This was one of those meetings with her father that she wasn't all that keen on.
Still, she had to act calm enough to get through this. If there was anything that she could do, it was to bear through it until she finished. It wasn't as if he had been all that good to her so far. And she was not exactly sure what exactly he could want with her this time.
"Hello, Father," she murmured, trying desperately not to pout.
"Hello, dear," her father replied with a weak smile. "I'm glad that we could see each other now."
"Really?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"You've sent me away."
Pain shot through his features before he got himself under control again. "I know that I haven't made the most... comfortable choices for you."
"I'll say."
"But remember this. Protecting what you care about is important. And I care about you."
All that Haruna could do was snort.
"It's true. I know that you don't understand this, but in sacrificing your freedom, I've had to sacrifice what I really want for you."
"What could you want for me?"
"To be happy. And to be safe," her father whispered.
"Great...."
Kneeling down, he placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Yes, and I'm doing what I can. To make sure, I've made an arrangement for you. I've set it up so so that you will have a protector. He is a boy from Konohagakure."
Pursing her lips, Haruna wasn't sure as to what to make of what he was telling her.
"Who are all these girls?" Naruto blurted, looking around with wide eyes.
Toltiir merely looked up at him... somehow managing to have a raised brow. "Ones that would have met you in the future."
"And now?"
"They have... arrangements involving you."
"Oh... oh man," the blond boy stammered.
"At least now you'll have plenty of connections."
"Is this what it's going to be like?"
"Well, let's see," the cat drawled.
Being friends was basic for Ino and Sakura. They'd gotten along since they'd met. For the two of them, doing things together, dealt with bullies, and giggled over the same sort of things. It was a life where a pair of young girls could enjoy just do as they would like.
But right then, they were standing nose to nose with each other.
"I thought that you were going to keep an eye on him!" Sakura growled.
Ino glared at her friend. "Was I supposed to do it all?"
"You should have at least paid more attention!"
"Oh, and you aren't supposed to do anything? Why didn't you keep track of him in the first place?"
"I was trying to!"
"Oh, and like you did a good job of that!"
"Then it's supposed to be my fault?" the pink haired girl snapped.
"Does it really matter? He's still goofing off."
"And getting into problems...."
Realizing that he was in the middle of something, Naruto swallowed hard and looked between the two girls. Slowly sliding back, he tried to put some space between him and then. "Well, it looks like this is for you guys...."
"Oh no," Sakura bit out, grabbing one of his ears. "You aren't getting out of this one."
"Exactly. You caused all this trouble, and we are going to keep you out of it," Ino agreed as she pulled on his other ear.
"Ow, ow, ow!" he yelped as he was dragged off like that."
From his spot outside time, Naruto just stared.
"Interesting, isn't it?" the cat with him asked.
A strained smile came across the blond boy's lips.
"Wonder what more we can see."
Naruto rubbed at his ears, hoping that the stinging would go away. Just why they kept on doing things like bopping him. Though he couldn't get terribly mad at them, given who they were. This wasn't like some jerk who would just want to try and beat him up. Given that Ino tried to protect him from bullies and such, and that Sakura kept on trying get him to study and eat right, they kept on helping him out.
He just wished that he could be the one to take care of them. If he could just become the one who watched out for them, it'd be so much better for him. It wasn't that he had any problem with girls being strong. The thing was that he cared about them, and wanted to make life better for them.
So, it made sense to him that he'd had to play the prank on that guy. Why the jerk had made fun of the both of them, and had deserved getting the paint bucket on his head. And he didn't like it when people pushed his friends around.
Of course, even though he'd known them for as long as he could remember, he didn't want to spend all his time with them. There was stuff that he wanted to do on his own. And certainly, there were things that only he could do without them.
Spotting someone familiar, he realized that he could get some company with what he wanted to do. "Hey, Hinata!"
"Eeep," the named girl squeaked and turned. "Naruto?"
"Hi, how are you?"
"Me? I'm fine. But... are you busy?"
"Uhh... no. Why?"
"That's great. Maybe you can come train with me," Naruto told her, starting to grin."
"You want me to train with you?"
"Sure! You seem to do well enough, and you are nice to be around."
Hinata ducked her head a bit, and seemed to redden. "Are you certain? I mean, you could do a lot on your own."
"Let's get going, alright!" he declared, and went to drag her off.
Looking down at where Naruto was holding onto her hand, Hinata tried not to smile even as a small smile came across her lips, while:
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(Posted Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:59)
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