Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Vixens and Kitsune ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Kurenai turned her key in the lock of apartment 310 and pushed the door open wide before reaching forward to flip the lights on. “Welcome home, my students.” She smiled warmly as she stepped aside.

 

Naruto's jaw dropped at the simple elegance of team 10's modest dwelling. “Can we…”

 

Kurenai, having seen Naruto's old apartment, understood the boy's awe and gave him a slight nudge forward. “Of course you can. Take a look around.”

 

The blonde boy did as she bade him, peering directly behind the open door to see an unmarred wall, but opposite the open front door was a small half bathroom with toilette, sink and mirror. A short distance from the front was a recessed area for coats and shoes, which the three genin made swift use of.

 

The entryway, while short, was still wide enough for two people to walk comfortably abreast. This gave access to a massive living room furnished with a tasteful cream colored couch, flanked by loveseats, recliners, and a variety of end tables. Naruto's attention was drawn to the 27” television nestled on a stand in front of the window. He'd never really spent a lot of time watching TV, but he supposed it might be a nice way to bond with the girls.

 

Turning to his right, Naruto saw a large dry erase memo board with a series of markers mounted next to the phone, presumably to keep track of any obligations the three had outside of team training and missions. Naruto casually leaned over the foot wide window to peer into the well-appointed kitchen before pushing through the double hinged swinging door, followed by the girls. Naruto peered here and there, opening cabinets and rotating a perfectly stocked spice rack, nodding to himself in satisfaction.

 

“You actually know your way around here?” Ino asked, observing Naruto's professional inventory as she orbited the large marble island in the middle of the room.

 

The blonde nodded. “I don't know if you heard when I told Kurenai sensei, but cooking is one of my hobbies. If you'd like lessons I'm be happy to teach both of you.”

 

“Are you saying I can't cook?” The outspoken kunoichi growled.

 

“Nope.” Naruto crouched down to examine a variety of pots and pans. “See, I've never had anything you've cooked, so I don't know what to make of your skills. If anything, I'd accuse you of not knowing how to eat.”

 

“How to eat?” The taller blonde repeated curiously.

 

“When we ordered lunch, you ordered a very small portion, and said you were on a diet. That is your decision, but I have to remind you that all of our decisions impact each other now. If you fail to eat properly you won't have enough energy to complete missions and Hinata-chan and I will have to make up the difference, meaning we'll all be too tired to complete missions, which will reduce our income. Now, I'm assuming you diet to maintain your figure. As a kunoichi, while your personal appearance should not be your main concern, it is still an undeniable asset and should be maintained like all your other shinobi tools.” Naruto paused and held up a hand that forestalled his teammate's heated outburst. “And before you say anything, I'm not comparing you to a kunai. I'm simply concerned you may be focusing on your body for the wrong reasons.”

 

“Naruto makes a good point, Ino.” Kurenai chimed in. “The best way to maintain your figure is through a combination of diet and exercise. Now of course, you can still keep your shape through exercise or watching what you eat, as you've seen firsthand with your dieting, but they're not without drawbacks.”

 

“I don't know.” Ino mumbled thoughtfully. “I'll have to think about it.”

 

“Hee!” Hinata squealed happily as everyone's attention focused on her. “Sorry. I found the tea cupboard.” She murmured pushing her index fingers together at the tips, as she gestured into a comfortably cramped dining area previously hidden behind a pair of sliding doors, opposite of which extended an enclosed balcony.

 

Naruto continued his inspection, as the dining room held a variety of teas and a smaller refrigerator filled with chilled sake. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at his teacher. “Sake?”

 

Kurenai just smiled thinly. “Those headbands you wear mark you as adults of Konoha, and as adults it falls to you to take responsibility for your actions. If you want to drink sake, that is your choice, but you must deal with the repercussions of that choice.”

 

“But the tea!” Hinata squealed giddily, as one of her blonde teammates swooped down on her.

 

“You squealed.” Naruto joked, wrapping his arms around the dark haired girl's midsection. “Are you a tea fangirl?”

 

Hinata pouted cutely. “I like my tea.” She mumbled. “Happiness is a good cup of tea, that when you drink it, all your troubles just fade away for a little while and it leaves you with a warm feeling right here.” She explained pulling the lone shinobi's hands up from her waist to rest over her heart.

 

“And you should never be ashamed of something that makes you truly happy.” Naruto said, casually rocking from side to side with the young heiress in his arms. “But we still have more of the apartment to explore!” The two kunoichi smiled at their teammate's exuberance as they headed back into the apartment proper.

 

Ino lead the way into the darkened hallway, flipping a switch to dispel the shadows as Kurenai began to speak. “As you know, our team has an inverse dynamic, with one shinobi and two kunoichi. Typically the two shinobi would have the two slightly smaller rooms on the east side of the hall, and the kunoichi would have the larger room on the west side of the hall, and of course the full bathroom is at the hall.”

 

“So Naruto gets the larger room?” Ino said, with a grin. “Lucky dog. Let's take a look.”

 

Naruto cleared his throat and raised his eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

 

“Naruto-kun, may we please see your room?” Hinata asked respectfully.

 

“Yes, you may!” He gave his radiant, eye squinting smile. “I just wanted you to ask and respect my privacy, and in doing so I will give you both the same respect.”

 

Ino ducked her head in shame. “I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm so used to taking charge with Choji and Shikamaru that it just came out like an order. I'm sorry. We cool?”

 

Naruto never lost his smile. “It's all right, Ino-chan.” He said pleasantly. “Just umm… knock before you enter at night, okay?”

 

“Why is that, Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked curiously.

 

“Um… well… I don't…” Naruto blushed furiously. “I don't wear anything to bed.” He whispered, ducking his head.

 

Ino and Hina blinked in surprise. “You either?” They said in unison, pausing a moment as the implications of that little admission.

 

Kurenai blinked a moment. “A house full of nocturnal nudists? What are the odds?” Kurenai said smiling..

 

“Okay, so it's agreed. We knock before entering and we forgive any unintentional eyefuls?” Naruto asked. “Within reason, of course.”

“Of course.” Hinata agreed hastily.

 

“Within reason.” Ino replied cautiously.

 

“Well then, if all of our surprises are out in the open for today, let's see our new rooms.” Naruto grinned again as he opened the door to a bedroom that put him in mind of a typical teenage girl. Like the rest of the house, it was painted in a gender neutral ecru, with the predominant feature being a western style twin size bed. Despite the fact that one wall was cluttered with his boxed belongings, the room was still easily navigable, with a sizeable closet concealed by half a dozen louvered sliding doors. “Wow… Ino-chan, I don't think I have enough money to fill this closet.”

 

“Naruto, the first thing you must realize is that clothes shopping is never truly done. You just find a stopping point.” Ino stared longingly at the empty closet as Hinata ran a hand over the mattress a second before Naruto playfully tackled her down to its springy surface.

 

“My own bed and a cuddly to boot.” Naruto grinned madly as Hinata invented seven new shades of red.

 

“Naruto-kun.” The young Hyuuga whined, fighting the blush back down with limited success. “I won't be manhandled like a ragdoll.”

 

“You're too cute to be a ragdoll.” The blonde shinobi grinned trailing his nails along his teammate's neck. “But Kurenai-sensei, there are only three bedrooms. Aren't you staying with us?”

 

Kurenai smiled as she prepared to drop another bombshell. “No Naruto, this is your home, not mine. I do have a key if I need to enter in an emergency, but as I said, this is all about you taking responsibility for your actions. Now, this living arrangement is by no means a prison sentence.” She clarified as she handed each of the teens a shiny silver key. “You are all free to come and go as you please, so if you want you can go see your families and get any additional training in your family art and techniques.”

 

“In that case, I should probably go.” Hinata murmured, extricating herself from Naruto's grasp. “My father will want to know the details of my testing and teammates.”

 

“You know, I should probably go too. My dad will want to know about how things turned out, too.” Ino said, attaching the key to her waist.

 

“I'll walk you both there.” Naruto said, bouncing off the bed.

 

“You sure?” Ino asked, tentatively.

 

Naruto's face darkened. “Not like I got any family to care about me, so the least I can do is get you to yours.”

 

“Naruto-kun…” Hinata looked down sadly, only to have her chin tipped up again by a strong callused hand.

 

“Don't sweat it, Hinata-chan. I'm used to being alone. Let's go.” He slid out the door and headed to grab his shoes and jacket.

 

“Naruto-kun…” The young heiress looked sadly at her teammate. “Wait, Naru-kun!” The youth's cerulean eyes met his partners violet ones as she nervously pressed her fingertips together as she gathered her courage. “I've always admired you from a distance but I was too afraid to say anything because…” Steeling herself she blurted out something incomprehensible before fainting dead away.

 

“Did anybody get any of that?” Naruto asked, picking up the prone girl and stretching her out on his bed.

 

“Everyone has something that drives them, Naruto, and for Hinata, that's you.” Kurenai explained to the clueless blonde.

 

The Kyuubi container stared off into space for a long while as Ino roused the smaller girl. With some difficulty the pale eyed kunoichi regained her feet and her wits, only to be confronted by the less-than-secret object of her affection. “Listen, Hinata, I'm not really good at this sort of thing, so bear with me. You're a real classy girl and I'm obviously not. I'm rude, brash, uncultured and everything you're not. Yet you apparently saw something in me of value and worth, and I'm all too familiar with the feeling of being ignored and I'm sorry that I did that to you. I guess what I'm trying to say is that… Hyuga Hinata, would you like to be my girlfriend? I mean… I may not be perfect, but I'll try my best.”

 

Hinata took a deep breath and steadied herself to answer the most important question of her young life.

 

A/N: Cliffhanger no jutsu… success.

 

I'd like to give a shout out to my editor. You know who you are and this fic would suffer greatly without you. Thanks!

 

I had a good bit of fun describing the team's new pad and I'd like to think I did a good job of it. As always, tell me what you think. Naruto will be telling his teammates/lovers about the fox all in due time, but for the moment he's still building trust.

 

Let me see… An anonymous reviewer is complaining that I'm making Naruto “too reasonable straight out of nowhere.” Now it is my firm belief that Naruto is nowhere near as stupid as he acts. One example from canon is the combination of Kage Bunshin and Henge jutsus he used to free Kakashi from Zabuza's water prison in the manga. He's also been thinking more efficiently because of Kyuubi's meddling and other factors that will be revealed soon. But more importantly, this Naruto has been shown how to connect facts in a logical progress, which is how he realized Hinata was his fangirl and that Sakura will stay as close to Sasuke as she can get. So it's not that he's started being reasonable as he's started applying logical thinking to his day to day encounters.

 

It's interesting to see so many of you agreeing with my opinions on gender bending characters. To all of you hoping to see Haku-chan, you will get your wish, but her fate is already decided. And to those who feel that Kyuubi shouldn't be a female, sorry but I established that way back in chapter one. A little too late to change now, I'm afraid.

 

People keep sending me Sasuke bashing scenarios that are… barely believable. It's hard to believe that any single character can be so hated but clearly emo boy is one of them. I do have a realistic Naruto vs Sasuke scenario in mind if you want to see it that badly so let me know your thoughts, but I will not write bashing for bashing's sake.

 

Naruto, despite growing strong under Kurenai, will still meet Jiraiya. I'll even be bringing him in earlier! The Rasengan is a very badassed technique and frankly a Naruto that doesn't know Kage Bunshin and Rasengan is just weird to me. As far as summoning, Naruto will have a contract but not with frogs. IMHO, Jiraiya giving Naruto the frog contract always felt like he was trying to turn Naruto into his father. Frankly I'm leaning heavily towards a fox contract for obvious reasons but pitch me your opinions. I'm also needing contracts for at least Ino and Hinata, and maybe Tenten & Sakura too.

 

As for the next chapter I will start writing it, BUT…

 

I know you're all gonna hate me for this.

I won't be posting that chapter until I finish the next chapter of the much neglected “Three Demons of Konoha.” I need to get back to that fic before I lose my ideas and momentum, Hoping you all understand?