Chapter 16: Exposure Compensation

Tokushima, The Awa-Odori Festival...but mostly Tokyo

Professionalism could be a very lonely thing.

She was here in Tokushima, her second day photographing the Awa-Odori Festival, but she hadn't seen Naruto at all. Not one sighting of him, and Hinata felt so lost and dispirited, she wondered why the drive to win the competition had disappeared so completely.

Maybe being too focused at work wasn't so good after all.

She sighed and picked up her camera once more, completely forgetting that she was in the middle of a festive dance party here in Shikoku, the smallest of the main islands of Japan.

The Tokushima Awa-Odori Festiva's main feature was the dancing. Groups of similarly clad men and women in colorful yukatas and happis performed in front of spectators as they paraded down the streets. Hinata was within the mix, hurrying to keep up with the dancers while snapping photos of their eclectic clothing. She heard the traditional flutes and drums interspersed with the strum of the shamisen and portable gongs. She took several more shots of the group as she weaved outside of the crowd. This way, it was easier to see each member mirroring the same movement as everyone while they bounced up and down, slashing the air with grace in their kimono-like sleeves.

But as she worked through and took pictures of women with their faces covered by the hard-shell taco-like hats on their heads, she found herself inexplicably missing Naruto.

He'd left her alone, probably giving her a wide berth and being true to his promise to not start something. He was such a gentleman like that.

She took another shot, bending down, almost lying on the hard cement to catch that angle she wanted of the women with their getas balancing at the balls of their feet.

Yes, she was definitely missing him.

She finished up her job quickly and rode the shinkansen home, her thoughts filled with Naruto. Maybe she should call him and apologize for being such a jerk. But she really didn't want to make this any harder on the both of them.

Still, she wanted to see him so desperately, she was itching to send him another text.

God, what to do?

When she got back to her studio, Kiba noticed her being unusually quiet and subdued.

"The hell's wrong with you? I just said this shot—" He'd picked up and was waving one of her favorites, the close up photo of the man who'd been holding a fan in the air and slicing it downward "—is fucking awesome and you didn't even react."

She looked at him despondently. "Yeah, sorry, Kiba. Just have a lot of things on my mind. Neji's parents died around this time and I always feel a bit down when it gets to September."

Kiba grimaced with remorse. "Shit, I forgot. I'm so sorry."

Hinata nodded. It was a partial truth. She didn't want to talk to Kiba about what had happened with Naruto just yet. She was also feeling guilty that she'd initiated that night of sex without clearing up his relationship status first.

And the other truth was, this really was a bad time for the Hyuugas. Five days ago, before she'd gone to the festival in Tokushima, the family had been at dinner, and Hiashi had slowly placed his chopsticks on the table. "Hyuuga Huddle," he then said quietly.

Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi looked at him while they all placed their chopsticks down, too.

"Tomorrow's the day we all go to Adachi City."

It was something they'd always done as a family for the last twenty-two years since the day Neji had joined them.

Hanabi smiled at Neji. "I'll be there with the flowers at Nishi-Arai station, Nii-san."

Hinata placed a hand on her brother's arm. "Just let us know when you leave work."

Neji patted her hand, but he didn't say anything. He only silently nodded.

The following day, they'd all gone to the scene of his parent's accident, that corner on San-chome where a drunk driver had plowed into the car Hizashi and his wife had been driving. They left flowers and offerings of chocolate for his mother, his father's favorite bottle of sake. They placed their palms together, bowed their heads, and silently prayed for their souls.

But despite his sadness, Neji felt the girls crowd into him, the warmth of them reminding him of their undying love for him. Then Hiashi placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, imbuing him with strength and reassurance to face another year without them. In his heart, though, Neji said an additional prayer filled with gratitude for the fact that he wasn't completely alone, that he had his adopted family here with him.

"Naruto, stop!"

Dimly, he heard Lee's voice in the back of his mind, but Naruto kept hitting the heavy sandbag hanging from the ceiling, letting out his frustration because he couldn't get Hinata out of his system. He just wanted to hit something until he felt satisfied enough.

After checking online again, he'd gone to Tokushima on the days Hinata wouldn't be there.

"This is the last time I check," he'd muttered to himself as he noted her schedule. She was planning on arriving during the latter half of the festival.

To avoid running into her, he did the opposite and arrived in the city early, snapped his photos on that first day of the festivities, making sure he had enough shots adequate enough to send in to the imperial committee. Naruto knew he'd half-assed the whole thing, but he was so miserable he didn't really care anymore about the competition.

But as if sensing his turmoil despite being far away from each other, he'd gotten a call from his parents while he'd been resting in the hotel that night. Minato had called to ask about his opinion on some of the newer Japanese words he was considering including in next year's edition of his publishing house's dictionary. Kushina had wanted to let him know that his great Uncle Tobirama was back in Tokyo after his trip to Venezuela.

"He says the vacation house in Karuizawa is available if you want to go use it."

Knowing he had to be careful with his tone because his mom always picked up on his moods, Naruto worked to erase Hinata from his mind and injected his normal pleasant expression when he answered her. "Oh, sure, Mom. Maybe not right now, though? I'm kinda busy with work and the competition."

She must have bought it because she remained excited when she said, "I know. But I told him about the contest and how you're on your way to the top twenty, and Uncle Tobirama said he was so proud of you. He'd love to see you when you get the chance."

His conversation with his parents suddenly pulled him back from the brink, reminding him how important this was to him, that the role of being an imperial photographer was something he really wanted. The next day, Naruto shrugged off his melancholy and became focused again to properly do his job. He was back to serious photographer mode, taking pictures of the festival goers and the participants.

But once back in Tokyo, though, away from the festival, his resentment had spilled out, and he'd come here to his kickboxing gym to make himself feel better. There was some satisfaction in releasing his anger as he pounded the sandbag with his gloved fists.

"You need to stop."

Lee came into his line of sight. And Naruto finally realized his trainer was worried, his round eyes almost disappearing into his furrowed brows.

"You okay?" Lee asked. "You've been on that thing for the last hour. I think it's safe to say that it's thoroughly dead."

Naruto finally stopped punching the bag and faced the gym owner, panting, exhausted. Lee was right. He had to stop because he knew he was pushing it. In the back of his mind though, he felt like it wasn't enough. He was still frustrated and irritated, and just plain unsatisfied with everything in his life. Angrily, he stripped off his gloves and threw them on the bench.

Lee handed him a towel. Naruto used it to wipe the sweat off his face. He grabbed some water and sat down on the bench. "Thanks." He must have looked really miserable because after a few minutes of rest, Lee relented, hopped up onto the ring, and lifted up the ropes, offering Naruto the opportunity to spar with him.

Glad to have the opportunity to release more of his dissatisfaction and resentment at Hinata, Naruto put his gloves back on and joined his trainer in the boxing ring.

An hour later, after being almost beaten senseless by Lee because Naruto was too muddled to think properly, they sat together on the same bench. Lee was talking about the newest Bruce Lee memorabilia he'd acquired.

"It's probably not the original and that sign on the corner looks fake, but I just had to have it." He was pointing to the poster of Bruce Lee in his iconic yellow suit from the movie, Enter The Dragon. His voice worshipful, Lee asked, "Doesn't it look good?"

Naruto glanced at it dispiritedly and nodded. "It is."

Later that night, Naruto was in his office, his Tokushima photos spread on the table. But admittedly, he'd given up on work because he just couldn't concentrate. He placed his arms on the table and rested his head on his left arm, turning his head to face the little akabeko cow staring at him and bobbing its head.

It was too quiet in the office, but even in the silence, the little cow kept up its steady oscillating motion.

Up. Down. Left. Right.

Next to the akabeko, a lone button from his Zegna shirt blinked up at him, catching the lights in the office.

The following day, when Hinata had left, he'd picked up the buttons one by one and in a fit of uncharacteristic anger, dumped everything, including his shirt, in the garbage. He didn't want any reminders in his home. Naruto thought he'd gotten rid of everything, but this rogue one had survived his purge, remaining unseen and hidden in one of his shoes in the entranceway.

For some inexplicable reason, along with her souvenir from Aomori, he'd kept both the button and the cow from that night.

Naruto sighed and gave it one more poke, silently observing the slow sideways bobble of Hinata's gift. He picked up his phone.

She answered right away.

"I slept with her, Sakura."

Sakura, of course, immediately knew who he was referring to. "Oh, shit."

"She said it was a mistake."

Sakura gasped. "Why?!"

He snorted with frustration. "I don't know! It was so good that night. She came over to my office and gave me a gift she got from Aomori, and I loved it. Then she suddenly told me she wanted to sleep with me. I didn't want to do it at first, because, well—but then I caved in, brought her over to my place, and I just never laughed so much while having sex and —"

"Ew, no details, please."

"But then she b–bolted the following day. Without any p-proper explanations at all! She just left! I feel like shit right now. Like, was it really that bad? Maybe she hated the whole night, or just really hates me. That sex with m-me scared off and she n-n-never—"

"Hey."

Sakura's voice was calm, soothing, cutting through his anxiety and making Naruto belatedly realize his childhood stutter had slipped through.

"Slow down, Naruto. It's okay, take your time. Just breathe."

He exhaled slowly, following her advice.

They were silent for a long time while she waited for his feelings to settle down. Then Sakura asked, "You good?"

Not really, but he forced himself to say, "Yeah."

"Listen, Naruto. I'm telling you right now that you're not the problem. From what you tell me about Hinata, she seems really impulsive. This is all on her."

He was silent, grateful to hear that perspective from Sakura. Still, though. She was a friend, one of his most loyal ones, and right now she was trying to make him feel better. She was biased in his favor.

"Hinata didn't say anything that morning when she left?"

"She was babbling something about being a homewrecker, about us being rivals for this competition. And I—"

"Hold up! That homewrecker part? Is she referring to Ino?"

"Yes! I told her I was single but she didn't believe me."

She was quiet for a moment, but when she spoke, her tone was disapproving. "I told you in the beginning, didn't I? That thing with Ino was going to be trouble."

"Yeah, but—"

"Naruto, did you ever properly explain to Hinata this fake relationship that Ino's manager concocted?"

He racked his brain…and realized that there never had been opportunity. He groaned, finally realizing his mistake. "Crap. I don't think I ever did! At least not enough to make her understand. Ino came with me to the information session and Hinata saw us there. The couple times she mentioned it, I never got the chance to clear everything with her. She just assumed Ino was my girlfriend the entire time."

"Well, you're going to have to make her understand, then."

"Yeah, I do."

Hinata smiled at the crowd of students that crossed her path. They looked to be around four and five-year-olds, dressed in their white gym uniforms trimmed with blue on the collars and sleeves. Everyone was wearing bright yellow caps on their heads.

As one, they chorused a slow, "Good morning!" when they saw her.

"Good morning!" she replied with a smile, momentarily forgetting her worries. "You guys are off to the park, today?"

One of the boys nodded. "Konoha Park!"

"That's the one with the new petting zoo, right?"

"Yeah!" several kids chorused. "They said we can touch the bunnies!"

"The bunnies!" She grinned at the young faces staring up at her. "That's awesome!"

"Onee-chan, are you taking pictures?" One girl suddenly piped up when she saw Hinata's camera slung around her neck. "Take a picture of me!" Without waiting for a reply, she did a cutesy pose in front of Hinata and held up her thumb and pointer finger into a heart.

Unable to resist the command, Hinata grinned at her and snapped a few photos.

"Oooh, can I see?" said the same girl as she ran to tug at Hinata's shirt.

She hunched down and showed her, but the other students crowded around Hinata to look at the camera, too.

"Kids, don't bother the lady!"

Hinata looked up to see a man approaching her and the young students. He was tall and huge, with auburn hair down to his shoulders, but the intimidating effect was softened because he was wearing an apron with Sanrio characters. A giant picture of Hello Kitty dominated his tummy. His eyebrows, though, were pulled into a frown as he reprimanded the children.

"Children, don't be rude. It's not polite to waste her time."

She smiled at him reassuringly. "Oh, I don't mind. They're not bothering me at all."

"Chouji-sensei! Look! She took a nice picture of me! Don't I look cute?" The girl pointed to Hinata's camera, which made him squint down at the screen.

He smiled briefly at the kids but he looked at Hinata with a worried expression.

"Oh, don't worry. I promise I'm deleting them after, for their privacy's sake," she whispered furtively. "I'm just showing it to them for now."

The teacher looked relieved. "Thank you!" But he rounded up the children again. "Alright, come along everyone. Line up, now. If we don't hurry up, we won't have time to get to go see the new bouncy mountains."

The kids immediately lined up. When they weren't looking, Hinata quickly tapped on her screen to delete the pictures and then held up an okay sign at the teacher.

He nodded his thanks and then herded the children across the street.

"Onee-chan, bye!"

The children waved at her and she watched them raise their hands up in the air as they made their way across the pedestrian crossing stripes.

She continued smiling at the children chatting enthusiastically with each other while they walked on forward to their destination.

The petting zoo.

She knew exactly how they felt. Hinata didn't tell the kids she'd often stopped by whenever she felt stressed. Seeing those tamer beasts reminded her so much of her former life. While she knew it was a far cry from the wilds of Tanzania, she loved having that easy access to the animals.

Recently, she'd been there way too many times, talking to herself and talking to the animals as she stroked their fur and watched them eat from the palm of her hand. Hanabi was busy studying and Hinata didn't want to bother her sister. Neji was still pissed at her for setting up that date with Tenten, which made her uncharacteristically very tentative around him. Her father was there to listen, she knew, but she didn't want to talk to him about her relationship with Naruto just yet.

And that was the problem. Was it even a relationship?

But there was so much riding on this competition, she just didn't want the complications and distractions that getting involved with Naruto would surely bring.

Her phone suddenly rang.

It was him.

The least she could do was talk to him.

"Hey, Naruto."

"You picked up."

He sounded surprised.

She sighed. "Yeah. Should I hang up?"

"No! I just…I just wasn't expecting it, you know."

"Yes."

"Hinata, will you hear me out?"

Hyuuga Huddle!

"Shit," she couldn't help but curse because the way he'd asked, it sounded just like her family's quirky little habit. It was so ingrained in her, she knew she wouldn't be able to ignore him. He deserved to be heard after she'd instigated and ended everything so abruptly. She felt bad for the way she'd treated him. The least she could do was listen to what he had to say.

Hear me out.

"Go ahead, Naruto. I'm listening."

He took a deep breath and said, "I'm not your whore."

For the first time since she'd started this dance with him, Hinata felt deeply ashamed of herself, the kind of shame that pierced and then lodged in her heart. There was a whole lot of hurt, anger, and rightful accusation behind that quiet statement, but Naruto didn't add anything more—he was probably holding back from saying what he really wanted to say to her. He was being kind again despite the shabby way she'd treated him and even though she deserved to be reamed for her shitty behavior..

She sighed. "I know. You're not. Never were. And I'm sorry I made you feel like that. That's kinda why it had to end, because you can't be just a booty call. You deserve more than that."

"Thank you."

Despite how miserable she was feeling, she smiled to herself. Ever so polite.

"Hinata, do you think you can come to my office?"

She looked at the empty park, devoid now of the cheerful children. How depressing.

"At your turf?"

"Yes." A pause. "Please."

She knew she owed him that chance. "I'm nervous, but okay, I'll come to you."

His shocked gasp was quickly muffled. "You will?!"

Hyuuga Huddle.

"Yes."

"Thank you. All I'm asking is for your time so I can clear some things up with you."

"No problem."

But when she got there, Hinata walked into an ambush.

They were sitting there, three of them around Naruto's work table. Additionally, a man in a business suit was standing off to the side, looking remarkably like a shark with his pointy haircut and dark blue jacket. Of the two women on the chairs, one of them Hinata recognized was the model, Ino. The other woman was unfamiliar but just as pretty with her pink hair and the encouraging expression on her face. The man looking at the photos on the table had his baseball cap pulled low, which shaded his face from her view. However, when he looked up, his gaze on Hinata was cool.

But Naruto was suddenly in front of her, and she wanted so much to hug him.

He hesitated, but he reached out and squeezed her hand. She squeezed it back but felt it wasn't enough. She wanted those hands all over her again.

"You came." He smiled at her. "Thank you, Hinata."

Poise and calmness. And her heart started beating painfully against her chest when he dropped her hand.

He led her closer to the people in the room.

She didn't sense any real animosity, so she lowered her guard and smiled at them.

"These are my friends, Sasuke and Sakura," Naruto explained, pointing to the man with the baseball cap and the woman close to him. "I've known them since college, so they can vouch for me. That I'm not lying about anything I'm going to say."

She bowed at them and didn't say anything, wondering why he'd called her over to meet them.

He pointed to Ino. "You've already met Ino. Kind of." He pointed to the man with the briefcase. "This is her manager, Kisame Hoshigaki. And if you want, I can call Sai in London right now, but I really don't want to wake him up because it's 3:00 in the morning over there."

Her small smile grew to a grin. She slanted an amused look in Naruto's direction before she turned to his friends. "Are you guys the entourage?"

"No!" cried the woman named Sakura. She glared at Ino first then she smiled at Hinata. "We're here to prove to you that Naruto's not a two-timing jerk. We just didn't want you to believe that he's a cheating bastard, if that's what's preventing you from giving him a chance?"

"Oh." Hinata looked at Naruto, who nodded back at her. He came close to where she stood, and she inhaled that scent of his she'd been missing these past couple weeks.

He ran a frustrated hand through his blond hair. "Look, Hinata, the truth is, Ino and I were never together because she actually has a real boyfriend, Sai. This whole rumor started because Kisame here thought the publicity was good for her career. At that time, I was back in Japan after being away for so long, and my mom just became the longest-serving governor of Tokyo. Since my name was in the news so much, Kisame thought that maybe the rumor that I was dating Ino would give her more attention and the chance to keep her shining in the spotlight."

Kisame nodded, and added, "We told Ino to not mention anything about her relationship with Sai. And every time the press asked her about her relationship with Naruto, she was instructed to be coy and to just brush it off without giving a clear answer of whether or not they were together. We figured, if the media didn't know, then they would continue to ask, right? And continue to chase after her to try to find out."

Sakura humphed, glaring again at Ino. "Yeah, but I don't blame Hinata at all, because now it's going to look really weird that Naruto's suddenly dating Hinata when he was supposed to be with Ino. I don't want the world to think that Naruto's this giant asshole. He's got a reputation to protect, and don't forget how much it would reflect on his mom's situation, too."

"I'm sorry," Ino responded. "But it wasn't my idea at all! Kisame and my management company were the ones who insisted on the secrecy and keeping everything ambiguous!"

Kisame bowed at Naruto first then added one to Hinata too. He then shrugged uncomfortably. "I sincerely apologize for everything. I didn't really think this through, but I'm taking responsibility for all of this now. I'll publicly state that I was the one who did everything."

Naruto, with his worried eyes, moved closer to Hinata. She wanted to shush him with her mouth, to kiss that anxiety away because he looked so much better when he was smiling. "Hinata, you have to believe me. I was never in a relationship with Ino. Plus she's not my type."

"Hey!" Ino cried out and then pouted.

"Sorry, Ino, but I just never thought of you that way at all."

Hinata surveyed all of them, touched and a little impressed that everyone was willing to do this for him—and in some small way, for her, too.

"You have really good friends, Naruto," she said. "I believe you."

The smile he flashed her was full of joy, and she hated herself for dimming it when she faced everyone and said, "Look, I get it. But the biggest problem isn't this fake relationship with Ino. That's not the reason why I don't want to even think about getting involved with him. The problem is the competition. He's my rival, and I don't want to jeopardize my chances of winning this. I joined this contest because I intend to be the next imperial photographer, not to hook up with another guy—no matter how wonderful he is."

Their relieved smiles when she'd mentioned she believed Naruto died with the last part of her announcement.

Hinata continued, appealed to Naruto, too, when she added, "I'm not sure, because I honestly didn't read through the contracts of the contest, but I feel like we're not supposed to be doing this? I mean, what are the rules? Are you sure we're not going to get disqualified for getting involved with each other? So much is riding on this. I just don't want to risk it."

Everyone was silent after that.

She smiled one more time and grasped Naruto's hand. He clutched at it, but he didn't say anything—because he knew she was probably right.

"There's only the Nagasaki Lantern Festival left," Hinata said. "I don't want to jinx anything. This is the final push."

His smile was honest, genuinely happy for her when he realized the true meaning of that statement. She'd made it to the next round. "Congratulations, Hinata."

And she realized that he'd made it to the final round, too. Naruto couldn't hide how happy he was.

This was the reason why. They both had a reason to fight for that spot. So much was riding on their success.

"Congratulations to you, too, Naruto."

For a brief moment, she shared in his joy. They were rivals, yes, but they were also both photographers, bound together by their love of their craft. Plus, they understood each other and admired each other's work.

He was still looking at her, and Hinata felt compelled to say, "Naruto, you're one of the best guys I've ever met, but maybe this can all wait until after the competition?"

He nodded. She rose up on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek. His arm was at her back to keep her from pulling away too quickly, his hand tensed, but he eventually released her.

She turned to everyone to say farewell. "After I crush his ass and annihilate him, I'll come back and meet everyone properly. Then you can all congratulate me and address me properly as Ms. Imperial Photographer."

Sakura's eyes glinted with challenge. "You're brash, and I almost want to support you, but I have faith that Naruto will win this whole thing."

Sasuke, too, glanced at Naruto with pride before he turned to Hinata, his opinion clear on who was going to be the winner. "May the best man win!"

She grinned cheekily in response to Sasuke. "Or woman."

Then Hinata turned around and left everyone in his office.

"Well, you tried," Sasuke said, coming close and putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"You know, she's quite spectacular," Sakura added as she also came to stand next to Naruto. She gave him a one-armed hug. "I really admire her resolve. She's very focused on winning this, and I see now why you were so keen on working hard to put out your best work. You kinda have to, with how determined she is."

"Yeah, she's an amazing woman, and I'm really sorry for my role in all of this. I didn't mean to complicate things between the two of you," Ino admitted in a small voice.

Naruto turned to her and saw that she was still sitting dejectedly on the swivel chair. He shook his head and smiled at her. He couldn't be mad at her. Without Ino, he wouldn't have made it past those doors that day during the information session when he'd first heard of this contest. "No, it wasn't your fault, Ino. You heard Hinata. I think she was just using that as an excuse, which I now realize was probably her tactic to reject me. It's ironic, isn't it?"

He didn't realize it, but he looked remarkably like a man who just had his heart broken. "I was willing to go along with Ino with this fake relationship so that I could reject all the women who were coming on to me, but it ended up being the reason that got me out of the relationship I really wanted."

"But it's just for a few more months, right?" Sasuke mused. "She didn't say no completely. Hinata said she was coming back to gloat and rub it in your face if she won." He suddenly laughed. "She's definitely got confidence up to her ears."

Sakura smothered her laughter when Naruto glared at her. "I'm not making fun of you at all, Naruto, but you have to admit, Hinata's pretty convincing. Like I can really picture her being up in the new emperor's face and hounding Heika during his coronation."

Damn, even when she wasn't in the room, Hinata was doing it again. She was winning over his friends to her side, just like she'd done with Tenten. But Naruto laughed, too, because Sakura had a point. He could easily picture Hinata chasing the Crown Prince with instructions while he was getting ready to become the new emperor.

But Naruto gave a frustrated sigh when his amusement eventually died. "Honestly, guys, I just don't want to wait for this damned competition to end so I could finally be with her. Who knows what could happen when we all find out who the winner is?"

Nobody had a good response because they could clearly see the longing inside him, could hear his need for Hinata in Naruto's voice.

An awkward cough cut through the silence, though. "Actually," Kisame began slowly, which drew everyone's attention. "It's not like you don't have a way to find out about the rules she mentioned?"

Kisame had voiced the one thing nobody dared to say.

Shit, Naruto thought. Kisame was right. He was going to have to bring in the big guns.

Kushina glanced down at her phone and then turned her head, seeking her assistant and hoping to catch his attention. He did and nodded discreetly when their eyes met.

Before she answered the call, she stood up, interrupting the speaker.

"Mr. Secretary of the Interior, I am so sorry but I need to step out just for a few minutes." Kushina looked at the rest of the people assembled in the meeting hall where everyone was discussing the government's plans to move the Tsukiji Fish Market to another location. "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, I have to take this call. It's very important. Genma will take over for me. He's up to date on the issue so there won't be any problems. He'll brief me on whatever I miss when I come back."

Without waiting for a response, she strode out of the meeting room full of Tokyo council members, found an empty room, and finally answered the call.

Naruto's voice came on. "Mom? Did I interrupt you at work? If I did, I'm sorry."

"No, honey. It's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

His voice was hesitant. "You know I wouldn't ask you for a favor unless it's important, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Do you happen to have any way to get in contact with the staff working for the Imperial Family?"

This piqued her interest. "The Imperial Household Agency? Is this about the contest?"

"Yes. So do you?"

"Maybe."

"I wonder if there's any way to get in touch with Shikamaru Nara?"

Kushina racked her brain. "Shikamaru of the Nara Family…He's directly in contact with the Crown Prince working as liaison for the public and will probably end up as the Emperor's right-hand-man next year…He's currently in Niigata City getting set up for the Annual Commendation Ceremony for the Agricultural Society of Japan'."

She heard her son's impressed whistle. "Wow."

She smiled. "I know. You keep forgetting your mom's amazing."

He chuckled. "Do you think you could arrange a meeting between us?"

That made her pause. This was really important then if he was asking for something that troublesome.

"What's this about?"

He sighed. "It's about a girl."

"A girl?!" She couldn't help the shriek that left her and she looked around to make sure nobody heard her, relieved when her security detail didn't immediately come bursting through the door open to check on her.

Good, she thought when nobody even bothered knocking outside. They were a little excessive when it came to her protection, but what do you expect from a company called Flying Thunder-God Security? They only hired the best of the best. Her regular bodyguards, Raido Namiashi and Iwashi Tatami, were particularly alert and too enthusiastic when it came to hers and her family's safety.

But she turned back to the conversation. "Explain, please, Naruto."

"I don't want to go into too much detail over the phone, but I met this fellow photographer during this competition and I just wanted to check with Nara-san or somebody in his staff if it's against the rules to get involved with each other."

"Involved, Naruto?" Kushina struggled to keep her tone light, but she could hear how excited and high-pitched her voice was.

He was just as cagey. "Er, yes?"

"How involved?"

She laughed inwardly, imagining her son squirming. She could feel his embarrassment over the phone when he answered, "Not yet that involved."

She stayed quiet, knowing this would always get him to crack.

Then he groaned and finally added, "Um, see, that's the problem. She doesn't want to get involved with me because she doesn't want to break the rules and get herself kicked out of the competition."

"Oooh, impressive! A straight-shooter with some integrity." She finally laughed. "This is serious if you're willing to use me."

"Yeah." Then he cleared his throat. "So you think it's possible? You think you arrange a meeting so I can check directly with him?"

"I'll see what I can do." She heard his sigh of relief, which made her jokingly say, "But there's a price."

He took it seriously, though. "What is it?"

Surprised, she answered honestly. "I want to meet her."

There was silence.

Finally, he said, "That's a steep price, Mom." Then he laughed softly, making her smile, loving that husky laughter of his that always called up images of Naruto when he was a child.

"I don't even know if I can pay it because she's so unpredictable. Who knows what she'll do if I ask her to meet you?"

She laughed. "Now you've only made me even more curious about her. I was just kidding, honey. I'll give them a call. There's no price."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

"For you, my baby, anything."

In the following email conversations and calls that transpired between both of their staff, Kushina discovered that Shikamaru Nara couldn't meet with Naruto in person because his schedule was already packed and there was no way he could squeeze in a meeting.

He wasn't too busy to meet with the Governor of Tokyo, however, when she dropped by suddenly in his office without an appointment.

"It's been a while, Governor Uzumaki," Shikamaru said diplomatically when she breezed inside, disrupting his carefully arranged schedule and breaking the proper protocols that governed these types of meetings.

She bowed formally first, which he returned. Then she went to him and shook his hand.

"Yes, it has, Nara-san!" Kushina responded and kept standing. She didn't sit down when he offered her a seat. "I'm very sorry to barge in on you so suddenly, but all I ask is five minutes of your time."

"Of course, Governor."

"I think you know my son is participating in this contest."

He nodded, but he added, "I can't tell you anything about what's happening behind the scenes, the results, of course."

"Oh, no, that wasn't my intention. I'm not here to talk about that particular aspect of the competition."

"I see."

"I just want clarification on some rules. Specifically, whether or not there were grounds for disqualification if two contestants happen to meet during the competition and get involved with each other."

"I understand." He cleared his throat. "There are no rules against that. Rest assured, you're actually not the first one to ask that question."

She was relieved. "Excellent."

He nodded and continued, "We've had couples, husband and wife teams, enter. There are also siblings, parent-child, family relationships, among the competitors. If we'd barred any type of relationship, then we'd lose a lot of people, which takes away the democratic point of the contest."

"That's good to know. Thank you for meeting with me." Then she smiled.

"Has the Crown Prince decided on the name of his new reign?"

Shikamaru laughed. "He's leaning towards something that makes people feel happy and excited. Something like Shuukou." He traced the kanji in the air, 祝交, which she understood when she nodded.

"Hmm. A celebration of change." Kushina smiled. "I like it."

"It's only one option, so it might be different, though, in the future."

She looked at the door, which prompted Shikamaru to ask, "Will there be anything else, Governor?"

"No," she answered with another smile.

"Good luck to your son."

"Thank you, Nara-san."

Shikamaru looked at his watch when the door closed behind Kushina Uzumaki. She hadn't lied. The whole visit had taken only five minutes.

He smiled. Again, her reputation preceded her. Kushina Uzumaki's utter devotion to her family proved true when she'd invited herself to his office—and only just so she could clarify some rules for her son's sake.

Naruto reacted to the news with cautious optimism. He wasn't willing to celebrate yet because everything hinged on Hinata's reply.

Mom was here in his apartment, on her way to one of the many events she was required to attend, but felt that this was something she had to relay to him in person.

Poor Raido and Genma were outside his door, both extremely stressed because she'd insisted on this unscheduled stop on her way to a press conference at Meiji Shrine. Genma was concerned about making it on time and kept looking at his watch. Meanwhile, before the door had closed, Naruto had seen his mother's bodyguard fidget so many times. Raido, despite not showing any of his panic on his normally stoic face, kept fiddling with his headpiece and contacting his partner to ask for confirmation that nothing was amiss. His partner Iwashi was discreetly stationed in front of the apartment complex, alert to any suspicious persons entering the building. However, he responded in the negative every time the question was asked.

Privately, though, Naruto thought having all three of them in his building was probably making his neighbors nervous instead of the other way around.

Still, he was glad that his mother had slipped in unnoticed.

"You don't have to pay me back for this. I didn't mean it," she said when she took the tea he offered her.

He smiled at her, though. "I think this is one of those things that I would really like to pay back. I actually want you to meet Hinata—that is, if she says yes to me. I'm not even sure there's room inside of her to think of me as a romantic partner? To her, I'm just a rival, a fellow competitor to be crushed."

Kushina was torn. She very badly wanted to meet this Hinata girl because she didn't seem to care too much about Naruto being the governor's son, which was a very refreshing thing. Hinata obviously didn't give a crap about any of that. At the same time, as a mother, Kushina couldn't understand why anybody would ever reject her beautiful boy.

She didn't say anything, though, but took in how much Naruto really wanted to be more than just a rival to her.

He sighed and tried to smile. "I wish I could change Hinata's mind about me."

Kushina nodded, hopeful and trying so much to encourage him to keep the faith. "She will, honey, once she understands how truly wonderful you are."

Naruto hugged her—his incredible, loyal, loving mother. "Thanks, Mom."