Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Vixens and Kitsune ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Hinata took a breath and stepped towards her blonde teammate, running her hand gently across his face. “Naruto-kun, I'm sorry, but I can't give you an answer right now.”

“I didn't expect one,” Naruto said, much to everyone's surprise. “Take your time. If you want me, you know where to find me. Right, Hinata-tenshi?”

“Hai, Naruto-kun.” The dark-haired kunoichi gave a shy smile at being called an angel by anyone, let alone by her now-obvious crush. “But right now, we should get going.”

“Kurenai sensei, will you be joining us for shopping tomorrow?” Ino asked as the newly minted genin team exited their home.

The older kunoichi just smiled. “I'll leave that to the young. We'll convene at noon, training ground ten, okay?” she called with a wave as she headed home, leaving her students to their own devices.

“Let's get you ladies to your clan homes, shall we?” The orange clad prankster said offering an arm to each girl.

XXXXX

“You gonna be okay to make it back to the apartment? Cause if you want I can meet you here.”

“I'll be fine.” Hinata bowed to her teammates. “I will see you later, Naruto-kun, Ino-chan.” With a final wave and bow she hurried inside to meet her father.

“Hinata.” The imposing figure of Hiashi Hyuuga stood at the entrance to his private study.

“Greetings, father,” Hinata said. “I have had my genin field exam and successfully passed, becoming the first active genin team.”

“Excellent. I expect nothing less from the heiress of the main house,” he said with pride. “Now, tell me about your team.”

“My sensei is Yuhi Kurenai, and my teammates are Yamanaka Ino and…” she looked away with some trepidation. “Uzumaki Naruto.”

“Uzumaki…” Hiashi murmured thoughtfully. “I wonder….”

“Do you know him?” Hinata asked.

“Not personally, but I believe I knew his mother,” Hiashi said.

“Really?” The younger Hyuuga exclaimed. “What was she like?”

“Uzumaki Kushina was a stunning woman of indescribable beauty,” Hiashi sighed as he reminisced. “We were together for a time, before I met your mother.” The elder shinobi quirked an eyebrow at his daughter's curiosity. “You seem to have a special interest in the young Uzumaki.”

“I am… fond of him,” she said timidly. “I have watched him as he trained and fought with every fiber of his being. When no one thought he was worth anything, I saw value and strength. Today, he noticed me as well, much to my happiness. I will be living alone with my teammates, seeing each of them at our most candid and intimate, at our best and our worst. He asked me today if I would be his girlfriend and I couldn't give him an answer, because I didn't think I was worthy! Father, what do I do?” she sobbed, clutching at her father's robes as a single tear slid unbidden down her cheek.

“Hinata, calm yourself this instant,” the Hyuuga clan head said sternly. “If you can't keep a level head, you will fail.”

“Of course, father.” Hinata bowed her head in dismay. “My actions were not that of a Hyuuga.”

“Hinata,” Hiashi's voice took on a softer tone as he drew his eldest daughter into an embrace. “I know I am hard on you, but that is not because I do not love you, nor is it because I lack faith in your abilities. Your fate is to lead the next generation of the Hyuuga clan, but your gentle nature is a liability. Furthermore, I must consider Hanabi as well. By birthright, one of you is destined to become a member of the branch house, but that is a fate to which I cannot condemn either of my precious gems.”

“So what am I to do, father?” The distraught girl wailed, burying her face in her father's robe. “Why must I be the one to bear this burden, simply because I was born first?”

“Grow strong,” Hiashi murmured, soothingly rubbing her back, ”strong enough to change this world. Now, I would like you to do something for me. I would like to meet young Uzumaki for tea, before I give my consent to this courtship.”

“I can do that,” Hinata mulled over the idea, worrying about the scenario in her mind. “But father… Naruto-kun is….” She paused, endeavoring to find the words that best described the hyperactive blonde.

“He has been an orphan most of his life, yes?”

Hinata nodded mutely, not trusting her voice.

“I'll expect you to teach him proper decorum, then. Lead by example, but speak out if you must. Will a week be enough time?”

“I fear a year would not be enough time to undo a lifetime of ingrained behavior, but I will have him respectable in a week.”

“Very well, then. If that is all, dinner is waiting.” Hiashi swept out as he fully embraced his role of clan head with his eldest daughter following close behind.

XXXXX

“You sure you gonna be okay by yourself?” Ino asked as she and Naruto stood outside her home- wait, she was wrong. Her home at least for the next month was with her teammates, she reminded herself.

“Seven years hasn't screwed me up that badly so I must be doing something right,” the blonde shinobi assured her. “You want me to come back for you?”

“Could take a while,” she replied, shaking her head. “I'll just have daddy walk me home. Why don't you go get some dinner and maybe take a bath?”

“Are you saying I stink, Ino-chan?” Naruto arched an eyebrow.

“I'm saying you live with two young ladies, and this might be one of your only chances to get the tub to yourself, because honestly, the day I share a bath with you is the day I stop chasing Sasuke-kun.” Ino gave a flirty smile as she jogged up to the door. “Besides, it's always better to go clothes shopping when you're clean. Now get. I'll see you later tonight if you're still up.”

“Later, Ino-chan!” Naruto exclaimed, bounding to the rooftops with a wave.

As the blonde prankster alighted on the roof of the public library, a series of thoughts crossed his mind.

He could make enough kage bunshins to turn a good sized patch of forest orange without breaking a sweat. Those same kage bunshins brought their knowledge back to him when they dispelled. The library below him had lots of knowledge! Not enough to turn him into a genius overnight, but certainly enough to give him an idea of where to start patching the holes in his admittedly dubious intellectual portfolio. One decided course, a picked skylight lock later, and a river of fair-haired doppelgangers flooded the building. The primary Naruto rested his hands on his knees, feeling a momentary drop in his chakra before he straightened up with a grin and resumed his course for Ichiraku's.

XXXXX

“Hi papa!” Ino called, giving her father a hug and a kiss.

“Hello, princess!” Yamanaka Inoichi couldn't help but smile at his daughter's enthusiasm. One member of the family was less then impressed.

“Ino,” Yamanaka Yoko glared out the window at the spot where Naruto had been standing earlier. “Why did you bring that thing here?”

“That thing is a person,” Ino spat viciously, “and that person is my teammate, Uzumaki Naruto. He saw me safely home tonight, unless you like the thought of your daughter bleeding and raped in an alley somewhere.”

“You will stay away from that demon boy!” Yoko snarled. “Tomorrow we'll see the Hokage and get you placed on a team with Choji, and that nice Nara kid.”

“Not likely,” Ino said. “Naruto, me, and our third teammate, Hyuuga Hinata have already completed our genin field exam. We are the first mission-ready genin team this year. Choji and Shikamaru may not even make it through the exams, and even if they do, rearranging the teams will totally negate what Hokage-sama planned for us.”

“You sure you wanna go through with this, Ino?” The elder mind-walker asked. “You already know how to work with Shikamaru and Choji. You know what to expect.”

“True, but so does anyone who studied your old team, daddy.” ,Ino said, as the family moved into the dining room. “According to our sensei, Yuhi Kurenai, the Hokage wants to avoid overspecialization. Besides, I'm looking forward to the challenge of adapting my clan techniques to fighting with the Hyuuga's Byakugan and Naruto's unknown abilities.”

“You don't know anything about the boy at all?” Inoichi asked.

“Only that he likes to cook,” Ino answered. “And he knows the kage bunshin no jutsu.”

Inoichi arched an eyebrow. “Pretty impressive, a genin knowing a jounin level technique. Do you know how many he's capable of making?”

“So far the most I've seen him make is three, when we were waiting for our sensei. But I think he might have been able to do more, because he didn't look tired or anything.”

The elder Yamanaka stroked his chin. One of the biggest dangers of the kage bunshin technique is that it splits the user's chakra evenly among themself and the clones. If what Ino said is right, he split his chakra into quarters with no ill effect! I'll have to talk to Choza and Shikaku, but I think Ino may grow even greater with Naruto and Hinata than she could as part of Ino-Shika-Cho.

“I bet that nice Uchiha boy could do better,” Ino's mother growled spitefully. Rather than reply, the younger blonde kunoichi thought of the things Naruto had said to her throughout the day. Was Sasuke really all that she'd made him out to be? She found, with great trepidation that it was getting harder and harder to say yes.

After a tense meal in a hostile atmosphere, Ino was ready to bolt out the door. She gave her father a tight hug. “Will you walk me home, daddy?”

“I thought you were home, pumpkin,” he replied.

“The Hokage wants us to live together, and I promised Naruto that I'd try living with him for a month,” Ino explained as her mother paled visibly.

“You're going to be sleeping under the same roof as that… that … abomination?” She whispered. The younger mind walker, having had enough of the abuse heaped upon her absent teammate, struck back in a manner that would make the fox-faced shinobi proud.

“That's right, mother. He actually sleeps across the hall from me. Be a shame if I left my door unlocked and he ravaged me. Although, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I'll just slip in one night and save him the trouble.” There was an audible gasp and a thud as her mother pitched over in a dead faint and hit the floor. “Serves you right, you bitter old thing. Let's go home, daddy.”

Inoichi was hard-pressed to keep from grinning.

A/N: I'm back kiddies! As promised, the new chapter of Vixens. Hinata's given an answer but not a direct Hinata answer. And as you see, while many people are at the very least ambiguous to Naruto's status, there are still people who hate him just for breathing.

To clarify the sudden changes in the Hinata/Hiashi exchange: Both Hyuuga's have multiple layers to their identities. Hiashi is both a father and Hyuuga clan head, as Hinata is both daughter and heiress. As you can tell, they both interact in very different ways, simply depending on the layer.

To one of my anonymous reviewers (and you know who you are) if you're going to be a pervert, step up and be a pervert. You're in good company here so don't be some creepy lurking flasher pervert. Be an unrepentant super pervert.

Another reviewer complained that by giving Naruto the ability to logically connect the dots in sequence I was making a “godly Naruto” whatever that means. Furthermore, this person claims that Naruto's upbringing is at odds with the presentation of his intellect. I will agree that it is not what one would come to expect from a child of his age and circumstances but NARUTO IS NOT PREDICTABLE! Predictable people don't go painting public monuments bright orange in broad daylight. Naruto's observations are not based on some extensive psychoanalysis. They're based on common sense. There is no reason that Naruto cannot be analytical in my story, simply because if he was as stupid as Kishimoto and many authors make him out to be, he'd be dead.

I've been getting requests to increase my chapter length. My chapters are going to stay their current length and will be released as soon as life allows. Enjoy the bite sizes.

Thanks for all the summon suggestions. As it stands, the summons are spread like this:

Naruto-Foxes (unoriginal? Too bad)
Hinata: Wolves
Ino: Phoenix, possibly expanding to include birds of prey.
Tenten: Dragons (No Bahamut Zero will not be the boss. What do you think this is, Final Fantasy?)
Sakura: Slugs (She will become Tsunade's apprentice.

This is not yet final and may change according to my whim and other suggestions.

And now, after much consideration and careful consideration I have the final list of who's in and who's out the harem and why.

Hinata: In- She's Naruto's teammate/roommate, she shares his “never surrender” attitude, and she has a preexisting favorable disposition to our hero.

Ino: In- Again, Teammate/roommate. Also Naruto challenges her to think for herself, and in directions she would not have considered normally.

Tenten: In- Naruto provides Tenten with a much needed sense of normality and humility. Tenten also helps arm the group with both traditional and unusual ninja arms and instructs in the use of all.

Sakura: In- Haters, deal with it. Sakura is in and for the most part will be treated like any other harem member. She was Naruto's first crush and despite what he tells himself, you never just get over your first. The biggest thing to remember about her inclusion, is “People change.” My biggest gripe about Sakura is that, in the beginning, she's worthless but as she gets a serious mindset about training, she shows a marked improvement. I'm going to give her that earlier.

Hanabi: Out- She's entirely too young. Forget that “Wait until she's older and it'll be okay” garbage. I can't even find a proper age for the girl on the wikipedia or the manga, and you want me to put her in the harem? No. And even if something were to develop, why would Naruto want her when he's dating her sister? There will be nothing serious between Hanabi and Naruto. End of discussion.

Moegi: Out- This is nothing but cradle robbing hero worship. She looks up to Naruto at first because Konohamoru looks up to him. Later she feels some gratitude for him saving her from the “ninja” that abducted her prior to the chunin exams. But like Hanabi, she's still way to freaking young. So no.

Temari: Out- I must save some women for the other characters, I was never that fond of the wind user myself, and after she damn near broke Tenten's spine in the chunin exams do you really think the bun haired girl is just gonna let her slide between the sheets? I don't think so. It would create too much tension in an already unstable scenario. Because really, just how far is Hinata expected to share “her” boyfriend?

Yugito: Out- Yes she's a demon container, yes she understands Naruto better than most, yes she's a girl (I kid you not. Someone actually used that as a validating reason for her entry.) But she's a cloud nin. You know, like the one's that tried to kidnap Hinata as a small child? I really don't see that going over well in the internal dynamic.

Kin: Out- I have something miserable planned for our sound kunoichi. No harem for her.

Tayuya: Out- Naruto's gonna meet her for like less than half an hour overall and sex is not on his mind at that moment.

Hana and Tsume: Both out- Naruto needs something from the Inuzuka clan and the price is that he stays away from the women. No puppies for them.

Kurenai: In- Kurenai is one of many who fills Naruto's maternal position. Also she guides his sexual forays and is his erotic moral compass.

Anko: In- Anko is a big sister supporter who pushes the group to go beyond their limits, even when they think they can't.

Tsunade: In- To everyone who told me she's too old, don't you think I planned for that? Tsunade as the oldest is the most mentally and emotionally mature, providing a strong well rounded support for the entire harem.

Shizune: In- Shizune fills a number of roles including big sister, adviser, confidant, teacher, sounding board, and others.

Yugao: Out- As Naruto's guardian, she'll be endeavoring to take a more hands off mentoring role, initially to Naruto, and eventually to the entire harem.

Kyuubi: Out- Kyuubi was always intended to be Naruto's sensei and mentor, not another fuck buddy. She is actually on this plane for business, not pleasure, remember. Also, Kyuubi has no physical form outside of Naruto's mind, and really what would be the point of Kyuubi literally fucking with his head?

Keep in mind that a harem isn't just about the desires of its central member. Also, Naruto knows these girls are people and not possessions. They are free to pursue other relationships besides our hero, and some of them inevitably will, especially over the timeskip.