Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and this is my story using the ideas and characters created by others.
A/N: I finally posted chapter 18. I have received several emails about taking so long with the chapter. I'm personally disappointed in myself for taking so long, but it is what it is. I did not have writers block. I will be honest with you. It was about ¼ being busy with life and about ¾ being lazy and not sitting down to finish the chapter. Once again, I don't make a living on this (obviously) so I have no obligation to get these chapters out quick except for the sole reason as to see my own story come to fruition. I don't intend to take this long again, but I won't make promises that I cannot guarantee that I will keep. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 18
Naruto had made it home, cleaned up, and changed. He now stood in front of the Hyuga compound. The guard left to inform Hinata that he was there. When the guard returned he ushered Naruto into the waiting area. "Lady Hinata will be here in a moment."
"Thank you" Naruto replied.
After a few moment Hanabi came down. "First, thank you for this. Sister has been really excited about this all day. We ended up having to go shopping today too." Then Hanabi put on a scary face "Don't ruin this for her."
Hanabi promptly left to help Hinata finish getting ready.
Naruto sat there for another thirty minutes. He was starting to get anxious, but remembered that his lessons on human relationships mentioned something about this and promptly started a breathing exercise to calm his nerves.
He didn't know how long he had been using his breathing exercise, but before he knew he heard footsteps. He opened his eyes and for the second time in such a short period of time he was enamored with the sight before him.
Hinata wore a black Kimono that rested right above her knees. It had lavender flowers that brought out the color of her eyes even more. She wore knee high shinobi heels and she had her hair pulled up into a back bun held together with two senbons. This outfit held both grace and practicality. She was elegant, but she could move, attack, and defend as any shinobi could. He couldn't believe his eyes. What had he done to get such a beautiful woman?
"S-stop staring L-lord Namikaze." Hinata stuttered out with a blush on her face.
"My apologies Lady Hinata. You look very lovely tonight." Naruto complimented.
"Thank you" said Hinata with a blush.
"Shall we go?" asked Naruto.
"Yes." Hinata replied.
They arrived at the restaurant. It was an upscale restaurant that threw Naruto out when he was a kid, but now due to his name sake they wanted him there. He would usually avoid places like this, but it was about a date with Hinata and he had to put his personal feelings aside.
"Welcome to my humble restaurant Lord Namikaze and Lady Hyuga. Lord Namikaze, for the way we treated you when you were younger please allow me to put this meal on the house." The owner had come out to greet Naruto personally and made that offer.
"Your generosity is very much appreciated, but I could not accept such an offer. I will pay full price, but how about a free desert for the Lady at the end of the meal?" Naruto asked.
"You are very kind my Lord. It shall be done." The owner stated and walked away.
"That was very mature of you Lord Naruto." Stated Hinata.
Naruto frowned. It was time to start building something rather than being mad forever.
"Hinata, I have a few things to say. Would you please listen and let me get everything out?" He asked.
Hinata stayed quiet and only nodded.
"Ok, first of all. I'm sorry. The other night you were very pretty and I never complimented you when I should have. Forgive me. You have been putting up with a lot and I cannot promise that I'm the same guy I used to be, but I find myself thinking that I'm very lucky to have you as my future wife. I would like to start by stopping all of this formalities between us. I would like you to stop referring to me as 'Lord' anything. I'm just Naruto and as my future wife I want you to be comfortable around me." Naruto began.
"May I call you Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
Naruto smiled, "of course".
"I also wanted to let you know that I have talked to my summons and you will be given a familiar as well. We are going to be doing all of this after the Chunin exams which start tomorrow, but I wanted to let you know now. I also wanted to let you know that I have a plan to rewrite my clan laws. Most of the laws are dated and rather sexist to be honest. If you happen to read them or review them, then please don't think badly of the clan or me because they were written in a different time and I don't agree with them. I will want you and my future wives to help in this process. Do you understand?"
"I do." Responded Hinata.
"That is everything I had." Naruto commented.
"I have a few personal questions if I may?" Hinata asked.
Naruto nodded
"May we hold hands in public? May we also share a kiss? I would like to develop our feelings for each other." Hinata asked.
"Of course, I would like that as well." Naruto responded with an honest smile.
The rest of the night ended up being very relaxing for both. Naruto started to call Hinata 'Hinata-chan' which she loved to no end. The each had their own desert and Naruto gave a very generous tip to the waitress and even the owner. Naruto started to think that is was time to try to put the past behind him. It may not happen overnight, but it was one step in the right direction. Of course, now Hinata had a bridge to Naruto heart (figuratively speaking) and as you might imagine it was another piece being rebuilt.
As Naruto walked Hinata home they didn't hold hands, but she did hold on to his arm. When they arrived at the Hyuga compound they shared their first kiss. It's wasn't amazing or long. It was a chaste kiss on the lips, but they both went to bed with smiles on their lips and hope for the future.
xxxxxxxxxx
It was morning and Naruto was up and ready to go. It was time for the Chunin exams and it was time to put his plan into action. He and Nilu walked to the academy where he met up with his team.
"Konohamaru, Moegi, ready to go?" asked Naruto.
"You know it!" Konohamaru exclaimed.
They walked into the academy and Naruto was expecting the same thing as the last time, but this time there was a sign directing him to a classroom on the second floor. When he walked in there were several teams from Konoha, Suna, Kumo, and even Kiri. A chunin at the door directed the team to a set of seats and they sat together to wait for instructions.
After several more teams arrived including Sasuke, Sakura, and some other nameless genin who didn't seem to be too happy to be there, Anko walked in and to the front of the room.
"Welcome to the Chunin Exams. Some of you may or may not have been briefed about past exams. Well, things are changing this year. We are doing a joint exam with 2 main stages and a minor side quest with Suna."
Anko continued; "You all will receive a map that I have here on this table. All maps are the same except for the location of your mission. You will need to get your mission scroll and complete the mission and make it to Suna in 3 days."
"THREE DAYS?! It will take three days just to make the journey to Suna at a fast pace alone." Commented a random genin.
"Not my problem. That is your task and you must complete it." Anko replied.
Naruto whispered to Konohamaru and Moegi, "Hey guys, take off now toward Suna, I will have Nilu track you and we'll catch up. If you see any 'missions' then take them."
Having worked on teamwork for the last week they learned to trust each other; Konohamaru and Moegi got up quietly and left. Once outside they took off toward Suna.
While his teammates were taking advantage of the others fighting to get their scrolls Naruto just sat in his seat calm as can be. Anko eventually called out his team number and the map was in his hands and he was gone before anyone knew what happened.
As Naruto left the village he talked to Nilu, "Can you track them?"
"You know, we lions don't 'track'. We stalk, but for a lack of better understanding yes I can track them." Nilu responded.
"I know, I know. We have covered this before. However, I know it irritates you and if I wasn't irritating you then you wouldn't know that I care so much." Naruto quipped with a smirk.
"Just keep in mind, when we get back I can have you attacked by all of the cubs on the compound." Nilu responded with a chuckle.
"You wouldn't dare." Naruto gave her a glare.
"Try me Lord Namikaze." She laughed at his distraught look.
"Ok, ok, we can discuss this later. Let's get our mission scroll and catch up to the team." Naruto got serious.
It was about 30 minutes later when Naruto caught up to his team.
"You finally caught up. What took you?" asked Moegi with a giggle.
"Funny. Did you find any mission scrolls?" asked Naruto.
"We sure did boss. We have two of them." Responded Konohamaru.
"Ha ha ha." Naruto laughed. "Let's get our asses to Suna then."
"What about our mission?" Asked Moegi.
Naruto handed the mission scroll to Moegi and she began to laugh as she finished reading it.
"What does it say?" Asked Konohamaru.
"It tells us to obtain the mission scroll of another team and to keep ours away from others." Moegi responded.
"So, what's the plan now boss?"
"We get our asses to Suna and hopefully no one catches us." Responded Naruto.
"Are you worried about fighting another team boss?"
"No Konohamaru, but the less people we fight the more energy we have for the next stage. Remember this; fight smarter, not harder." Commented Naruto.
"Lord Naruto, we have incoming" commented Nilu.
"Well, crap." Said Naruto.
"What do you think we should?" asked Moegi.
"I want you and Konohamaru to keep going."
"Are you sure, we could help boss."
"I know you can, but I think this is the best option" replied Naruto.
"We're a team and WE should fight together because that is smarter." Shot back Moegi.
Naruto looked at her in a mocking glare. She used his own advice against him. "Fiiiiine, point taken. Ok, remember this phrase 'KISS'."
"What kind of stupid phrase is that?" asked Konohamaru.
"It means 'Keep It Simple Stupid'. Don't use special Jutsu to look cool. Stick to basics. We never know if someone is watching our fight and we don't need more information about our fighting style getting out to others." Replied Naruto.
"I like it." Commented Moegi.
"So, you mean keep to the basics like clones, substitution, and henges?" asked Konohamaru.
"Mostly yes, you may have to use a couple of lower ranked jutsu, but attempt to not use the 'Big & Flashy' ones. Deception is key and that's what we need.
Xxxxxxxxxx
It was night time now and the desert was just past the next set of trees. Naruto and squad had set up camp and were resting while Naruto had already summoned some Tigers to guard the perimeter.
"Ok, it's bothering me now." Commented Konohamaru.
"What is Konohamaru?" asked Moegi.
"Are we that strong, or were they that weak? I mean, I used a substitution jutsu then a shodow shuriken jutsu and my opponent was down for the count." Asked Konohamaru.
"I'm going with they were that weak." Commented Naruto.
"I don't know what they were thinking." Commented Moegi as well.
"I just sent Nilu in and their leader just gave up." Naruto continued. "What did you do Moegi?"
"I just casted a low level genjutsu and that was it. As far as I know they are still in it. I cast the jutsu and was starting to plan a few moves ahead when my opponent never moved. I waited and started to scan the area to see if I missed anything, but I decided the leave."
"Well, that was disappointing and at the same time I'm going to count my blessings and move on." Konohamaru replied.
"Let's get some rest and high tail it to Suna tomorrow. We should make it there just after lunch if we push ourselves." Naruto commanded.
Xxxxxxxxxx
In another area of the forest far from where team Naruto was camping we find our favorite little emo and his brainwashed wife and their distant and annoyed teammate camping.
"Ok, here is the information we received from the team I hired. The Third's grandson was able to peform a Shadow Shuriken technique and the little girl was able to perform genjutsu rather effectively." Commented Sasuke
"What about our dopey ex-teammate Sasuke-kun?" ask Sakura.
Sasuke glared at her for speaking out of turn, but let it slide for now. "He sent his summon in to deal with the leader. As always, he is a loser who doesn't know how to fight. When we meet again I will crush him."
"You're so cool, my husband" Sakura gushed.
"Quiet woman, and go prepare my bed." Commanded Sasuke
"Yes of course, my Lord." Sakura bowed and went off to do as commanded.
After a few minutes Sakura came out of the tent and knelt down in front of the tent and held the flap open.
Sasuke stood up and looked at annoyed teammate number 3. "You're on guard duty, don't bother us until morning."
Sasuke promptly entered the tent and then once ready called to Sakura. "Come keep me warm."
Sakura gracefully entered the tent.
Xxxxxxxxxx
The next day team Naruto were coming up to the gates of Suna.
"Finally, I'm sick of this sand. It's in my hair, my sandals, and I'm pretty sure it's in my underwear." Complained Konohamaru.
"Quit your bellyaching Konohamaru. Trying being a girl and having sand in every crevice your body. Now, that's something to complain about.
Naruto just chuckled, but sympathized with them due to his own uncomfortable feeling as well.
"Welcome to Suna, you are the first team to arrive. Please proceed to the Kazekage's tower to present your scrolls." One of the gate guards directed.
Upon entering the tower the team was led to see the Kazekage. Once entering the office Naruto recognizes Gaara.
"Hey Gaara, it's been a long time…" Naruto was cut off when several anbu appeared with weapons drawn.
The lead Anbu addresses Naruto, "Listen here genin, you are to address they leader of this village with respect."
Before Naruto could respond Gaara spoke. "Genin Team, you have brought valuable information to our village. Please present your information."
Naruto was a little miffed about not being able to catch up with Gaara and the fact that Gaara was the leader of the village and had beaten him to his own dream. Well, at least his past dream, Naruto wasn't too sure if that is what he wanted anymore. However, he caught on that this was still the chunin exams and he needed to act the role.
Naruto nodded to Moegi who presented the scrolls. After several minutes of looking over the scrolls the lead Anbu (whom all of have now moved back to surround the Kazekage) spoke.
"The point of this first mission is to not only protect your scroll, but to obtain the scroll from another team. This is designed to place you in an actual mission scenario. You must protect the valuable information you obtain and if possible obtain additional information from another team that could benefit your village. The fact you send your team ahead of you was a smart move and by catching up to them you were able to get a sizable lead on the competition compared to those who are currently fighting for scrolls."
The looks of surprise were not missed by the anbu out of the two youngest members of the team. The Anbu continued.
"Yes, we have eyes and ears on all teams. We know exactly what's going on. By leaving early from the meeting you showed trust in your teammates and insight to see that a head start would be beneficial to your team. Unlike most other exams in the past this part of the mission was supposed to put you in the dessert after fighting thus making this a survival exercise as well, but you all turned that to your advantage by leaving early from the start. Therefore, you now have 5 days to return to the Leaf Village. The first 4 teams to arrive back at the leaf in the same room that the exams started are the ones that fight in the finals held in 5 days. Therefore, the faster you arrive at the village the more time you have to rest. Let me remind you that you will be camping and under guard once you arrive back. There will be no fancy restaurants or time with friends or a one month period to train. You will have to fight in the finals at the end of the 5 days in a blind draw tournament. You will not know your opponent until you are facing each other in the arena. We wish you luck, now GET OUT!"
Naruto and team left the office and made their way to have a quick shower at a local bathhouse and then headed out.
Once outside the village Naruto summoned a large lion and all three genin hopped on and rode back to Konoha as fast as the lion could go so that they had more than enough time to rest.
Before they would know it the tournament would begin and thus fate would bring two teammates back together on the battlefield, but with an odd twist to reality.