Hiashi Hyuuga had to push himself to make sure he returned to the Hyuuga grounds before Hinata, although he’d never admit it.
There were many things Hiashi felt he would never admit to. His shame in being unable to stop the sacrifice of his brother. His fear for Hinata’s future. His determination to make sure she did not suffer such a fate as his brother. On occasion, he even felt the Byakugan was a curse upon his family.
So he needed to make sure that the Hyuuga were prepared to take anything Hinata had to say in the best possible light without anyone realizing what he was doing. Some he persuaded Hinata couldn’t be expected to improve in a single day, no matter what jutsu was involved. Others he dropped hints that a year without a Hyuuga to spar with would be a hardship on anyone’s skills. Every elder had his own way of thinking, and each was carefully tweaked to think favorably about Hinata’s skills after her adventure.
Which made it very awkward when Hinata showed up with Naruto and his ‘familiar’ in tow. “Hinata,” he said with disapproval, “why have you brought outsiders to our home?”
Hinata gulped. “Uh, ah, ah, I, ah,”
Naruto put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. Hiashi twitched slightly, but saw Hinata’s body language relax instantly. “They are my friends, father,” she said quietly, almost inaudibly.
“Even so,” Hiashi began.
“Hey,” Naruto growled. “We’ve been living with Hinata-chan for a year. We aren’t outsiders to her!” Kitsune nodded firmly.
Hiashi savagely beat down the urge to twitch. “You have been…living…with my daughter?” he asked dangerously.
“You did engage us,” Hinata whispered.
Hiashi felt his anger run down an unexpected course and land in a deep ocean of disapproval. Suddenly the boy who corrupted his innocent daughter was a potential, if young, suitor trying to steal her away.
Naruto wondered who had walked over his grave.
“Uzumaki,” Hiashi asked calmly, “what are your intentions towards my daughter?”
Naruto’s eyes traced from his hand to Hinata’s shoulder up her neck to her eyes. He held them for a moment, then turned to Hiashi. His eyes were closed, he had a huge grin, and his free hand was a thumbs up in what Rock Lee would call a Nice Guy Pose. “She’s my most precious friend. I’ll protect her to the end of time, even if I die!”
Hinata was blushing tomato-red and let out a soft “eep.” Kitsune merely smirked shrugged and shook her head knowingly.
Hinata got enough control over herself to speak again. “F-f-father I am ready to explain the year…I mean today’s events.”
Hiashi regarded Hinata. “Very well. The Elders are assembled. Come.”
“What about us?” Naruto demanded.
Hiashi looked to Naruto dispassionately. “If she wishes it, you may rejoin her in an hour.” He turned his back on the young jinchuriki. “But you have no place here.”
Naruto scowled at Hiashi’s back and gave Hinata’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting go. “I’ll be around, Hinata-chan.”
Hinata blushed and stammered a thanks and followed her father. Only an hour?
Any hope Hinata had that her debriefing’s brevity was a kindness was crushed quickly. She sat in the center of a large room, surrounded by the unblinking eyes of Hyuuga. She hadn’t faced an inquisition this large ever before.
“Hinata, how long were you away from Konoha?”
“Eh?” Hinata jumped at the suddenness of the question. “Ah, fifteen months.”
“Did Uzumaki cause the jutsu that took you away?”
“No, at least not intentionally,” Hinata stammered. Naruto had been very confused about what happened that caused the time warp. Signum’s attack had jumbled his short term memories badly. “We don’t really know what happened.”
“Why did you not attempt to return?”
“Captain Lindy-.”
“Who?”
Hinata bit back tears. So many questions! She barely finished one before another was asked, almost always from behind her, no matter which way she turned. “Ca…Captain Lindy Harlaown. She commanded the mage that rescued us. She said that we were under the effects of a time compression field and couldn’t return until it ended.”
“You believed her?”
“She said when the field ended we would be warped back automatically. That is what happened.”
“Could this captain have manipulated your return to her desires?”
“Ah…ah…maybe?” Hinata felt herself looking at her lap. Her muscles were tensing to curl into a ball.
“Then she is a potential enemy!”
“No! I mean, she would never do that!”
“What progress have you made with the juuken?”
“I have practiced the stances I know daily.”
“But you taint the art with that device.”
“Renard is a tool for focusing chakra.”
“A crutch. You will cease using it at once.”
[Up, hime.]
Hinata felt pale eyes descend on her ring. She clutched her hand into a tight fist, bunching up a bit of her pant leg in the white-knuckled grip. “No,” she whispered, inaudible even to herself.
“What?” Hiashi asked softly.
“I said no,” Hinata repeated, only a hair louder.
“No?” another elder asked, a hint of iron. “You defy the elders?”
[Up, hime.]
Again eyes fell to the ring that was insistently saying ‘up.’
Hinata shuddered and lifted her head. “I will not abandon Renard.”
“You turn your back on your clan techniques?”
“No,” Hinata whimpered, ducking her head back down. “But…why can’t other jutsu be used, too?”
Hiashi looked at his daughter inscrutably. She had grown a spine. It was buried under her fear, but it had shown itself for a moment. It was about time. “If your skill with the juuken suffers, we will redress this issue,” he warned sharply.
Hinata nodded. “I understand, father.”
She was too frightened to notice that her father had shielded her from losing Renard...for now.
Naruto stood in his old apartment and sighed. It had been a long time since he’d thought of this small space as home, but it had been his home far longer before that. This place was his sanctuary against the hatred that followed him everywhere else in Konoha. He would always feel at home here.
He never realized how painful his home was. For a time he had been among people that offered neither fear nor hatred, and now that he was home the safe walls around him were a cage three sizes too small.
Kitsune stuck her head in from the kitchen. She was wearing an apron and had a scarf over her ears. “Are those the mushrooms?”
“Huh?” Naruto asked, then he looked at the handful of groceries he had. “Oh, yeah.” He passed the package to Kitsune. “Here ya go, Kit.”
Kitsune took the ingredients with a manic grin that would inspire terror in those that knew she was the kyuubi, concern in those that thought she was a Naruto clone, and hunger in those that knew she was a damn good cook.
Naruto wandered around his small apartment while Kitsune did her thing in the kitchen. His familiar had already cleaned up most of the mess Naruto had left lying around. It wasn’t part of her contract…well yes it was but the fact was Kitsune liked being domestic. She could get as excited about a mission as Naruto, but she had an appreciation for “the quiet life” that they were certain the loud Naruto would never have. But she couldn’t go shopping; the villagers that saw Naruto as a pest would probably form a torch and pitchfork mob at the sight of Kitsune. Only their ANBU escort kept a mob from forming just walking home. Kitsune was now on orders to stay hidden in public, orders that made enough sense they didn’t plan to violate them.
So Naruto had spent the past halfhour running from store to store. And he quickly realized he had a problem. He’d made some decent money working for the TSAB, but none of it was any good here. All he had was his orphan’s stipend. Meanwhile he’d outgrown his old wardrobe and had Kitsune to care for. Mid-Childa was at least three jumps away without a ship, and he didn’t know any close worlds under TSAB administration where his money was good. Earth was even further than Mid-Childa, which wiped out the rest of his friends and acquaintances from consideration.
In the end, he’d made do with what he had. He and Kitsune had enough to eat well for a few days, after which hopefully they’d be on missions and pulling down some decent income. If things got bad, well, three jumps wasn’t undoable or anything. It was just dangerous, ill-advised, chakra-intensive, and he’d feel like he had run ten miles at a full sprint by the time he got to Mid-Childa. He’d been able to call Kitsune because the Arthra had been standing by to track them down once the time compression reversed, and Kitsune had been aboard. The Arthra was probably still nearby, but it wasn’t like they had a bazaar onboard.
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(Posted Sun, 10 Jul 2011 05:27)
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