and picking his jaw up), he stepped off the porch and walked around her, critically examining her.
"Fascinating." He finally declared. "So, Naruto gave you a suit of armour as well."
"Hai, tou-san…"
"I was the first." The other female declared, then her armour seemed to shatter and dissipate, letting Yamanaka Ino land on the ground.
"Naruto saved my life." She continued. "It was a desperation move, but it worked and he used it to give Hinata-chan her own armour once we got back."
"It did, however ground me for a few days." Naruto admitted as he shed his own armour in turn and Hiashi raised an eyebrow.
"How did those Shuriken fit inside your armour?"
"That… is a good question." Naruto shrugged. "Kakashi-senpai asked the same thing."
A small giggle from behind him alerted Hiashi to Hanabi's presence and he sighed.
"You should go back to bed, Hanabi." He ordered as Hinata shed her own armour and walked past him.
"I'll put her to bed, father." She smiled. "Come on, imoto, time for you to get some sleep. We can't be having the heiress of the Hyuuga clan becoming grumpy from lack of sleep, can we?"
Hiashi's lips twitched upwards slightly as Hinata led her younger sister away.
"Has Uchiha Fugaku approached you regarding the armour yet?"
Naruto shook his head and Hiashi lifted an eyebrow.
"Curious."
For a moment, Hiashi remained contemplative, then his expression darkened.
"I did not expect you to double-time my daughter." He growled and Naruto stepped back, paling.
"It wasn't like that!" Ino protested, then she shrank as Hiashi transferred his glare to her.
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"I hear that you are going to be entered into the upcoming Chunin exams." Fugaku noted as Mikoto poured the tea. Opposite him, Sasuke nodded.
"I am. Both Hinata-san and Kiba-san have advanced enough that our sensei is confident that we shall at least reach the third round."
"Itachi is one of the best Jonin in Konoha." Fugaku admitted, then he caught his son's surprised look. With a mental sigh, he decided to confront the situation head-on. "Yes, he was tricked by Danzo and Madara into trying to kill our clan, but his loyalty to Konoha as a whole is beyond question. Although I personally will never bring him back into the clan, that decision will not be binding on my successor."
For a moment, Sasuke failed to understand, then he inhaled sharply.
"Of course, I am in no hurry to retire." Fugaku added. "My successor must at least be a Tokubestu Jonin, so I have a few years yet."
Sasuke sat, unable to formulate a response and Mikoto smiled at her son.
"All things in time, as my old friend Kushina would have said." She smiled.
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"Pup!"
"I'm here!" Kiba shouted as he scrambled round the corner and sprinted towards his mother. "I'm here!"
"Hana told me that Itachi's planning on entering you into the chunin exams." Tsume stated and Kiba's breath caught. "You've been training well and he thinks you may have a chance at promotion."
Kiba swelled with pride, then he noticed his mother was glaring at him.
"Calm down!" She barked. "Don't assume you'll get promoted just because you were entered, it took me three attempts and your sister two to pass."
"I know." Kiba moaned, then he grinned. "But I've been taught by Itachi and have both Hinata and Sasuke on my team! We'll make it to the finals no sweat!"
Tsume tilted her head slightly as she regarded her son.
"So, you and Hinata?" She probed, only for Kiba to shake his head.
"Not what you're thinking, mom. One, she's like another sister to me. Two, she's already engaged to Chunin Uzumaki and very happy about it. Three… she could kick my ass, Hana's ass and yo… I mean, Itachi-sensei's as well."
Tsume blinked. "She's a genin… how?"
Kiba grinned. It wasn't often he got to pull this off. "Classified."
Tsume growled in annoyance.
"Fine." She snapped. "I'll see Sarutobi about it tonight."
Kiba smirked as his mother stalked off. She had kept telling him that he didn't need to know any of things that he wanted to and now the sandal was on the other paw.
A yip caught his attention and he picked up Akamaru, settling him on top of his head.
"Okay bud," He laughed, "Only a few days, then we get to show everyone how awesome we are."
Akamaru barked in agreement.
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"Exams?" Shikaku asked, glancing up from the reports he was reading.
"Exams." Shikamaru replied as he finished re-sealing his standard mission supply scroll.
Shikaku nodded. "Thoughts?"
"Troublesome."
"Indeed."
Both Nara males returned their attention to their own tasks.
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"You'll need this." Choza said and Choji's eyes widened as his father held out a large bundle of cloth and metal. Taking it with trembling hands, Choji let it unroll to reveal a long, slightly worn jacket with armour plating carefully placed to protect the outside of his thighs, his lower arms and his back.
"Father…" Choji whispered and Choza enfolded his son in a hug.
"You are more than ready for your first armour, my son." He said quietly, "And I can think of no better time for it than when you are about to represent our clan in the exams. This is the jacket that I wore in the exam which I passed."
Choji concentrated on returning his father's hug, unable to articulate the gratitude he felt.
From the doorway, Choji's mother smiled at the sight, then she moved to join in.
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Sai walked through the Yamanaka compound and entered his room, reflecting once again how lucky he was that Yamanaka Inoichi had decided to take on his case personally. Moving almost by reflex, Sai counted, checked and sorted all of the weapons he would need, then he opened his writing desk and paused.
Picking up the large bottle, he shook it and sighed before reaching for his wallet.
If he hurried, he could make it to the shop in time to buy more of his favorite ink before it closed for the night.
He would probably need it for the exam.
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"So, you think your sensei is going to enter you into the chunin exams?" Haruno Mebuki asked and Sakura nodded.
"I'm sure it'll be a testing time." Kizashi joked as he entered, causing both mother and daughter to roll their eyes.
"Dear, our daughter is going to become a chunin, can't you at least take it seriously?" Mebuki sighed and Kizashi gasped.
"A chunin? Oh no, that means that she'll be able to order me to tidy my room!"
Mebuki sighed as Sakura tried not to giggle at her father's comment, then Kizashi stepped forwards to examine one of the kunai out spread on the table.
"Hmmm, I think that replacements may be in order." He said, all jocularity gone from his voice. "You've looked after these well, but they're heading to the point where sharpening simply weakens them."
"I've been saving up my money." Sakura said with a frown as she closely examined a small pot of ointment. "I was planning on going to Higarushi's tomorrow, then pay a visit to Ino and see if I can buy some tags from Naruto."
"Higarushi's…?" Kizashi repeated, then his face lit up. "Ah yes, Higarushi's weapons shop! Certainly a place on the cutting edge of weapons design, he's a very sharp man, but doesn't try to gouge his customers. In fact, one can only scythe at the amount of stuff he has for sale and he recycles all his metal, there is nunchucked away…"
Sakura lost her fight against laughter due to the rapid-fire puns her father was spouting.
It didn't matter that they were terrible jokes. In fact, the fact that they were so bad yet delivered so eagerly somehow made them funnier.
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Shino sat motionless in the middle of a buzzing cloud of Kikkaichu as he carefully adjusted the composition of his personal hive.
He had no idea of what he was going to face, so he had searched his clans archives for the most flexible hive setup, then moved to the practice field to make the required adjustments.
After all, preparing for the unexpected was the only logical thing to do.
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"Ah, Tsume." Hiruzen smiled in greeting. "Kuromaru. How may I help you both?"
Tsume checked that the door was closed behind her before she stalked over and dropped gracelessly into one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk.
"My son was discussing the upcoming exam." She stated. "He made several claims about the combat abilities of one of his team-mates, then said that the reasons for the statement were classified."
"He was probably talking about Hyuuga Hinata, then." Hiruzen deduced and Tsume nodded. "What, exactly did he say?"
"That she could take down Kiba, Hana and either Itachi or myself all at once." Tsume supplied and Hiruzen nodded.
"Given her skills and what happened recently, I can see why Kiba would think that." Hiruzen said calmly. "And he is right, the reason is classified at this time. "
Tsume huffed in annoyance and Hiruzen held up a hand.
"While it is classified, the classification level is low enough that I can tell you." He said. "However, it does mean that you will be banned from betting on the exams themselves. Do you still want to know?"
Tsume nodded.
"Hinata has gained one of the Uzumaki Armours."
Tsume stared at him for a long moment, then she shook her head. "What? I thought there was just one, owned by Naruto."
"He discovered how to duplicate it while saving the life of genin Yamanaka Ino." Hiruzen replied. "Once he got back, he gave Hinata her own Armour and trained her in it."
"Wait." Kuromaru said from where he was sitting beside Tsume. "You said that she has gained one of the armours… does that mean that there are now three of those things? I saw it once and it was scary…"
"Yes." Hiruzen said in response to the dog's comment. "Konoha now has three suits of the Uzumaki Armour and the ability to create more. However, it comes under clan laws."
"Damn." Tsume hissed, then she paused. "Hmmmm, I wonder if I can get Hana to ditch Itachi and go for Naruto… Joke! Joke!"
Hiruzen maintained his glare for another few seconds before returning to his persona of a genial old man and Tsume sagged in relief.
"Naruto has told me that Hinata and Ino will refrain from using their Armours unless there is no other choice." Hiruzen smiled. "After all, relying on a single tool or weapon, no matter how incredible, leaves any shinobi open to defeat once someone discovers or develops a counter."
"And since you're the Professor, you probably have half a dozen already planned out." Tsume said before she could stop herself.
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Fu smirked to herself as she reviewed the mission that Suien had given her. She was to accompany Suien and two other genin to Konoha where she and the other two would compete in the Chunin Exams. Although she was under orders to use all her skills and abilities to get the other two through the first two stages, sacrificing herself for them if necessary, she was also under orders to quit before the third stage, thus ensuring that she would not be promoted.
Not that she cared.
Her smirk threatened to break free as she thought about the Konoha Chunin with the odd armour. She and Chomei had managed to materialize Chomei's visor, two wings, pauldrons and arms (to their mutual surprise), thus allowing Chomei to use them to perform her own jutsus independently, although manifesting other plating was difficult due to their differing body shapes.
Perhaps Naruto would help her to defect to Konoha and aid her in finishing her Armour technique.
Fu crawled into her den and let her smile finally blossom on her face.
At last, she had hope.
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Naruto smiled as he listened to the gentle breathing of the two snuggled up to him. Hinata slept with her head on his chest, her arm wrapped around his waist while Ino snuggled close to him, using his arm as a pillow as she faced away from him.
"Mmmmmm," Hinata murmured in her sleep, "Naruto-kun snuggly…"
Naruto managed not to laugh at her statement, then he closed his eyes with a smile.
Once they both got promoted, Naruto would ask if they could all deploy together on the more important missions.
After all, nothing would be able to stand up to three Armour users.
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Author's Afternote – Fu's Stage 1 Armour can be found on my DeviantArt page.
And yes, the "snuggly" thing is becoming a running joke with my Naruto stories.