Naruto was jerked awake by a sharp knocking on his apartment's door. He sat up, blearily absorbing his surroundings. His rinky-dink alarm clock told him it was just gone 6:00 am. The unconscious body of one Hinata Hyuuga, his girlfriend/Ward was in bed next to him. Thanks to the narcotic in his now-alien precum, she was in a mini-coma until roughly 10:00, given the time she'd blown him last night. The Hokage Monument collapsing in a landslide wouldn't wake her up, let alone the rapping at the entrance to the one-room apartment he called home.
"Coming!" he called at the door, most definitely cranky at being woken up this early after the magical night he'd just had. He, still dressed in his jumpsuit from yesterday, slipped out of the bed and walked over to the door. He checked the peephole out of habit and felt a jolt of alarm run up his spine, fully waking him. It was an ANBU, mask and all. He opened the door and looked up at the thick ceramic shaped and painted like a badger if he wasn't mistaken. "Yes, ANBU-san?" he asked, wondering why he was in trouble.
"Hokage-sama requests your immediate presence, Uzumaki-san. I am to escort you via Body Flicker to his office presently," came a no-nonsense male voice, all textbook professionalism.
"Okay." Naruto got his key, locked the door behind him, and offered his arm to the trained assassin among trained assassins. "Ready when you are."
The disguised shinobi took a firm grip of Naruto's bicep and made a hand seal with his off hand. There was a disorienting, nauseating rush of dizzy motion. When Naruto could see straight again, he saw he was in the hallway outside Old Man Hokage's private office in the Hokage Tower. In the time it had taken him to get settled, the ANBU had already knocked on the door and exchanged a pass code. On hearing the right word, he nodded to Naruto. "You may enter."
Naruto went to turn the knob and let himself into his pseudo-grandpa's work room. He spotted Old Man Hokage sitting behind his desk, already smoking despite the early hour. That was a bad sign. And on this side of the desk, turning to glare sheer murder at Naruto, was a man he was 99% sure was Hinata's father. He was a Hyuuga for sure, and there was just something parental to the outrage written all over his face. Really, for all Hyuuga were normally inexpressive, this guy practically had 'you did my daughter and I know about it' tattooed on his forehead.
Well… this should end well (not).
"Good morning," Naruto said, figuring he might as well attempt to be polite with his future father-in-law and his surrogate grandparent.
"Naruto-kun," Old Man Hokage acknowledged.
"Why am I here?" Naruto asked, though he had a damn good idea.
The Third Hokage took a deep, fortifying puff of his pipe before sighing out the cloud. "This is Hiashi Hyuuga, young Hinata's father and Hyuuga Clan Head. When she failed to return to the Hyuuga Compound by her curfew, he organized a joint search party among his clan and my available forces. One of the Hyuuga deployed observed through the Byakugan an hour ago her sharing your bed and an… unusual phenomenon regarding both your chakra networks. Hiashi-kun came to me upon learning this, demanding an explanation." Another puff. "In all honesty, I didn't feel your presence at this meeting was strictly necessary. I could have disclosed the fine details of your new Bloodline Limit myself. And quite frankly, what two adults get up to behind closed doors is their business alone. But Hiashi-kun proved rather… insistent to hear the answer from your own lips."
"What have you done to Hinata?" Hiashi asked in a voice colder than the arctic tundra.
Naruto felt the instinctive urge to raise his hackles and get defensive at such an outright threatening, confrontational question. And he kind of had a bone to pick with this guy in the first place because Naruto was pretty sure Hinata's father was physically abusive, or at least far too harsh with his training methods. But Hinata, despite everything her family put her through, still loved them dearly. It would hurt her to find out that Naruto burned bridges with her dad from the start. So he grit his teeth and said, in as even a tone as he could manage,"I offered her the chance to join my network of Wards and she gave informed consent."
"What is a 'Ward' and why would joining this 'network' involve you defiling my daughter?" Hiashi demanded, looking quite ready to castrate him barehanded.
Naruto's patience was tested, but he could be rather stubborn when motivated so he forced himself not to lash out. Huh, maybe he was growing up. "A 'Ward' is the term for any person who volunteers to be affected by my Progenitor Bloodline Limit. My body now produces certain proteins that allow me to make Connections with anyone who absorbs them into their own bloodstream. The Connection allows us to share chakra regardless of physical distance. As for the 'defiling', the proteins originate from my prostate and are mixed with my seminal fluid. I offered Hinata the chance to 'drink' from me, and she said yes."
Hiashi's hands curled into fists. "Insolent boy. How dare you lay hands on my daughter?"
"You didn't have a problem 'laying hands' on her yourself to the point she was limping yesterday," Naruto fired back, his temper flaring at the hypocrisy of this man. Well, he'd at least tried to stay civil. Never said he'd be good at it.
"Come again?" Old Man Hokage asked, suddenly shifting from 'this is so stupid' to 'who do I need to punish?'.
Hiashi went bloodless, and it looked to be more from rage than anything else. "I will not accept this insult. Comparing a Taijutsu spar between parent and child to an act of fornication–"
"The only reason she didn't have bruises is because of how the Gentle Fist works. She wasn't sore, she was in pain when she came to my apartment after you were done with her. If you think your 18 year old daughter giving her boyfriend a blowjob is worse than you yourself beating her black and blue in the name of 'training', then I'm not the one in the wrong here," Naruto cut off the Clan Head. Which was social and possibly career suicide since he was barely a Genin and this guy was on the Council that was just a step down from Old Man Hokage in the village government, but he couldn't stop himself.
"I will not stand here and have you lecture me," Hiashi said darkly, and Naruto knew that look from a mile away. He'd gotten it almost all his life. Hiashi was a Nine-Tails hater. That was just a hat on top of a hat at this point, wasn't it?
"Enough," the Third Hokage said, and it was not a request. Naruto felt a chill run down his spine as, for one of the only times he'd ever known the man, he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi be 100% serious and in character as the Fire Shadow. "Hiashi, I have humored your demands. You have an answer as to your daughter's voluntary actions last night. Unless you wish to press charges, and I would be MOST curious as to which ones you actually think will stick in this particular case, then I am done with you. Get out."
Hiashi gave a polite smile beneath blazing eyes. "As you command, Hokage-sama." Sending one last glare that promised this was far from over at Naruto, the Hyuuga Clan Head made a hand seal and vanished in a Body Flicker.
The pressure vanished from the atmosphere, and Old Man Hokage's shoulders slumped. "You sure know how to pick them, Naruto-kun. Of all the eligible women in all the village, you had to pick that man's daughter to start with." The tone was both wry and rueful.
"Two things: she picked me more than anything, and at least it was the one who was already legal. If Hanabi had been the one to confess to me yesterday, I'd probably already be missing, presumed dead," Naruto said without a hint of sarcasm. "As is, I'm half in love with Hinata-chan already, and she's already imprinted on me because she fed directly from me last night. She's worth whatever Hiashi Hyuuga tries to send our way."
"Not that I'm not happy you're happy, my boy, but couldn't you at least have waited until you were a Chunin? I had a fair amount of ryo in the betting pool regarding when you'd 'hookup' with young Hinata," Old Man Hokage asked amusedly, repacking his pipe.
Naruto tilted his head. "Is that a joke, or was there an actual betting pool on when she'd confess and/or I'd realize she was into me?"
"No offense, but I took the over. You really were rather oblivious to her affections, Naruto-kun," Old Man Hokage chuckled at the blond's expense.
"Well, we're together now, and that's all that matters," Naruto finally said, moving past the mix of embarrassment and humor that people had bet cash money on when he'd notice the massive torch Hinata had been carrying for him since they were first years at the Academy.
"May your union be blessed," Old Man Hokage wished warmly. "So, do tell, for all the grief it's caused me this morning, how did this joyful occasion come to pass? This might make me sound old…er, but you two moved rather fast. From first date to 'third base' within 24 hours?"
"We just… connected," Naruto shrugged helplessly. "It was only a day, but being with her is just so much better than not being with her. And she seems to feel the same way about it. She came over for tea, we almost ended up fucking on the kitchen floor, I tried to be the responsible one and slow things down, and she didn't let me. I even hit her with the Nine-Tails bomb and she barely blinked. Now she's mine and I'm hers and it's gonna stay that way unless one of us gets killed in action."
"Well, I hope it works out for the best, truly," Old Man Hokage grinned. "Though, speaking as the Hokage to a Genin, who else is in your sights for potential Wards? The larger your network, the greater asset you will become to the Hidden Leaf. I'd like to stay informed as you go about expanding it and offer what assistance I may."
"I just got Hinata last night, she's not even properly started the Change yet. What's the rush? Once we're both secure in our relationship, we can decide who's going to end up lucky wife number two through infinity," Naruto made up his mind. "Unless you read in someone who's ready to volunteer already?"
"As a matter of fact, I have, though it's a bit of a special case," Old Man Hokage said, steepling his fingers. "The extraterrestrial known as John Blake told you that the Change would cure any birth defect or preexisting condition to fit the 'template' of a Ward their given sex, correct?"
"Yeah, that's what he said," Naruto confirmed.
"You understand your own powers better than I ever will. In your opinion, could you affect a permanent Sealing Jutsu placed upon a Ward via the Change or Connection? There is a certain Special Jonin who was branded with a Cursed Seal in her youth that has proved remarkably stubborn to any attempt at removal to this point. I brought up with her how there was a new potential solution, and she proved very receptive to the idea even once I told her the specifics."
Naruto gave that a serious thought. "I don't know enough about Sealing Jutsu to say yes or no out of hand. Still, I'm up for giving it a shot if she doesn't mind joining my network either way. Once we have an active Connection, I can feel out the Seal on her and see what I can do."
"Hmm… well, might as well run it by her while you're here anyway," Old Man Hokage decided. "Hummingbird, fetch Anko Mitarashi. She's probably in the Forest of Death for her morning constitutional at this hour."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," came a disembodied voice before a presence so subtle Naruto hadn't even noticed it was there vanished. Naruto was reminded that he was a LONG way away from being the best ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village.
He and Old Man Hokage chewed the fat for a few minutes before there was a knock on the door. At the Hokage's signal, a woman walked in who had Naruto very, VERY glad Hinata couldn't get jealous anymore.
She was young enough to be Naruto's big sister, in his estimation, probably not yet 30. She was dressed to kill, perhaps literally. She wore a khaki trench coat over a stunning figure wrapped only in opaque fishnet mesh garments and an orange miniskirt. It was a look designed to draw the eye and distract anyone even remotely attracted to the female form, which would provide all the opportunity a trained kunoichi would need to go in for the fatal blow. Her statuesque body was complimented by a striking face, her violet hair tied up in a high ponytail not unlike what Shikamaru Nara favored. She was currently chewing on a dango skewer.
"Hokage-sama," she gave a low nod of respect. Her eyes flicked to Naruto and seemed to assess him head-to-toe in an instant. "Who's the wet-behind-the-ears Genin? He must be fresh out of the Academy, if that."
"You're not wrong, Anko-chan. However, regardless of his rank, Naruto-kun alone has the power to possibly remove my former student's mark. He's the one I told you about," Old Man Hokage said with warmth, as he did with almost everyone under his command. "If you are willing to ingest his seminal fluid and join his network of Wards, then he is willing to do his best to get rid of the Cursed Seal via his unique abilities."
"It gotta be straight from the tap or can I just chug a specimen cup?" Anko asked without blinking otherwise at the thought of drinking cum.
"You can drink 'indirectly', but did Old Man Hokage explain all the side-effects of the Change? The rewritten DNA, the personality changes, sharing chakra?" Naruto checked, trying to stay professional.
"Yep," Anko said, popping her lips. "No big deal, really. Getting taller and chestier can only be a good thing. I'm already a bi slut so no real change on that end though the 'imprint' might be annoying. And the way he put it, you can loan me chakra just as easily as borrowing it so promise to not be stingy about it and I see no issue. I'm game if you are, brat."
Naruto decided it bore investigation why a smoking hot lady insulting him was a mild turn-on. But more on that later. "Well, just give me a half-gallon sized beaker and clear your schedule for 14 hours and we're good to go."
Old Man Hokage had a suitable vessel procured and showed Naruto to his private restroom. All Naruto had to do was replay the events of last night with Hinata in his head and he was raring to go. And if he briefly imagined Anko in her place, well, whatever worked to get him off, right? He managed to aim the majority of his copious load into the beaker. Careful not to spill a drop, he came out of the bathroom and offered the glass full to the brim with his man cream.
"Huh. Don't see that every day," Anko blinked when she registered the volume of spunk she was expected to drink. "Well, see you on the other side. Bottoms up!" She brought the glass to her lips and began to gulp it down. She visibly succumbed to the narcotic a few seconds in, mouth and throat moving on reflex more than conscious effort. When she got the last drop, her loose hand released the glass. Some hidden ANBU managed to catch the beaker before it hit the ground and vanish away faster than Naruto's eye could track. Anko was laid down on the couch in the corner to get comfortable.
With a preparatory breath, Naruto focused on his psychic mind-boxes. One box was permanently occupied with Hinata. A second was now temporarily (for the moment) filled with a depiction of Anko Mitarashi. With deliberation, he made his second Connection and turned Anko into his Ward.
Nartuo blinked as the Connection solidified and his mind-box for Anko filled with a comprehensive sense of her whole body, mind, and soul. A rather ugly, malignant lump of foreign chakra was dug into her shoulder, throwing off the otherwise beautiful 'feel' of the woman's essence. "What the fuck is this thing, Old Man Hokage?"
"You tell me, Naruto-kun. What can you tell about it through your Bloodline Limit?" the elderly shinobi asked curiously.
"It hurts just to look at it, but I 'see' 3 major parts. The first feels like some kind of brainwashing device, it's supposed to twist her thoughts to obey the sick fuck who put it there and punish her with pain if she rejects him. The second is more like a Storage Scroll, it's filled with… something that 'feels' like a soldier pill mixed with bad acid or some shit. It would turbocharge her chakra but poison or even mutate her body while doing it. The last part… well, it's a freaking horcrux, is what I want to say. The guy who put it there cut off part of his soul or Astral body or whatever you want to call it and left it there for a rainy day to claw its way out if the original dies," Naruto answered as best he could. "A lot of it is weakened by the other seal you had someone put around it, but it's like slapping a bandage on an infected wound that needs stitches."
The Third's face had grown gaunt and stricken. "If you're accurate in your analysis, then the traitor who did this to her is even more sick and depraved than I imagined. Can you destroy it without harming Anko-chan?"
"I can burn it out, I can tell. And might as well do it now while she's out cold and can't feel pain. And a 3… 2… 1…" Naruto counted down before focusing most of his attention on the Cursed Seal on Anko's shoulder. The rest of his mind turned to a different 'section' and the full Progenitor Rune alphabet was revealed to him. Drawn like a magnet or by instinct, he laid a mental finger on the Healing and Spirit Runes. Then he channeled raw chakra through the eldritch symbols and directed the filtered energy back into Anko's body.
Like ice thrown into a boiling pot, there was a sharp 'hiss' and then the Cursed Seal vanished into nothing, purged by the power of the Runes Naruto utilized. Anko didn't even twitch, but a quick check showed that her left shoulder was now bare and unmarked.
"Remarkable. If you're capable of feats like this from the beginning, then I have very high hopes for your future, Naruto-kun," the Hokage said with something like delighted shock.
"Cool. Now, can I go back to my apartment? I really rather Hinata-chan didn't wake up alone," Naruto asked, trying to not show just how much chakra he'd burned through in the brief but intense effort to remove the Cursed Seal. John hadn't been kidding when he'd warned the blond how energy-intensive the Runes could be.
"Of course, of course. Though, before you leave, just how serious were her injuries at her father's hands in your estimation?" Old Man Hokage asked, a weary look of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
Naruto grit his teeth at the reminder of his girlfriend's state before everything went down last night. "She insisted all she needed was a good night's sleep. But she had a bad limp and looked like she was in at least a 7 out of 10 for pain before I… distracted her. I don't know if Hiashi is just using her as his punching bag or if he believes his own hype about 'pain is weakness leaving the body', but something bad is going on in the Hyuuga Compound, Old Man Hokage."
"It pains me to say this, but sadly such behavior is not uncommon among more 'traditional' clans that date back to the Warring Clans Era. Hiashi is likely copying what his own father did to him and honestly believes he's in the right," the Hokage sighed tiredly. "But short of young Hinata pressing charges as an adult against Hiashi, there's very little we can do to change it."
"Right," Nartuo grit out, not liking the situation one bit. "Anyway, see you later, Old Man Hokage."
Naruto walked out the Hokage Tower and through the early morning streets of the Hidden Leaf Village. He got back to his apartment building and let himself back into his only 'home'. If he had the money, he'd move almost anywhere else in a heartbeat. But until he started doing Missions with his assigned Team or, alternatively, joined the Genin Corps next week, he was stuck on the stipend he'd gotten as an orphan student at the Academy.
Hell, he had limitless free labor via Shadow Clones, let alone all the stuff the Runes or even other Jutsu he could learn could pull off. Maybe he could just buy a patch of land in the sprawling forest around the village and build his own cabin.
Moving thoughts of a house-building montage out of his head, Naruto checked on Hinata. For all the excitement at the Hokage's office, he'd barely been gone an hour. She was still out of it and would be for a while yet. Thinking of a way to pass the time, Naruto grabbed an empty notebook from his shelf of school supplies. Then, focusing inward, he painstakingly copied each of the Progenitor Runes down, doing his best to draw the alien symbols accurately. That done, he started making notes on each one and all the potential applications he could use them for.
He got surprisingly absorbed into the brainstorming. He was just debating different possible two-Rune combos (Lightning and Mind together could lead to some kind of Psychic Hacking of computers, for sure!) when he heard Hinata give a groan. Realizing the time, he rushed to his first Ward's side.
"Honey? You okay?" he asked gently, reaching out to comb her bangs out of her eyes.
"Thirsty," she moaned, sounding rather dry.
Naruto was halfway up before remembering he could be in two places at once now. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," he said under his breath and tried to make just one. Two came out, he really did have atrocious chakra control. "Get water and start on breakfast," he ordered the two duplicates. Orders given and salutes received, Naruto shifted focus back to his girlfriend. They'd been together barely 24 hours but they'd already committed to a lifetime. Hasty, probably, but it had all felt 'right' at the time. He just hoped she didn't wish to take anything back, because that was impossible. The Connection was made and that was that.
A Clone brought back a tall glass of water, and Naruto helped Hinata to sit up. Blinking gummy eyes, she took steady sips of the water, soothing her parched throat. Her lovely light gray eyes flicked around the room frequently, though they kept coming back to Naruto's face next to her. When she'd finished off the water, she gave a hesitant grin. "Morning, Naruto-kun."
"Morning, Hinata-chan," he said back, not sure exactly what he was supposed to say or do. This was his first 'morning after', after all. Figuring he might as well remind her how much he cared about her, he leaned in to give her a gentle kiss on the lips. Unlike last night, where the spark had caught and roared into an unquenchable flame, this felt more soft and sweet like a candle's glow. He pulled back before he was tempted to make anything more of it. "How do you feel?"
Hinata had gotten that adorable rosy blush on her cheeks that was so common with her. She rolled her shoulders and hummed. "I feel… amazing, really. Like I had the best night's sleep in my life. Physically, at least. Mentally, I'm blanking on what exactly happened last night. I tasted sugar and then it all gets… blurry. Also, I'm growing increasingly terrified at the thought of what my Father will do to me when I come home after an unannounced sleepover with a boy my age."
"You've already started the Change, even with just one dose, so get used to this feeling of good health because that's what I'll be 'restoring' you to after each load you swallow," Naruto said, putting a sweet spin on what were rather filthy words. "I didn't exactly have a chance to warn you, but my precum is a drug. You'll build a tolerance by the third time, but last night and the next time you're going to check out from the effects. As for your dad, I actually got called into a meeting with him and Old Man Hokage this morning. It didn't go well, but Old Man Hokage put his foot down and said we're both consenting adults, Progenitor Bloodline Limit or not, so Hiashi has no leg to stand on legally. Not saying he won't try to get back at me for quote 'defiling' you anyway, but still."
"I hope I'm worth the trouble," Hinata said, huddling into herself a bit. At least she hadn't stuttered yet this morning.
"That's my line," Naruto countered, rubbing a thumb across her smooth cheek. "Until you move in with me, and I refuse to make you share this craphole so that's not happening until I can afford a better place, you're stuck living in the Hyuuga Compound. You're sure you're going to be okay, facing your pissed-off dad? He seems to be blaming me more than you, but it takes two to tango and all. Any chance he'll try and 'punish' you for putting out before you're married? He honestly seemed more upset about that part than anything."
"I'm the Hyuuga Clan Heiress, until such time as I die or get disinherited so Hanabi-chan inherits the title," Hinata shrugged halfheartedly. "I'm held to much higher standards than any civilian or even other kunoichi. My 'duty' is to secure an advantageous marriage alliance for the glory of the Hyuuga Clan, and if I'm 'damaged goods' then I'm less valuable a bargaining chip in any betrothal contract. You might think it's silly, but that's really how half my clan and other conservative clans still see the world."
"Damn, that's messed up. So you were raised with 'stay pure until your wedding night', for real?" Naruto asked, mind boggling at such an outdated way of thinking.
"Yes, actually. Any Hyuuga who heard of my actions last night would consider me the height of wanton," Hinata gave a rueful chuckle. "Some don't even believe in oral sex at all, anything that focuses more on either partner's pleasure than the act of conceiving is 'sinful'."
"You gotta be kidding me," Naruto huffed. "Okay, you come from a family of judgy, repressed monks and nuns. But we're stuck together because of the imprint. So, I'm seriously asking, are you going to be okay until you can leave your old family behind to make our own?"
"If they were going to murder me for being an embarrassment, they'd have done it by now," she shrugged far too frivolously given the topic. "And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. They'll try to make my life a living hell for 'slandering' the clan with my 'promiscuity' in dating you and being sexually active. But I'm not letting you go, Naruto-kun. I'll muddle through."
Naruto wanted to punch a wall at how unfair Hinata's situation really was in his mind. She'd picked him, quite possibly the 'worst' choice in the eyes of her family, as a life partner. Sure, he had a new 'Bloodline Limit' (actually a whole new species but that was need-to-know) so he was technically the patriarch of a new Clan in his own right. That had potential political capital to convince those of her clan elders who saw her as just an object to trade away for a good deal. But he was also the living prison of the Nine-Tailed Fox. That made him persona non grata to most everyone in the village who'd been alive during the Nine-Tails' attack 18 years ago and were aware of the truth rather than the lie Old Man Hokage had mandated to 'protect' him. Hiashi, at the very least, hated Naruto's guts for the mere fact of the entity locked away in those guts, he was sure based on their interaction earlier. Short of Naruto single-handedly saving the Hyuuga Clan or winning a war, he doubted he'd ever get Hiashi's blessing for his and Hinata's eventual wedding.
But there was no taking back the imprint from the Connection. Hinata would fall inescapably in love with Naruto due to the personality tweaks of the Change, if she wasn't already. And Naruto would be damned before he wouldn't marry a girl who was in love with him and had no other options but him. That would just be cruel. He and Hinata HAD to stay together the rest of their lives. Ergo, he was going to try his hardest to make it work. So all the opposition from her clan or any other source was just noise, really. They'd make it work. He'd make it work. Believe it.
"Well, you won't 'muddle through' alone," Naruto swore. "You got me, and every other Ward who ends up joining the network. On that note, I already got an 'indirect' recruit. Old Man Hokage practically ordered me to try and fix this Cursed Seal on one of his Special Jonin after the whole thing with your dad. She seems okay. Not sure I'll ever see her again, actually, but I thought you should know this network is at 3 now."
Hinata blinked. "Oh. Well, I knew what I was signing up for. And did you say Cursed Seal?" Her eyes were filled with an odd sort of guilt.
"Yeah. Something about a traitor that used to be on Old Man Hokage's old Genin Team. Anyway, he put this really twisted Seal on this kunoichi named Anko Mitarashi. She fed from a glass I filled, and I was able to remove the seal with the Connection and Runes. So she's 'fixed' and sleeping off her first dose right now. Not sure how much she'll interact with me going forward, it might have been a one-and-done kind of deal, but her chakra is in the community chest now along with both of ours," Naruto did his best to explain.
"Must have been Orochimaru," Hinata deduced. "He's one of the worst betrayers in the history of the Hidden Leaf. He's S-rank, one of the Sannin before he went Missing-Nin. Among numerous crimes, he was caught committing human experimentation before he fled the village. I heard a rumor that his own Genin apprentice was one of the test subjects. Any chance it was this Anko Mitarashi? Because she's a bit infamous around the village, actually. Father actually uses her as an example of how NOT to be a proper kunoichi to me and Hanabi-chan. She has a certain… reputation."
Naruto frowned as he started to connect some dots. "Part of the seal was an obedience compulsion towards the caster, this Orochimaru guy. It was suppressed, but it was there. And I know firsthand how stupid and mean most of the villagers can be when it comes to Sealing Jutsu. Everyone must assume she's a sleeper agent or traitor waiting to happen. And if people disrespect you no matter what you do, eventually you stop trying to act respectable. I turned to pranks. Sounds like Anko used sex as her coping mechanism. Damn, I actually feel a bit guilty, now. I got rid of the Cursed Seal, but now she's cut off from her fix until she settles on one person for life."
"Doesn't the Change make one bisexual and polyamorous? So it's really one 'primer' partner and then anyone and everyone else they mutually pick, no?" Hinata argued logically.
"Still," Naruto mused, before shaking his head. "Eh, whatever. She knew what she was signing up for, guess it was worth the chance to lose the Seal in her mind. Back to you and me. What do you want to do today?"
"Breakfast bell!" called the cooking Shadow Clone from the kitchenette, interrupting her answer.
Hinata chuckled. "I want to eat, and then I do believe I need to do the 'walk of shame' back to the Hyuuga Compound. I'll weather whatever storm is waiting for me, then I'd like to meet back up with you and experiment with the whole 'sharing chakra' thing and the Runes. It's bound to be very useful in combat, but we need to figure out how it all works from scratch since the Progenitor Bloodline Limit is brand-new."
Naruto thought of Hinata facing the no-doubt brutal inquisition waiting for her alone and categorically hated the idea. "Want some help? I could escort you home and we could explain everything to your dad together. The meeting this morning didn't exactly go smoothly, and there's still a lot about the Progenitor thing he doesn't understand. Or would you rather do it alone? Please don't do it alone, by the way, I'd lose my mind worrying about you."
Hinata got a soft grin. She leaned in for her own kiss, which made Naruto's heart actually flutter in his chest. Gods, how was he so lucky to actually get a girl like Hinata? And unlike most everyone else, he could rest assured in the knowledge she'd never change her mind and leave him due to the imprint. Which, yeah, a tad odd, but it was making them both happy so who gave a fuck? He certainly didn't.
Realizing Hinata was talking, he got his head out of the clouds and focused on her lovely voice. "Sure, Naruto-kun. I'd appreciate your help. But are you sure you won't mind? My family can be… harsh. I wouldn't want you to bite off more than you can chew."
Hinata's attempt to warn him away only made Naruto more sure she needed him by her side to deal with whatever waited for her. "I can handle it. I want to handle it. Believe it!" he reassured his first lover.
They had the eggs and rice his Shadow Clone had made. Hinata even got the chance to make him tea, which had been the original goal of their date last night. Naruto wasn't sure if he was whipped already or if Hinata just had a magic touch, but it was actually tasty to his palate which ordinarily despised tea. The Shadow Clones cleaned up after them, and Naruto reflected that he could get used to having obedient copies of himself to handle all the chores.
Hand in hand, Naruto and Hinata exited out the apartment and made for the sprawling mansion the Hyuuga Clan had carved out within the village walls. Hinata observed a certain phenomenon five minutes into their leisurely walk (they weren't exactly in a hurry to get chewed out by her family). "Why is everyone… glaring at us?"
"People aren't allowed to talk about you-know-what inside me. It's literally the law, Old Man Hokage wanted me to grow up in ignorant bliss. Doesn't stop them from hating it and me by extension. I'd say half the villagers hate me just a little more for 'sullying' an innocent maiden and the other half are thinking very rude things about you for even touching me and letting me 'taint' you," Naruto sighed. Just because he was used to all the prejudice didn't make it hurt any less. And now Hinata had been brought into the firing line right next to him.
"That makes no sense. You're not 'it', you're the one holding it back. You're a hero, not a villain. Why are people so horrible to you for something that's not even your fault?!" Hinata hissed under her breath.
"See, that's the thing. A lot of people think I actually am 'it'," Naruto revealed. "Sealing Jutsu are confusing, and most people only have the word of Old Man Hokage that the Seal holding 'it' inside me is working. Some think the Fourth turned 'it' into a human form, some think 'it' is possessing me and wearing my skin like a suit."
"That makes even less sense. Why provoke you if you actually are a legendary monster, however limited you are by a new shape?" Hinata asked, trying and failing to see logic that just wasn't there to begin with.
"You're assuming it has to make sense at all, Hinata-chan," Naruto said with a dull ache. "A lot of people lost someone the night of the attack. And most of them are happy to take out their pain and grief on me and make themselves feel better without worrying whether or not it's justified. Just the way it is."
"The way it is should not be the way it is," Hinata said passionately. "I'm biased, I admit it, but you're an amazing person. This isn't fair."
"Nope. But it still is." Naruto squeezed her hand tight. "Just try and ignore them all, Hinata-chan. Works for me half the time."
Hinata gave him a look of something kinder than pity. Then she pulled herself closer to him and tucked herself into his side, removing what little distance there was between them. Naruto swallowed around the lump in his throat at such a gesture of support and just savored her warmth and weight against his flank.
They got to the gate of the Hyuuga Compound, where there were no less than 4 uniformed Hyuuga Chunin standing guard. "Heiress, Hiashi-sama has ordered you to be brought to his study upon your return," stated one of them with a robotic lack of emotion. He moved forward as if to grab her and bodily move her himself.
"Stand down. You will not touch me," Hinata stated in a calm, clear, assertive voice. Nothing like she sounded normally.
The Hyuuga guard paused, a mite of confusion in those blank gray eyes. "Pardon me, Heiress?"
"You have made me aware of my Father's will. Your part in this affair is done. I am perfectly capable of bringing myself and my guest to him without your assistance. Stay at your post. Am I understood?" Hinata responded, an unmistakable tone of command in her steady, gentle words.
"Hiashi-sama wished to see you alone," the guard protested, though he was looking at Hinata as if assessing whether she was an imposter or drugged or something along those lines.
"Then he shall be disappointed. I am the Clan Heiress, and I have the authority to invite an outsider within our walls. I would really rather not discipline you, Branch-san, but you are testing my patience," Hinata stated, her eyes narrowing just a smidge to make her whole face seem harder and colder.
Naruto observed the guard swallow in what could only be fear, and he wondered what the hell 'discipline' meant in Hyuuga-speak. But whatever it was, it was enough of a threat to make the guy back down. "As you will, Heiress," he bowed, stepping back to his post.
"Let's go, Naruto-kun," Hinata said to him before moving forward.
Naruto's eyes went around the painstakingly maintained (probably at an obscene price per month) gardens and the classical architecture of the Hyuuga Compound as he kept pace with Hinata. He also couldn't help but notice a shift in her whole gait and bearing. Her confidence she'd shown with the guard earlier lingered, in the set of her shoulders and how she kept her chin up. But her shoulders were bunched, and her every move was tight with tension. She was moving with a practiced grace that didn't seem natural, as if she'd spent literal years practicing how to walk a certain way. And her grip on his hand was enough to make his bones start to ache.
Naruto never was one to keep his mouth shut. "Honey, you're scared stiff. How bad is it gonna be, really?"
"I can handle it, Naruto-kun. Please be quiet, there is no privacy here," she said back quietly, still as tightly strung as piano wire.
Well, screw that noise. Naruto focused on his mind-box of Hinata and slotted in the Mind Rune along with their always-on Connection. *Testing, one, two. Am I coming in clear?*
Hinata paused. *Naruto-kun? How are you doing this?* he heard clear as day like an echo inside his head.
*The Mind Rune. It's a lot easier to use with Wards because of the Connection, but I've got Telepathy now. Yamanaka's got nothing on me,* he joked across their mental link.
*That's marvelous, actually! We're never more than a thought apart,* Hinata thought, visibly relaxing at the joy of this revelation of how intimately they were bound.
Realizing just how happy Hinata was at the idea of having Telepathy with him, Naruto 'locked' the Rune into place. It would be a steady burn of his reserves, but it was such a small cost compared to how much he had to spare that he could keep it on all day without getting too drained. And he would get stronger, get more chakra either through training or more Connections. *That's right, honey. If you ever want privacy, just ask. But our minds are going to be hugging from this point on. You'll never be alone, even if I'm not there in person. Believe it.*
*You are the most wonderful man,* she thought with enough warmth to melt a glacier. Then her thoughts turned a bit darker. *Come, Father will see us coming. Best not to keep him waiting.*
Reminded that they were in what was clearly hostile territory, Nartuo refocused on just following Hinata as she led him into the biggest building in the Compound. She guided him through pristine, spotless hallways. Other Hyuuga moved silently as ghosts through them. Naruto noticed a trend. Some Hyuuga, all with foreheads covered either by ninja headbands or bandanas or something, bowed in deference to Hinata as they passed. Others, with their foreheads exposed, either ignored her completely or looked at her and him like they were turds who dared to dirty up their personal space.
Hinata must have been listening to his subconscious stream of thought, because she sent an explanation to him. *The Hyuuga Clan, as long as anyone can remember, has been divided in two. The Main House rules, and the Branch House serves. The Branch House is kept obedient through use of a Cursed Seal branded on their forehead which can cause excruciating pain or even death. The Main House alone knows how to place and activate it, and any attempt to remove it is met with execution.*
*... You're saying your family enslaves and tortures their own flesh and blood?* Naruto asked in horror.
*It is our way,* she thought with tired resignation. *Has been for centuries. The excuse is that the Cursed Seal sears out the Byakugan upon the subject's death. During the Warring Clans Era, the Main House stayed safe at home running the estate and negotiating with clients while the Branch House went out to do missions. In this way, the secrets of the Byakugan remained safe. I say if protecting our Bloodline Limit from theft was the goal, then we all should have a version of the Seal and unite into one. But no, our traditions are sacred and I am foolish, so I've been repeatedly told.*
Naruto had to force himself to remain calm. *How did you deal with growing up in this toxic palace?* he asked.
*You know how. I refused to lose my heart, and I paid the price,* Hinata thought with melancholy. *If I were braver, I'd get strong enough to claim the Clan Head position and lead us into a new age. As it is, I'm marrying you and leaving this all behind and never looking back. I hope you don't think less of me for that.*
*Never, honey. You need to save yourself first before you can save anyone else,* he told her. *And hey, once I'm Hokage, I can order Hiashi or Hanabi to change or get evicted from the Hidden Leaf.*
*Good luck with that,* Hinata thought, sounding touched but unconvinced. *We're almost there,* she added as they turned down yet another nearly-identical hallway. If he didn't have Hinata, Naruto would be hopelessly lost. This is what happens when you let paranoid ninja design a building, the place felt like a maze.
Hinata stopped before a sliding door. "I am here, Father," she projected through the wood-and-cloth barrier.
"Enter," came the voice of her parent.
Hinata opened the door. Naruto, digging deep for round two with the future in-laws, followed her into a luxuriously appointed yet spartan office. It felt like a museum exhibit more than an actual office. Hiashi sat behind a desk that might just cost more than everything Naruto owned combined, solid wood of impeccable craftsmanship. It was a work of art, but from the look in Hiashi's eyes he'd happily smash it to splinters just to have one less obstacle between him and Naruto.
"You may go, Uzumaki-san," he said, in a voice as refined and cultured as it was sharp and cold.
"He stays, Father," Hinata countered. She was trembling like she was standing naked in a blizzard, but her voice was firm.
Hiashi turned those eyes like two lifeless moons from glaring at Naruto to his daughter. "No, he will not."
"He stays or I do not." Hinata's grip on his hand could crush granite, but Naruto would happily let her break his carpal bones if it gave her the courage to stand up to her dad.
"I doubt that, Hinata. I truly do," Hiashi said, every syllable honed to a razor-like edge.
"You will listen to us both and what we have to say, or I will leave never to willingly return. The choice is yours, Father," Hinata was clearly terrified. She was also just as clearly dead serious.
Hiashi looked at Hinata like he didn't need an active Byakugan to see right through her. Otherwise, his face was a statue. That penetrating gaze shifted back to Naruto. "I shall repeat my question from this morning. What have you done to my daughter? She is behaving nothing like I have come to expect from her."
*Please, don't aggravate him,* Hinata all but begged him silently.
Naruto took a deep breath and did his best to be polite and calm when all he really wanted to do was break the man's nose and see if that would make him show any real emotion. "As I told you, I made her my Ward. I explained to her all the pros and cons of allowing my Bloodline Limit to alter her body, mind and soul. She agreed. Her change of attitude is a mixture of the Change beginning to rewire her brain and my personal support."
Hiashi frowned, but it was just a drop more confused than disapproving. "I would ask that you elaborate on this 'Change'. Precisely how does this 'Progenitor' Bloodline Limit and the… proteins you produce affect a subject?"
"The Change is a combination of a blueprint tucked into my new DNA and subconscious use of chakra," Naruto laid out, doing his best to stick to the facts and not get emotional. "The proteins in my semen are both curative and mutagenic. A Ward's DNA is rewritten to fit a certain template and then the Connection between our chakra cores feeds the energy to fuel the various edits. Every dose of the proteins will reset a Ward to 'factory settings', so to speak. In this case, since Hinata is female, she'll become 5'9 and reach a baseline level of fitness and health before chakra enhancement becomes involved. You can check with Old M– Hokage-sama to verify this, but even aging is 'cured'. As a Progenitor, I have simply stopped growing old now that my Bloodline Limit is active. My Wards, on the other hand, need only get a dose of the proteins to effectively be restored to the prime of youth. Barring an accident or injury, I will live forever and I can keep Hinata alive as long as she gets a regular dose of the proteins."
Hiashi refused so much as to blink in reaction. He had an awesome poker face, Naruto idly thought. "You have described the physical effects. How does the quote 'mind and soul' get affected, as you said?"
Naruto ordered his thoughts, with helpful suggestions from Hinata through their telepathy at the speed of thinking. "To use computers as a metaphor, both the 'hardware' of the physical brain and the 'software' of the mind get edited as much as any other part of the Ward. The Change will enhance Hinata's intelligence to the point she's a Nara-level genius with photographic memory. For whatever reason, there's also personality changes built-in. Chief among them is the 'imprint'. A Ward becomes perfectly loyal to their first sexual partner. There's also bisexuality, polyamory, an enhanced libido and desire to have children. And, as previously mentioned, the bridge between my and my Ward's chakra reserves."
Hiashi took a deep, slow, controlled breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. His attention went back to Hinata. "Uzumaki-san claims you gave informed consent to become his Ward, Hinata."
"That is correct, Father," she said as levelly as she could.
"In which case, you knowingly and intentionally gave him access to your DNA, your chakra, and your virtue all at once. Is that accurate?" The venom laced through those cold, calm words would have stopped an elephant's heart in seconds.
Hinata didn't wince, but Naruto literally felt her pain at her father's accusation. "Yes." She said no more than that.
"I see." There was a beat of heavy silence. Then something hardened even further in those metallic eyes. "By the laws of the Hidden Leaf Village, you are both an adult citizen and, as of yet, a Genin. Therefore, I am forbidden from demanding your life for this act of betrayal against myself and the Hyuuga Clan. Still, this crime cannot go unpunished. As Clan Head I, Hiashi Hyuuga, strip you of your name. You are no longer a Hyuuga. You are no longer one of us. You are no longer my daughter. As such, you have no place here. Remove yourself from my sight and these grounds immediately."
"What the fuck?!" burst out of Naruto's mouth without thought.
"Take that thing you've thrown your lot in with while you're at it," Hiashi added, not even glancing at Naruto, still just staring at Hinata with no warmth, no love, nothing but contempt.
Hinata was still as the grave for the first time since she'd entered the office. She stared at her father blankly. Then she spoke, in a voice so dead that it snapped Naruto out of getting ready to use the Fire Rune and burn the whole mansion down on Hiashi's head. "Just tell me one thing. Did you ever love me?"
Hiashi sniffed in disdain. "As you have never done a single thing to deserve my love, the answer is no. Now get out or be thrown out. Your choice."
"Ah. Now I understand." Hinata, of all things, bowed. "Thank you for everything. My best to Hanabi-chan. Goodbye." Then she turned and faced towards the door. *Let's go, Naruto-kun.*
*Honey, you're just going to let this happen?* Naruto asked in dismay.
*Please. I need you to just go with me right now. Don't make me fall apart where they can see.* Her back to her father, the tears were starting to well up in her eyes.
Naruto swallowed the urge to rage and break and scream at this injustice. Hinata didn't need his anger, she needed his support. So he squeezed her hand, threw one last look of pure hate at Hiashi, and then allowed Hinata to lead him out and away from the Hyuuga Compound.
They got to his apartment, her tears silent but unending. As soon as they were inside, she turned into his chest and squeezed him tight. *Can I fall apart now?* she thought, her mind-voice so full of pain it made Naruto want to cry right with her.
He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her forehead. *Yes. You can fall apart. I'll be here to put you back together. Believe it."
And with that, Hinata No-Name stopped holding herself together and collapsed into screaming sobs.
Naruto half-carried her over to the couch. He sat them down and just held his girlfriend as she mourned her whole life, now taken away from her. He felt every wail and cry and keen of loss like a blade to his heart. But Hinata needed him to be strong right now. So he just cuddled her and offered whatever sweet nothings came to mind, both verbally and telepathically.
An hour later, she'd cried herself out. She wasn't asleep, just sort of laying there, her head in his lap and curled into a ball. Naruto had one hand rubbing her side and the other delicately swiping the tear tracks from her face.
"Tell me what you need, honey," Naruto coaxed when even her thoughts were silent for too long.
"A place to stay, for starters," came the exhausted, listless sound of a girl who'd just lost everything.
"Done. What's mine is yours," he said, meaning every word.
"Really?" she asked, turned to look up at him with her puffy, splotchy eyes. She'd actually cried so hard she'd burst a few blood vessels around them.
"Really really," Naruto promised.
"Even your name?" she asked, looking up at him with the first emotion besides heartache she'd shown since leaving Hiashi's office.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused.
"You said you'd marry me someday. Can today be someday?" she asked.
Naruto blinked. Part of him said this was just her depression talking. But his gut insisted this was important. And they were already moving at a breakneck pace. "If you want it to be."
"I do," she confirmed, something desperate starting to shine in her cried-out face.
"Well then, let's go do it," Naruto nodded, as if it were that simple. And maybe it was. He did have an in with the chief executive of the village, after all.
They took turns using the bathroom to clean themselves up. Naruto changed out of his usual jumpsuit into the most formal shirt and pants he owned. Hinata was stuck with the only outfit she now owned, the one she'd worn to visit him in the hospital yesterday. Then, holding her hand as lovingly as he could, he led his bride-to-be to the Hokage Tower.
Naruto blew past the various security checkpoints, he knew if Old Man Hokage was actually busy they would have been stopped at the door. He reached the office he'd been at that morning (had it really been that short a time?) and knocked.
"Come in, Naruto-kun," came the grandfatherly voice.
Nartuo let himself in, noticing Anko still passed out on the couch. At least someone had put a blanket over his second Ward.
"Is everything well?" the Hokage asked, looking up from one of his seemingly-endless stacks of paperwork. His veteran gaze seemed to catalog everything about them, his expression turning concerned when it hit Hinata.
"Hokage-sama," Naruto said formally, which was enough to let the old man know he meant business. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, petition that you waive the waiting period for a marriage license between myself and… Hinata No-Name."
"... So that's the way it is, then," the Third sighed, as if he understood every detail of the situation based on that one sentence. He probably did, he wasn't called the Professor for no good reason. "Petition granted, my boy. I'll even officiate myself. But you'll need a witness and two rings.
Naruto nodded. He temporarily let go of Hinata's hand to make the right hand seal. 3 Shadow Clones poofed into existence. He dug in his pocket and got Gama-chan, tossing it to one of them. "You, get the best rings we can afford, Missions start next week so zero us out if you have to. You, track down Iruka-sensei. You, warn the Ichiraku's that we're coming."
"Yes, Boss," they saluted before going for the door.
Old Man Hokage had a very strange look on his face. "No… it can't have been that simple…" he muttered to himself.
"Old Man Hokage?" Naruto prodded, even as his hand found Hinata's again. She was huddled up behind his shoulder as if she could hide from the world in his shadow.
The Hokage shook his head. In a deliberate movement, he made the same hand seal Naruto had. A single Shadow Clone of the Sarutobi elder appeared, went to a filing cabinet, and pulled out a blank marriage license. The chakra construct wordlessly handed it back to the Third before dispeling.
"Crows and hellfire," the geriatric shinobi groaned, using an archaic oath from the Warring Clans Era. "Minato, no wonder you had so much free time," he muttered to himself.
"Wait… you telling me you JUST realized you could have offloaded your paperwork to Shadow Clones? I've had them less than a week and I still picked that up," Naruto raised a brow at his oldest friend in every sense of the word.
"Don't rub it in," bit out the wizened general. Refocusing, he reached into his desk and pulled out a checkbook. "Between you helping me realize it and giving Konohamaru a purpose, you've more than earned this. Consider it a wedding gift."
Naruto took the slip of paper and almost fainted. "U-um… you forget a decimal point, Old Man Hokage?"
"No, I did not," he grinned cheekily back, a little youthful mischief shining through the mask of age.
Naruto was reminded that he now had a wife to support, so he tamped down the reflexive urge to deny the too-generous gesture and just pocketed the check. "Thanks, Old Man Hokage."
10 minutes later, the ring Clone returned. "Jewelry's crazy expensive, believe it. Still, got a 2-for-1 deal. Here ya go Boss, Lady Boss." The sentient mass of chakra vanished after handing over a velvet bag that gave a metallic clunk when it changed hands.
Soon after, Iruka showed up, looking half-panicked. "Naruto! What's this about you marrying Hinata?! Oh, hello, Hokage-sama."
"Hey, Iruka-sensei. You up for being our witness or not?" Naruto fired back.
"Is this another prank?" Iruka demanded, still catching his breath after apparently sprinting to the office.
"My father banished me from the Hyuuga Clan for entering a relationship with Naruto-kun. He's all I have, now. We agreed we might as well make it official," Hinata said to Iruka, in a decidedly somber mood.
Iruka paled. "He WHAT?! But you're his daughter!"
"I was. Not anymore. We would appreciate it if you'd be our witness, Iruka-sensei," Hinata said, hitting him with eyes that would make much harder men crack like eggs.
"I would be honored," Iruka bowed to them both.
They got into position. Old Man Hokage cleared his throat. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Naruto and Hinata. Are there any here who would contest the joining of this man with this woman?"
A beat of silence.
"Very well, then. Do either of you wish to exchange vows?" the Third prompted.
Naruto and Hinata had decided what to say through Telepathy. In perfect sync, they looked each other in the eye. "You are mine, and I am yours," they said, holding hands. "Where you go, I will follow. Where you are hurt, I will heal. Where you have doubt, I will have faith. Where you struggle, I will support. From now until the end of my days and beyond. Believe it."
Iruka rather loudly sniffed and had to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief.
"Naruto, repeat after me," the Hokage said. "Hinata, I take you as my lawful wife."
"Hinata, I take you as my lawful wife."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"To love, to honor and to cherish, in sickness and in health, through joy and pain and all else, as long as we both shall live."
"To love, to honor and to cherish, in sickness and in health, through joy and pain and all else, as long as we both shall live."
"Hinata, repeat after me: Naruto, I take you as my lawful husband."
"Naruto, I take you as my lawful husband."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"To love, to honor and to cherish, in sickness and in health, through joy and pain and all else, as long as we both shall live."
"To love, to honor and to cherish, in sickness and in health, through joy and pain and all else, as long as we both shall live." Tears were starting to leak from her eyes, but these were a very different kind than the last to come through.
"As a symbol of your commitment, of the binding of your lives together, you may now place your rings on each other's hands."
Feeling like he was in some beautiful dream after a long, horrible nightmare, Naruto took the simple golden band and slid it to the base of Hinata's ring finger. He offered his own hand and she did the same. Such a simple thing to mark the start of something incredible.
"I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, do recognize this marriage. At this time, please sign your current names on the marriage license."
Naruto gave his signature, and wrapped a steadying arm around Hinata's shoulders as she gave only her given name, no longer permitted to use the other. Iruka filled in the witness line and the Hokage gave his official seal to mark the document as legally binding.
"With the power vested in me by the Second Hokage and the Fire Daimyo's court, I now pronounce this couple husband and wife. You may seal your union with a kiss."
Naruto cupped Hinata's cheek and had his first kiss as a married man with his spouse. They'd had fiery kisses and sweet kisses. This kiss felt more like a promise they'd always keep.
"What you have brought together, may no one rend apart. From the mountains to the sea, may all see you and know you are one. Go forth, Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki, to face life on life's own terms. Congratulations!"
Unable to resist, Naruto made a bunch of Shadow Clones and they burst into raucous applause and cheers right there in the office. With a light, airy gust of laughter that was music to his ears, Hinata threw her arms around him and pulled him into a real kiss.
They broke apart for air and endured ribald teasing from Iruka and the Third. Then, hand in hand, the 4 of them all left the office. The Third left behind his own Shadow Clones to handle the bureaucracy and took a day off for one of the only times since Nartuo had been born. They got to Ichiraku Ramen and Teuchi and Ayame had prepared a feast.
"I can't believe my favorite customer is married now. Hope you can keep up with his appetites, young lady," Teuchi gave a saucy wink at Hinata.
"You should be more worried about him keeping up with mine," she fired back with a chuckle.
"Ooh, I like her! Good choice, Naruto-kun," Ayame giggled with an elbow nudge.
"Honey, need I remind you that I have stamina for days and can make physical Clones?" Naruto asked his wife (holy shit, he had a WIFE!) playfully.
"Handsome, need I remind you I have magic fingers?" Hinata said while giving a little wriggle of her off hand, the other holding her chopsticks.
"Ninja sex, can never decide whether it's hot or creepy," Ayame rolled her eyes.
"I can help you make up your mind, if you'd like," Iruka said jokingly.
"Is that a sincere offer?" the brunette asked with a straight face and assessing once-over of Iruka.
"Baby, I'm RIGHT HERE, save the flirting for after closing time," her father grumbled goodnaturedly. Meanwhile, Iruka got to pick his jaw up off the counter.
Around 3:00 pm, they were stuffed too full to eat another bite. When Naruto tried to pay, Teuchi insisted it was all on the house. "You'll pay me back with years of steady business, kid. Especially once your bride starts eating for two!"
The thought of Hinata pregnant was enough to have Naruto walking on air. Then the thought of getting her pregnant registered, and suddenly he was chomping at the bit to get Hinata back to their apartment.
They said their goodbyes then went back to the apartment complex. "How do you feel, honey? Really?" Naruto asked once they reached his floor.
"Yesterday, I woke up with everything but you in my life. Tonight, I'll go to sleep with only you in it. And that's enough, it is. It's just so different, it doesn't feel real yet," Hinata admitted, her hands doing her nervous fidget motion. The Change fine-tuned an existing personality, it didn't rewrite it entirely. Hinata wouldn't change at heart, just become her most ideal self with the necessary tweaks to make her suitable for life in a Progenitor's harem.
Naruto felt his heart pang at the reminder of all Hinata had lost for his sake. And made a mental note to make Hiashi Hyuuga rue the day he wrote off such an amazing girl as unlovable.
If he stopped to think about all the things that had happened in the last few days (failing the Graduation Exam, Mizuki's 'makeup', the downright traumatic events in the forest where he'd learned of the Nine-Tails, John's well-intentioned abduction, then everything since Hinata had brought him breakfast in the hospital), he felt ready to crack. Naruto needed a chance to blow off some steam. And he was about to have privacy with his new bride, access to a half-decent bed, and every permission to go to pound-town with her any and every way they wanted.
Hinata seemed to sense the growing charge. She stopped playing with her hands and sent him a knowing grin. "I had a dose. That means you can't hurt me, correct? I've gotten enough of the Change to take all of you?"
"Yeah," came out his mouth, his own voice nearly unrecognizable to Naruto.
"And tonight's our wedding night," she added, now just winding him up.
"Which reminds me," Naruto hummed just as he unlocked the door, before surprising her by scooping her up in a princess carry. "Groom carries the bride over the threshold," he chuckled, kicking the door open. He walked into his crappy apartment, except now it was their crappy apartment. And Hinata was looking at him with a look he'd never seen from anyone but wanted to say was love. He was sure the exact same look was on his face looking back at her.
He kicked the door closed behind them. *If you aren't ready, say so now. Because otherwise, we're going all the way in about 10 seconds,* he sent with Telepathy.
*Let's make it 5,* she thought back, sounding as ready as can be.
Naruto practically ran to the bed, set her down maybe a bit less gently than he should have, then stripped nude at speed. He tossed the shirt over his head and shucked his pants and boxers. By the time he'd jumped out of his socks, Hinata had caught up with him, throwing her own clothes to the side to be forgotten. The sight of a naked Hinata, on her back in his bed and looking up at him with hunger, was seared into his memory for eternity.
Naruto crawled onto the bed. He brought his face to hover over hers, his hands supporting him beside her shoulders. Her legs had spread and thighs had parted to let him get as close as possible. He couldn't decide where he wanted to look, at her lovely face or gorgeous tits or eyes that shone with naked lust.
Before he could bring himself to take what was so willingly offered, he had to say something.
"I love you, Hinata."
Hinata's breath hitched, and her answering smile was enough to blind a lesser man.
"I love you too, Naruto."
Then Naruto leaned down and sank into a deep kiss and forgot about thinking of silly things like thinking. He didn't need to think right now. He didn't need to do anything but be a man with a woman, his woman.
Humanity (and most every other sapient species in the galaxy) liked to pretend they were above other animals. But certain scenarios were more suited for raw instinct than complex thought. The act of first mating was definitely one of them.
Naruto and Hinata kissed like they needed each other's lips and tongue more than oxygen. Arms curled around the opposite body, hands trailing and clutching and claiming every patch of skin they could find. It was the simplest thing in the world for them to tilt their hips just so. Then male pillar slid into female tunnel in a single thrust. The tiniest bite of pain echoed between their minds, still linked. The ache of a moment gave way to the glorious sensations of warm honey and soft silk against throbbing hardness, stretch and yield of inner walls, hot flesh filling dark depths that ached to be filled.
When they were as close as physically possible, a brief moment of clarity and rest and peace snapped them out of their lustful heat.
"You're so deep," Hinata breathed, tentatively flexing her lower muscles and almost losing her mind as she felt even MORE full of Naruto, her love, her husband, her forever.
"Progenitor thing," Naruto gasped against her lips, feeling his mighty soldier twitch with every heartbeat in its new home. And it did feel like coming home, like he was meant to be there and should never leave. "I'm in your womb. Your cervix opened up for me."
"'Kay," Hinata said lightly, shifting her legs to lock behind her lover's hips. "Make me scream."
"Back at ya," he panted before he gave into the urge to pull a little bit out just to feel what it was like to come back in.
They slowly built a rhythm, learning what felt good and what felt great and what felt divine. Sweat built a sheen of slick that just made every motion that much smoother and delicious. Naruto put his back into every bucking thrust, Hinata taking all he had and then demanding more. His hands went to her hips and clamped down like vices, hard enough to bruise but that just made it better. Her hands curled under his arms to clutch his shoulders, trying to pull him impossibly closer, deeper, further into her. Naruto set his knees wide just to get a stronger stance and fuck her like he meant it. Hinata clenched with all she had, doing her best to make the fit as tight as possible for even more mind-blowing friction.
Given how inexperienced they were, it was a wonder they lasted as long as they did. But between one push and pull and the next, a threshold was crossed. Naruto roared his release, ramming his prick into the back wall of Hinata's innermost chamber, a place that would only ever be touched by him and their children. And then it was just riding out the endless wave of his release, spurt after heavy spurt of his seed flooding her depths. On her end, tremors that felt like they belonged on the Richter scale rocked her whole body. An almost seizure-like attack hit her as her every muscle tensed to the breaking point around the unyielding invader, milking him for every drop. He filled her and filled her until something had to give. Her belly began to expand, making him arch over her but otherwise try to stay buried to the hilt.
The seconds passed, until Naruto's Progenitor orgasm ran its course. Shockwaves of light and heat and rapture stopped rebounding across their Connection, leaving them sane and aware once more.
"Wow," Naruto whispered hoarsely, his throat feeling rather scratched up. "So that's what the big deal is."
"Pretty sure that was a cut above 'normal' sex," Hinata gave a weak chuckle, all the aches and soreness drowned out by the pleasure now returning with a vengeance. Not as bad as a spar with Fa– Hiashi, but hard to miss.
Naruto reluctantly withdrew, the feeling of her wrapped around him becoming more bad than good with how over-sensitive he was post-nut. His withering prong's final inch slid out, the head retreating back into its hood. He gently maneuvered Hinata's legs out of their death grip around him. With a huff of exhaustion, Naruto laid on his back right next to Hinata, their heads inches apart on his one pillow. "That was a workout," he said, still catching his breath. Sex was hard exercise, at least the way they'd done it. His abs were on fire.
"Guess that's how we know we did it right," Hinata said sleepily, in very real danger of taking a nap to recover her rapidly expended energy.
"So… I know neither of us had a frame of reference, but I think you did awesome, wifey" Naruto paid an honest compliment.
"Back at you, hubby," Hinata grinned, staring vacantly at the ceiling. She brought a hand down to cup her bump, which looked like she was about to pop with a 10-pounder. "Something you forgot to mention?"
"You saw the quad. Before you ask, there's no risk. Part of the Change is you only ovulate if I trigger it with the Runes. So we can do it raw every time and it won't 'work' unless we want it to. And then it's a guarantee," Naruto explained.
"Speaking of… when would you want to have a baby?" Hinata gently asked.
"Not for a while. I'm not ready to share you just yet. I don't even want to get another Ward for a bit, this is still so new and you deserve to have me all to yourself right now," Naruto promised. "Ask me again when we're both Chunin and have moved into a real house."
"Sure thing," Hinata agreed. "While we're on the subject, though, how many do you want?"
"I always wanted a big family. The orphan thing sucks, and not the good way," Naruto said, reaching out a hand to join Hinata in cradling her swollen belly. "'Course, I didn't expect to get a Bloodline Limit that incentivizes me to get a harem. A single baby each from 9 women is the same as 9 babies from 1 woman, number-wise at least. Plus there's the whole 'not aging' thing to keep in mind."
"Forget about my future sister-wives. Right here, right now, how many babies do you wish I could give you?" Hinata wondered, turning her head to look him in the eye.
Naruto met her gaze and spoke from the heart. "As many as you'll let me. I really am a little stuck on the number '9'. Which is kinda funny, now I know about the Fox and all. Are you up for that?"
"Every baby will be living proof of our love. 9 at least," Hinata said with a loving grin. A sight Naruto could not imagine he'd ever get tired of.
Naruto leaned in to kiss the future mother of his children. "9 it is."