A strange new life. [Naruto]

[okashihime]

"And then Hinata-chan, the bone freak said: 'You're too important and amazing Naruto-kun; I'm taking you somewhere nefarious to do horrible, horrible things to you.'"

I had already met with Kakashi-sensei and invited him for dinner at Sasuke's. I wasn't sure if he would attend. His response left me more confused than anything else. He just nodded, patted my head, gave me a sad eye-smile, spouted one lame excuse or another, then fled. Yes, fled.

What did I do to scare off Kakashi-sensei?

Now, Naruto, Karin, and I were at the brat's favorite ramen stall, slurping down tasty noodles while the sunshine brat told the details of his mission. This was the same day after I crafted the new weight seals. Karin had hers, and I often caught her fiddling with her bracelets between giggles. Was it still too heavy? Should I craft a set for Naruto as well?

I was somewhat skeptical about the whole story. It might be just a hunch, but I think Naruto was exaggerating things—just a little bit.

Before the retelling started, I had told Naruto about dinner at Sasuke's. To no one's surprise, Naruto was more than happy to attend. Given how he was obsessed with Sasuke in the original story, it was a miracle that nothing more than friendship developed there.

Was this obsession because of that whole fate thing? The Curse of Hatred and Will of Fire? Naruto was the latest iteration of Asura, while Sasuke was Indra's.

That reminded me that I still had to talk with Sasuke about many things: the person he wanted to kill, making sure he's not suffering too much because of the seal, and maybe just trying to see him as a person instead of the character I didn't like in the show.

Naruto's story took me back to the present.

"My clones and I plummeted the bone freak like we did with Gaara. You should've seen Hinata-chan. My super powerful combo attacks – the Uzumaki Naruto Nisen Rendan! I was about to send him packing when the young-obaa-chan and the black-haired one arrived."

It was hard to take Naruto's story seriously. By my side, Karin was in a constant state of giggles. Given how much the stall owner rolled his eyes at every new development, it was fair to assume he also didn't believe it that much.

Young-obaa-chan was Tsunade, right? So, Naruto fought Kimimaro, and the slug princess and Shizune arrived to help? Where was Jiraiya?

"Where was Jiraiya?" I wrote my question with threads. Karin stopped giggling just enough to read it.

"Ehh, ah, right! The Ero-sennin was getting his butt kicked by that other freak, the shark dude." Naruto slurped more of his noodles. "You see, Karin-chan, the Ero-sennin might like frogs, but he can't swim! Shark dude somehow transformed the whole area into a huuuge lake, and If I wasn't there to pull the Ero-sennin out, he might have drowned."

Jiraiya getting beat up by Kisame? The stall owner shook his head.

"Wasn't you busy with the bone guy, Naruto-kun?" Karin read my other question out loud. I had to keep Naruto's focus. Learn what happened with Kimimaro.

"Right, so, yes, obaa-chan arrived and was like: Imma gonna kick your ass, but then got her ass kicked instead. I had to save her and the Shizune lady. That was when I mastered my new awesome jutsu, the Rasengan."

Naruto's hands flashed with seals, and a clone appeared by his side. He went through the whole song and dance of creating the ball of chakra.

"Cool, right? It's super powerful!"

Ayame, the stall owner's daughter, covered her ears. I had a brief moment to wonder why before I learned of the reason.

Naruto lost control of the jutsu. At least he had the sense to hurl it away before it exploded on us.

The impact shook the whole street. It was almost as good as an explosion.

"NARUTO!"

The bellow was deafening. A bit late, I also covered my ears—not that it helped. Ayame gave me a sympathetic look. While the locals crowded around Naruto with angry glares and gestures, I stopped to think about the whole situation.

Kimimaro and Kisame teamed up. Was Orochimaru still part of Akatsuki? In the original story, he left after losing to Itachi, but Itachi never joined Akatsuki due to my meddling. What about Kimimaro's disease? Wasn't he supposed to be on death's door? Why was he going about and picking fights with legendary ninjas?

And now that I think about it, what about Itachi? Wasn't he sick as well? Is he still sick? Should I try to find out?

The commotion died down, and Naruto returned, somewhat ruffled and slightly banged up. His face was still full on with a smile.

"What happened next? And no demonstrations!"

"Ah, right. The bone freak went even more freakish, with black lines crawling his face and chest. He created a huuugee and deadly forest of bones. I managed to fend them off near me, so I was safe, but the obaa-chan and the other couldn't."

Ok, so at some point, Kimimaro used part of his cursed seal. Not the second stage, I don't think; otherwise, Naruto would have talked about Kimimaro shifting into a monster-like thing.

Naruto sat down again and looked at the food, part of his enthusiasm gone.

"Then the other dude arrived. And was like: You can't defeat this magnificent Naruto? We need to flee for our lives."

"A lot of people died, Hinata-chan," He said, now without the early fervor.

That… took a turn?

"The young-obaa-chan turned into an old-obaa-chan trying to save Shizune, but Tonton still died."

What? The piglet died? Shit. She was so cute.

"Tsunade left after telling us to bring Shizune back. I don't know where she went."

Tsunade's alone now? Shit, that was a bad outcome. Somehow, I think Shizune was a bigger part of why Tsunade hadn't fallen even lower, but now, the slug princess had isolated herself even more.

Naruto looked forlorn, sad. I could deal with those details later. I didn't like seeing Naruto like this. I got up, walked to the brat. Hugged him. He looked a bit startled. I pinched his cheeks.

"You did your best, right?" I asked.

He nodded. His eyes were a bit misty.

"Then all you can do is train harder and do better next time."

He nodded again. I pinched his cheeks harder. Let go of him and returned to my stool.

Wrote on my board. "How did the bone guy fight?"

Naruto perked up, the heavy mood from earlier gone.

"It was like fighting two of you and Sasuke at the same time. He was fast and good at taijutsu."

Naruto pushed the empty bowl of ramen aside.

"I tried doing like you always tell me to do, send in the clones and attack from behind, but it didn't work at the start. It was like the guy had eyes in the back of his head."

"How so?" It was Karin who asked now.

"Eh, no idea. Like I said, he was creepy."

I mulled over things. Naruto hadn't said anything about clothing, but if Kimimaro had joined Akatsuki, he would be wearing the black robes, right?

"What did he look like, Naruto-kun?"

"Older than us, younger than Iruka-sensei. Dressed in black robes." The brat paused, one hand at his chin. "White hair, red marks on the forehead. One eye green, another white."

I blinked. No, it wouldn't be, would it? White eye and seeing things behind his back. I knew about a dojutsu that matched those descriptions. I even knew there was one eye yet to be found.

"White eye?" I wrote.

"Yeah, creepy," Naruto said.

"Did it look like Neji's white eye?" I wrote again.

Naruto stopped, scratched his head. Then he nodded like he had just understood something that had been bothering him for a while.

"Yes! I knew I had seen white eyes like that somewhere; I just didn't remember where."

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Wed.

Yes, sorry, I'm skipping next Monday. Two reasons: My wrists hurts a little bit, I want a break from computer this weekend and prob won't write anything. Second, work is been very hectic, which is also why today's chapter is a bit late.

On a separate note: started writing Chapter 9. Currently named: Search for..., Redux. The name will prob change.

On another separate note: Dearest CakeEight, beloved and bestests of all cakes is going through a rough patch and won't have time, at least for a while, to proofread things. Thank you CakeEight, for all the help. <3

On yet another separate note: Anyone good with grammar who wants to read a few chapters ahead? Send me a PM if you do.

On the last, really, separate note: I've talked with a few artists regarding illustrations. There's one by the same artists that created the chibis. It's going to be Ino and Hinata on that picnic scene on the Kunoichi 201. I've also agreed with another artists, Fulminaire for a new illustration/cover for the story.


Thank you all for reading. <3

 

[okashihime]

I would have asked for a more neutral ground with the Hyuga. She is not one of them so they can't order her.

Click to shrink...

Was also a bit of a powerplay on the Hyuga side.

 

[Bladesunder]

She should bust out the cupcakes.

 

[Edifier]

Karin learning sealing arts is gonna be good. Having a buddy to do research with, especially since she has way more free time to study and research it. It'll be good for her.

Orochimaru spotted! And in cannon that guy was cultish enough to try resurrect Orochimaru. Tho considering how in this world the death reaper seal took way more than the arms. I kinda think if it's Orochimaru then he'll be just a voice in his head. In cannon only his arm chakra circulation got crippled, here tho it has got to be way more.
I think the rinnegan would probably make it trivial to resurect Orochimaru through the cursed mark. However the death reaper seal means that path is probably stifled still.
I am thinking Orochimaru in this world didn't directly join the Akatsuki. Instead he sent his favorite test subject to join em as a double agent. Actually I think it might have been done under the request of Danzo. Cause in cannon Itachi was sent to Akatsuki for such reasons. And in cannon Orochimaru only joined for wanting Itachi's eyes.

I am guessing the eye tho is one of the originals rather than a cloned one.

 

[Rocketer]

Was also a bit of a powerplay on the Hyuga side.

Click to shrink...

She should summon a sage from badgers then or ask Naruto to accompany her, remind hyuuga that while they are acting like feudal lords its a cultivation setting and they lack power.

 

[MARKOS3521]

Those damn eyes are causing as much problems as Uchiha eyes in canon, thank God she didn't share her past life, you don't share such a thing with a preteen, friend or not giving someone existential crisis about free will and shit is not good.

 

[okashihime]

It wasn't even the morning of the next day when I disentangled myself from Karin. I needed to get a new bed for her. My sleep and sanity depended on it. Maybe it was because Karin was somewhere new, but she'd been even more grabby and kicky than usual. It was impossible to sleep.

Not that I was feeling sleepy, anyway.

I walked to the window and looked at the still-dark sky. The sun was late today. Rood.

Since no amount of wishing would make the sun rise faster, I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and bake pastries.

For this first training session, I was going with the standard finger sandwiches and tea. I'd use the pastries as a reward for the training. That was positive reinforcement 101, right? Also known as manipulation, the good kind. It didn't matter in this instance, though. Ino wanted to get stronger; I would make her stronger even if I had to drag her kicking and screaming into the stronger.

I didn't make stuff just for me and Ino. I made extra portions for Karin and Naruto. Since I was already cooking for two, why not do it for more people? The effort increase was negligible.

After the sandwiches were the cupcakes and muffins. I know, the order was strange, but it didn't matter. I still had hours until the damn sun decided to grace us with its presence. Why was it taking so long today?

Hours idled away while I baked, made tea, and thought about training ideas.

The talk with Karin regarding the seals gave me a few ideas I wanted to try. I might have been… a bit too enthusiastic about explosions and dealing in lethal force. I didn't regret the enemies I killed, even if I still thought somehow my reaction to that whole affair was strange. But again, I was a soldier and had been training to kill since I got here in this world, even if most of the lessons were coated with a layer of pink.

Was it that surprising that killing didn't affect me that much?

No, what I regretted was not trying to help the chimera from Orochimaru's lab. I had theorized and even created barrier seals that increased the weight of those inside. A non-lethal version to capture instead of the deadlier exploding barrier.

I didn't even consider that one then, so enamored was I with the booms. It probably would not have been enough or feasible to help them, but I could have at least tried.

Outside, the sky started to brighten, and the lazy sun was finally on its way.

I organized the packs, sealed what needed to be sealed, left others on the table for Karin. I labeled everything and even left a written note to make things easier.

Back inside my room, I glanced at the redhead that was now torturing—grabbing my pillow. I wished the poor pillow luck in its next life. I looked over my outfits. The dress shirt, the skirt and tie. All in black.

I picked a blue shirt and shorts. It was civilian clothing, but that was fine. I had ideas about a new outfit. I'd start working on it after the training.

I left the apartment, made a quick detour to Naruto's house. Left breakfast hanging on his door. The brat would see the stuff there, right?

Konoha's shinobi highway was deserted at this time of the morning. Sun had just risen when I landed in front of the Yamanaka shop. I had agreed to meet Ino here at sunrise to start training. The street was deserted, apart from sleepy-eyed civilians walking to and fro.

I looked around, just to make sure I wasn't missing a hidden Ino anywhere, but nope. Had she forgotten?

Should I knock? Had I mistaken the time?

A chakra bundle crossed the store and arrived at the entrance. I looked at the door in time to see it open and Yamanaka Mother looking at me from inside.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan," she said.

I waved.

"Come in, Ino's still sleeping."

I scratched my cheeks. Man, this was embarrassing. I walked closer, and before I entered the store, I presented my offering.

"What's this?" Yamanaka Mother asked.

I popped my board, wrote words. "Finger sandwiches and muffins."

Yamanaka Mother moved away from the door and waved me in. I got past her, closed the door behind me, and followed her inside.

"Sandwiches? What's that?"

I erased the words, wrote more. "Thin slices of white bread with chicken, cheese, mayo, and lettuce."

"Hm," the woman hummed, looking at the miniature seal.

We crossed the store and entered the residence. Inoichi was already up, drinking tea. He gave me a nod.

"Are you going to open a confectionery?" Yamanaka Mother asked.

I considered that question. I did want to open a bakery. I just never had the time to think about it in detail. But that was a good idea, wasn't it? It could serve as a front for my ninja activities as the flower shop did for Ino's family.

"Come speak with me when you're ready." The matriarch said. "I can give you tips on managing a business."

I bowed in thanks.

"Now go wake up the princess, or you won't train today." She said, waved me off.

With one last bow to Inoichi, I changed paths and ran toward Ino's bedroom. I knocked, but when no one answered, I slid the door open and stepped inside.

The blonde was fast asleep.

I approached, gently shook her shoulder. "Wake up, Ino-chan."

Ino mumbled, blinked. "Hinata-chan?" Questing hands appeared from beneath the blanket, holding out to me. I held her hands, ready to help Ino out of the bed. It didn't happen. Ino pulled me onto it instead. She turned around, pulling the sheets over us, then promptly fell asleep again.

I luxuriated in the warmth. This wasn't bad. Perhaps I could indulge for five minutes? I wiggled in Ino's embrace until I was comfortable. She smelled nice. But I couldn't indulge for long. Five minutes, then training.

---

"Weren't you going to train today?"

Inoichi's voice woke me up from a pleasant dream. I opened a bleary eye. He was at the door, resting against the frame.

"It's halfway into the morning already." He said.

Oh… oh! Damn, the training!

I disentangled from Ino and got out of bed. The blonde turned around, pulled the covers over her head. Inoichi shook his head, smiled, left the room. I turned back to Ino. The nap was nice, but it was time to train!

"Wake up, Ino-chan." I shook the blondie and whispered.

"Don't wanna," she whined.

It was time for my secret weapon. "If you don't, I'll give the cupcakes to Naruto-kun."

---

Twenty minutes later, we were at the training field. Ino still looked sleepy, and her hair was a bit of a mess, but that was fine. She was pretty anyhow, anywhere, anytime.

God, so sappy. I had to control this. What was I? A teen in love?

"…"

I ignored that thought, popped my comms board.

"I have something for you," I wrote.

Ino yawned. Read the message.

"What is it?" she asked.

I pulled the small bag I had prepared and presented it to Ino. She took it, opened and found the bracelets and necklace.

"What is this? It's pretty." She said, running a finger over the purple stone in the necklace.

"The Ultimate Variable Weight Distribution System For The Discerning Shinobi." I wrote.

Ino looked at the board. Blinked. "The what?"

My shoulders slumped. I erased the cool name and wrote the boring description: "Weight seals to help with training."

Once she had read, I showed her mine.

Ino walked closer, looked at the bracelets, then the necklace.

"Are they the same?"

I nodded.

"Let me see it." She said, pointing to my seals.

I tilted my head, shrugged. Removed the bracelets — ankle and arm — removed the necklace. Placed them in Ino's hand.

She picked it up, looked at them. Nodded.

"How do they work?" She asked, then clasped mine on her arms.

I blinked. I was still surprised when Ino also clasped the ankle ones, then handed me over the black necklace.

"Help me put it?"

I nodded, took it, walked behind Ino. She pulled up her hair, exposing the back of her neck. My fingers brushed against her skin while I was tying the necklace.

Ino giggled. "It tickles."

Damn, it was a lost cause. I sighed.

"How do they work?" Ino asked again.

She didn't let me answer. She took the purple bracelets and clasped them around my arm. Same with the ankle ones. She faced me, ordered. "Turn around."

I did.

My hair wasn't long enough to cause trouble for her, but I did the same as she did, exposing my neck. After she'd tied the necklace, I took the board. "Send chakra in on each. Adjust how much you want them to weigh."

I stopped. Thought back on what Karin had asked. Wrote more words.

"They don't make you heavier, just make your muscles think you're heavier."

I saw the moment Ino activated it. She groaned, but unlike Karin, she didn't fall.

"Ow, ow. Forty is good, right?" She asked with eyes full of expectation.

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Looked away. Then nodded.

"Hinata-chan," Ino said, voice almost like a growl. "How much is yours?"

I turned around, power walked deeper into the training field toward the wooden dummies.

"Let's train Ino-chan!" I said instead of writing. I didn't look back. "Taijutsu?" I asked, hoping to distract Ino.

"Hinata-chan! How much!"

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Friday.

 

[Pandaemonium04]

Seriously tho, how much is it now? Also can she fight without it now? Her clones must have made her used to it

 

[okashihime]

Seriously tho, how much is it now?

Click to shrink...

If Hinata can still walk about, it's not heavy enough.

Also can she fight without it now? Her clones must have made her used to it

Click to shrink...

Yep. It hasn't been an issue since arc 3. She can operate with or without them.

 

[okashihime]

"How…" Ino wheezed, taking deep breaths. Sweat poured out of her every pore. "Is this…" She lifted her arms, tried to punch the dummy. "Even possible?"

I understood Ino very well. Training with seals was a different beast, but I still think she was overdoing it.

"Lower the weights a bit?" I wrote, showed Ino my board.

She wanted to get stronger, but it was her first time doing this. Abusing it like she was now might backfire.

Ino's scathing glare was my response. She still hadn't let it go, huh?

I wrote more words. "Ino-chan, It took me almost two years to reach the same amount in each seal." I tried again.

"And… how… old— " Ino shuddered, wheezed again. "Were you?"

I looked away. I was seven, maybe eight? I didn't remember the details that well. I looked back at Ino, still trying to hit the dummy. I wrote more words.

"Fill your arms and legs with chakra. It helps." Once the blonde had read, I erased the words and wrote others. "In the evening, soak in hot water. It'll hurt tomorrow, but don't give up, okay?"

If she wasn't backing down, the least I could do was help.

---

It was the third day since my return, which left me two days to what would be the most embarrassing dinner of all time and three days to what could be a deadly confrontation with the Hyuga.

I wasn't keen on entering the Hyuga compound. I had only agreed because Shisui promised to come with to mediate things. Whatever that meant.

But right now, I sat on the grass of training field three. Ino had her head on my lap, and I pretended I didn't see the tears in her eyes.

Silly girl. Abusing weight seals on her first day wasn't smart.

When I went to her house this morning and found her worse than a shambling zombie, I tried to convince her to stay in bed and rest for the day, but Ino refused. She put on a brave face while we were still in front of her parents, only to break down once we were alone.

Could I do something to help?

"Ino-chan, I'll try something that might help, okay?" I whispered. At this point, I didn't even know why I didn't speak all the time. The pain from speaking was nothing when compared to the bone seals. Habit, maybe?

Ino, the poor thing, groaned. I took that as a yes.

I wasn't a masseuse, but I was utterly familiar with my muscles and body, given the amount of meditation time I spent trying to learn all the details about the seals and after resting from my training sessions.

The tip of my index finger touched the shoulder I'd seen Ino try to relieve the pain more than once. I pushed my chakra inside the muscles, circled it, and stimulated it like I did to mine after a training session.

The breathy moan-sigh Ino let out told me it worked.

I stopped the chakra flow and removed my finger. Ino whined, like I had just taken her favorite candy away. I created many, many chakra threads. Who needed fingers, right? Why not go all in?

---

My ears were still burning hours later. It had been a success on all accounts. What I had forgotten was how massages can cause pleasure, even more so after intense training sessions. Ino's moans would haunt me until the end of my days.

But it had worked! Within fifteen minutes, Ino recovered enough to move. The improv massage session lasted for about an hour.

"…"

Now, we were discussing training strategies, and I was trying to convince Ino Kage Bushin was the training cheat.

"Shadow clones?" Ino asked.

I nodded, and my threads wrote the message. "You need to be careful because the jutsu splits your chakra between the clones, but it helps with training."

"How so?"

Well, this might be a secret, but maybe not? Kakashi-sensei already knew it, Naruto also knew it.

"The clones are independent copies," I wrote. "Once they disperse, you receive their memories and experiences. Even if you create just one clone, it's like double the training time."

Ino scowled. "So, is it just more training? I'll have to suffer double?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Ino wasn't wrong. I nodded.

Ino's scowl turned worse.

After Kage Bushin, I taught Ino Shunshin no Jutsu, and Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu.

Ino, for her part, taught me a trapping technique for which she had no name. I recognized it for what it was: the one she used when fighting Sakura in the original show to trap her with hair. Ino's family used this technique to immobilize the enemy and hit them with mind transfer. She also taught me another one, which Azuma insisted her team learn, a defensive earth release that created a wall on demand: Doton: Renga no Jutsu.

Right now, Ino was showing me her family jutsu.

"Let me show you," Ino said. Her hands flashed with seals. She pointed towards me, and immediately, I felt the chakra trying to invade my head. My own rose in response, but this time, I held it back. This was a demonstration of her family's techniques; there was no need to interrupt Ino's jutsu.

There was this moment of weightlessness like I wasn't in my body anymore.

"Huh? It worked?" I heard my voice say. I felt the sting of pain in my throat, but it was distant, muted.

"Ow, ow, ow," I heard it again. "Why does it hurt so much?" My voice whined. The chakra inside my head vanished, and I regained control of my body.

Ino covered her mouth with one hand before she turned to the side and spilled her guts out. Her face crumpled on a mess of tears and snot.

What happened?

I got up, walked to Ino, knelt beside her. I rubbed slow circles on her back. Once we cleaned the mess, Ino hugged me like I was a lost puppy who needed help or something. I didn't mind being hugged, but I wasn't sure why she was hugging me.

It took her minutes to speak again.

"Why are you always in pain, Hinata-chan?" Her voice trembled.

I tilted my head. Thought about Ino's jutsu. Ah, right, damn. I hadn't considered that.

"Orochimaru left seals inside my body," I whispered.

Ino shuddered.

"One of them is trying to kill me, and I'm failing to contain it."

Ino gawked at me, her expression caught between disbelief and anger. Then she shot to her feet and yanked on my arm, trying to haul me up. "We're asking Dad to help."

I didn't budge. Ino kept pulling my arm, but she wasn't strong enough to move me if I didn't want to be moved. She yanked again, and again. When I didn't follow, she whirled on me.

"What?"

How could I tell Ino I didn't trust people in the village to poke around my insides? I was willing to trust Inoichi, but he wasn't a seal master or a medic-nin, to my knowledge. Could I really let some stranger tamper with the seals inside me? What if that person screwed up? What if they didn't have my best interest in mind?

"Remember I told you about Danzo?" I wrote out.

Ino read the message, nodded.

"How can I be sure whoever your dad finds won't be a spy?"

Ino's face turned dark, teeth clenched. "Can't we just talk to him, please? Maybe he knows something that might help, even if you don't let anyone check the seals."

Ino's pleading eyes stabbed my heart. Could I refuse it? I couldn't. I sighed, nodded.

Ino's face lit up, and she dragged me toward her house.

---

One thing followed another. Before I knew it, I was being led into Konoha's hospital, except instead of a regular room, we went underground. Ino and Inoichi never left my side, which went a long way in making me feel better. With the mind ninja here, the chances a spy would try to mess with me were all but nil, right?

Unless the mind ninja was the spy.

I shuddered, pushed away that thought. Couldn't live without trusting people.

The underground room stretched wide, looking like it took up the entire floor. Against the walls, I saw computers and other diagnostic tools, a trolley, desks, computer monitors, and several other tools that were a mix of medicine and fuinjutsu.

The door opened, and two people entered. One I recognized immediately—the new Hokage. The other was a young woman dressed in a black kimono with a fishnet shirt under it.

"Hello, Hinata-san," Shisui said when he approached. Now that I was closer, I got a better look at the woman: short dark hair, black eyes, and a sallow and tired face. "This is Shizune," he said, gesturing to the woman. "Tsunade's apprentice."

Oh… oh! Damn, Shizune was here? Fangirl-sama, who had been sleeping for the past days, stirred.

"I see you recognize the name," Inoichi said. There was this strange gleam in his eyes I couldn't place. I nodded.

The door swung open again, cutting the conversation short. Another figure stepped inside.

Tall and broad-shouldered. Spiky white hair pulled into a long ponytail. Red lines slashed down his face. A forehead protector stamped with the Kanji for 'Oil.' The big rolled scroll strapped to his back.

Jiraiya walked until he was in front of us.

I shook, just a bit. I had seen the Ero-sennin once when Naruto taught me the frog summoning jutsu, but at the time, I was too tired and didn't interact with him; but now? The man, the legend, was here on my behalf. How could I stay calm?

"You're…, you're…" My whisper was hoarser than usual.

Ino gave me a strange glance, then looked back at the newcomer.

Jiraiya heard me. He smiled. Took a pose.

"I'm the most holy hermit of Mount Myoboku: the Frog Sannin. Pleased to meet ya, young lady!"

Shisui looked at me; I caught the brief hints of a smile. "I invited Lord Jiraiya. He might know more about Orochimaru's seals."

My mind focused like never before, inspiration struck. I knew what I had to do. Something that was missing, and only now I realized. A fundamental part of me that couldn't be denied. Something I couldn't not do it, if I was ever to be myself again.

With trembling hands, I rummaged through my stuff, happy I had already started resupplying my essential supplies. Out popped my comms board, and my threads wrote my message. That got me a few raised eyebrows from everyone around, aside from Ino.

I took samples of my good impression kit v:2.2. Out popped the cupcakes and tea. I turned the board around so that people could read my message.

My words spelled: "Please, take care of me, Ero-sennin!"

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Monday.

 

[jayofgrey]

My words spelled: "Please, take care of me, Ero-sennin!"

Click to shrink...

Perfect introduction! 10 flustered jeezers out of 10!
All the buildup makes me wonder about all those covert shadow games everywhere. Like what is Shisui cooking? What is Danzo plotting? What will Hyuga clan become fall guys for?

 

[Belisario]

Oh damn, I want to know what happened next.

 

[okashihime]

Jiraiya's smile turned brittle before he burst out laughing.

"Hayahahya. You're that brat's little heartache, huh?"

I scowled. Crossed both arms, made the perfect denial X across my chest. My threads even propped my comms board and wrote the message.

"Denied!"

Jiraiya laughed even harder. Beside me, Ino snorted, glared at the old man. The other adults just smiled, like they'd seen something nice, not Ero-sennin blasphemies.

It took a moment longer until Jiraiya calmed down. Once he did, the man summoned a frog and sat on top of it. No one batted an eye or complained. I wouldn't have dared to, either. For all his bluster, Jiraiya was op as hell. The man could very well do whatever he wanted.

I took notes, however. I remembered the horse-sized badger guards. Would they let me use them for improv seating?

…

Next time, I would seal some chairs or stools. That way, I could sit down.

Conversations between the adults happened while I was distracted thinking about seating arrangements. The sannin greeted Shizune, exchanged a few quiet words with her. He greeted Ino, Inoichi, and Shisui.

"Out with it," Jiraiya said, looking at the Hokage. "What was so important that I had to stop my research?"

I noticed Shizune also looked curious. They hadn't been told?

Shisui looked at me, I saw the unspoken question. I nodded.

"Young Hinata is another survivor of Orochimaru's experiments," the Hokage said.

Shizune's face turned into a blank mask. Jiraiya nodded. Well, I guess the Sannin already knew most of the details.

"Inoichi informed me of new developments." Shisui turned to me. "Could you explain?"

I looked around. The area was big enough. I walked further from them, placed my hand on the ground. Black chakra lines spread from my hand, replicating the diagram Orochimaru had branded into my mind that day in the Forest of Death.

Once it was done, I took a few steps to the side, imprinted the key, a few more steps, and the lock I cobbled together.

"This is the seal," my threads wrote. "Until a month ago, it was under control, but I ran out of chakra escaping, and now I can't stop it anymore."

Shizune was the first to approach, looking the seal over. Jiraiya was next. The frog went puff and the sannin walked around the black lines, scratching his chin.

"Shikoku Fuin," he said, glancing at me before turning back to the seal. "Kakashi taught you that?"

I nodded, but the sannin wasn't paying attention to me. Inoichi, Ino, and Shisui also approached. They looked interested, but not the same as Shizune and Jiraiya.

"This…" Shizune started, then stopped. She looked at Shisui, then at me.

"Yes." Jiraiya confirmed.

What were they seeing? I knew all the details of the diagram, even if parts of it still made no sense to me. I knew what it did and what it was doing. But was there something more?

"It's incomplete," Jiraiya said, still walking around the first diagram.

"See here?" Shizune had approached the frog sannin. "You think?"

"Yes," he nodded.

What were they seeing? I approached, looked over the same area they were looking at. That one part dealt with the reinforcement of my body, the reason that I got stronger the older I got.

"And this part here," Jiraiya said, pointing to another node. That node wasn't referenced anywhere in Orochimaru's data dump. I could only guess what it did.

He turned to me.

"Is there more?"

I nodded, then shook my head. I took my board, erased the words, but before I could write, Jiraiya stopped me.

"Let's fix this first," he said, approaching me.

I looked up, then up some more. The man was huge.

"I've seen examples of his work to keep his victims from speaking." His finger burned with visible chakra.

Under my disbelieving eyes, he poked me in the throat. It stung and burned, like whatever the seal on my throat was didn't want to be modified. Then it stopped.

"Can't remove it without more preparation, but with this, you should be able to speak for a short while and not hurt yourself."

I felt things around my throat. Like Jiraiya said, the seal now had an on/off switch. That was the best way I could explain it. It wasn't free. I had to burn chakra to deactivate it, which seemed paradoxical.

A horrid feeling brewed inside of me. I schooled my face. Took a deep breath. I wanted to scream. To claw his eyes out. To punch his face. To bust his damn balls.

If it was this easy, why the fuck hadn't he done so before?

Seven years. Why the fuck had it taken seven years?

Tears fell from my eyes unbidden. I looked away, wiped my eyes.

Jiraiya mistook the sentiment, smiled, patted my head.

I did my best not to slap the offending appendage away. Thankfully, Ino was soon by my side, smiling and crying, giving me a reason to get away from the sannin.

"Hinata-chan," she whispered.

"Ino," I said back, buried my head on her shoulder, wrapped my hands around her to avoid doing something stupid.

There was a bit of conversation behind us, but it entered one ear, left through the other, no words were captured.

I knew I was being irrational. I knew I was overreacting. I just couldn't stop. It felt so cheap. In my mind, I'd master fuinjutsu, break the seals on my own, surpass Orochimaru. I never complained, even from the beginning. It was just another reason to learn more, study harder, another minor inconvenience I could deal with.

I pulled deep, wheezing breaths, my face still hidden on Ino's shoulder. I was making a mess there. I hope she'd forgive me.

Minutes dragged on, and the more rational side of my mind got to work. For one, I knew Jiraiya had often been away from Konoha. Years, if I wasn't mistaken. He might not even have been here when stuff happened in the years that followed. Two, Jiraiya didn't have the motive to seek me out and help. Why would he? I was just another poor sod suffering in this world, out of sight, out of mind. I think he only did something here because he was just there, and it cost him nothing.

I don't think Jiraiya was the type to go out and seek the poor and desperate.

The situation was different if that poor and desperate just happened to be in front of him. Take the original Akatsuki orphans, for example. The man abandoned the war front for three years to train the kids.

Calmer now, I released Ino. She looked worried. I wiped my face, forced a brittle smile. It was fine, this changed nothing. If they wanted to help now, that was only in my favor. It didn't matter that the more they acted like they cared, the worse it felt.

I couldn't shake the feeling they were building to something horrid.

My recovery was noticed. People gave me kind looks, not knowing what went inside my mind. I nodded, smiled again.

"Thank you, Ero-sennin."

My voice was still a bit scratchy. Damn, all that work for the sexy husky down the drain.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Don't learn Naruto's bad habits. It's Frog-Sannin."

I cast a brief look around. Shizune and Shisui were discussing something near the imprint I had created. Inoichi wasn't here anymore. I hadn't seen him leave.

"From what I know," I said to Jiraiya. "There's still two more seals that I don't know what they do. In my heart, in my eyes."

The conversation between Shizune and Shisui stopped, they approached.

Jiraiya scratched his chin, looked at Shizune, who shook her head.

"The good news is," he said, looking at me. "No one tried to remove the seals when you were younger. You'd not have survived the attempt."

I glared at the man. That was his good news?

There was another unspoken conversation between Shizune and Jiraiya.

"If nothing is done, you'll die in a few months," Ero-sennin said, still scratching his chin.

The growl escaped me before I could stop it. "So, I should wait until I croak, then?"

Ino gasped, grabbed my arm. "What?" she demanded.

I really, really wanted to kick his nuts.

"I can help you contain the seal; it won't last forever but it should give you time to find another solution."

"Can't you do anything?" Ino demanded.

"If Tsunade was here, perhaps."

"What if you had Orochimaru's research notes? There was another diagram there, similar but different." I said, teeth still gritted.

"That might help," The Ero-sennin said. "But the problem is that you won't survive without Tsunade, maybe not even with her." Jiraiya pointed to the node that I didn't know what it was or did.

"This part here will fight back if we try to remove the seal," he looked back at me. "You already saw part of that when you ran out of chakra, it triggered some of the fail-safes to prevent removal." He looked at the other diagrams I had inscribed, then back at me. "Not to mention we'd need to cut you open to reach the seals."

Great, fantastic.

Now I had to find the lab data. Track down Tsunade. Deal with the council. The dinners. The Hyuga.

Peachy.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Wednesday.

 

[Definition-Plane]

Yeah that's not going to work out even if she tries

 

[Belisario]

I hope she's really looking for Tsunade. She told Jiraiya not to look for her anymore, and she's probably very grumpy, and since this story is kind of a mystery fest (well, a little more mystery fest than good), it's going to be very hard for her to find and convince her, but she didn't say anything about anyone else looking for her.

On the other hand, I don't see how Tsunade could have turned into an old woman by healing Shizune. Tsunade healed a ton of people during Pain's attack on the village and nothing happened to her except exhaustion. Even if she was on the verge of death, it shouldn't cause her any problems (or did I misunderstand what the story was saying? Because I understood it as if she used her life force and turned into a decrepit old woman, but as I said, it doesn't make logical sense).

 

[okashihime]

I hope she's really looking for Tsunade. She told Jiraiya not to look for her anymore, and she's probably very grumpy, and since this story is kind of a mystery fest (well, a little more mystery fest than good), it's going to be very hard for her to find and convince her, but she didn't say anything about anyone else looking for her.

On the other hand, I don't see how Tsunade could have turned into an old woman by healing Shizune. Tsunade healed a ton of people during Pain's attack on the village and nothing happened to her except exhaustion. Even if she was on the verge of death, it shouldn't cause her any problems (or did I misunderstand what the story was saying? Because I understood it as if she used her life force and turned into a decrepit old woman, but as I said, it doesn't make logical sense).

Click to shrink...

Sorry about the many mysteries. I'll admit this fanfiction was a way of me challenging myself to create things that keep the reader interest. I might have... gotten a bit too enthusiastic.

Regarding Tsunade getting "old" check volume 19, chapter 170: Successor, I think it is named. The last one from Naruto's "Search for Tsunade arc."
Tsunade burns most of her chakra and we have a picture of her wrinkly hand, as well as she saying "I'll be young again after I rest."

The idea here was that hers and Shizune's injuries were fatal and Tsunade released the seal on her forehead to heal herself and Shizune, along a few others, which is why the side effects hit her and she looks old.

Spoiler: Image.

 

[okashihime]

I lay on the cold floor with nothing but a flimsy towel to protect my modesty. Shizune and Jiraiya paced around me, tracing symbols in black ink. An hour had passed, and they didn't seem close to finishing.

Did I really have to be here for the creation of the seal outer framework?

Shisui had left some time ago. The Ero-sennin had insisted Ino leave too, but thanks to all gods, Best Girl Ino refused to abandon me alone with them.

"Who taught you fuinjutsu?" Jiraiya asked while drawing symbols closer to my head.

"The Old Man gave me primers," I said, still feeling conflicted about the lack of pain when speaking. "But it wasn't until Orochimaru's that I understood."

"And the storage?"

From my place on the ground, I shrugged.

"Seemed the logical thing to do, just connecting wires."

"The training seals," he said. "What gave you the idea?"

I grinned despite myself. Opened my mouth, then snapped it shut. I was about to say Rock Lee, but I hadn't 'known' the Beautiful Green Beast then. Or maybe that wasn't his question. I mulled it over, decided on another approach.

"I was tired of remaking the seals each time I wanted to increase the weights."

That was safe enough, wasn't it?

"Done," Shizune announced somewhere to my right. I saw her wipe sweat from her brow, smearing a streak of black ink across her forehead. If she noticed, she didn't care.

"I'll be done in a moment," Jiraiya answered to my left.

The moment of quiet was only disturbed by the rustling noises of the ink brush.

Jiraiya walked closer, used the brush to retouch a few of the lines crossing my body. He gave one last look, nodded.

"Done," he said.

Shizune approached, gave one last glance at the seal, nodded. She walked opposite Jiraiya, crouched and placed both hands on the ground. On the other side, Jiraiya did the same.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan," I heard him say. "This is going to hurt, just a bit."

I didn't have time to say anything. I felt the chakra building. There was blinding pain. I heard screaming. Mine or Ino's, I couldn't say.

---

I opened my eyes. Light green walls, sterile smell, white curtains over the windows, a small cupboard by the side of the bed. This time, there was no jar with flowers or basket full of fruits on the cupboard.

There was a chair by the bed, and Ino sat there. A worried Ino on the chair.

"Oh," I said, a bit dumbly. Sat up. "Hi?"

"How are you feeling?" Her hand took mine, squeezed.

I stopped to think about her question, inspected my body. For one, most of the pain was gone. There was still a smidgen left, but nothing like it was before.

"Most of the pain is gone," I said.

Ino nodded, wiped away a stray tear. I pulled her in a hug.

"How long was I out?" I asked, looking at the window.

"Just a couple of hours."

The hug lasted a moment longer before I released Ino. My clothes and bracelets were folded and piled by the side of the bed. I pulled the sheets away, got up, got dressed.

This time, I noticed that Ino didn't leave the room while I put on my clothes. She did look away. There was a bit of pink on her neck. Cute.

Ino's voice wavered. "What are we going to do, Hinata-chan?"

Now that I was calmer, more collected, and not in pain, plans formed in my mind. I knew what I had to do.

"We'll talk outside," I said to Ino. The look on her face told me she understood my reason. She gave me a nod.

After dressing, I dragged Ino with me and we left the hospital. There was a bit of a commotion before I left, some of the nurses wanted me to stay at least for the rest of the day, but my time was too limited to waste an entire day woolgathering and doing nothing.

I led Ino back to training field three. Once there, I cast my chakra senses around; only when I sensed no one nearby did I sit down.

Ino sat by my side but didn't say anything.

"First is the Hyuga," I said in a low voice. "I don't know what they want with me, but I don't think it's pleasant."

Ino schooled her face. Gave me a severe nod.

"After that, the council."

"Do you have a plan already?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. I'll know once I talk with Sasuke's mom tomorrow."

"Do you think they'll help?"

"Shisui hinted so," I said.

"I talked to Dad," Ino said, looking toward her home. "He'll help you. Nara Shikaku will too, but he isn't sure about the Akimichi clan."

"After the council, I'll ask Shisui to send me on a mission to find Tsunade."

"The legendary healer?"

"The slug princess, yes."

"What if he doesn't send you on that mission?"

I shrugged. Cast my senses about again. Lowered my voice. "If it's between obeying orders or trying to save my life…" I left the rest unsaid. But Ino was smart.

Her face turned serious. She nodded. "I'll come with you." There was no doubt or hesitation in her voice.

---

Time waited for no one. Hours blurred while I hung—trained with Ino, baked more of my essential supplies, prepped for the Uchiha dinner, picked new clothes, and ordered a new shinobi outfit. I still had plenty to do, but dinner time had arrived.

Between all that, I found time to craft another set of weight seals. It was a gift for Hanabi. It was naive of me to hope things would work with the clan, but I guess that was what dreams were for.

I encrypted these using the same method I used with the storage seals from the lab. I wasn't about to let the Hyuga profit from my efforts when things went to shit.

But again, time waited for no one.

Somehow, Karin had talked me into dressing in a white kimono. She tried to adorn my head in some strange hairdo, but short hair and a vigorous denial ended that disaster. But no amount of scowling saved me from her treating me like a dress-up doll. She even applied makeup!

The giggles she let out when she thought I wasn't looking told me she was up to something. I just didn't know what yet.

By my side was Naruto. To no one surprise, he wore another one of his orange jumpers. The brat kept sneaking glances my way.

I wanted to slap the silly out of him.

It took a few minutes more until Sasuke arrived. Kakashi-sensei was nowhere to be found. Maybe he wasn't coming? Thankfully, I wasn't the only one dressed up for the event. Sasuke had also opted out of his usual blue shirt and white shorts to wear what looked like a traditional kimono.

A vein throbbed on my face. Karin's motives now plain to see. I heard giggles from inside the apartment. There would be retribution. Terrible, terrible retribution.

"Yo, Sasuke!" Naruto greeted the newcomer. "What's up with that fancy robe?"

Sasuke looked somewhat uncomfortable, but he smirked nonetheless. "Don't you have anything else to wear? What, you're afraid people won't see you if it's not orange?"

Light bickering ensued, but it brought a smile to my face. It was nice to see Naruto have a friend who wasn't obsessed with another man.

"Hello, Hinata-chan," Sasuke said, giving me a slight bow. Was that a bit of pink on his cheeks? "You look good."

"Hello Sasuke-kun." I nodded back. "You look good too." I answered in kind, and immediately regretted it.

There was this moment of silence where no one said anything. Naruto looked between me and Sasuke, scratched his head.

God, please kill me now and end the awkwardness.

"Kakashi-sensei isn't coming?" Naruto asked.

I shrugged, happy for a distraction. "I invited him; no idea if he'll come," I said.

Naruto turned to me. "No more writing board?"

My smile soured somewhat before I grinned wider.

"Ero-sennin helped me with that."

"Ehh? How?"

Sasuke didn't seem keen on wasting time, however. "Should we wait?"

Naruto shrugged. I did, too.

"Better not," I said, thinking about Kakashi-sensei and being on time. "He'll probably show up—" I felt the bundle of chakra appear behind me. "—three hours later or something."

"Mah, I wouldn't leave my favorite genin and chunin waiting."

"Sensei!" Naruto hollered.

I turned around, waved at sensei. He looked even more haggard than usual, dressed in his official ninja attire. I guess that, like Naruto, he didn't care about appearances.

I turned back to Sasuke. "Lead the way, Sasuke-kun."

It was time to see what this dinner was about.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Friday.

 

[okashihime]

It was strange to walk into a walled village and see many people who shared similar looks. Black hair, tear troughs, and black eyes. Almost everyone was dressed in the familiar Uchiha blue.

They weren't rare to spot in daily village life, them being the police and all. I had my fair share of run-ins with the police when I started using explosions in my training until they learned to ignore the mute girl in training field three.

If it wasn't for the others, I might have wandered off exploring the Uchiha village. It was my first time here, after all. My inherent dislike for Sasuke pushed me to keep him at arm's length most of the time. I wasn't as familiar with him as with Naruto, but the clan intrigued me, a lot. I wanted to know why Shisui and Itachi managed to break free from the Curse of Hatred.

Most of the people we passed by cast wary glances our way. Undisguised stares followed us until we crossed exterior walls stamped with the Uchiha's symbol into a house yard. It didn't diminish my want to explore the place, sharp glares thrown my way or not.

A small path led to a house of traditional architecture and sliding paper doors. Warm light spilled from inside, and a woman I recognized as Mikoto waited for us at the entrance.

She bowed when we got closer.

"Thank you for coming," she said, then gestured for us to enter.

The house was spacious and mostly wooden. The floor was covered with tatami mats, with just a few elegant furnishings. She led us inside, and through a set of doors. Inside was an altar of some sort, with flowers and incense burning.

Our destination was past the reception room, to a living room with an ample low table and several comfy-looking cushions for us to sit on.

Itachi was already here. He wore a dark blue kimono that looked elegant on him. When we entered, he got up and bowed to us. I was torn between being happy and afraid. Vague memories from before coming here told me that Itachi was an absolute madman, capable of atrocities. And that was because he was a kind person at heart.

The other part was just straight-up fangirl-sama. She wanted to cheer, maybe ask for his autograph. That would be weird, wouldn't it?

"Welcome, and thank you for coming," he said.

I held in a shudder or trembling. Wasn't sure which.

"Thanks!" Naruto hollered, then walked to the low table and plopped his butt on one of the cushions. Sasuke sat near Naruto, and they started chatting.

I took out my offerings: an expensive sake bottle and baked pastries. Unsure about the protocols, I offered them to Itachi, who took them with a smile.

"Are these the famous cupcakes Sasuke keeps telling us about?"

Behind me, Kakashi and Mikoto had started a conversation. To my side, Naruto and Sasuke's talk was getting animated.

"I don't know about famous," I deflected.

There was this moment of awkward silence when I wasn't sure what to say. It didn't last. Hollering soon interrupted all other conversations.

"…better than that Chidori of yours!" Naruto bragged. He got up, and by his side, a clone appeared. Chakra started to build in his hand.

Oh, no. I covered my ears.

In a puff of smoke, Kakashi-sensei was behind Naruto. He held the brat's hand. "Not inside the house, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was unperturbed by this turn of events.

"Outside, Sasuke, I'll show you!"

It was Mikoto who walked closer now. "How about you show it after dinner, Naruto-kun?"

We sat around the table. Naruto was by my side. On the opposite side sat sensei and Mikoto. Itachi was at the head of the table, while Sasuke was on the other end.

I don't know what I had expected. Maybe a parade of servants bringing food. Nothing of the sort happened. After we sat down, Mikoto served us tea, and while we drank, Itachi and Sasuke served dinner.

Seeing both in such… homely scenes brought a smile to my face. I always thought Itachi's role in the story was one of the most tragic, even if I never understood why he did what he did. Were things so dire that he saw no other way than to kill his whole family?

Anger flared at the thought, anger directed at Danzo and all these old codgers that for all their wisdom, were incapable of looking past their own boots and self interest.

Dinner was a mix of veggies — boiled, sauteed, fresh — rice, and grilled fish.

"No broth…?" I heard Naruto's disbelieving whisper.

He looked at the dinner like he couldn't understand why it wasn't ramen. Or why would someone go into trouble cooking something like this when buying ramen was much easier and faster?

The conversation had turned into sharing stories, somehow. Naruto had shared about his favorite ramen and cupcakes, to no one's surprise, and about beating the crap out of Mizuki and graduating. It was interesting to listen things from his perspective.

From the head of the low table, Itachi pointed his chopsticks in my direction.

"Five years ago, we had a surge of reports about someone trying to attack the village."

Why was he pointing at me?

"When we investigated, it turned out that Hinata-chan had just learned how to create explosive tags and was… practicing." He coughed, looked away. "With a little too much zeal. We had to post an extra notice at the department to ignore the explosions from training field three."

I scowled. It wasn't that bad. Maybe a few dozen explosions a day. What did they expect me to do? Not train?

"It was just training," I muttered.

"Hinata-chan has some really good training ideas," Naruto bragged. "Like using the shadow clones, and tree walking and the coin trick."

"Coin trick?" Mikoto asked.

"Yeah! She keeps these coins stuck to her stomach all day, even while training other stuff."

Naruto babbled out things he shouldn't. I cringed. Not that I minded the knowledge spreading, but the image of me with coins stuck to my skin wasn't how I wanted to be remembered.

"Naruto-kun," Kakashi-sensei said from the other side of the table. "You shouldn't tell others secret training from your friends."

Naruto tilted his head. Scratched his blond hair. "But Hinata-chan also told Sasuke."

Mikoto smiled, and Itachi shook his head. Sasuke got up from his cushion, grabbed Naruto by a headlock, and noogied the shit out of the Sunshine Brat.

"Don't spill secrets," Sasuke said.

After that, it didn't take long to finish the meal. After dinner, dessert was the pastries I had prepared, which Mikoto served with bitter tea. While we nibbled the sweets, conversation somehow turned to training, from there to the academy curriculum, Itachi's early graduation, and Kakashi-sensei's time as a student.

"Eh, Kakashi-sensei on a team?" Naruto asked, like the idea that Kakashi was a genin once never crossed his mind.

Silent and brooding, Kakashi nodded.

Oh, damn. I got it now. Kakashi's mood was because being here reminded him of Obito and Rin, right? I hadn't even considered that when I suggested to Sasuke that we should invite him.

"He was a student of the Fourth Hokage," Mikoto said.

Naruto's eyes shone like stars. He looked between Mikoto and Kakashi. I don't know why he was surprised. That was common knowledge, wasn't it? Maybe Naruto had forgotten? Or maybe my memories were playing tricks on me.

"Sensei!" Naruto hollered. "Tell us about the Fourth Hokage!"

I held my breath. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I had no idea how Kakashi would react.

"Oh, my," Kakashi-sensei said in the most tired voice I had ever heard from him. "Look at the time; I have a report to submit." He got up, bowed to our hosts. "Thank you for the dinner."

Then he flickered away, disappeared.

"Eeh? Working at this hour?" Naruto complained, oblivious to the whole situation.

That also signified the end of small talk. I caught a quick exchange of glances between Itachi and Mikoto before Itachi spoke.

"Naruto-kun, weren't you going to show us your new jutsu? Let's go outside," he said, getting up from his place at the head of the table.

"You betcha! Come Sasuke, Hinata-chan, let me show you my amazing new jutsu!"

"You boys go ahead," Mikoto said without getting up. "I need to talk with Hinata-chan."

"What about?" Naruto asked.

Mikoto gave Naruto a gentle smile, then a wink. "Girl's talk."

My face twitched. I wanted to go outside and see the inevitable mess Naruto would cause, and see how Itachi would react to it all. But that wasn't the reason I was here. I was here to gather allies. See if the Uchiha clan would support me.

"Come, Naruto."

Sasuke pulled Naruto to the courtyard, and once Itachi had also left, pulled the paper door close, leaving me alone with Mikoto.

I was nervous about this whole thing. To stave off embarrassment, I popped out more pastries and tea.

"Thank you," Mikoto said after nibbling one of the cupcakes.

"You're welcome," I said back. I fidgeted, looked toward the door, the plates and stuff that were still on the table. I got up and started picking things up to take them to the kitchen. We could work and talk, right?

"Let me help, Hinata-chan," Mikoto said, doing the same.

We worked in silence for a few moments before the woman broached the reason for the dinner.

"Shisui told us about what you did, and I can't thank you enough."

I glanced at her from my place in the sink, washing dishes. She still had that same gentle smile on her face.

I shrugged. I wouldn't break the first mission I ever received and confirm or deny anything. I hope that didn't come off as rude or something.

"We'll help you as much as we can," she said, picking a plate and letting water fall over it.

"Thank you," I said, feeling like my weight seals had been disabled, and I was back at my base self again.

"What do you think of Sasuke?" Mikoto asked.

I tilted my head. That question had come out of nowhere. I guess the vital talk was done, and it was time to learn Sasuke's embarrassing children's stories. I grinned. I didn't mind acquiring blackmail material.

"He's… somewhat too intense," I said. I hoped that didn't sound bad. I think I was Sasuke's friend, but I still couldn't put away the preconceived ideas from the show.

Mikoto chuckled. "That he is."

I picked up another plate, dunked it into soapy water.

"What do you think about marrying him?"

The world came to a screeching halt. My grip tightened, and the plate shattered, just like my brain at that moment. Pieces of porcelain cut into my palm. It stung.

I looked wide-eyed at Mikoto, who was still smiling at me. What the hell was that?

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Monday.

Also, nope, I haven't changed my mind regarding relationships in the story.

I did try to create a few images for Hinata with a white kimono. They aren't good tho.

 

[Petrox]

No Boruto or Sarada here! Sasuko or Hirada coming