179Angels Dressed In Armor
A/N: Well welcome back and I hope everybody had a good easter while I was gone. I wanted to get something out before I myself enjoyed my time off from work for Christmas and New Years but obviously that didn't happen. Sorry folks. I tried shooting for 10k words but only got to about 8k. Problem I had was simple really in I didn't have way to begin the next part. Which would be introducing more characters, such as the Uchiha and other key figures who will have an impact later on.
Another thing that is getting me, I've probably mentioned this before, but as I type for some odd reason the brain keeps jumping to the main points of the story. It's basically saying "I do what I want!". Stupid brain, but I now have ways to include more harem members, and make certain events unique to my story that I haven't yet seen in others to also creating entirely new situations.
Also, I realized I messed up with Shizune's age at the beginning of the story. Doing the math, when Naruto was 5, Shizune would be like 18. That's the reason why in the previous chapter at the end I said she was 18. Just to clear up any confusion or inconsistencies.
In other news, the Harem list. The list for Naruto will be longer than I initially thought and I was probably going to bring in some girls from other anime that were mentioned in earlier comments. This is mostly due to me wanting to include others from different villages as well; International girls basically to include a few places rarely used, such as The Land of Iron. A couple OCs will be incorporated from different anime, I already have an idea for one from the village Shizuka is from which I'm not going to lie she will probably be included in the harem as well.
Naruto's relationships won't be the only ones in this story. One thing I have noticed in many harem stories on this site is that it's all Naruto focused with a few giving a small harem to Sasuke but that's it. What I want to do is try to develop a relationship for most of the Naruto cast to include some of the Jōnins. Everyone deserves some love right. However, since this is my story I do intend to throw in some monkey wrenches in there to keep people on their toes. It is a big task but I like challenges so why not.
Now in the comments, I got a bunch of support in favor of the relationship building, so that's the route I'm going with. There will be a few time skips but they won't be very many.
One more thing, thank you to everyone who has read, followed, and/or favorited this story. Makes me feel good that I can put something worth while to read and can be appreciated. Means I'm doing something right. Also boosts my self-confidence as a writer.
As always, I own nothing about Naruto except the laptop I'm using to type this idea on. Please review if you thought something could be better or if you just like how I did this chapter.
"Normal Talking"
'Thinking'
"Mental Talking" (Generally for like the Yamanaka or something)
"Bijuu Talking"
"Mental Bijuu Talking"
"Jutsu Name(Translated Jutsu Name)" – This is my personal preference for the different Justus thrown around.
*Action/Aggressive Action*
Chapter 4: Meeting Flowers and Ravens
"…well crap" was Tsunade's muttered response to the awkward situation that had just came up with the Hyuuga Clan Head and Matriarch, aka Hinata's parents, when they walked through her front door led by her apprentice. Now normally she'd have wanted to keep this sort of thing from happening, at least until the foreseeable future. However, it appears that wasn't going to happen, and judging by the open-mouthed expression that Hiashi was sporting along with the questioning one his wife Hitomi had, Tsunade figured she had some explaining to do.
Granted she really didn't have to explain anything to anyone concerning her adopted son but since it now involved their daughter, it was left to her to ease their minds on this new development. Yet before she could say anything, it was Hitomi who made the first move. All eyes watched her as she made her way towards Naruto, her poise straight and elegant looking every bit the part of a noblewoman.
Naruto, for his part, was terrified of the newcomers; he was well aware of Hyuugas being an intimidating group of people having run across them previously. He was even more afraid of the Hyuuga male, who he guessed was Hinata's dad, since he had the power and money to make him disappear with no one being the wiser. Hinata's mother however he couldn't guess. She was an enigma, along with Hinata herself, amongst her own clan from what he's been told by Hinata. She was kind, loving, and gentle; everything that is not shown in public by the otherwise normally cold, unforgiving, and haughty Hyuuga members.
He always saw her from a respectable distance when she picked up Hinata from the park, but looking at her now, even being five years old, Naruto couldn't deny that she looked almost angelically beautiful. Like Tsunade-kaasan, Hitomi was a woman who's looks were unrivaled by most and possessed a figure that was subtly shown through her kimono, but was obviously hour glassed. Her wide hips, large bust and creamy skin complexion would no doubt be the envy of many women. This intimidating woman who was now standing in front of him, looking down at him actually, would make any man lucky to have as a wife meaning Hiashi-sama was a very lucky man.
But as beautiful as she was, her pupil-less eyes were currently burrowing into his own being the longer he looked into them. Naruto could feel a cold sweat run down the back of his neck as she continued to stare, even Anko-san seemed to be affected by it when he felt her tense up. Hell, he could even feel Kiyomi inside of him begin to stir in discomfort from the stare. It felt like an eternity, but couldn't have been more than five minutes in reality, before Hitomi's gaze and facial features softened to and a pleasant smile formed that brought a warmth to Naruto's chest and spread throughout his body.
It puzzled him on why she wasn't currently flipping out about his fox ears and the little puff of a tail that was visible for all in the room to see. Hitomi just continued to look at him with that motherly smile, even when she bent down to pick him up before sitting down on the couch next to Anko with Naruto now in Hitomi's lap. Her smile was apparently distracting to everyone in the room as no one moved or said a word to the Hyuuga Matriarch. Her eyes were closed and lips still formed in the gentle smile with her hand…petting him…
'Why must every woman I meet feel the need to do this?'
Naruto sighed somewhat feeling Hitomi's hand brush through his hair and caress behind his ears. Yes, it did feel nice to be, well…petted, but he wasn't an animal for crying out loud! He was a boy! But low and behold, when he tried to move Hitomi's grip just tightened and for an odd reason she giggled. Slumping his shoulders in defeat Naruto thought, 'Girls are weird and I will never understand them'.
Hitomi's giggle seemed to bring everyone out of their stupor as Hinata made her way towards her mother's unoccupied side. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she reached out to one of Naruto's ears as well, giggling softly when both twitched, then proceeded to pet her friend alongside with her mother. She wasn't the only girl who was interested in the new features as Yugao also made her way to kneel in front of the blonde before touching his ears as well. Or trying to with the Hitomi and Hinata also vying to continue their ministrations.
Anko just sat there to the side, arms crossed and a pout on her features from having Naruto taken from her while mumbling something about 'selfish bitches'. "Oww! Hey!" Not quietly enough however as she received a smack on the back of her head from Hitomi before she scolded, "Please watch your language around the children Mitarashi-san".
The tone was pleasant, but her aura when saying it suggested everything unpleasant if not obeyed. Anko was shocked enough to recoil and automatically blurt out, "Yes Ma'am!".
Laughing a bit, Tsunade just watched her adopted son basically be in what her perverted teammate's opinion would be heaven, 'But judging by the look on Naruto's face, he's in anything but bliss'. Looking over towards her other guest, she saw Hiashi having a conflicted expression about the situation. On one hand she could understand that this was an…unexpected situation and that normal people don't have fox ears and a tail. To say it was a lot to take in was understandable. On the other hand, Tsunade was still a bit peeved at the blatant abuse laid upon Naruto earlier by one of his clan members. So, if seeing her son be dotted on by his wife and daughter for being different (and admittedly adorable) made him uncomfortable, then he could go home to work the stick out of his ass and come back when he's ready to talk.
Speaking of which, "Hiashi-san, might I ask what brings you to my home?"
Hiashi snapped out of his daze and focused his attention on Tsunade over the blonde boy. Schooling his features, he took on a very business-like tone and bowed to her saying, "Tsunade-sama, I came here to humbly ask for your forgiveness in regards to this morning's incident. Furthermore, I assure you that this type of transgression will not happen again."
'…That's it?' Looking around the room to see all eyes on the Hyuuga Clan head, she could see varied expressions ranging from curious (Anko, Yugao, and Shizune) to expecting Hiashi to say more (Hitomi and Hinata). Naruto just seemed to be in his own discomfort zone from having Hitomi and the others still try to caress his ears.
If she was in a better mood then Tsunade would have said "all is forgiven" however she was not and Hiashi's simple promise that her son would not be harmed by his clan anymore was rather insulting. "I don't accept your apology."
Hiashi looked up at her in confusion, probably fully expecting for Tsunade to take him at his word like most people did but she was not going to budge on this, "Firstly, why are you directing your apology towards me when it was my son who was the victim in this little debacle? Secondly, you come here with only a promise saying that no further harm will come to him? Please don't stand there and insult my intelligence to simply believe you when you make such a promise. It's already been a couple of weeks, more than enough time for the entirety of the clans of Konoha to be made aware of Naruto's status as a member of the Senju clan. Thirdly, what sort of reprimanding have you placed on Hyuuga Ko?"
Tsunade saw out of her peripheral Hitomi looking towards her husband as if she expected him to make an ass out of himself but decided to do it for him before speaking up, "He hasn't done anything other than verbally voicing his displeasure. Ko comes from the main branch side of our family and his grandfather is on the clan's Elder Council. When the Elders got word of what happened, they pleaded their case saying that Ko was simply doing his duty as Hinata-chan's caretaker and protecting her from the 'troubled youth' as they put it. My husband decided to agree with them so only gave Ko a slap on the wrist so to speak."
Hiashi stared at his wife in horror as she explained what should be clan business when punishments were involved for fellow clan members. Yes, he only gave Ko a warning that should it happen again he would be branded for insubordination. His grandfather along with the other Elders including his father told him that Ko was in the right when he assaulted the boy. Ko himself said that he was defending Hinata's honor from the boy but that was the extent of it. Like a fool he believed his clan man and came here with the intention of putting the blame on Naruto and getting his daughter back. However, that seems to not be the case as he was now standing in someone else's home with all eyes on him looking every bit the fool he was for believing his council and his daughter's guardian.
"Oh so no actual punishment was given then?" Tsunade's left eyebrow rose in mock disbelief having already expected this.
Tired of the confusion from not being aware of the events for this, Shizune spoke up asking, "Tsunade-sama, what exactly happened today?" Turning to her apprentice, Tsunade smiled before explaining to her and along with the other girls in the room what happened at the park this morning, "Well I'm glad you asked Shizune-chan. This morning I decided to take Naruto to the park so he could play have some fun. Well while there he decided to spend some time with Hinata-chan and enjoy themselves. That was until Hinata-chan's guard, Ko, saw them and decided to slap Naruto across the face. When he got up again to protest, Ko decided to direct a bit of his killing intent towards him."
Anko being Anko decided to be very vocal about her displeasure, "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Anko wanted to very much go over to the Hyuuga compound and castrate the man for hitting someone who was very quickly making their way into her small list of people she cares about.
Hitomi would've reprimanded the girl but Shizune spoke up before she could, "Hyuuga-sama, forgive me but you don't punish Ko-san for attacking Naruto-kun and expect us to just except your apology?"
"I must agree Hyuuga-sama. Surely the attack on a member of one of the founding clans deserves a better form of compensation than what was just offered." Yugao said from her place next to Anko, whom currently was sharpening a kunai while still thinking of going go find Ko.
Hiashi kept a neutral expression but was inwardly frightened. He had trouble with trying to deal with his wife as it was but receiving the scolding looks by three up and coming kunoichi, one Kage level kunoichi who could flatten him then fix him just to do again, and worst yet, his wife and daughter. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and currently he was in the crosshairs of six of them. Trying to find a way out he was brought out of his thoughts by Tsunade saying, "Hiashi-sama, perhaps you should send for Ko-san so that he might properly express his deepest apologies to myself AND my son."
Hiashi knew that wasn't a suggestion but a command but regardless decided to take the out that she was giving him. Even if it meant putting one of his clansmen in harms way, he'd do it just so he wouldn't be on the bad side of the woman he shared his bed with. Despite how much he loved her and she loved him in return…she frightened him.
"Of course, Tsunade-sama. I'll shall attend to that personally. Hitomi, Hinata, let's be off." Hiashi made his way to the door but stopped when his wife said, "That's okay Hiashi-kun, we'll wait right here for you. Do be sure to hurry back." With her ever-present smile on her face Hitomi waved him off.
Once Hiashi made his way out and the door closed behind him, Tsunade finally burst out laughing at the discomfort along with some of the other girls, "Oh I'll never get tired of seeing him look uncomfortable. Reminds me of some of the constipated patients at the hospital." This caused another round of laughter even from the Hyuuga Matriarch and Heiress who asked, "Excuse me, Tsunade-sama, may I be able to make a request?"
Attention in the room focused on Hinata when Tsunade nodded her head for the young heiress to continue, "I know that Ko-san deserves what you all have in mind for him, but I only want to request that you not be too harsh on him. He is a good caretaker and person at heart, just misguided." Tsunade could only cock an eyebrow in intrigue and slight amusement at how mature and kind hearted the Hyuuga heiress was, "Well normally I'd say no, but since it's coming from a friend of Naruto's, I'll try to be lenient on his punishment."
"Aww do we really have to?" Anko asked before she cried "Ow!" after receiving a smack upside the head from both Hitomi and Yugao.
"Yes Anko-chan we have to since that's what Tsunade-sama said." Yugao scolded her friend who pouted before she snatched Naruto off of Hitomi's lap and placing him on hers. Naruto could do nothing but accept his new seat as Anko placed the back of his head between the valley of her breast and put her chin atop his head while she groaned, "Ffiiinnee".
Shizune walked up to kneel in front of Anko to look at her adopted little brother, examining him for any injuries he may still have. Yes, she knew he was a Jinchūriki and that almost every wound he got would heal at abnormal speeds; well, except for the more life-threatening wounds such as the one he had received on his chest some weeks ago. That injury was still fresh and the new skin still pink and discolored compared to the rest of his body. It would be one of the many scars he would carry for the rest of his life, both physical and emotional.
Doing a quick scan that showed he was fine and healthy, Shizune smiled down at Naruto, giving him a small kiss on his forehead before she asked, "Naruto, are you okay?"
Naruto nodded his head and hummed a quick "Mhm". Shizune sighed in relief as she sat down in one of the unoccupied couches. Hitomi being the curious person she was asked with a slight tilt of her head, "Anko-san, how exactly are you so familiar with Naruto-kun?"
"Oh, I'm his baby sitter!" her proud reply garnered a gasp from her friend Yugao who immediately looked to Tsunade, "Is she serious Tsunade-sama?!" Tsunade laughed at the purple headed girl, smiling when replying, "Sort of. She volunteered herself to watch him one day and I couldn't find it in myself to say no. Besides, Naruto doesn't mind."
Said boy had a deadpan expression while thinking, 'Seriously what the heck is wrong with this girl?!' asAnko was rubbing the tips of his ears with her fingers.
Soon a comfortable atmosphere settled over the group as they all struck conversations. The subjects ranged from different foods to the on goings of the village. Naruto simply sat down with whoever decided they wanted to hold him, being passed between the teens and the older women. Naruto tended to take more to Tsunade than the others but, like a pet, they shared him. Even his friend, Hinata, would sit next to him to have a 'turn' so to speak.
As everyone was enjoying some assorted treats and tea that Shizune made for them, Naruto had gone to use the restroom when a knock at the front door alerted everyone. Anko had volunteered herself to get the door to let in the guest; upon seeing the two-new guest the comfortable atmosphere instantly turned tense as the individual was soon under the killer intent of the women sitting around the living room. Even Hinata was showing a displeasured glare towards her guard.
Tsunade took a moment to gauge the appearance of Hyuuga Ko. He had a tanned complexion similar to Hiashi with long hair reaching his mid-back and tied at the end. If she had to guess she'd say he was Shizune's age which wasn't a good thing in her opinion because on first glance he looked much older, late twenties perhaps. It meant that he probably would be one of those unlucky individuals who's looks didn't match their age. Like herself in fact.
The young Hyuuga looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in her home. In fact, judging by the way Ko's carotid artery was flaring up, she guessed his heart rate had increased due to the panic he must be feeling. She didn't blame him as he was now receiving the ire of three teen kunoichi and two veteran kunoichi. Each of them very dangerous.
Ko's eyes scanned the room warily, acknowledging each pair of angry eyes before settling on Tsunade's, her own watching him make his way towards her before he stopped a few steps away. Everyone watched as he got on his knees and lowered his head to the floor, his nose almost scraping the wood as he spoke, "Tsunade-sama, I want to sincerely apologize for my rash behavior this morning to one of your clansman. Had I known the boy was apart of the Senju clan, I never would have raised a hand towards him. Know I have the upmost respect for your clan as well as your being. Once more I am humbly sorry and request your forgiveness for this incident."
Everyone watched Ko make his apology, both formal and polite. Yet Tsunade had stopped listening midway into the apology and found her tea to be more interesting than the teen performing a dogeza in front of her. It was a really good blend that she had found during her self-exile and always kept a stock sealed away in her belongings when traveling. What irked her the most about the boy was he blatantly implied that if Naruto wasn't adopted by her, he would've repeated his actions of today without any remorse.
Hitomi and the other girls were looking at Ko repeat the same mistake that Hiashi had made. Neither of them were going to comment on it and just decided to continue drinking their own cups of tea or assorted pastries they were eating.
The sound of foot steps coming running across the wood drew everyone's attention, including Ko. The steps belonging to Naruto as he made his way into everyone's view.
For Naruto, the first thing he saw was the teen Hyuuga who had hit him that morning staring at him. It was somewhat unexpected since he forgot that he was coming over. But now that his eyes connected with Ko's, he took an automatic step back away from him. The teen scared him, and he didn't want to be in the same room as him. Looking towards his mother, Naruto saw that she was beckoning him over towards her which he was more than happy to comply with.
Everyone watched as Naruto seemed to tense up the closer he got to Ko, even as he got comfortable in Tsunade's lap the apprehension in Naruto's eyes never left. For Ko, the sight of the boy, now with fox ears and what appeared to be a small puffy tail, concerned him immensely. To him it was a sign that the boy may indeed be the Kyuubi demon of old instead of its jailor who attacked their village so many years ago. What other explanation would there be for such changes.
"Ko-san, isn't there something you wish to say to Naruto?" Tsunade asked bringing the kneeling Hyuuga out of his thoughts. Clearing his throat Ko bowed once more, albeit a bit more reluctantly, before speaking again, "Uzumaki-san, I'm here to apologize for my actions earlier. I simply misunderstood the situation and thought you were harassing Hinata-sama. I have been charged with her safety when she is not in the company of her parents, and I do not take my duty lightly. I am here to humbly request your forgiveness."
No one said anything, no one moved from where they were at. Everyone just waited patiently to see what Naruto would do or if he would say something. Naruto however was feeling odd about the whole thing. As he listened to Ko, he kept getting weird vibes from him, as if the words leaving his voice were painful to even speak. It was an apology, but it didn't feel true or seen? Sen-sin…
"Sincere. The word you're looking for is sincere Naruto-kun"
"Kiyomi-san?" Naruto thought getting a throated "Mhm" as a reply. "Also, please stop being so formal with me. You know how much I hate that. Now, what you sensed earlier was the emotions the Hyuuga boy was feeling. More specifically, his sincerity or in this case insincerity. From what I could tell, every word that came out of his mouth didn't mean a damn thing to him."
Naruto eye's stared down at Ko as he asked Kiyomi, "What do I do then?"
"That is not for me to decide Naruto-kun. Regardless of what you say or do, we will support you either way." Kiyomi said referring to herself and Tsunade. In the short time that Naruto had known her, Kiyomi had found her way into a parental role alongside Tsunade. Naruto liked the idea of two mothers looking out for him. Coming out of his thoughts and back to reality, he looked to his mother who was staring back waiting on him. He didn't want to disappoint her by saying the wrong thing, but he also didn't want to say something he didn't mean.
Finally, after a few minutes to ponder on his response he said, "N-no…I don't a-accept your apo-logy or forgive y-you."
Ko's head shot up and looked at Naruto incredulously while those around the living room had shocked expressions as well. Well, everyone except for Tsunade, Shizune, and Anko who all sported a smug smile on their lips. Ko was about to protest but Naruto cut him off and continued speaking, "You d-didn't mean it when you a-apologized. I felt it. You weren't being honest so I-I'm not going to forgive you."
'Who does this brat think he is?!' Ko thought as his Hyuuga pride flared up but didn't say anything with Tsunade sitting there with the boy. He wasn't dumb enough to openly insult him with the strongest kunoichi in recorded history right in front of him. Not to mention what his clan head and matriarch would do if he openly challenged another clan in front of them. Especially one as revered as the Senjus.
As Ko still stayed on the floor kneeling while staring at the boy, an awkward silence filled the room. Hitomi having seen enough and waning to spare the teen further humiliation spoke up, "Ko-kun, perhaps it's time for you to return to the compound, no? Hiashi-kun, Hinata-chan and I will be staying here for a bit longer. We'll meet you at home later."
Hiashi knew his wife well enough to know that she was telling him to take the teen out of here and not to bother them for the foreseeable future. Being the dutiful husband, he picked Ko off the ground and basically dragged the sap out the front door. Once they were gone, Tsunade looked down to Naruto and asked, "Naruto, what did you mean earlier when you said 'you felt it'?" Naruto's ears folded down as he started to fidget with his hands like he was nervous as he said, "It…I'm n-not sure. When Ko-san apologized, I-I could feel his umm aura? I th-think that's it."
'It must have been his Uzumaki heritage. Obaa-sama also had a similar ability, she called it her lie detector of sorts. Able to sense the negative emotions people had as well as those with ill intentions. She even said that over time it just came naturally and even learned how to use it in combat to detect those trying to sneak up on her." Tsunade's thoughts were put on hold when Anko walked over to Tsunade to snatch Naruto away from her and sit back down on her spot on the couch.
Running her hand through his hair and scratching his ears, which was oddly pleasing to Naruto, Anko decided to be her usual self and asked, "Hey Naruto, do you think your friend can give me features like these?"
The light-hearted question broke everyone out of their serious mood as Yugao looked to her friend wondering, "Not that they aren't…nice (adorable) why would you want fox ears Anko?" As she asked her question, her hand found a will of its own and sought to scratch Naruto's ears as well.
The rest of the day went on as such, with the girls making small talk and once more Naruto being passed around like a pet. When it was Tsunade's turn to hold him, Naruto made himself comfortable and promptly fell asleep in her lap. Hinata was also in a similar position with her mother as she curled up in Hitomi's arms. Taking the hint, everyone proceeded to head out to do other separate activities. Anko needed a bit of convincing (bribing with dango) from Yugao for her to leave 'Foxy-kun' while he slept. Tsunade could hear Anko ask Yugao about a boy named Hayate but laughed as Anko shouted "Oww! I was just asking!"
Checking the time to see that it was almost dinner time, Tsunade looked to Shizune asking, "So what do you think we should have for dinner?"
Shizune seemed to think on it for a bit wondering what they had in the refrigerator to cook, "Well I suppose I can make us some stew. Naruto loves it and it's one way to get him to eat his vegetables." Vegetables were something that Naruto did NOT like eating. "Haha well in that case I'll help y-"
"NO!" Shizune cried out in alarm.
Tsunade's face went from calm to annoyed at the insinuation of, "I can cook you know! I like to think I'm getting better at it even!" Shizune wanted to be nice by saying, "Of course Tsunade-sama. And I do admit you've…improved but I think Naruto might prefer if you just stay with him. Maybe watch a movie or something when he wakes up." Shizune would admit her master had improved…but she would say this as loosely as possible because of the most recent incident.
"You're just saying that to make sure I stay out of the kitchen." Tsunade responded more than a little insulted, "Yes I know I'm not the most inclined when it comes to the culinary arts, but that doesn't mean I'm horrible at it."
"Tsunade-sama the last thing you cooked dissolved the spoon you were using to cook with." Back and forth the banter went through the evening until eventually it got too late to make anything, so the trio went out to eat much to Naruto's joy to be able to eat at a restaurant with his mother. Tsunade's annoyance about her cooking skills were forgotten as she watched her adoptive son while Shizune felt relief about her master staying out of the kitchen for a bit longer.
May 27 7:47 pm – Clan District – Senju Clan Compound – Konohagakure No Sato
Tsunade was walking home from another day at the hospital, her shoulders stiff from sitting at a desk for most of the day doing paperwork. The evening sky was signaling many people that the day was ending and it was time to head home. She was tired and in need of a drink, 'Ugh, it feels like forever since I last had a sip of sake. Why does Shizune have to be so hard on me about drinking?' she thought with some annoyance. As quickly as the thought entered her mind, it was just as quickly replaced with thoughts of Naruto.
The little tight was starting to grow on her. Yet sometimes she contemplated if she was a bad parent since even Tsunade liked Naruto, she wouldn't say she loved Naruto. A lot of times it felt more like going through the motions of what a parent might do. It unsettled her but she was told that this feeling was apparently normal for adoptive parents. She spoke to Hitomi and Tsume (being the only mothers she knows for now) about her thoughts and both said generally the same thing, that she'll eventually come to see Naruto as her own flesh and blood but not to rush it. That Naruto and her needed time and would come to a point where everything would be natural and they would be a family.
Tsunade however was pretty sure it was just her that had yet to reach that point. She was very sure that Naruto already saw her as his mother, blood or not. The little things he did like always hold her hand when walking around the market district, staying by her side and helping with chores when at home on her day off. A big one was every now and then she would find him curled up next to her in her bed in the mornings.
While it did make her slightly uncomfortable, she also couldn't deny that he was adorable when he slept. He wouldn't wear the henge in the compound so when she would wake up before him often she would watch him sleep. Every so often while he slept his ears or tail would twitch which made him even more cute. But just as often his eyelids would shift, like he was having a bad dream or something. It would explain why he would come to her bed.
Her internal musing was ceased as she came up to her front door. Right now, what she had instore for herself was to sit down on the couch and relax with a nice warm cup of sake and maybe some dango that she had picked up. However, as she opened her front door what greeted her was a sight that she wasn't prepared for.
…her son running past the living room…naked as the day he was born…
"GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF AN EXHIBITIONIST!"
…with an equally naked Anko chasing him...
"ANKO WAIT! YOU CAN'T BE RUNNING AROUND LIKE THIS!"
…followed by her towel clad apprentice/adoptive daughter chasing them with towels in her hand…probably the ones they were supposed to be wearing…
Tsunade just sighed, simply nodding her head in acceptance of the situation and went to sit down. Of all the things to she expected when she walked in, seeing a naked child with a tail running away with a well figured teenager and a barely towel-clad teenager was not on the list. "IT'S TIME FOR YOUR BATH NOW GET THAT FURRY LITTLE ASS OVER HERE!" she heard Anko yell from the second floor…'How in the hell did they get up there?' Tsunade wondered since the only set of stairs were just off to her left.
Pinching the bridge of her nose at the absurdity of what her home was becoming, Tsunade just went to the kitchen cabinet to pull her reserve sake so she could relax. Sitting down to relax, the sounds of splashing could be heard upstairs along with Shizune's muffled yelling, "Anko please be careful with Naruto-kun!". 'Sounds like Anko finally caught the little gaki' she laughed at this, knowing full well how much of a hassle Naruto could be during baths. It must be his animal instincts protesting about the thought of being cleaned…or it could just be only Anko since she has more of a habit of focusing on his ears and tail than the rest of him.
Several minutes passed and Tsunade was enjoying her sixth cup of sake and third stick of dango when a fully dressed and cleaned Anko came down with a pouting Naruto in her arms followed by an exhausted looking Shizune. Naruto seeing his mother climbed out of his babysitter's arms and ran to greet her. Setting her cup down Tsunade smiled a bit as Naruto jumped into her lap wrapping his arms around her neck saying, "Welcome home kaa-chan!"
Giving him a gentle hug, Tsunade patted his head saying, "Hello Naruto. Did you have fun today?". Her question brought amusement to Anko, her ever present grin widening as she said, "I'll give you three guesses on what happened today?" Tilting her head to the side she tried to think of something that would leave a good impression on Anko and judging by Naruto's excited expression, was a very good thing. Shrugging her shoulders Naruto finally couldn't contain his excitement as he happily said, "I made some new friends today!"
Flash Back
May 27 11:47 am – Konohagakure no Sato
Naruto poked his head out of a bush as he scanned the area in search of his pursuer. Using his skills at hiding to the best of his ability Naruto crawled through the brush trying to silently move to a better hiding spot. Yet his sneaking was all for not as a whispered, "Found ya" was spoken into his ear making him jump out of his hiding place. Anko's boisterous laughing could be heard as Naruto rubbed his rear as he landed roughly on the ground.
"I can never win against you" Naruto complained, his speech coming out better than it had when he met Anko those many months ago. He would only talk to those he was comfortable with however so Anko considered it a great sign of trust to be able to hear him speak. Placing her fist on her hips she smiled widely saying, "Well of course you're not going to win yet. I may only be fourteen but I still am a chuunin and can easily whip that furry soft butt of yours in any game you want."
Anko's head looked towards the sky to get a gauge at the sun, "But seeing as it's about time for lunch, what say I go get us something to eat and meet you back here?"
Naruto nodded his head and went to sit down under the shade of a tree to wait. Leaning his head against the bark he sighed contently as a cool breeze rolled past him. When he had turned Anko had already disappeared so he was alone now with his thoughts. Yet it wasn't long before his peaceful rest was interrupted by the sound of shouting. It wasn't loud but Naruto could tell that it was close by. Curious at what the commotion was, he got up from his comfortable position and made his way to the sound.
His journey had brought him to a clearing where a single tree surrounded by a field of flowers lay. The field was beautiful with all the assorted colors of red, yellow, and white. Yet the reason that brought him there was slowly starting to piss him off in a dangerous way. Just to the right of the tree was a large group of kids about his age, one restrained by two others while a third was punching him. Another group, three more boys, were holding back a set of three girls from going to the aid of the boy being punched.
The boy being punched was about his age maybe a few months older but he couldn't tell from where he stood at the tree line. His most noticeable feature was his black hair, black as a raven's feathers, that looked to be spiked at the back of his head. It reminded Naruto of a duck butt or a something similar. It would've made him laugh had the situation not been what it was.
The girls being head back also stood out to. Like the boy, he couldn't really see specific features except their hair. The first girl had black hair as well, it was long and looked like it reached the middle of her back; the second girl had blonde hair that was cut short, barely reaching her neck with what looked like a hairpin holding it back. Finally, the last girl was probably the one that stood out the most with bright pink hair with a red ribbon on top of her head. Her hair reminded him of the petals on a sakura trees when in full bloom.
Naruto was brought out of his observing when another punch was sent to the boy being held. Seeing that he needed help, Naruto rushed over to the group as quickly as he could without the bullies noticing him. As he came upon the bully doing the hitting, Naruto brought his hand back and punched him across the jaw as hard as he could muster. Not bothering to look at the first boy as he landed on the ground, Naruto turned towards the two boys hold the ravenette, their shocked faces almost comical. Cocking his left hand back he threw his punch at the one holding the ravenette's left arm, catching him squarely on the bridge of his nose. The blow forced the boy to release his hold on the arm, allowing the ravenette to grab the other boy still hold his right arm, bringing him down so his face could meet his knee.
The other three boys who were holding the girls back immediately jumped in to help their friends, two going Naruto while the third went to hit the ravenette with a wild right haymaker. One of the boys jumped at Naruto using his full weight to bring him to the ground while the second knelt down to start punching at whatever he could hit on the whiskered blonde. Naruto didn't stay idle though as after taking a punch to the stomach he grabbed the kid's arm when he missed a shot to his face and bit his forearm.
The boy cried out in pain and pulled back, while the first boy went to punch Naruto who just kicked him off. The third boy who had attacked the dark-haired boy by himself, soon found out that, despite his age, the ravenette was already a shinobi-in-training.
The third bully sent a right straight at the ravenette, putting his full weight into the swing. A mistake that was capitalized upon as the dark-haired boy sided stepped the swing while grabbing his wrist with his left hand while using his right hand to take hold of the boy's collar. Using the momentum of the third bully, the ravenette turned to bring his opponent over his right shoulder in a shoulder toss before he slammed him into the ground.
As the three boys who were just getting up from Naruto's surprise attack, the girls finally had enough and starting throwing lose rocks at the six bullies to help the two who were fighting them. Realizing that they had better leave before they got any more injured, the six bullies left running with the girls continuing to throw rocks at their backs.
The ravenette, sporting a few bruises and a busted lip, turned his head towards the sun-kissed haired boy about his age who had his hands on his knees breathing heavily. "Thanks" was his simple sign of gratitude; the blonde boy just gave him a nod and a thumb up.
"Sasuke-nii, are you okay?"
Naruto looked towards the owner of the voice, turning out to be the other ravenette. Now that he was closer to distinguish the children in front of him he was pleasantly surprised by their individual looks.
Both of the black-haired children had enough similar features that Naruto could've guessed they were siblings without the girl confirming it, such as their onyx colored eyes and somewhat sharp features. Unlike her sibling, whose hair was smooth but spiked in the back, her hair was straight with no spikes. Its length was fairly long for her age which Naruto guessed to be around his age of five. Her outfit consisted of black long sleeve loose shirt that went past her waist with a pair of whit leggings that stopped at her knees with black open-toed sandals to complete the outfit.
Looking at her brother, his outfit was similar to hers. He was wearing a blue, almost black, high collared short-sleeve shirt with white shorts that went just past his knees. White wrappings covered his shins and ended with black sandals as well. "Yes Nee-san, I'm alright. Nothing to serious to worry about."
"Still Sasuke-kun you shouldn't over exert yourself after being hit like that" Naruto turned his head to the voice, staring at the girl with bright pink hair. Other than the red ribbon that he noticed earlier, she also wore a dark navy blue long-sleeved shirt that stopped at her forearms with three diamonds on the sleeves; light green shorts that went past her knees and open-toed brown boot sandals completed the outfit. By far though, the most striking thing to Naruto was not her hair but rather her light green eyes. They looked like light emeralds to him which made her look cute.
Finally, the last girl, another blonde though with a lighter shade than his own, came up to him and asked, "Thank you for the help. I'm not sure what we would have done if you didn't show up. I'm Yamanaka Ino, what's your name?"
Taking in her appearance, he saw that she wore a spaghetti strapped orange shirt with a white skirt that passed her knees. Like the pink haired girl, she to wore brown sandals that went around her ankles. Once more what Naruto looked at more was her eyes; they were a blue like his but unlike his own sea blue, hers was more consistent shade with the sky but were pupil-less like Hinata's. Clearing his throat, Naruto answered shyly, "Umm, U-zumaki Naruto." The past few months he had gotten better about speaking to others, specifically those he interacted with, but he was still skittish about meeting new people, even those his age.
Ino tilted her head at the name asking, "Naruto? Like the fish cake?"
He silently pouted at that comparison. It wasn't the first time he'd been called that and probably wouldn't be the last. Kiyomi-okaasan said his parents intended it to be more of the maelstrom than a fish cake. Ino laughed at his expression and offered a hand, "Anyway, thank you again for helping us. Oh, by the way, the girl with pink hair is Haruno Sakura, and the twins are Uchiha Sasuke and Naori."
"Uzumaki-san, do you want to play with us? We were thinking of using the forest for hide-and-seek" Naori asked they're helper. All eyes were on Naruto, making him nervous from the stares. He replied by nodding his head yes. Sakura was about to say something when a voice from behind the group said, "Mind if I play to?"
They all jumped back to see a teenager in a brown trench coat, "Making new friends Foxy-kun?" Naruto scratched his cheek with a finger and shrugged as a response.
"You know her?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow. Anko answered for him saying, "He sure does. I'm his babysitter and protector of sorts. I'm the up and coming sexy Mitarashi Anko at your service." She ended her own introduction with her hands on her hips and a large smile on her face.
"It's going to take years to get used to her enthusiasm"
Naruto sighed and nodded at Kiyomi's statement while the others looked at Anko like she was nuts. Which wasn't far from the truth really. Clapping her hands to break the mood, Anko said, "So, I'll be it and you all can hide. I'll count to thirty before I sic my snakes on you." Her tone was so jovial that the children almost missed the important part of what she said.
Sasuke caught it first before slowly emphasizing on the word, "Snakes?"
"Yup! Big ones too! Now one…two…"
"Is she serious?!" Naori turned to ask Naruto…only to see said whiskered boy running away.
"Ten."
Ino turned back to yell, "Hey! You can't just skip numbers!" Anko shrugged nonchalantly, "Pay attention then…fourteen…" At this point they got the message and followed Naruto's example, running for the trees.
"Eighteen…twenty-five…THIRTY! GO GET THEM MY LITTLE MINIONS!" Anko shouted before she set loose five pythons the size of her double arm span. Through the rest of the afternoon, Anko's demented joyful laughter and the screams of children could be heard in the forests.
Flash Back End
Tsunade looked towards the teen and could only shake her head, 'These kids are going to be scarred for life after what they endured.' Looking down at the smiling face of Naruto told her that he didn't mind at all and was simply happy to have made new friends, "Well as long as no one was hurt, then I'm happy you were able to play with some children your age."
"Uhuh. Nori and Sasuke said I could come over and play whenever I get the chance. That way I can meet their parents as well." Naruto said secretly hoping that his mother would come with him. He wanted to go but not alone and bringing her along would make him feel less nervous about meeting Naori and Sasuke's family.
"Hmm, in that case I'll set aside some time so I can go with you to meet their parents and see if it's okay to set up a play date of something." Tsunade offered, getting a bright smile from her son. "Thank you kaa-chan!" he hugged her tightly before getting off her lap and headed up stairs followed by Anko. Shizune stepped up and mentioned something else that happened while the Naruto was out of the house, "Tsunade-sama, I was asked to give you a message. Apparently, it's from Kusagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Grass)."
This peaked Tsunade's interest as it wasn't normal for her to receive messages from another village, but she was also cautious about this since despite being allies, that didn't mean Konoha and Kusa always saw eye to eye.
"Hokage-sama already verified it before he passed this on to you." Shizune explained as she picked up a scroll before handing it to her master.
Opening it Tsunade read through the contents wondering what this was about, "A request for medical aid? They want me to go there and assist with their wounded. Shouldn't this have been brought to the council? Surely I'm not authorized to approve of such an endeavor."
Shizune nodded replying, "Correct, however due to the time constraints of the request, Hokage-sama felt that it would be more time expedient if the decision for aid was left to the village's Chief Medical Resident."
Tsunade frowned, it was basically putting a Hokage level decision in her hands. On one hand she could refuse this request, keeping the medical and support staff she'd be taking with her safe from what ever harm has befallen Kusa yet in so doing straining relations even more between the villages. On the other hand, going would improve whatever situation was occurring in Kusa that required their aid while strengthening the alliance they had, yet would place a target on her people's back for helping.
One thing was certain; whatever decision she made it was a no-win situation, 'Sensei just what're you thinking by doing this?'
AN: There you go. One new chapter. Sorry for the delay but life finds a way to mess with you. As I said I am working on the story just sometimes I get an idea for a chapter that's just later on in the story.
Next chapter I plan on releasing the harem list with a few "?" as surprise characters. Aka different anime people.
As always comments are appreciated and if you think I need improvement on something let me know.