Disclaimer: Been there, done that, never claimed I owned the NaruCast… And I
don’t like toads. I’m even afraid of them. (True, there’s even a name for that:
Batrachiophobia.) I run away screeching and tearing hair each time I see
one. (Not funny, stop laughing… V_v). So, why do I spend time making up toads
names and making them talk in my fics is way beyond my comprehension.
(Welcome
in my World.)
A/N : Beware of my crappy writing style. And err, English is not my first language, not even my second, so err, sorry ?
Now, how can I explain that… fic? Ok sooo… Hmm, Plot bunnies
ganged up on me ?
… Meh…?
…Behold the power of talking toads !
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Drastic Holiday, Chapter One : Drastic Beginning.
By Aternox.
<>
*Somewhere
in Taki no Kuni (Waterfall Country).*
A lonely figure was walking slowly down the muddy path sneaking its way through the forest of Takitsubo. Not many people used that road to travel, mainly because of it’s complicated pattern, which used to lengthen trips instead of shortening them. People wanting to go unnoticed mostly used it.
The traveller stopped to stare at the trees surrounding her. She unfolded a map and then proceeded to check her travelling route.
“Ok, so…I entered the Waterfall country by the Takigawa Pass yesterday… And I’m already in the middle of the Takitsubo forest, so if I keep on like this, I should be in the Fire country tomorrow. Which makes me back to Konoha around… yup, Friday. Now, I wasn’t ordered to return before Sunday, so I could use some of my time to stop by the Takibana Inn…After all, it’s not as if they’re going to miss me in Konoha.”
A part of her was a bit uneasy about delaying her return, but after all, the mission in the Earth country went without a notch and she had send her report ahead. And if anyone needed to reach her, they could always use *that* way, so it was okay. Heck, even her former sensei had told her to stop by at the Inn on the way back if she had time.
“Alright, I’m going to the Takibana Inn. And I’ll take a nice long relaxing day off.”
Folding the map and placing it back into her bag, Hyuuga Hinata, jounin kunoichi who’d just turned nineteen, began to head south-east ; toward the little Inn reputed for its hot springs.
<>
*Takibana
Inn, Waterfall Country.*
It was mid summer. Meaning, not many customers were stopping by the Inn. Everyone in the Waterfall country was preparing the country’s foundation holy day in the capital, and no one had time to spend in a small Inn lost in the middle of the Takitsubo forest… From behind the Inn counter, a small whining voice could be heard.
“I’m bored. There’s no one… What could I do… There’s nothing to do in that darned Inn... Bored, bored, bored. Bored. Bored…bored… bo-red …. BORED!” Sachi, 13, recently hired as a maid in the Takibana Inn, was visibly…bored.
“Ow, Sachi… Put a sock on it, will you? I’m trying to sleep...”
The small brunette named Sachi just huffed and cast a dirty look at her blond workmate who was laying lazily on a bench, clenching a pillow. “But Mizuko-neechan… I’m bored and there’s no customer…”
The older girl slowly opened an eye and looked groggily at the young apprentice. “Then sleep, too. Or go clean the baths.”
Sachi whined. “I can’t! I’m not sleepy at all! And I already cleaned the bathing area twice this morning, and-”
“Then go outside ‘n run ten laps ‘round the Inn…”
“Huh, why would I do that, Mizuko-neechan ?”
The blond haired woman sighed heavily and hissed at the overactive teen :
“Because if you do that, you’ll be frigging tired, and then you’ll sleep. Maybe. At least, I’ll have some frigging peace…”
“You’re not nice, Mizuko-neechan.” Sachi pouted, her lower lip sticking out, making her face look even more childish. “I don’t know how you can sleep so much. Doesn’t it bore you to death?”
“No, not at all. You see, what annoys me is the fact that I can not always sleep when I want to.”
The irony was lost to the brunette : “You’re kidding ! You’re sleeping all day long ! Yesterday Ken’ichi-kun found you asleep in the kitchen. He said you fell asleep while peeling apples.”
The woman sat up, her fists clenched. “That took the cake, darned brat ! I’m going to wring your neck and-”
Sachi suddenly jumped on her feet and clasped her hands, before yelling :“Oh! Mizuko-neechan !! Customers!”
“Huh ?” The blond maid looked toward the Inn entrance, where Sachi was pointing. Surely enough, two men were standing there. Mizuko looked puzzled. ‘At that time of the year ? Who would come ? Surely strangers, or maybe travellers that got lost or…’
“Yo, Mizu-nee!”
The lazy woman’s eyes shot open when one of the customers, a tall young man with spiking blond hair, called out her name and started waving enthusiastically. Mizuko slapped her hand at her forehead. ‘Awwww drat… Them again… I completely forgot that they said they would be back… Craaaap, I won’t have a blink of sleep…’
The second man walked nonchalantly toward her, his long white hair swaying slightly. As he reached the counter, he reached out to grab one of her hands and kissed it.
“Young Mizuko, I swear, you grew even prettier in the past months. And I must admit that the pillows marks on your left cheek are oh-so-sexy. You know what I used to say when-”
The second’s customer’s rant was replaced by yelp of pain when his companion dug his elbow in his ribs.
“Hey! You promised you’d stop to harass Inn maids ! I swear, that’s the last time we change Inn because you scared the socks out of the waitresses !”
“Brat, today is not the day you’re going to keep I, the Shogun of the Underworld, from gathering data.” The older man with long white hair laughed.
“What?? I’ll show you, you old toad! I’m not a kid anymore! Today is the day you die!” saying this, the young man dropped his bag to the ground and took out several shurinken from his pouch. The older man only laughed and stuck his tongue out at him, in a teasing way.
“Try me, you pathetic excuse for a student!”
Both men jumped outside the Inn and started forming seals and performing attacks at each other. Yells of “Ninpou, Kuchiyose no Jutsu” and “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu” could be heard from the courtyard.
Back in the Inn, Mizuko sighed and grabbed the registry, opening it and adding the two men’s names in it. She walked over the door and called out to the younger one. “Hmm, how long do you plan to stay this time ?” she said, scratching her hair and trying her best not to yawn.
“Well, it depends of the old toad…” The blond shinobi barely dodged a kunai before summoning clones and attempting to pounce at his teacher. One of the clones walked toward the Inn maid and smiled down at her. “At least, we should stay a week.” His face suddenly became serious. “But not more.”
“Ok, I see… Hrnrnrnrrn… Same rooms as last time ?”
“Yeah, those were perfect. And tell Mama-san that the old perv’ is back. She’s going to be happy about that, and that will teach him to-” Before he go on, a long pink toad tongue got a hold of him and he was snatched away, oompfing his displeasure.
“My student!” the older ninja’s voice echoed in the courtyard, “I told you to never turn your back to your opponent!”
“You old toad! That does it ! Sexy no Jutsu! Beta Version!”
“Gyaaaaaah! You… You treacherous brat !”
“Gamanosuke! Sic him while he’s nose bleeding!”
A deep calm voice answered him. “Hmm, well, in fact you see… It’s kind of *him* who summoned me, so I guess I can’t turn against him… You know, the whole ‘only one master’ rule… ? ”
“Gamanosuke, if you keep being that useless, I’m going to summon Ogama. Is that what you want ?”
“Err, no, Boss. Not at all.”
“Then sic him!”
“Roger, Boss!”
Mizuko padded back inside the Inn, sighing as battle cries were still echoing. ‘This is so going to be one hell of a frigging mess…’
“Mizuko-neechan! They are ninja! You know them??” asked a starry-eyed Sachi.
The blond woman could only sigh and curse the hyperactive-ness of her fellow co-worker. “Yeah, I’m unlucky enough to actually know them.”
“Why do you say that? Ninja are great! They are wonderful warriors!”
“Maybe, but trust me, they suck at customers. Especially those two here.”
“Do you think I can ask them for a sign or two?”
“A sign?” ‘Oh, that’s true, Sachi is from a peasant family, she never saw a ninja before…Hmm… that’s why she’s so excited about it. And since she’s new here, she doesn’t know those two. I guess it’s ok though, she’s too young and way too flat to be groped by the old lecher. Thank goodness for small blessings…’
“Hm, sure Sa-chan. You can ask the older one, he’ll be more than happy to oblige.”
“Hey? But… I’d like a sign from the young one… He’s COOL!”
“Cool?” Mizuko couldn’t help but be startled. She’s never thought of the young blond as “cool”… True he was tall, and he had a nice figure, like most of the shinobi. He sure had a nice smiling face, but… cool? Nah…Loud and obnoxious was more like it. In fact he was just like his teacher, minus the perverted part.
A girlish scream
coming from the courtyard made her shot her head up. She just had the time to
see a blond girl completely nude running around, chest bouncing shamelessly. ‘Ok,
I take that back. He’s just like his teacher.’
But Sachi was just standing there, mouth hanging open, a look of awe in her eyes. “ He can transform into a girl ? He’s so cool…”
“That’s it! Swamp of the Under-”
“Stop! What the heck are you doing? You want to ruin that Inn too? How many times must I tell you, the Swamp is *not* to be used in small places! Not with your stamina! Stupid student… Underworld Spines!”
“Gah!!”
Mizuko exhaled deeply and sat down. With Jiraiya and Naruto back to the Inn, this was going to be a *long* day.
<>
*One kilometre away from Takibana Inn, North-West.*
Hinata was tired, so very tired. It had been a long day, a long week, and a long mission.
Not complicated or anything... Just long. And boring. Going all the way to the hidden village of the Rock to deliver a secret scroll, and then back to the Leaf. She was supposed to be a courier from an old antiquities shop in Konoha. It was easier that way, she could travel between countries without being much noticed. Who’d notice a plain shop courier?
And as usual it was a Lone Mission. She didn't knew why, but all those missions always ended up on her. Well, maybe because she always accepted those without making a sour face. In Konoha, most of the ninja were trained to work on teams, so lone missions were not really popular. People were always reluctant to be separated from their usual team-mates. The only ones who were doing lone missions were the jounin with exceptional talent ( a.k.a. Kakashi-san ) or … well, for the less dangerous and most boring ones… people like Hinata had to volunteer.
Kiba and Shino had been incorporated into their own family groups long ago, and the Team 8 had been dissolved. Kurenai-sensei had asked her if she wanted to be incorporated in another team, but Hinata had politely declined. It was better that way. She was convinced that she wasn’t made for teamwork. She always screwed things up at the most important time. At least, in lone missions, if she screwed up, it would get her killed, and her only, not her team-mates.
Back to her mission… Well, it had been an uneventful mission, along with an uneventful trip, as most of her missions since she had been promoted jounin. But she was happy. Such missions kept her away from home, and she secretly suspected her former teacher to nominate her for all those missions. It was a quiet and uneventful life, but still, she had held her promise to herself, she had became a jounin kunoichi.
She’d been so surprised when Mitarashi Anko told her that she passed. First, she had been unable to realise it. It took two whole days to sink in. Her, a jounin? But … She was lame. And feeble. And a scaredy cat, to top. How could she be nominated jounin ? She even thought that maybe her father had influenced the examiners or so… But then she had a long talk with the Hokage. Tsunade-sama had been really patient, explaining that the jounin potential was really different from a person to another. She told her that she was really skilled, that she just needed to get to know herself better. And that being a jounin and going on missions would help greatly. Eventually Tsunade-sama had agreed that yes, maybe, nominating her as a jounin was a gamble. But the Hokage was confident enough in the Hyuuga Heir.
“You can do it, Hinata-kun, so stop being reluctant about it. Cheer up, will you? Besides, I know someone who’s going to throw a tantrum if you don’t gain some faith in yourself quickly.”
“My father is?” Hinata was a bit surprised. Her father had never said anything to her about self-confidence.
The woman behind the desk had sighed heavily. “If only… But no. Uzumaki Naruto.”
“Wha… Bu… But… How…. Naruto-kun ?” Her old stuttering had came back full force.
“He’s been harassing me about that. Telling me that you have the potential and all. He’s been a true pain in the neck, lately.”
“But … Why would Naruto-kun do…”
“He says that a Hokage can’t let great talents be wasted. That we have to look underneath the underneath.” The Hokage had made some jerking convulsive gestures with her hands at that point, muttering irate sentences including the words ‘brat’ and ‘horrible death’, pestering about Kakashi-san in the process.
Hinata couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Naruto had always been good at seeing others people’s hidden feelings. Well, not all hidden feelings. She couldn’t help but giggle when she remembered how she behaved around him when she was crushing on him, and how dense he was back then. ‘It’s a good thing though. I’d be dying in shame if he were to remember that…’ Hinata had changed a lot, she had matured and had accepted some realities, letting go of old crushes to concentrate on her training. She was better off alone anyway.
It was a small estate, build mainly with wood. The roof only was covered with small brilliant green slates. It was a typical building of the Waterfall country, build to evade the moistness of the summer, with sliding doors and large openings in the walls, to make the stream of air constant. The Takibana Inn was reputed for two things. One was their production of high rank umeshuu, a very delicate plum liquor; and the other thing was their hot springs. They were situated near a natural lake that was well known for the high mineral density in its water. The Inn used that lake’s water for their pools.
As she neared the building, Hinata couldn’t help but feel happy. It was going to be her first holiday since she was nominated a chuunin ! She’d better enjoy it…
In the Inn courtyard, a blond woman wearing a dark blue robe with a white sash was currently scribbling numbers down on a note pad, examining a broken bench and muttering. “So, that bench was old and mouldy, and we were going to change it next month, but they don’t need to know that, do they ? So this makes a total of three broken benches, two bushes of gardenia burned down to err, next to nothing, four large clay pots crushed by a big toad’s butt, one pine tree broken in half… This is *so* going to be added to their bill…”
As Hinata walked closer, the woman seemed to notice her. She first seemed surprised to see someone, but then smiled widely and bowed at her.
“Welcome to the Takibana Inn. What can we do for you ?”
“I’d like a room for one day. No, two days in fact. Is it possible ?”
“Oh, of course. Follow me please.” The blond woman led her inside the Inn and asked for her name to write it down in the register. As usual, Hinata gave her fake name ( Nei Beniko) and fake occupation. The blond woman then led her to her room .
“The baths are open from 4 to 10 in the morning, and from 5 to 12 in the evening. They are closed between 10 and 5 for a cleaning purpose. The Inn furnishes towels, yukata and geta. You can purchase shampoos and body lotions in the Inn reception. If you need anything, just call for us.”
“Thank you, I will remember that.”
“Please enjoy your stay at the Takibana Inn.” This said, the blond employee bowed deeply and left.
Hinata looked around her. The room was small but lovely, with that big opening to the forest. She was going to deeply enjoy her stay… She put her bag down on the floor and took off her black jacket. She was wearing a simple blue cotton shirt. She looked briefly at her reflection in the mirror. Her usually white face was darkened by the dust and the mud. ‘I look like some wild animal. Better go wash myself now…’
After hiding some important documents under the floor mat, she grabbed a towel and the Inn's yukata and padded along the hallway toward the baths.
<>
*Bathing Pools of the Takibana Inn*
There were already two young women in the pool. Hinata politely nodded at them, and smiled when they nodded back.
The two women were really young, with lovely faces. One was small with medium-length auburn hair reaching to her shoulders, and big violet eyes that made her look really innocent. The other one was a bit older and her face was somehow wiser, as if she had seen many things of the life. Her hair was jet black, and judging by the size of her bun, it must be pretty long. She seemed to be taller than her friend, but not by much.
As Hinata was washing her now long hair, sitting on a little wooden box, she couldn’t help but overhear the talk between the two girls.
The smallest was bubbling happily about something “So, so, it’s true Taki-nee! He’s back!”
The woman with black hair laughed softly and splashed water at her petite friend. “You seem really happy Ai-chan.”
“Of course I’m happy! He’s the nicest client I’ve ever had !”
Hinata was now finished with washing her hair, so she was combing it to get it straight. Once it was done, she braided it into its usual style and fixed it into a bun in the back of her head. She had changed her hairstyle a few years ago, when she was sixteen. She had wanted long hair, so she had let it grow, but long hair was a total hassle during a battle, so she had came up with the braiding and the bun hairstyle, keeping a small fringe on her forehead. This had earned her a rare compliment from her father. He said that, her hair pulled back like that, she looked exactly like her mother. He had even softly added that she was turning into a beautiful woman.
Hinata didn’t thought of herself as beautiful. She was convinced that parents were having a very bad eyesight when it came to their children. But still, that comment had touched her. Her mother had not been the most stunningly beautiful woman of Konoha, but she had a really nice oval face, and purity and kindness were practically radiating from her features. Hinata had always thought that her mother’s face was reassuring and appeasing.
Having conscientiously washed her body twice, to get rid of all the dust and the mud accumulated during the trip, she prepared herself to enter the water of the pool. The water was milky white, and emitting small vapours, due to mineral quality of it. It was said to be the best water for the skin, in the Waterfall country.
Hinata dipped a foot in it and hissed. It was so hot… Well, better get in it quickly or else she’d still be here by tomorrow morning. She couldn’t help but let out a small moan of pain as the hot water engulfed her. It was *really* hot. Her right forearm where complicated patterns were tattooed was burning her the most. She snorted, clenching her teeth to ignore the pain. ‘What? You don’t like hot water ? Pity, I do. Now stay put…’
Soon, her body got adjusted to the burning warmth and she could feel all her muscles beginning to relax in the hot water. It was … really paradise.
Now that Hinata was accustomed to the water’s temperature, she closed her eyes and leaned back to the rocks, listening once again to the two women’s talk.
“You know, I’m eager to see him again. I mean, a break from ugly old men is good, sometimes…”
“Ai-chan, it’s our job you know… We don’t have the choice. Besides, all old men are not ugly and repulsive you know…”
“Hahah! Taki-neechan! I’m not the only one to be happy! You’re happy too ! Because his teacher is back too!”
“Oh, hush! Would you stop that ?” Hinata could hear the blush creeping, in the older girl’s voice.
“Taki-neechan loves old and wise men with long white hair, Taki-neechan loves old and wi-”
“Oh, you horrible sister ! I’m going to drown you!”
Hinata couldn’t help but crack a smile and open her eyes, to look at them discretely.
“Ok, ok, I’m calming down. But I’m soo happy! And they pay well, to boot. I mean… He’s the first handsome client I ever had! And he is nice, and…”
“Oh oh… Ai-chan… Isn’t that a crush …?”
The young woman suddenly looked serious. A sad smile slowly spread its way on her small face. “A crush? Maybe… I don’t know… I mean, I don’t want to elope with him or what, I’m not stupid. He’s a ninja and I’m a prostitute. It’s just that … when I’m with him… I can’t help but remember Kai-kun and… hope that…” Fat round tears were now rolling down her cheeks but she didn’t seem to notice.
The older woman had a look of pain crossing her delicate features. She put her hand on her sister’s shoulder and hugged her. “Ssh…I’m sorry I said that. But… It’s going to be ok little sister… We’re going to get out of this. We’ll save enough money to repay our debt…”
This crushed Hinata. Those two women were really courageous. Way more courageous than her. They were enslaved, forced to work as prostitutes, but still, they were not giving up hope. But her, instead…How could she spend so much time wallowing in self pity? Life had been harsh and those girls but... They were… Courageous. Hinata couldn’t suppress a bitter taste to invade her mouth, when she reflected on her own weakness. ‘I’m really not worth much…’
The violet-eyed woman nodded and washed her face with the warm water. “Thank you Taki-neechan. But I’ll be ok, don’t worry. You know me, I always bounce back.”
“Yes… I’m secretly convinced that you’re made of rubber, you know.”
“Yup! Aiko, the wonderful rubber girl!”
The two women laughed softly, holding each other’s hands. But after a few minutes, Aiko’s cheerful voice was heard again. “Mmmmh, I can’t wait! Do you think they’re going to ask for us tonight?”
“I
don’t know Ai-chan…” Takiko looked slightly bored, as if she’d been asked that
question more than once in a short period of time.
“I’m going to wear my purple robe, the one that makes my boobs stand out.”
“Oh!”
“What? It’s true. Men like breasts. You should wear your green one, if you want his teacher to ask for you!”
“Are you not going to stop?!” the ebony haired woman’s face was defiantly crimson now.
“Hey, is the teacher as good as he pretends to be ?”
“I
won’t answer that.”
“Please!”
“No! I mean… I can’t, it’s too…”
“Oh, you’re no fun, tell me! And I’ll tell you. Wait, wait! I’ll tell you first, so it’ll be ok! Hmm… He was really nice! And tender. But he is really strong too! I swear, at first I was afraid he-”
“Aiko! Stop!”
“Takiko-neechan ?” Aiko looked up at her sister, with a questioning look, visibly shocked by her sister’s sudden cold tone.
“Don’t you see there’s a lady here with us?” hissed Takiko.
Aiko suddenly seemed to remember Hinata’s presence. Hinata who had turned a deep beet red, and who was looking fixedly at her hands, trying to get her focus on something not … sex-related.
“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry my lady!”
“My lady, please forgive my foolish little sister. I’m truthfully sorry that we indisposed you.”
The one named Takiko bowed, before grabbing her towel and preparing to leave, holding her sheepish little sister by the wrist, and looking none too pleased.
Hinata blurted out : “Oh, no, no problem at all! Do…don’t feel that you have to leave because of me, really ! I don’t mind at all! No, I mean, I’m sorry I overheard, I wasn’t trying to listen or…”
Takiko smiled down at Hinata. “You are really nice my lady.”
“Oh, no, really, and… And you don’t have to call me like that you know… I’m not really a lady… My name is Beniko.”
“Very happy to make you acquaintance then, Beniko-san” she said while bowing graciously. “My name is Takiko, and this is my little sister, Aiko.” Hinata nodded happily at them. “But we were going to leave anyway. Right Ai-chan ? You don’t want to be all pruned for your prince charming ?”
Aiko just made a face at her sister and replied sulkily “Hah, as if… Isn’t it that *you* don’t want to be all pruned for your old gentleman ?”
“That’s it, I’m leaving!” replied the older sibling in an offended tone. She turned to smile one last time at the kunoichi. “Good bye Beniko-san.”
“Goodbye Takiko-san.”
“Taki-nee, wait for me! And hmm, Beniko-san ?”
“Yes Aiko-san?”
“You’re
really pretty, and nice! And you’re kind and polite, even to girls like us…” Aiko’s
eyes drifted away, before focusing once again on Hinata. “To me, you are a real
lady… Have a nice stay !”
“Ah,
hmm, well… Thank you a lot Aiko-chan, but…”
Hinata could not finish her sentence, for Aiko was already running toward her sister, not bothering to cover herself with her towel.
<>
*Takibana Inn, Room 24*
Naruto was not exactly happy.
“Damn, damn, damn! Jiraiya, bring your ass down here, NOW!”
They had agreed on this. The old pervert had actually sworn that he was going to respect that deal. They were supposed to share the hotel fees. A and S rank missions paid well, but still, they had agreed to share ! They had fucking agreed! And now it was time to pay, the old pervert had ran away again. Jiraiya was filthy rich, but that darned penny-pincher was STILL using Naruto’s money to pay the bills.
“JIRAIYA!” Naruto bellowed, fuming, while running out of his room and down the hall. He was in a bad mood. Really, really bad mood.
Since they arrived he didn’t had the time to relax, he had to put things up for the next mission, to check plans and weapons, and since the old toad was NOWHERE in sight, he had to do it all by himself. He wanted to eat, and to get a bath, but nooo, he had to work. And now Mizuko just gave him the bill for the destruction in the courtyard and he HAD to pay, while it was Jiraiya’s attacks (and toad) that broke most of the trees and benches.
And to top that, the pervert side of the sennin was running amok. Before he was only peaking, but since a couple of month ago, he was GROPING too. Senile Dementia, here it goes… The two ninja had to change their hotels twice last week. Nearly desperate, Naruto had resort to go back in the Takibana Inn. In here was living the only woman Jiraiya was afraid of. Well, it was the only woman in love with the hermit too. Neither of them knew what her name was, they simply called her ‘Mama-san’, like the rest of the Inn staff did. She was the owner of the Takibana estate. She was surely over fifty, and apparently thought that make up could put up with the years passing by. Naruto shuddered. That woman was almost scarier than Kyuubi in his worst days. The most terrifying thing with her was the insane glint in her eyes each time she saw Jiraiya.
Last time they stopped by, Mizuko had to ask them to leave, because Mama-san sporting a décolleté ( in a vain attempt to seduce the white haired hermit ) was scaring the socks out of the others customers.
Suddenly, as he passed by a fountain, a shrill voice stopped him.
“Naru-chan, sweetheart, come here.”
“Yes Mama-san, right away.” He bounced toward her, a bit apprehensive. He wasn’t too fond of the ‘chan’ and ‘sweetheart’ parts. “What can I do for you, Mama-san?”
“Did you see your wonderful master ?”
‘Master …?’ Naruto couldn’t help but twitch in displeasure. “No Mama-san, I have not seen my teacher recently.”
“Oh, pity. If you see him, tell him that I terribly miss his Greek god body. I’ve been waiting for him you know… His memory helped to keep me warm in the long, cold winter nights…”
“You know, he has much more presence than any other man I ever knew. And trust me, I’ve seen my fair of male bodies… But Jiraiya-sama is … so… so overwhelming! When I see him, I feel all...”
“You know, Naru-chan , I’m going to tell you a secret.”
‘Nononononononononononono.’
“I can feel that one day, you’re going to turn just like your master. Ho ho ho… You’re still too young, but one day, you’ll mature into a beautiful love fruit, ripe for the picking…”
“Want me to help you mature faster Naru-chan ?”
Mama-san had tried to purr.
That was too much for Naruto.
He was going to puke right here, right now if she went on.
“Hey, no, really, I’m afraid I’m not worth your time. But you know what Mama-san ? I’ll go look for Jiraiya, and I’ll send him to you straight away ! See you later !!” This said he sprinted out of the room as fast as he could.
A bath. He needed a bath. Now.
On his way down the hot springs, he met Takiko and Aiko, two of the ladies of the night working for Takibana, who were coming out of the bathing grounds. When she saw him, Aiko squealed and grabbed the other girl’s hand.
“Oh, Naruto-sama! I heard you were back.” said Takiko smiling gently. Naruto smiled down at them. They were sweet girls, really nice and not vulgar. It was always a pleasure to talk with them. They were not at all like the girls working in towns, either full of themselves, or completely terrorized. At least he could have a nice chat with Aiko and Takiko.
“Ne, ne, is Jiraiya-sama here too ?” asked Aiko, her eyes sparkling. The blond ninja gulped.
“Err, yes, he’s supposed to be here too. But I think he’s trying to hide from Mama-san…”
“Aww, poor man. If you see him, tell him that Taki-neechan is more than willing to comfort him tonight!”
“Ai-chan!” spluttered Takiko.
Naruto couldn’t help but grin down at the two small sisters. They were just too cute for their own good.
“Heh heh, don’t worry girls, I’ll tell him. If I ever see him that is… He is currently hiding from me too.”
“What for ?” asked a puzzled Takiko.
“Well, we kinda… broke some stuff in the courtyard when we arrived … and …well, I just received the bill from Mizu-nee, and well… I had to pay, even though we agreed on sharing… So I’m not really happy with him… And he’s such a…err, I’m getting sidetracked again, right?”
“Naruto-sama, you didn’t change at all !” giggled Aiko. She then boldly closed the distance between them and reached her hand up to let one of her fingers trail along his jaw. In a few seconds, the innocent bubbly woman turned into a professional seductress. She purred : “But you know, Naruto-san, I’m really happy you’re back… Want me to stop by tonight?”
Naruto grabbed her small wrist and kissed the palm of her hand, winking at her. “Why not my dear?”
She giggled as he let go of her hand and bowed in front of them “Now, excuse me my ladies, but I really need a bath. See you later!”
He waved at them and jogged down the hall. He never saw the two women smile at each other and shake hands.
<>
*Bathing Pools of the Takibana
Inn, Female Side.*
‘If I don’t get out of the pool now, I’m going to pass out from the heat…’ Reluctantly, Hinata sat up and stepped out of the water. She got up too fast though, and went slightly dizzy. With a grunt she closed her eyes and tried to get a grip on her senses. Within seconds, her mind was thankfully clear again. She couldn’t help but smile at her own clumsiness as she began to walk toward the changing room, the small towel tugged to her breasts. Hot springs were great, with or without the dizzy part.
She never noticed the shadowy silhouette moving toward her, from behind. She just had the time to hear a man’s chuckle before feeling two arms sneak past her waist, to seize her breasts.
Suddenly, the kunoichi’s world went very still, and years of training were forgotten. Hinata could only stay numb in shock, stiff as a board as cold shudders were running down her spine.
The man’s hands were now openly …groping at her breasts.
No one… had ever… touched her… and now she was being aggressed by… some kind of disgusting pervert… she was alone… her body not responding… she couldn’t move at all, she was rooted to the spot… and he had his hands on her breasts, the towel wasn't doing a great job at keeping his hands away...
HIS hands… on HER breasts…
“Hmm, young lady… Nice round ones, yup… Quite big to boot… My lady, your boyfriend must be one of the happiest man in this country...”
When the man’s word finally reached her brain, she almost died of shame. In her misery, she found her voice back. And for the first time in her life, Hyuuga Hinata went loud.
Really Loud
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
And then, Pandemonium broke loose. Kind of.
<>
*Bathing Pools of the Takibana Inn, Male Side.*
…
*Err… Not for long.*
Naruto was just beginning to relax in the warm water when he heard Jiraiya’s voice and the terrified scream that followed. A very woman-ish scream. High pitched and shrilly and all. Typical scream one would produce if some kind of old pervert would just happen to pounce at her and start to grope her. Yup, definitely that kind of scream.
The blond ninja cursed through gritted teeth. He got out of the water as fast as he could, grabbed a towel to put around his waist ( ‘no need to give the woman another reason to sue us’ ) before jumping over the bamboo palisade separating the male and female bathing areas.
He immediately spotted Jiraiya standing behind a naked woman, his hands dangerously near the woman’s breasts, with a look of pure bliss on his face.
“Stupid old LEACH!” yelled Naruto as he crossed the distance between them in a few jumps and launched his fist right at his teacher’s chin. Jiraiya had not the time to dodge and was abruptly send from Heaven to Hell, and actually rolling across the room.
Naruto ran after him, letting the woman fall on her knees, her eyes wide and her head bowed down in shock. He’d take care of her later. Now he needed to make sure that the old toad didn’t ran away.
As he reached him, the young ninja grabbed his teacher’s shirt and howled “That’s it! That does it! That FUCKING DOES IT! Now I’m going to make you feel Hell!”
Jiraiya rubbed his chin and smirked. “Keh, as if you could, brat.”
At this, Naruto smiled. A nasty smile. With teeth. Lots of teeth.
His teacher was still underestimating him. Very well. He’d show him his true strength, here and now. “You’re right, old crap. I can't. And I won't loose my time trying again. But you know what? Someone offered some help.” Seeing the older ninja’s blank face, Naruto mouthed ‘Mama-san’ with some cruel pleasure.
“Nooo....” Jiraiya blanched, “you wouldn't...”
“Ohh, try me, will ya ? In normal times, I wouldn’t go that far. But I’m quite fed up with you now. I planned to have a nice relaxing week in that calm little Inn, and what do you do? Behave, just for once ? Nooo, that’s too much to ask you… You had to harass the ONLY other customer, hadn’t you? Now come on, we can't have Mama-san waiting for you further more, can we ?”
“Meep.”
“Yeah, ‘Meep’. But first, you're going to present your excuses to the lady over there.”
He turned toward the woman, who was now standing up, and bowed deeply.
“I'm truly sorry for everything that occurred. We are willing to compensate for the trouble.” Naruto glared down at Jiraiya, who was currently whimpering on the floor, and he had to fight the urge to kick him. “Ready to pay the bill, old leach?”
The white haired man clutched pathetically to his student’s legs, eyes watering. “Yes, anything, just don't take me back to her....”
Jiraiya was trying his best to look miserable, Naruto had to admit. But still, a little fright never killed anyone… He was about to open his mouth when suddenly the woman spoke. She had a small, fluttering voice.
“Na ... Naruto-kun....Is that you ?”
“Huh ?”
Naruto gazed up at the woman. Did he knew her ? Hmm… Average height, maybe a tad on the tall side for a woman… She was quite pretty with her small oval face, pure features and her braided hair. Creamy white skin and ebony hair, simple but lovely match. And Naruto wasn’t the kind to forget a woman with such a nice pair of knockers, nope… Then, where ? Hmmm….
Hmmmmmm...
Hrrnnrnrnrnnrnmmrnnrnm….
… HAH! Suddenly realization dawned upon him. Those eyes, that stuttering…
“Hinata-chan ! I didn’t recognize you with that long hair and those… braids! You changed so much! I can't believe it ! Wah ! Someone from Konoha ! It's been sooo long !" He moved forward to hug her, in spontaneous joy of seeing someone from his old village.
“Eep...” Hinata blushed beet red and took a step backward, almost tripping on the wet floor.
“Huh...?” Naruto looked lost for a second, but then comprehension dawned upon him. Hinata was pretty nude, the towel and her small arms weren’t covering much flesh. Naruto himself was only wearing a short towel that didn’t hide much either. Naruto had the grace to blush, before rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
“Ha.. haha ... hahahaha, I'm sorry , I didn't noticed that you were… huh ...err... kinda... Well, that's not the point. We’ll go wear something, and, err, we’ll meet outside, okay?”
Hinata could only gulp and nod slowly.
Naruto smiled at her one last time, before grabbing his teacher by the arm and turning heels, walking toward the other side of the bath.
Once they were back in the male side, Naruto let go of his teacher, who huffed and straightened his clothes, taking an offended look.
“Brat, You didn’t notice that she was ‘kinda nude’ ? Psha, I sure *did* notice. Don’t tell me I’ve raised you to be such a slow-pervert…” Jiraiya mumbled, before sitting down on the floor, rubbing his sore chin.
Hearing this, Naruto turned down at him and hissed, eyes ablaze : “You, you shut your trap! What did you do to Hinata-chan? She's a very dear friend ! I swear, if you laid a finger on her, I'm going to...”
Jiraiya looked totally scandalized. “One finger ? You don't know me or what ?. I laid my two hands on her lovely breasts, thank you very much. Pshaa, young people and their illusions”
Hearing no reply form his student, Jiraiya craned his neck to look up at him. The blond ninja’s aura flared as he began to crack his knuckles. Baring his teeth, he grunted "Wong answer…Old crap... THAT was a VERY wrong answer...”
Jiraiya went “Meh…?” before realizing that things were rapidly turning icky for him. His student was looking none too pleased, so better get away from him, preferably quickly. The hermit stuck his tongue out at his blond student in a childish manner, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto nearly stomped his foot on the ground in frustration.
“Shit! Ran away again! But just you wait, old toad! Jut you wait!”
Naruto briefly wondered if he should chase after the old man. Usually, he would have spend the night pestering after the hermit, or booby trapping his sake jar, but tonight he didn’t felt like moping around. After all, it’s not everyday that he had the chance to meet someone from Konoha, and to be honest, he wanted to spend some time with Hinata. He really missed his village, and learning about the latest gossips from the Leaf would do him some good. He’d booby trap the sake jar another day.
He went to dress into one of the Inn’s blue and white yukata and yelled at Hinata through the palisade : “Come on Hinata-chan, we’ll drink some tea and talk ‘bout Konoha!”
“O… Okay Naruto-kun.”
“Great! I’ll order some tea and wait for you! My room has the number 24! See ya!”
A few seconds later, Hinata trotted outside the changing room, tugging at her yukata’s sash.
“A… Ano, Naruto-kun … Your room ?”
But Naruto had already left.
The dark haired kunoichi couldn’t repress a shiver.
<>
*Takibana
Inn, Room 24*
The room number 24 was … beautiful. It was decorated in the traditional Taki style, with tatami mats covering the floor and large sliding wooden doors opening on the Inn’s garden. The decoration was simple and perfect. ‘I really love that Inn…’ Hinata mused. ‘It’s simple and beautiful, it’s so refreshing.’
They had been talking for almost an hour now. About Konoha, friends, teachers and gossips. It was really enjoyable, to sit down a relax, for once…
Slowly, she turned her head toward Naruto, who was currently sitting on the balcony, feet dangling, sipping his tea while commenting on Konoha’s latest news. He had changed too. He was now tall. Really tall. Almost as tall as Jiraiya himself. But he still was leaner than the hermit. His hair had not changed though. Blond, spiking, seemingly having a life of its own. His eyes too were the same, but… There was something strange about his eyes. Something almost feral, like the eyes of a wild beast. As a child, his round cheeks were keeping his blue eyes to two small slits. But now that he was adult, that his cheekbones had replaced the baby-fat, the eyes were the most impressive thing in Naruto’s face. She wouldn’t want to have to face a glare coming from those eyes….
Naruto’s cheerful voice shook her from her reverie. “I swear, I can’t believe Lee did this. Well, I guess he’s really turning into the next ‘Konoha prideful green beast’…”
Hinata laughed softly and nodded her agreement. “So, Naruto-kun, why are you travelling with Jiraiya-sama?” As soon as she finished talking, she was already regretting opening her mouth. Naruto’s face had become grim and serious, his eyes cold and hard.
“Well, after the whole Akatsuki mess, Jiraiya was worried about me. He thought I was going to … Dunno; turn into something nasty or what… He said stuff about not wanting history to repeat itself… I never really pried down, but I think he was afraid to see me turn into some kind of lone wolf ya know… Anyway, he insisted upon Tsunade-baachan to have me as a student for five more years. He said he still had stuff to teach me. Which is a brazen lie, if you want my point. He just enjoy having someone to pester, that’s all. But Tsunade-baachan kinda got pig-headed on it and… So, well, I was kinda forced to agree, coz well, she’s … kinda the Hokage ya know… Well, and man, she can be scary when she wants to…And it’s not as if I had something else interesting to do, I mean the old toad forbid me to be an Anbu.”
“Hm? But why? The Anbu institution is a prestigious one. All former Anbu are respected...”
Naruto shrugged, tilting his head slightly. “He says I’m not fitted for assassination.”
“I see…” Of course. She was stupid… How could she not realize? Being an Anbu meant being an assassin. Naruto was too gentle and happy-go-lucky to ever…
“He says I’m too loud. He says I can’t kill someone without waking up the whole damn town.”
Hinata coughed a bit on her tea. Naruto didn’t seem to notice as he went on : “So instead, I’m doing jobs with him. We’re not a bad team at all, and since I’m his student, our styles are pretty much alike…It makes it easier for us, even though we are lacking some stuff. I must admit that I’m not really great at genjutsu, so the old toad has to put up with me… But when it comes to very important stuff, the old hag ask for us, ‘coz she knows we’ll get the job done, and greatly! Haha, of course, I’m going to be the Rokudaime, so of course, I’m efficient!”
“Ah so…”
Naruto’s face became serious again.
“But… Ya know, in a way, I’m glad I’m not in an Anbu team… I mean, I’m not that bad at assassinations, but I’m not really fond of it… I really prefer going on missions with the old toad… At least, it’s not always the same thing… Plus, I keep learning interesting stuff, and I get to know myself better. It’s really nice ya know… And Jiraiya may be a pervert, but he has his good sides too! You’ll see.” He paused to turn around and smile at her. “Anyway…It must be darn boring, to always do the same thing, don’t you think? The whole ‘assassination only’ trend…Isn’t Neji bored? I mean, Anbu are professional assassins, but it must be quite monotonous…”
“Hmm, Neji-oniisan doesn’t speak much about his missions. But I think… He may be looking forward to the end of his Anbu years… Maybe…”
“I think too… So, that’s why I’m here with the old toad. To finish my formation's schedule. In two years, I’ll be back to Konoha for good, and well, we’ll see what happens at the time.”
“ I see.” Hinata put down her tea cup and straightened her yukata, smoothing out the soft clothing with the palm of her hand. It was not really late, but the darkness was already enveloping the garden. In the Waterfall country, the night fell early.
“And you, Hinata-chan, whazzup?”
“Hmm, well, nothing much…”
Naruto poured himself another cup of tea before slowly looking up, and winking at her. “Ah, don’t try to be shy with me … You’re going on Lone Missions, it means you’re a jounin, right?”
“Ye… Yes.”
“Woohoo! You made it Hinata-chan! I knew you had it in you! I knew you’d be a great kunoichi one day!”
“Thanks Naruto-kun…”
“So…When did you took the jounin exam?”
“Last year… Father insisted for me to take it. I thought I was not ready, but he said that all Hyuuga had always been nominated jounin before their eighteenth year, so…”
“So?”
“So he said I’d better make it too.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“And,” she blushed softly “hmm, surprisingly enough, I made it…”
“How is your family with you now, Hinata-chan?” asked Naruto, serious again.
“Huh?”
“I mean, before your father had no faith in you, and Neji used to snap at you because of the main family, branch family stuff… How is it now?”
Hinata faintly blushed. Naruto-kun, *the* Naruto-kun, wanted to know things about her? “Well, Neji-oniisan changed a lot after his match with you at the chuunin exam, years ago. And well, since, he matured a lot. Next year he’s going to be promoted as a genin’s team teacher.”
“Really? Him, teaching?”
“Don’t laugh, Naruto-kun. Neji-oniisan is a very fine man, he’s really nice and comprehensive.”
“Heh heh, Hinata-chan, things are really better!”
“This is thanks to you.”
“What?”
“Ne-… Neji-oniisan… he uses to say that you’re the one who changed him. He says that he opened his eyes, thanks to you.”
“Huh? … Well, I guess it’s to be expected from the
next Hokage, right? Ha ah
hahahaha!”
‘Naruto-kun… it’s one of your numerous strengths. That ability you have to change people to bring the better out of them. Thanks to you the Hyuuga family is already changing a bit.’
“And what about your dad?”
“Since I became a jounin, Father’s being really… Well, almost nice with me.”
“That’s good to hear!”
“He thinks I should retire and get married soon, to have children.”
Naruto coughed violently and spluttered tea. “Ha? What the heck, you’re still young, Hinata-chan!”
“Father thinks that shinobi’s lives are short, and that we must have children when we can. Father says that a shinobi does not know when his or her life is going to end.”
“Well, I can’t blame him, it’s not wrong… But what are you feeling about it?”
“I …” Hinata paused. She’d never thought about it. Her father had told her that she would get married soon, and she had complied. She didn’t even know who her husband was going to be. It was up to her father to decide. Of course it was going to be someone from the Hyuuga clan, to keep the Byakugan in the family, but who? She didn’t know, and to be honest, she didn’t care. If she were killed during one of her missions, she wouldn’t have to worry about it... After all, it was not as if she had a dream to fulfil, or a goal in her life, was it ? So, at least if she could be useful to her family and have children to…
A loud clashing noise interrupted her reverie. Naruto was looking at her with a serious face, eyes burning. He had grabbed her by the sleeve of her yukata, and he hissed “Don’t you even dare speak so lightly of your life! Your life is precious Hinata, you shouldn’t waste it!”
He spat his words at her: “Don’t you have dreams Hinata?”
“I don’t know…” she averted his glance, her eyes fixed on the tatami mat. Naruto shook her arm and forced her into looking in his eyes. “ … I … I guess that … no…”
“Don’t you have a fucking dream Hinata? Are you waking up everyday without a goal? Is your fucking life so empty? Didn’t I taught you anything when I told you to stand for yourself? Do you want to retire and stay home all day, sitting alone and doing nothing but serve a fucking husband you don’t even know, wasting your skills and your life? Do you want to have children just so the clan can use them? Don’t you want to … to LIVE for yourself? ”
His blue eyes were no longer full of mischief, they were cold as ice, boring through her soul. His eyes were somehow scaring her. She had faced numerous frightening situations, but this was … different. As if his eyes could see past her defences. Hinata whimpered under the strength of the fingers encircling her arm. She knew that her skin would bear dark marks by tomorrow. She was trying to shut herself out; she didn’t want to listen to him any longer. His words were like iced spikes piercing through her heart, tearing her apart. Everything, every word he said… Those words were forcing her to think about her life, and she didn’t wanted to…
She refused to think! It was so hard to no have a choice… How could he understand? He was free! She, on the contrary, never had a choice. She had to act for the clan, only the clan, always the clan! She had no choice! When you have no choice, hope is useless, it’s only hurting you further more... Hinata had learned to give up on hope long ago.
She wanted to yell, to slap him for putting her through such a misery… How dared he? HOW DARED HE?!
“Naruto-kun… I don’t have your strength…”
“Dreams have nothing to do with strength… Everyone should have dreams!”
“Not me. I don’t even know what dreams are, Naruto-kun.”
“Shit! I can’t believe this!” He released her arm and bit angrily at his thumb to draw blood, then executed a few seals before yelling “Kuchiyose no Justu!”
With a faint “pop” and a puff of smoke a small toad appeared in front of them. “What can I do for you, Boss?”
“Gamatatsu, get me Tsunade.”
“Roger boss.” The toad disappeared in a plop.
“Na... Naruto-kun, what are you-”
The blond shinobi held his hand up to silence her, his brow furrowed. “Not now Hinata. I’m busy channelling chakra.”
At that moment, the toad returned in another puff of smoke. “Tsunade-sama says she’s busy right now, she tells you to contact her later.”
“No, this can’t wait. Tell her I ask for another member in mine and Jiraiya’s team.”
“Ok boss.”
*Plop*, Gamatatsu disappeared again.
Hinata stayed still, looking at Naruto. What was he doing? Obviously the toad was going back and forth between here and the Hokage’s office, in Konoha. But … This must require quite a lot of chakra control and…
Her face softened. Naruto had really grown up into a fine ninja…
*Puff*
“Boss, Tsunade-sama said no. She says you two are already too much of a hassle to control.”
“Ok. She doesn’t want to play soft; I ain’t going to play soft. Tell her I’m not requesting her approval about it. I’m simply stating this. Tell her that if she’s not the only one who can be a pain in the ass. I can too.”
*Plop*
*Puff*
“Tsunade-sama wishes to know who is the member you want to be included in your team. She added that you *always* were a pain in the ass, nothing new, and that she’s definitely going to ‘kick your ass till you bow in front of her’ for bugging her like that.” The toad paused. “She ain’t really a good mood now ya know Boss. Ya should leave it alone if you don’t wanna be skinned alive the next time ya go back to Konoha.”
“Tell her to go get milked.”
*Plop*
*Puff*
“BOSS! She hurt me!” Surely enough, the wailing toad was now sporting a big bump in the middle of its forehead. “And she said that if you didn’t answered her previous question, she was going to do something drastic! Boss, I don’t want to go back!”
“You’re going back. Tell her the new member is Hyuuga Hinata, jounin kunoichi from the Hidden Leaf.”
The toad glanced at Hinata before sighing and disappearing again.
The kunoichi could only stare blankly at her friend. “Na... Naruto-kun, what are you-”
“Not now Hinata.”
This time a couple of minutes went by before Gamatatsu came back. Naruto’s eyes were closed in concentration. Hinata couldn’t hep but wonder. Was he really serious? Did he want her to join his team? But… what for? Was it some kind of joke ?
*Puff*
“Tsunade-sama wishes to know why. She says that Hyuuga Hinata is an excellent element for Lone Missions. She wishes to know if it is Hyuuga Hinata’s doing, or yours.”
“Tell her it’s entirely mine, that I just came up with it and that Hinata has not agreed yet. I’m doing this…” He hesitated, looking down at his hands. He suddenly balled them into fists, knuckles whitening. His jaw set and his eyes dark, he went on : “ I’m doing this because it makes me fucking angry to see her waste her life like that! I’ve seen too many lives wasted… I don’t want to see anyone else throw his or her life away. I ask for two years. She needs to learn important things. The Leaf can’t have shinobi without dreams.”
*Plop*
Hinata was having troubles thinking straight. Was he crazy? First, the Hokage would never agree. Second, Hinata was utterly lame when it came to work in a team. Third, her father was never going to accept. Fourth, what use could she…
*Puff*
“Tsunade-sama asks for one year only. And she asks since when you were promoted a ‘bloody teacher’.”
“No, only one year is not possible. Two years won’t be too much of a break for her. There’s some drastic things to do. And I was promoted a bloody teacher the day I convinced a stubborn, antisocial old hag to stand for a village.”
*Plop*
Naruto smirked at Hinata and winked. “That’s a big gamble. It’ll be either all or nothing… But this should work.”
Hinata stayed silent, thinking over his previous speech. ‘Two years…?’
*Puff*
“Tsunade-sama says that Hyuuga Hiashi is not going to be an happy bunny. He is planning a wedding for his daughter, next month.”
“Tell him to put a sock on it. If he’s so much free time to throw a fit at me, he’d better work on new ways to rule his frigging clan better.”
*Plop*
‘Next month…? So soon?’ Suddenly Hinata felt herself hoping … Hoping that Tsunade would accept Naruto’s absurd request. She… she didn’t wanted to get married yet… She liked being… by herself…
*Puff*
This time the toad appeared in front of Hinata. “Hyuuga Hinata-sama, the Hidden Leaf’s Hokage wishes to know your point about this. Are you ready to be incorporated in Uzumaki Naruto and the Hermit Jiraiya’s team?”
“I…” Hinata glanced at Naruto. He was looking intently at her. “Hinata, it’s up to you now. I’m offering you two years of extra formation. Either you accept, or you go on with your life like you did until now. Whichever you prefer.” He shook his head and mouthed, “It’s up to you...” before turning around and looking outside the window, seemingly giving her some privacy.
‘Father is going to kill me for this… but … For once… I want to…disobey him…No. More than disobeying him, I want to try… to get to know myself better too…’
“I… I am ready.”
“This means that you won’t be back in Konoha before two years. Are you sure you want to?”
“I… think I want to.”
“Fine.”
*Plop*
Naruto turned around and gave Hinata the largest smile she’d ever seen. It was a total change in his attitude, in a few seconds, he was back to the his usual self. “Good job, Hinata-chan!”
‘He’s back to the ‘Hinata-chan’…He isn’t angry anymore… Phew…Naruto-kun does not seem to realize that Tsunade-sama is not the only scary one when angry…’
*Puff*
“Boss, Tsunade-sama says she’s going to kill you for putting her in this mess. Worse, she’s going to be sure you’re going to die under a pile of utterly annoying paperwork if you ever live long enough to be nominated Hokage. But she validated your request. She’s going to send Hinata’s new assignment papers tomorrow.”
“Woohoo!”
“Can I go back home now Boss? Gamakichi-niichan is cooking a yummy flies’ soufflé, I wouldn’t want to miss it.” The little toad pleaded.
“No prob’, Gamatatsu. Go back home, and thank you for the help. Greet everyone for me, will ya?”
“Roger boss! See you, Miss Hinata!” With that he disappeared in a final plop.
Naruto ran toward the door and opened it hastily “Mizu-nee!!”
A distant reply came from the hall. “What again?”
“Bring us something to drink! Something good! First class Umeshuu! And put the tab on Jiraiya’s!”
“Ok…”
He closed the door and bounced back in, smiling all his teeth out and giving her the thumbs up. “Hinata-chan, time to celebrate! Welcome to your new team! Welcome in the Konoha Elite Toad Team!”
Hinata
whimpered. ‘Oh my… What have I gotten myself into?’
<>
<>-<>-<>
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
End
of:
Drastic Holiday, Chapter One: Drastic Beginning.
<>
TBC
in:
Drastic Holiday, Chapter Two: Drastic Hangover
(…maybe.)
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
<>-<>-<>
<>
A/N : … O_o;
?
More seriously, I’m not happy at all
with this. I’m posting it, because I know that if I don’t, I’m going to give it
up.
- I don’t like how lame it’s turning out
to be.
- I don’t like my pathetic humour’s
attempts.
- I don’t like my total inability to
write something that sounds good to me.
- I don’t like how all characters manage
to sound so hideously OOC, despite my best efforts.
Well, I’m not happy at all. But still,
there are some parts I like, and I want to delve in, like Hinata’s psychology,
or Jiraiya’s randomness… I’m still having some fun writing it, and somehow, I
don’t want to give it up just yet. I mean, it has barely began, I’ve set the
place and just began the characters’ study, nothing more. They may seem OOC,
but wait for chapter 2 before flaming.
No, Hinata isn’t going to accept without
some serious thinking. If she ever accept.
No, Jiraiya isn’t going to stay put and
say nothing about it.
No, Tsunade is not doing everything
Naruto asks her to do. Maybe she had her own reasons to accept this request.
No, Naruto and Hinata are not going to
have hot-steamy-sweaty sex in chapter two. Nor in chapter three, four or five.
And still not in chapter six, seven, or eight…
Etc. …
It’s not a “hey, let’s get stronger
together” story. They are already strong and adult. They’ve been through many
hardships. They are what you can call mature.
It’s a ‘Naruto characters’
introspection’ story. Yes the plotline is over-used, yes I’m a dirty,
vain, imagination-lacking, boo-boo
author.
So spork me.
I know myself. I suck at making up
plots, so I picked up a plotline that has been done to death. But I’m ok with
the character delving. Thus, I’m going that way. Kill me for not being
original, will you…
The setting is like that because I don’t
know what the hell is going to happen with the Akatsuki, so I’d rather leave it
aside. And Jiraiya is here, coz I want to work on him too. He is really
enjoyable to write.
I’m not satisfied with this chapter, but
I still love that fiction.
But I know myself; this is like the… 18th
fiction I began. I only posted a one-shot. I gave up all the others ones, and I
know that I’m going to give up that one too if I go on like this. So instead, I
stop the first chapter here, (yes, I tend to write a lot. Originally this first
chapter was over 15 000 words, I reduced it to 10 000 or so) ‘n I wait and see.
If people like it, I go on. If it’s really a failure, I give up. (Or I go on,
just to be stubborn)
Tell me what you think; I’m really
counting on your help to see through this. Everything is welcome, really. Just
don’t worry about ideas. I’ve got ideas. Lots. Mebbe
too much… O_o;
NB: If you want to flame me, no need to
rant during three pages, speak about toads, it’ll work just fine.
Noxie.
[ About the tricky problem of Naruto
killing and his feelings regarding it… I won’t say much, for a perfect fic already exists. Check it : ‘Repetition’, by The Sh33p.
]
Next chapter : Where Jiraiya muses over fate and students ; Tsunade gets her revenge in a dirty way ; Naruto learns how to play children games ; and Hinata gets to say “Hrnenen ?” a lot.
