Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Shinigami no Naruto: Power of the Soul ❯ Discussions ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10: Discussions

After three days of almost nonstop travel, the great white walls of Konohagakure no Sato shining in the early afternoon light. When the great archway became visible, Teams Anko and Kakashi dropped out of the trees, slowing to a more sedate pace as they approached the gate on the dirt road.

Anko led the group to the guardhouse, showing her passport, telling the guard that they were returning from a successfully completed mission. The chunin on duty nodded, taking down the pertinent details before waving them in.

Naruto had his hands behind his head, fingers interlaced, savoring his first look at his home in almost a month. He was interrupted from his introspection by a Anko. "Alright guys, good work on your first successfully completed mission. Normally, I would go and file the mission report by myself, but given some of the more unusual occurrences," she said, looking at her three genin, "I think we should go to the debriefing together." Without a further word, Anko spun on her heel and marched towards the center of town. Kakashi caught up to them a minute later after having dismissed his own team. Naruto was used to the looks of hatred, disgust, and tiny amounts of ki directed his way, but he was garnering a lot more attention than usual thanks to his larger-than-life zanbato. He tried to shrug it off, but he still shifted slightly uncomfortably under all the stares.

Naruto gave a minuscule sigh of relief when they entered the Hokage's tower. Most of the ninja in the tower ignored him, either too absorbed in their work, or simply apathetic as to why his appearance had changed. Anko halted at the receptionists desk outside the Hokage's office. The male chunin on duty didn't look up from his work, gesturing to one side, saying in a bored tone, "place your mission report in the basket, and the Hokage will contact you for a mission debriefing if he deems it necessary."

Anko stared down at the man. "I need to give my report in person. There have been some developments that I believe that he need be made aware of immediately."

The chunin looked up from his work. Looking back, he caught sight of Naruto, Hinata and Tenten. He knew the brat, and was actually one of probably the handful of ninja in the village who had respected the Yondaime's request that the boy not be regarded as the prisoner, but as the jailer. He had seen the boy often enough to know him on sight, and him and his teammates new armaments caught him by surprise. Bending down again, he consulted a small book. "Very well. The Hokage is free at the moment. You may enter."

Anko nodded gratefully, glad to have caught someone who would demand that they apply through the proper channels to see the Hokage. She hated political bullshit like that.

"Leave the paperwork on the desk Sano-kun," the Hokage gesturing to a free space on his desk. Anko coughed, making the elderly ninja look up. "Oh, I'm sorry Anko-chan. I thought you were Sano coming in with more paperwork. I am relieved to see that you don't have any more paperwork. What may I do for you seem to have made it home unharmed."?" Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, grateful for the interruption that Anko had provided.

"Teams Nine and Seven reporting for debriefing, Hokage-sama." The Hokage leaned forward expectantly.

"Very well, lets hear it."

Anko spread her legs apart and folded her hands behind her, easing into a parade rest as she told the old man about the events that had prompted her to talk to him personally. His eyebrows rose when she said that her team had been attacked by a small group of unidentified shinobi on the way to Kirigakure along with the other power that Naruto, Tenten and Hinata had awakened during the fight with a very abbreviated description of their abilities. He had noticed the three genin's swords, but had refrained on commenting on them, as he figured that they would be explained in due course.

He frowned slightly when Anko went on to describe their reception upon arriving in Wave, and sent a very direct look at Kakashi when Anko mentioned both Sasuke and himself trying to use their Sharingans on her team, to which Kakashi shifted slightly. His frown deepened in concern when he heard about Naruto's Kyuubi-induced berserker rage in his fight against the samurai.

“I will have to recall one of my students to have a look at the seal. It is my understanding that this was to happen eventually, but not so early.”

“I appreciate the gesture Hokage-sama. I was planning on beginning to work with Naruto on learning about the seal now that it has gotten to this point.”

“Hm... That sounds like an excellent notion Anko. Jiraiya can assist you in that manner also when he arrives.”

Anko nodded. “However, I do wish to mention two things I noticed once I left Naruto at the bridgebuilders residence and arrived at the bridge with Team Seven already engaged to the enemy. Uchiha Sasuke contributed almost nothing to the fight, content to talk to the leader of the ninjas that accosted us on the way to Kirigakure. Tenten was able to overhear part of their conversation before she was detected. A number of disturbing things were mentioned, the least of which was that Takehiko, the ninja talking to Sasuke, referred to Sasuke as cousin.”

Hiruzen's eyebrows nearly vanished into his hair at those words. “Kakashi, is what she says true?”

“While I did question Sasuke about the man he spoke to, he was reluctant to answer any of my questions. He claimed it was a clan matter and refused to speak further. At the time, I was more concerned with getting Anko's genin, Naruto in particular medical attention than grilling Sasuke.”

“I see,” was the Hokage's enigmatic response. He frowned in thought as he motioned for Anko to continue.

“In the end, the man Sasuke was speaking to vanished and Gato, Zabuza and his apprentice Haku all died. That is all I have to say.”

“Kakashi, do you have anything to add?”

The Hatake shook his head. “Not at this time Hokage-sama.”

Now he say back, folding he hands across his stomach, considering the implications of Naruto and Company's new abilities.

Sighing, he spoke to the four ninja. "I am going to have to report their new abilities to the Shinobi Council unfortunately. They will undoubtedly want to interview you," he said gazing at Naruto, "to determine whether or not your abilities constitute a new kekkei genkai or not although the fact that what appears to be the same power manifested itself in the three of you simultaneously implies otherwise. Then you will have to have all your powers recorded." The Hokage held up a hand, silencing the boy before he spoke. "I assure you, this is not to steal you abilities, but to have a documentation of them, in the astronomically low chance that similar power were to manifest in another outside Team Nine. Every technique ever created has gone through this process, with the exception of the Yondaime's Flying Thunder God Technique is down in the jutsu archives."

Naruto calmed down at this, hearing they weren't going to be a special case. "For now however, you are dismissed. You will be summoned, probably in the next couple of days, to speak to the council." The three genin and two jounin departed, leaving Sarutobi alone to his thoughts. "This is going to cause a lot of trouble." He had no clue how right he was.

Tenten and Hinata were dismissed for the day, Anko instructing the pair to return home immediately to recuperate. Naruto, on the other hand, she had plans for. She allowed her son to unpack his gear and get a shower before dragging him down to the den. “So, allow me to introduce you to what is going to be the most frustrating aspect of your schooling for the foreseeable future. Sealing techniques. Now that you have awoken the Kyuubi's power, we will be spending several hours a day studying seals. As a Jinchuuriki, it would be foolhardy for you to be ignorant of how the seal on your stomach functions.” Pushing him down onto the overstuffed leather couch, she reached over the back and withdrew the first scroll. She unrolled it over both of their laps and started to explain the intricacies of the most complex type of ninja techniques.

Anko figured that she would focus mostly on the basics until Jiraiya could arrive, and then he could take over.

OoOoO

Naruto's eye jerked open as the blaring beep beep beep of his alarm clock forcefully ripped him from blissful unconsciousness. Smacking the off switch, he noted that the sun was already up. He lay in his bed for a minute, thankful that Anko had given him a reprieve from their early morning workout sessions for once.

Racing through his morning ablutions, he downed half a dozen ramen cups and waited impatiently for Anko to drag her sorry ass downstairs. He heard her thumping about upstairs so she would be down soon. When she stumbled downstairs he snatched her hand and started to bolt out the door.

Sighing exaggeratedly, she said, “Not this morning brat.”

"Why? What's going on?"

"You got an appearance with the Council in ten minutes."

"Already? I thought they wouldn't call me up for another couple of days."

"Yeah right brat. They want to know exactly what kind of techniques you three have come up with, and want them down on paper."

"I still don't like how I have to hand over all my secrets to them just so they can write them down."

"That is tough brat. Even my personal techniques are recorded somewhere in the vaults. So don't feel like you are a special case here."

Scowling, he nodded slowly and followed her to the Hokage's tower, finding that Tenten and Hinata had also been summoned when he met them at the doors. Once admitted, they were directed to the Council chamber.

Squeezing him on the shoulder once for courage, she stepped back and let them enter the room alone. Naruto entered the room, looking around in curiosity. The room was rather Spartan, consisting of one oblong table for the Council, and a number of smaller tables around the wall, laden with coffee, tea, sweetbreads, and the like. The wall to the left was entirely occupied by a floor to ceiling window, displaying a panoramic view of the village. But right now, Naruto's attention was focused solely on the dozen or so men and women seated at the table.

He recognized a few of them, namely the Hokage at the head, the long haired, white eyed guy who was unmistakably a Hinata's father, a wild-looking woman who was probably an Inuzuka, a pineapple haired man that was obviously related to Shikamaru, a guy with shades and a high collar who was probably an Aburame, and a fat guy, who, judging by the swirly tattoos on his cheeks was Choji's father. There were a number of others he did not recognize, but realized that they were probably influential shinobi.

With a look that conveyed his sorrow at forcing the genin element of Team Nine to be here, Sarutobi called the meeting to order. "Genin Hyuuga-san, Genin Higurashi-san, Genin Uzumaki-san, you are called before the Shinobi Council because it is reported in the mission scroll for C-rank mission 90125842 you displayed heretofore unknown abilities in combat with four identified shinobi and two Kiri nuke-nin. Is this correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," echoed by his compatriots. Naruto was tempted to refer to him by his personal moniker, but refrained, realizing that antagonizing the Council here would not be beneficial to his case.

"Genin Hyuuga-san, Genin Higurashi-san, Genin Uzumaki-san, are these jutsu derived from family jutsu, or an unknown kekkei genkai?"

"No, Hokage-sama.” Naruto replied. Hinata and Tenten had elected him their spokesman for the moment it seemed.

"Were these jutsu taught to you by a foreign shinobi?"

“No, Hokage-sama."

"Are these jutsu of your own original conception?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." At this most of the Council set to muttering. How was it that the demon brat could invent several techniques at the same time without anyone knowing? And that was completely discounting Hinata and Tenten. The Hokage rapped his gavel once, silencing the whispering. The Hyuuga at the table raised his hand, signaling he had something to say to the Council.

The Hokage leaned back wincing. "I yield the floor to Hyuuga Hiashi-san."

The Hyuga Head stood up. "I propose an Order in Council classifying these new jutsu as general knowledge jutsu, to be taught as appropriate when ranked."

"Absolutely not." All heads whipped to Naruto who was standing at the foot of the table, arms crossed, eyes flashing angrily.

"Genin Uzumaki-san, you do not have permission to address the Council at this time. Please restrain yourself at this time." Hiashi turned to address the Council again, when Naruto's voice rang out again.

"Fuck that and fuck you." Naruto had shrugged Tenten's restraining hand on his shoulder. He was too angry at Hiashi right now to listen to reason. Everyone present gasped at the insult thrown at the head of the First Clan. The Hokage sighed wearily. He had feared that something like this would happen, but now that Naruto had brazenly insulted the Hyuugas, there was very little he could do for the moment.

"What do you mean by that, Genin Uzumaki-san?"

"I mean that you are discussing about taking my jutsu and teaching them to everyone in the village. Screw that. They are mine, and will remain so. The only people that I will teach them to are those I deem worthy and trust implicitly, and when the time comes, those of my family. The Nara's and Akamichi's weren't required to give out all their secrets when they first came up with their family jutsus, so I don't see why I should. Besides, I doubt that anyone else could learn my jutsu."

The Council sat there in shock. Naruto grinned internally. He doubted that anyone had spoken to them like that in a long time, if ever.

Seizing on the least part of what he had said, Hiashi addressed him again. "What do you mean, you don't think that anyone else could learn your techniques? You said that they weren't a result of a kekkei genkai. Plus your two teammates seem to have very similar abilities, so if they can manifest this new power others should be able to also."

"I am certain they are not, however, my new techniques are based on a power different from chakra I awoke during the mission. I think that most people could awaken the same power as Hinata and Tenten have, but if they were to, I don't think that their power would be the same as mine."

"What is the name of this power?"

Naruto knew he should shut up now, but the Council had really irritated him, and he couldn't help taunting them. "It's called spirit power, and is drawn from a different source than chakra."

When he said this, everyone started talking at once, discussing the possibilities of the use of another energy separate from chakra. Naruto stood there, slightly shocked. Had they forgotten what he had just said about him not teaching anyone else his jutsu? Closing his eyes, he focused inwards, compressing his reiryoku and released it as spiritual pressure. All conversation ceased as the Council members felt what appeared to be an increase in gravity as the ground trembled ever so slightly.

"I thought I said that my techniques would stay with me. I don't care what you say, there is no way I am sharing them with anyone other than my family." He paused and looked to either side, suddenly remembering that he was not the only one there. “I have no control over either of my teammates, so they could pass this ability on if they wished, but I am not going to share my hard won power with just anyone.” Naruto let up on the reiatsu and suddenly it was easier for everyone to breathe. Shocked at his blatant display of power, the Council looked away from him, muttering about the demon brat getting too much power.

At the mention of the prisoner within him, his rage flared. He had turned to leave without being dismissed, but whirled back, focusing his reiatsu full force. This time the weight was at least a third greater, and the trembling was very distinct.

"Too much power? You think I have shown too much power? Trust me this is nothing compared to my real power. I could embrace the demon within me, and yes, I know about the Kyuubi that my biological father, the Yondaime, had sealed in me, and there isn't anything that you, anything anyone could do to stop me. You call me the demon brat, yet you know nothing of the difference between the prisoner and the prison. The only reason I stay is for him," he snarled, pointing at the Hokage, "and my precious people. Don't hold any illusions about how I feel towards you. Because of you, I have been hated my entire life, for nothing that I can control. I thank the Hokage for trying to protect me with his law, but you managed to circumvent it anyways, by telling your children that I was dangerous, that I am to be avoided. The one flaw that the old man has is that he is too trusting, too forgiving. But back to my original point. Do you want to see a bit of my true power?" With that he brought up a hand, two fingers out, thumb folded over the remaining three. His visage twisted and bits of electricity began coalescing around his hand. His eyes shifted a shade or two darker and his hair stirred ever so faintly.

Alarmed, the Sandaime Hokage shot to his feet. "Naruto stand down at once!"

Naruto turned to face his idol, who shrank back slightly at the hate and rage on his face. Holding his sparking fist pointed at the Hyuuga a moment longer, he released his power, the electricity dissipating and the weight lifting, black attire shifting back. "Hai, Hokage-sama." With one last sneer to the Council, he spun on his heel and departed. Everyone in the tower moved out of his way as they sensed the barely restrained power and simmering rage in the young man, black cloths appearing and dissappearing as he struggled to control his temper. Tenten and Hinata exchanged an uncertain look, unsure what to do. Naruto had left but neither of them had been dismissed. The Council appeared to had forgotten about them so the Hokage made a shooing gesture, giving them permission to leave. Hopefully the Council would forget their presence at this meeting. Neither had uttered a handful of words, rather foolishly in hindsight letting Naruto have free rein on his tongue.

The Hokage slumped back in his seat after Naruto departed, ignoring the shouts that had erupted. He had never suspected that the blond boy held so much resentment for the Council. He had failed, it appeared. He had tried to shield Naruto from as much of the Councils machinations as possible, telling them of the Yondaime's last request, and when it was obvious that they didn't care, instituted the law that Naruto had mentioned. "I'm sorry Naruto," he whispered while the Council raged on.

OoOoO

Anko met them outside the double doors to the Council Chamber, left them soon after, saying that she still had some business in the tower. When the three remaining genin exited through the great oaken doors, Tenten took a breath and rallied her courage. “Naruto-kun,” she said, in an unusually demure tone, “are you doing anything this evening?”

“Ah, not really Tenten-chan. Why, do you need something?”

“Well, not really. You see, the thing is, I was wondering if you would be willing to go out on a date with me tonight?”

“Sure Tenten-chan, I would love to.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Tenten's face bolted up, a nearly painfully wide smile splitting her face. “Excellent! Okay, you can come pick me up at half past six, don't be late. Pick someplace nice, Naruto-kun.” Without another word she turned and skipped away, feet barely touching the ground. Naruto looked after her, wondering at his luck and walked away towards his apartment.

It wasn't until Naruto was unlocking the door to his house did he realize something. Well, multiple somethings. One, he had no idea where Tenten lived. Two, he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do on a date. Three, while he knew he was supposed to take her to some place nice, he hadn't a clue where to take her. He had only discovered Ichiraku's because he hadn't been able to find a restaurant that would serve him that day. Whirling around he ran to the two people he could trust to help him. Anko was completely off limits for this kind of thing.

He arrived five minutes later at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar. He collapsed onto one of the stools, panting slightly. Teuchi approached him, leaning on the counter to talk to his only customer for the moment.

“Hey there Naruto. It's been rather lonely here at the stand without you to visit us? What happened?”

Naruto told Teuchi and his daughter Ayame of the mission to Kiri and Wave, glossing over the greater portion in favor of speed. Getting to the end of his tale, he told them of how Tenten had asked him out on a date tonight when they reached the gates. “But, uh, the thing is, I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to do. I was hoping that I could get some advice from Ayame-chan.”

Ayame, who remembered the brunette with buns had clasped her hands together, with miniature hearts in her eyes. “Don't worry, leave it to me Naruto.” Teuchi shook his head laughing softly. He lowered the security gate. He figured that they could afford to close the stand early once in a while.

OoOoO

Naruto was seriously starting to question the wisdom in asking Ayame for help. She had practically ripped her apron off, snatched his hand and went tearing across town, dragging him to his house. He had let them into his abode, and Ayame had gone to work. First she went into his room, searching through his clothes for something appropriate to wear on a first date.

A few minutes later, his bedroom looked like a war zone, all his clothes dug out of his closet and drawers, strewn across his bed and floor haphazardly. She had found an outfit that Anko had bought for him one day before the mission to Kiri.

Flashback no jutsu

It was a week after his first shopping trip for clothes. The team had broken early, Tenten and Hinata had been dismissed, but Anko snatched him by his collar when he tried to escape.

“And where do you think you are going, brat?”

“You said we were done for the day.”

“Did I? Hmm… well I lied. You and me are going shopping again.”

“Shopping! Shopping for what?”

“You don't have any formal wear.”

“What would I need formal wear for?”

“Well, what do you think you are supposed to wear on a date? Do you think you could get into a decent restaurant in that?” She said gesturing dismissively at his training clothes. “And when I say decent restaurant, I mean some place other than Ichiraku's,” heading off his argument.

Naruto gave up, just figuring it would be easier to let her have her way that fight her about it. Besides, she had a point he supposed.

Flashback no jutsu kai

Ayame held up the clothes, imagining what they would look like on him. “This will do I suppose. You really need some more clothes to wear outside of training Naruto.”

He sighed and went into the bathroom to change. He emerged, a few minutes later, looking like a completely different person. He was wearing a red long sleeve button down shirt with grey pinstripes tucked into tan slacks with a black leather dress belt. Over that he wore his tan trenchcoat with the black swirl and tails symbol. Hurrying over, she hauled him over to the sink, turning on the tap and wetting a brush down. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't get his hair to lie down in any sort of orderly fashion. Giving it up as a bad job she stood back to admire her handiwork.

“My my you do clean up nicely, brat.”

Naruto reacted purely on instinct, falling into a Hebi Style stance used when ambushed by an unknown number of foes in an unknown number of directions. Anko caught his chop easily, smirking wider. “That was pathetic, runt. That chop wouldn't have caught a civilian off guard, let alone me.”

Naruto scowled. “What do you want Mom? As you can see, I am a little busy right now. We just got back from a mission, so you can't be here to drag me off to train.”

“Well, if you are going to be rude, I guess I will keep the money.”

“Wait, what do you mean, keep the money?” Anko was an okay parent, but he could never imagine her giving him a wad of cash out of the kindness of her heart, mostly because she didn't have one. He had never had an allowance before and couldn't imagine why she would start now.

“Your share of the pay for the completion of an A-ranked mission, and the bounties for Zabuza and Haku.” Anko tossed him a voucher. We will have to go to one of the banks to cash that. Mission hall doesn't have enough money on hand for it. We will go down to the bank I use a bit later, and we can get an account set up for you.” Normally, with C and D-rank missions, one could go directly to what many had termed the 'finance ghoul,' the lady who ran the accounting department, and deposit their vouchers directly into the special shinobi accounts kept in the tower. But with anything over C-rank, one had to go to one of the civilian banks to cash the voucher, and then deposit into the shinobi vault.

Naruto looked up at his mom and actually smiled at her, expression his gratitude in that one expression. Just then, he heard a discreet cough from behind him. Whirling around blushing furiously, he faced his other two house guests. Teuchi stood up and extended a hand to the pineapple-haired woman.

“It is nice to see you again Anko-san.”

“Likewise,” she replied taking the proffered hand.

“Sorry about barging into your home, but Ayame was helping Naruto get ready for a date,” Teuchi commented.

“Now why didn't you ask your dear old mother for help? I would have been more than happy to help,” Anko stated, leering at her student/son.

Naruto scowled. “And therein lies the problem."

Anko grinned before excusing. “Oh of course. I don't think I have ever heard him have a bad thought about you, Anko-san."

"I am sure that is true," turning an amused glance on Naruto, telling him that she knew that Teuchi was lying on his behalf, and was most likely going to pay for it. Her business concluded, she excused herself. There were people to bother.

Turning back to Naruto, Ayame began giving Naruto a crash course in dating.

OoOoO

'What have I gotten myself into,' Naruto was wondering. He had run over to Ichiraku's Ramen Bar at about one thirty. It was now edging on to five, and Ayame was still going strong. She had lectured him for two hours on proper etiquette for a formal restaurant, from how he wasn't supposed to wolf his food down, to make sure to make small talk with his date. There were a thousand things to remember, Naruto thought to his dismay, and each thing seemed like it was exactly the kind of thing that would get him and Tenten-chan ejected unceremoniously from the restaurant.

After that they had gone out to Teuchi and Ayame's house to grab a phone directory. From there they selected the restaurant that he was going to take Tenten out to, a western-style restaurant that Ayame frequented, knowing the manager there. After making a reservation, Ayame figured out where exactly Tenten lived, and called her. She handed the phone to Naruto as Tenten's father called for his daughter.

"Hello?" Tenten asked into the phone.

"Hey Tenten-chan, its me."

"Oh hey Naruto-kun, what is up?"

"I, ah, just wanted to let you know where we were going to go tonight, so you, uh, know how to get dressed."

"You aren't supposed to tell your date where you are going, Naruto-kun, its supposed to be a surprise."

"Err... okay then I guess... Oh, um, there was another reason why I wanted to call. The thing is, I don't really know where you live... Uh, so I don't know where to pick you up..."

On the other end, Tenten was turning a very Hinata-like shade of red. She hadn't counted on him not knowing her address. "Sorry, I kinda forgot to tell you." She told him her address, giving him directions from the Hokage's tower.

“Thanks Tenten-chan. See you in an hour.”

“See you Naruto-kun.” Naruto hung up the phone, exhaling a breath of relief. Well that was one hurdle passed. Tucking the directions in his pocket, he asked Ayame what was next.

“Now we gotta get you flowers.” Naruto looked at Gama-chan in dismay. He was not going to like the severe diet that his wallet was going to be on, at this rate. Ignoring his look at his wallet, Ayame took his hand and led him out the door, allowing him to lock it behind him. Then she led the way to the Yamanaka flower shop. The door opened with a tinkling bell, and the girl at the counter responded with a mechanical “Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, our flowers are as beautiful as your love,” continuing to read her magazine as she talked.

Ayame approached the counter, garnering the girl's attention. “Hello, we need a flower arrangement for my friend here,” gesturing to the dressed up Naruto. The girl, Ino, Naruto seemed to vaguely recall, looked up and looked at him. Then looked at him again. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped slightly. Was this Uzumaki Naruto? She barely knew the boy, mostly by reputation as the villages greatest troublemaker. Yet here he was, dressed up for a date, asking for flowers and nervous as hell.

She had been a year ahead of the blond shinobi, but she knew that he had a crush on her friend, Haruno Sakura. Surely she hadn't accepted one of his offers for a date? Immediately, she shifted into what her friends termed as her 'interrogator-mode.” She blinked a couple times and looked at him through her lashes. “Who is the lucky girl, Naruto-san?”

“It's, ah, Higurashi Tenten, the weapons mistress,” he muttered, averting his gaze. Ino didn't recognize the name, but she did recognize the description. Go figure. The girl had always struck her as too much of a tomboy to be interested in guys. “First date?”

“Kind of.” She sat back thinking for a moment. Walking around the counter, she returned a few minutes later with a dozen flowers in her grip, shears in the other. White roses for innocence and pureness of love, and yellow dandelions for eternal devotion. Ino doubted that the blond boy knew the significance of the flowers, but his chaperone did, and she was sure that his date would. She wrapped them, trimming the stems to make them last longer, and completed the transaction. They both thanked her, and as soon as they were out the door, she was on the phone, dialing her best friend's number.

“What do you want Ino-pig,” came the voice.

“Can it Forehead-girl. You will never believe who just came in for flowers for a date.” She was right, Sakura didn't believe her.

OoOoO

Taking a deep breath to attempt to kill some of the butterflies using his stomach as a playground, he knocked on the door resolutely, holding the flowers behind him. He knew from previous attempts to shop here that Tenten's father was one of the shinobi that did not like him. He doubted that the man would allow him to catch a glimpse of Tenten if he were to come knocking with flowers in his hand.

The door opened, revealing the older mans sour visage. “What the hell are you doing here, demon?”

Uh, hello Higurashi-san. Is Tenten-chan home?” The weapons shop owner peered at the youth suspiciously. His daughter had been in her room most of the afternoon preparing for a date. He was sure he had warned her off the demon.

“Yes, she is. What do you need her for?”

“Ah, Anko-sensei said that we wanted to meet us all at the training grounds now for an emergency meeting.”

“Well, Tenten is a little busy now. I will pass the message on.” With that he started to close the door, but was interrupted.

“Hey Naruto-kun!” Tenten called from the stairs. Truthfully she had been waiting at the top of the stairs for twenty minutes now, in order to avoid just this event. Telling her father that she was aware of the meeting, she quickly made her way through the room and out the door, before he could question how she knew of an “emergency” meeting, and why she was going out all dressed up.

The pair quickly vacated the immediate area, and when they were several blocks away, Tenten hauled her date short. “Honestly Naruto, do you own anything other than your training clothes?”

“What? Oh yeah,” Naruto said. He had come up with the idea to disguise himself into his more traditional garb, to avoid arousing undue suspicion. When he did, Tenten sighed in relief. She had feared that he was going to take her on a date in those clothes. Hopefully, he would avoid Ichiraku now.

Hesitating slightly, he brought his concealed hand from behind his back, handing the roses and dandelions to her. Tenten gasped and smiled. She doubted that Naruto had picked the arrangement, but the thought was what counted she supposed. She clutched the flowers to her bosom, drawing Naruto's attention to her attire. Tenten was wearing an ankle-length blue skirt and a pink blouse with frilly sleeves, tight enough around her bust to show her “assets” off, but not tight enough for her to poke through. The neck dipped low enough to show a pleasant expanse of pale bosom, showing a tiny bit of cleavage. Her hair was up in her trade mark buns, but she had a pair of ornately decorated chopsticks crossing through them. Her hair seemed shinier than before also.

When Naruto had taken in her appearance, he grinned widely and said “wow, you're very pretty Tenten-chan,” forgetting all of his earlier nervousness. He offered his arm to her, like Ayame had instructed him, and he lead the way to the restaurant. The waiter seemed to have some doubts about seating Naruto, and most of the occupants showered his with looks of disgust, but he brushed them off. He was on a date with a very pretty girl, in a very nice restaurant, and nothing was going to spoil the evening for him.

He decided as soon as he entered the eating establishment, that he would play the greatest prank that they had ever witnessed on them. He would be perfectly behaved, eating calmly and neatly, showing none of his usual boisterousness.

OoOoO

The evening had gone fantastically, Naruto mused, two and a half hours later, drowsing in his bed. They had staring off with onion ring appetizers, before he ordered a 64 ounce steak, and Tenten had ordered some baked chicken. The other occupants had stared unabashedly as Naruto exercised extreme self-control and behaved as a perfect gentleman. He had cut his meal into small bites and slowly used his fork to eat them. He drank his beverage at a sedate pace, not gulping it down in a handful of seconds.

They finished the meal off with slices of chocolate cake and a super-sized milkshake. Naruto paid the bill as he was supposed to, ignoring the flatness of his wallet. He would worry over that later. Smiling and thanking the waiter, he waltzed out of the restaurant, Tenten on his arm, grinning madly. That meal would be the topic of gossip for weeks to come. Anko, Kurenai, and Asuma dropped the Henges they had held throughout the meal as an elderly trio, rather surprised at Naruto's behavior. It certainly would warrant a good deal of discussion.

“Hey, pass me the binoculars,” a certain pink haired girl whispered.

“Quiet Forehead-girl you are going to get us caught.”

“It's my turn to watch, I wanna see too.” Ino lowered the focusing lenses and sighed as she passed them to her best friend.

“Well, who'da thunk it, Naruto can actually act like a gentleman. I had thought that they would be driven out ten minutes into the meal, but they lasted the entire time.”

“I know. I mean, he is nothing like how he was in the Academy. I wonder if he could be an impostor. That would explain why he was so good tonight.”

“Why would anyone want to masquerade as Naruto on a date with Tenten-san?”

“Good point. Well, whatever the reason, it is certainly weird.” Sakura passed the binoculars back to Ino-pig as she got up to shadow the couple away from the restaurant. Ino tucked them away and imitated her pink-haired counterpart. Unfortunately they parted ways two blocks before arriving at Tenten's house, Tenten leaned forward and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek, before departing. Naruto lingered at the corner a minute longer before heading home also. The date completed, Sakura and Ino parted ways also.

Naruto gently caressed the cheek that Tenten had kissed, feeling oddly warm. The butterflies had departed hours ago, and now all that remained was a sense of peace. Naruto fell asleep with a smile curving his lips, playing that one scene over and over in his mind. He pushed the odd feeling that he had known the three elderly people eating in the next booth, and the unseen eyes that he had felt on him the entire time to the back of his brain. He would worry about those tomorrow. Right now was too pleasant to disturb with such thoughts.

OoOoO

Team Nine assembled early the next day. Anko was smiling like the proverbial cat that got the canary. Naruto shuddered. Whatever Anko had in store, it was bound ot be unpleasant. “I got us another C-rank mission,” she began without preamble.

“What?” Tenten exclaimed. “We just got back from a mission the other day! Aren't we supposed to have at least a week between C-ranks during peacetime?”

“Mmmm, yeah, but I get bored without something to do.”

“You could, oh, I don't know, train us or something.”

“Yeah, I could, but missions are more fun. And besides, we wont be leaving the village.”

Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion. “What kind of C-rank is that then?”

“That would be telling.” The four of them stood there, the genin, getting slightly uncomfortable, Anko still with that unsettling grin.

“Anko, why don't you show us our assignment?” In the early morning quiet Hinata's soft tone was loud as gunfire.

“Thought you would never ask! LET'S GO!” Anko punctuated that remark by flinging her arm towards the Hokage Rock. Hinata, Naruto and Tenten followed silently as Anko hummed a merry little tune to herself.

Five minutes later the group entered the gates for the Konoha Shinobi Academy. “Uh, Mom, what are we doing here?”

“Our mission.”

“Yeah, I got that, but what does our mission have us doing here.”

“Oh, this and that. You know.” Naruto sighed once again and followed his mother into the building. She led her students down several halls and stopped before a door. “Here is our assignment,” she remarked, opening the door with one hand and standing to the side, giving an unobstructed view of the room full of students within.

“You're shitting,” Naruto deadpanned.

“Nope,” she responded cheerfully.

Tenten strode in past the two to stand before the instructor's desk, quickly followed by everyone else. Before they had a chance to introduce themselves a very familiar voice piped up from the back of the room. “Hey Boss, what are you doing here? Where is Iruka-sensei?”

“Pipe down back there,” Anko growled. “My name is Mitarashi Anko, and these three maggots are Uzumaki Naruto, Higurashi Tenten, and Hyuuga Hinata. We will be filling in for Iruka for the next couple of days.”

“What happened to Iruka-sensei?” another one of the members of the Konohamaru Corps spoke up. The pigtailed brunette had at least raised her hand, if not waited for permission before speaking.

“That is not your concern. Now, for the time being, you will refer to me as Anko-sensei. Now, Iruka left some lesson plans behind, but it is mostly bookwork and that is boring. So we're going to go outside today. FOLLOW ME!” Anko waved her arm in a large circular motion and started to head towards the door when she noticed that no one was following her. “Well, what are you waiting for, GET GOING!” she roared, causing the entire room to jump. One by one the student filed past an annoyed Anko and into the yard. She immediately had Naruto use the Shadow Clone Technique to create one of himself for each student.

“What we are going to be working on is taijutsu and tactical thinking. One of the most important abilities for a ninja is the ability to think during a fight. In my opinion, this skill is severely under stressed here in the Academy, and I am going to be working to rectify that. Now, I know you are taught to try to use the environment. Tell me, what are some ways you could think of to use this clearing to your advantage in a fight?”

“Well,” one girl said, putting a finger to her chin, “you could use the Headhunter Technique to capture your opponent.”

“That is a good idea, but that is not exactly what I was talking about. You can use the Headhunter Technique on any solid surface. I am asking what about the environment itself could you use to help you.” She waited a few seconds to see if anyone would answer and sighed when no one did. “As I thought. Well,” she said looking around briefly, “I could pretend to get my feet knocked out from underneath me, and when I am on my back grab a fistful of dirt. When my opponent leans down to kill me, I would throw the dirt in his face, blinding him. Or I could use a wind jutsu to stir up all this loose dirt and dust, forcing my enemy to lose track of me, unless he has some sort of special sensory ability. But assuming he doesn't, I could then create a clone, run away, or attack, depending on the situation.

“Now, what I want each of you to do is pick a Naruto clone and spar. No jutsus, just hand-to-hand combat. The only way to win your spar is to find a way to use the environment to your advantage.” The crowd of children immediately leaped up and snatched a Naruto to play with. Anko smirked. This was going to be fun. She stalked among the rows of students battling Naruto's barking out “encouragement.” By the end of the day, Iruka's class, she had put the fear of God in the impressionable youngsters, many redoubling their efforts to defeat their Naruto lest they give Anko a reason to swoop down on them.

Tenten and Hinata stood off to one side, Hinata with her Byakugan active, keeping a keen eye on the Narutos, directing Tenten to dispel them when they got a little too carried away. It was good endurance training for Hinata and provided endless amusement to Tenten, trying to find ever more creative ways to “kill” her boyfriend. She just smiled all the wider when the real thing scowled at her. Absently she wondered if Anko was rubbing off on her.

OoOoO

Three days later, Hinata was in her room, having told the branch member outside her door that she was not to be disturbed.

Going to her desk, she withdrew the family finance ledger. When her mother had died years ago, she had been too young to take up her responsibilities as mistress of the house at the time, but now maintaining the ledger was one of her primary responsibilities. She was checking the numbers for some repairs that were being performed on one of the buildings belonging to the branch house when she was interrupted.

"I thought I said that I was not to be disturbed Io-san," she said to the female branch member that was stationed outside the door.

"Apologies Hinata-sama, but your father requests your presence in his study."

Hinata sighed. He probably wanted to lecture her about her status as a Hyuuga, how they weren't supposed to be weak, or something. Or about her new sword and the accompanying power. She prayed that it was the former rather than the latter. Still, she was surprised that her father had waited half a week to summon her. Usually she was directed to her father's study the instant she got in from a mission. Hinata had been applying every ninja trick she knew to avoid the head of the First Clan that she knew but it was only a matter of time. It was obvious that Naruto did not wish for their abilities to spread beyond Team Nine, but she didn't know how long she would be able to resist her father's inevitable wish for others to learn to access spirit power. She marked the column she was on and put the ledger away.

Hinata slowly opened the door and closed it behind her, allowing the branch member to escort her to the study. When she entered, she knelt in front of her father's desk, looking at the ground.

"You requested my presence father?"

"Yes I did Hinata-chan. The Shinobi Council met earlier today, and as an Order in Council, it was determined that you are to be married."

At these words, Hinata froze, her hopes rising. She had assumed that Team Nine's new abilities had been the only subject of discussion at the meeting. Surely Naruto would have mentioned an arranged marriage with her had it been discussed with him, her heart falling faster than it had risen. Plus he was already dating Tenten.

"W-who am I to m-marry Father?" Hinata whispered morosely.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Hinata's head whipped up so fast that it nearly gave her whiplash. "What? I don't understand. H-he said n-nothing of m-m-marriage to me e-earlier today. A-also N-naruto-kun is d-dating Tenten-san. Why would he a-agree to marry me?"

"This arrangement was made without his knowledge or consent. Uzumaki-san had displayed a disturbing amount of disloyalty and power in the Council meeting earlier in the week, as well as some powerful abilities. As much strength as he has, we cannot afford to lose him before his abilities are studied and understood. The loss of Orochimaru has taught us to be more prudent when it comes to overly powerful, young shinobi. To that effect, he is to marry into the Hyuuga clan, so that his newfound techniques can be placed under our control, and his loyalty to the village cemented." He still hadn't thought of how to manage the third member of his daughter's team, Tenten, yet, but he was certain that he would think of something. Perhaps he could arrange a marriage for her also. Neji would be a possibility.

Hinata sat there in shock, jaw hanging open. Then she did the only thing she could think of doing. She fainted.

OoOoO

Naruto was woken up the next morning by a messenger hawk rapping on his window. Dashing his hand in front of his eyes to clear them, he opened the window and allowed the bird in. He opened the document case on its back and the bird took off again. Unrolling the scroll, he saw it was a summons to see the Hokage. Grunting he flopped back on his bed, glancing over to the clock. 9:02 am. He sighed. He had been enjoying being able to sleep in more ever since Anko had said that his skills were good enough that he didn't need the early morning training sessions any more.

Anko was not in the house so getting water on the stove to boil; Naruto undressed and took a quick shower. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he walked out to the kitchenette and poured the water into half a dozen instant ramen cups. He had managed to break the security on the ramen cupboard long ago, but only bypassed them when absolutely necessary. He was sure that there would be hell to pay as well as increased security if his mother found out that he had beaten her traps. He couldn't eat them in the morning because she was there the entire time, and now he was making up for lost time.

Abruptly the doorbell rang, startling him out of his reverie. Unmindful of how little he was wearing, he strode to the door, ramen cup in hand. However, the person standing there was the last one he expected. Hinata froze when Naruto opened the door. Her eyes locked onto him, mentally glomping his toned physique.

"HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto yelled. Hinata jumped and squeaked, immediately averting her eyes. "Sorry, but you weren't responding. What do you need?"

Hinata kept her eyes locked on her feet. "A-ano, N-nauto-kun, b-but I have s-something really important to t-t-tell you."

"Uh, sure, I guess. I'm kinda busy right now; I gotta go talk to the Hokage about something. Why don't you come with me, and we can talk about it on the way there?"

"A-a-alright Naruto-kun."

"Come inside. I'll be ready in a minute."

Hesitantly Hinata took a step inside. She looked around at his and Anko's house, noting the small differences, such as the couch slightly farther to the left than it had been before.

Naruto dashed into his bedroom and closed the door, reemerging a minute later. "Alright Hinata-chan, let's go." He held out the door for her and locked it behind himself. Leaping up to the rooftops, he asked her what she wanted to talk about.

"Ano, N-naruto-kun, but I think maybe we should wait and see what the Hokage wanted to see you about."

Confused, Naruto acquiesced. Before much longer they landed at the tower gate and were admitted. Naruto led her up through the building until they arrived at the receptionist's desk in front of the doors leading to the Hokage's office. Naruto waved the scroll in front of the chunin on duty and he let them by.

The Hokage looked up from his work when the door opened. He expected to see Naruto, seeing as he had been summoned, but Hinata was a surprise. Still, given the topic of the discussion about to be had, maybe it was best if she was present.

“Naruto, thanks for coming so quickly. Hinata-san, I hadn't expected you to show up, but it might be better that you had." Naruto looked between the two, wondering at what the Hokage could want to talk about that involved his friend. Sighing, the old Hokage gestured to the two chairs positioned before him. "Please take a seat. This might take a while."

When they had, he began. "Naruto, I have to say that part of what I am about to tell you, you are not going to like. This decision was reached because of your most ill-advised rant at the Shinobi Council last week. Your blatant displays of power and disregard for the rulings of the Council, as well as your given reasons for staying in the village have prompted a most unpleasant decision. Please know that I tried to block it, but they were able to override my veto."

"Just say it out Jijii. What did they do to me?"

"By Order in Council you are to be married Naruto. They think that marrying you off will get you to divulge your new techniques, and cement your loyalty to the village."

By the end of the Hokage's miniature speech, Naruto's face was utterly calm, far too calm for the explosive blond. "I see. And who am I to marry, if I may ask?"

The Hokage winced at the coolness of his tone. "You are to marry the girl sitting right there, Hyuuga Hinata." Sarutobi waited for the explosion that never came. Looking at the boy, he had turned in his seat to face his friend.

"And what do you think of this Hinata-chan?" he asked quietly.

Hinata was torn. On one hand, this was her ultimate dream; she was going to marry Naruto-kun! But on the other hand, it was not because he loved her, but because he was being forced into it. He was supposed to take her somewhere romantic and proclaim his undying love to her, now he might hate her for forcing him to be away from Tenten.

"To tell the truth Naruto-kun, this is my dream come true. I have loved you for a long time, ever since we were in the Academy, even if I was too much of a weakling and a coward to ever let you know. But I didn't have any part of this, you must believe me! I wanted you to fall in love with me, before you married me, not be forced into it by anyone. Please, you must believe that this is not how I wanted it to be!" At the end she was trembling terribly, with a sad, lost look in her eyes tears pooling in the corners.

Naruto gently took her hands in his and whispered back, "I know you had no part in this, Hinata-chan. It's all the fucking Council, messing with me. I'm sorry that you got dragged into this, Hinata-chan. I want you to know, even if I never realized that you loved me, I have always seen you as a good friend. I don't know, maybe in other circumstances, I might have grown to love you, but I just don't know. I need time to think this over."

"It's alright Naruto-kun. I understand." Abruptly, Naruto lurched forward, pulling her into a hug. He kept whispering apologies into her ear before he released her.

Standing, he faced the Hokage who had gotten up and stared out the window, giving the two of them a little privacy. "Hey, Ojisan, is there any way this can be avoided?"

"Much to my regret, no Naruto. The only way is if you were on the Council, and right now that is impossible."

"I thought as much. Thanks for trying." With that he turned around and opened the door, to find Tenten and Anko pressing their ears against it, the other ninja on duty nowhere in sight.

"Naruto-kun..." Tenten whispered.

"I'm sorry Tenten-chan." Without another word he bolted down the hallway.

OoOoO

Tenten was lying on her bed, her hair down, hands behind her head, contemplating the news that she had overheard outside the Hokage's office earlier that day. Anko had dragged her down to the tower to speak to the Hokage about the Council meeting last week, and the possible repercussions of Naruto's outburst when the chunin outside said that the Hokage had a meeting with Naruto and Hinata. Anko had immediately chased the man off so they could eavesdrop on the conversation. The conversation had risen and fallen, so she had been unable to hear everything said, but she did hear how Naruto-kun was being forced to marry into the Hyuuga clan.

She hadn't heard his reaction, or Hinata's, but judging from his face when he left, and Hinata's body language, something important had gone on. Rolling over onto her side, she sighed. Worrying about it now wouldn't help anything. The best she could do was being plenty rested for tomorrow, as she was sure it was going to be an eventful day. But no matter how she tossed and turned, she could not remove the thought of how the Shinobi Council was forcing her boyfriend into marrying her best friend.

Tenten sat up when a knock sounded on her door. “Who is it?” she asked.

“It's me dear,” her mother's slightly muffled voice came through the wood. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine Mom.”

“Are you sure? You don't sound it.” Tenten groaned. She swore that Chichi could give Ibiki a run for him money when it came to interrogation. Her mother evidently took her silence as permission to enter as she opened the door and sat down beside Tenten. “Is it boy trouble?”

Tenten eyed her mother warily. “What makes you think that it is boy trouble?”

Chichi smirked slightly. “Honey, kunoichi or not, at your age, anything that would make you sigh that much has to be related to a boy.”

Tenten twined her fingers behind her head and fell back on her bed. “What did Naruto-san do?”

“He didn't do anything.”

“Really? I find that surprising.”

“He didn't.” Tenten sat back up and unsheathed Screaming Fang, cutting the air absently, barely noticing when the black kimono settled around her shoulders. “You know how my team and I awoke our new powers on our last mission?”

Chichi nodded. It had been her worst fear come to life to hear how her daughter had actually died and then been resurrected by her sword before chasing off the mysterious ninja. “Well, we were debriefed by the Hokage himself, and then had to speak to the Shinobi Council about our new powers. Naruto got angry and basically told the Council to stuff it. They didn't like that and had a meeting the other day. Apparently, the think that he is dangerously disloyal to Konoha, and in order to make sure that he doesn't go missing-nin on us, they have arranged a marriage for him.”

Chichi winced. “And it isn't to you.”

“It's to Hinata.”

“That…” she trailed off, unable to properly voice her sentiments.

“It's wrong, that is what it is,” Tenten suddenly snarled, leaping to her feet, blade still clutched in her grip. “What RIGHT do they have to do this to us? To Naruto? To Hinata? I mean, I know that Hinata likes him, but that still… Ugh.” Chichi looked on silently as her daughter paced, violently swinging the sword in her hand, snarling incoherently.

“Well, when it comes to newfound bloodlines, the Council-“ She cut herself off abruptly as Tenten whirled on her, bringing sharp steel to bear. “Don't finish that sentence Mother. Don't you dare try to justify their decision. Naruto could just as easily marry me, but power hungry bastard of a Hyuuga thinks that they need even more power that Naruto and his ability would bring.”

Tenten sat down a few minutes later, fury worn out for the moment, rage giving way to tears. “Hush, Tenten-chan. I am sure that the Hokage is doing everything in his power to help you and your teammates out of this. You just have to believe in him.”

A minute later, Tenten mastered herself and pulled out of Chichi's embrace, wiping her eyes on her sleeves. “Thanks Mom.”

“It's what I'm here for dear.”

A cough was heard from the direction of Tenten's open door. “Tenten-chan, one of your teammates is here to see you.”

“Which one Dad?”

“Hinata-san.” Tenten frowned for a moment.

“Bring her up here please.” Kouseki nodded and walked back down the hall.

“Would you like me to stay?”

Tenten shook her head. “No, whatever she wants to talk about, it is something that we have to work out in private.”

Chichi nodded uncertainly. “If you say so dear.” Tenten nodded and motioned for her to close the door as Hinata entered. Hinata stood silently in front of Tenten, hands folded, as the elder Higurashi woman left.

“Hinata” Tenten greeted coolly.

“Hello Tenten-san.” Tenten gave the lavender-eyed girl an odd look at the polite address, but said nothing. If she wanted to be formal, then so be it.

“What is it that you want Hinata?” the bun-haired girl asked, slightly sharper than she had intended.

“I-I come with a pro-proposal for y-you.” Hinata took a deep, calming breath before continuing. “I propose that we agree to share Naruto.”

Tenten stared at Hinata without saying anything. “Th-that is to say that we try to make the best of an unpleasant situation. I-i have been to visit the Hokage and looked up the l-law as it pertains to our situation. Unfortunately, the C-council was thorough when it made its decision and left us no loopholes to exploit.”

Tenten continued to stare at the increasingly fidgety Hinata, arms crossed under her breasts. After a moment, she relented and gestured to Hinata to sit in the chair at her desk. Hinata quickly pulled the chair out and turned it to face her teammate.

“I will agree, with a couple of stipulations. One, this all hinges on Naruto's acceptance. Two, I get priority. If we both need Naruto for something, than he deals with me before he helps you. Third, if he moves into the Hyuuga compound, I can visit him when I want. Fourth, you don't get to see him naked before I do. You may be his wife, but that doesn't give you the right to have sex with him. You two might or might not share a bed, but that will be all.”

Hinata listened silently to Tenten's conditions and nodded at each of them. Realistically speaking, there wasn't anything there that she hadn't been expecting. “Those conditions are acceptable,” the Hyuuga heiress stated. They were silent for another couple of seconds before Tenten lurched forward and seized Hinata in a hug.

“Thank you Hinata,” Tenten whispered in her ear. She pulled back, still holding the other girl by her shoulders. “I can't imagine how hard that had to be for you and I appreciate it.” Tenten sat back and released Hinata, smiling, which Hinata returned. “Now we just got to deal with Naruto.”

OoOoO

The next morning was awkward as hell. Naruto was the first to arrive at the training ground. He sat with his back against a tree, stroking the steel of his bared blade as it sat across his knees. Somehow, it was soothing. Next to arrive was Hinata. She stood practically on the opposite side of the training area, eyes locked on the ground so that her bangs obscured her eyes, fingers pressing together in a nervous tic.

Ten minutes after that, Tenten entered the grounds. She sat down next to Naruto and motioned for Hinata to come over.

Hinata hesitantly approached the duo. Folding her hands and bowing formally she said, "I am sorry that my family has reason to cause you pain. Please know that I had nothing to do with the Council's plan." Naruto got up and straightened her.

"Come on, Hinata-chan. Nobody here believes that you had anything to do with this. This has everything to do with your father and the Council. You are far too kind and gentle a person to be able to plan this kind of thing out.

“Please hear me out Naruto-kun. I spoke with Tenten last night and we have come to an arrangement. If you wish, I would not have any objections for you continuing to date Tenten also.”

Naruto winced. That couldn't have been easy for Hinata to say. He looked from Hinata to Tenten several times and biting his lip before opening his mouth to speak. “Hinata-chan, I'm not sure that I could do that to you.” He then shot a worried glance to Tenten. “Ah, that is not to say-”

“I understand, Naruto-kun. You do not wish the undue pain on Hinata that our relationship would undoubtedly cause her. We have discussed this and both of us are fine with whatever decision you make.”

“It is not right what my father has done to you two. He does not even care that you two are dating. All that matters to my father is the power that Naruto-kun possesses,” Hinata added.

The three genin sat in silence for a few minutes before it was disturbed by Naruto again. He wasn't sure how good of an idea this was, but of both of his teammates were fine with this arrangement that they had cooked up, than he could accept it also.

“As long as this is fine with you Hinata, than I don't have any objections I guess.”

“Good. But there are some rules for the three of us, Naruto-kun. One, I have priority over Hinata. If we both need something, I come first.”

Naruto scratched his chin before responding. “Well, I don't really think that that would be a problem. I can make shadow clones remember?”

Hinata and Tenten blushed at this, both simultaneously thinking of other uses that shadow clones could be put to, now that they were reminded of it. Tenten shook herself out of her mini-daydream a moment later and continued laying down the law.

“Two, if you move into the Hyuuga complex, I can visit you there whenever I want. And finally, I get to see you naked before Hinata does. That means no sex or communal showers before me. Clear?”

Naruto gulped slightly at the steely tone in his girlfriend's voice. “Yes ma'am,” he barked.

“Good. Now come here and sit with me. Hopefully Anko will be here soon.” Naruto sat back against the trunk of a tree and wrapped his arms around Tenten's waist. Glancing over at Hinata he put his hands together in the cross seal and made a shadow clone to sit with her.

“What?” Naruto said at Tenten's questioning look. “She is going to be my wife soon enough, so it doesn't seem that fair not to attend to her too.”

“That had better be all you do buster,” Tenten muttered.

OoOoO

A/N: So ends Chapter 10. I hope you liked it. I would like to think that I got hit with a bit of originality when it came to Hinata and Tenten's conversation and the subsequent arrangement. This is not going to be a NaruxTenxHina in the traditional sense, more like a NaruxTen and NaruxHina. Hinata and Tenten are not going to have much more interaction outside of team meetings as anything other than friends. Tenten was being a bit of a bitch when it came to their arrangement, but Hinata is marrying her boyfriend, and there isn't much that Hinata wouldn't disagree to. Probably another chapter or so until the arc I think.

 

That is all I can think of right now. Th-th-th-that's all folks!