Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Naruto of the Mirage ❯ Chapter 30 ( Chapter 30 )

Ever since Sasuke's battle with his brother, Naruto hadn't been sleeping well. True Sasuke hadn't woken up, even after a couple days of rest, and sure there was the double date with Hinata and Tenten that was less than twenty four hours away, but somehow Naruto knew that his unease had nothing to do with those things. His dreams were plagued by nightmares, ones he had never had before, and that frankly, confused him as to why he woke up frightened and sweating at their conclusion.

 

It always started the same, an inky black…space…that's all it was, just black. No figures, no noises no buildings no anything. Then, suddenly, something appeared. It wasn't anything definite, just a white blob that twisted and turned until it split into three smaller pieces. Eventually those three split and divided and some bled into one another until all that blackness was covered over in white. Eventually, some of the white figures seemed to grow color. Some of them were brown, some green, every color of the rainbow was represented and some remained white. But despite the flurry of activity and movement, Naruto never lost sight of the original blob. It hadn't moved since it split, it hadn't shrunk in size or changed its color.

 

Time passed and some of the shapes and colors grew, some shrunk, a few even disappeared, only to show up again in a minute's time. Suddenly, and for no reason, the main blob suddenly pulsed and grew, wiping every thing else off the `map' though it had no detail. It was back to inky blackness, but soon color and shape returned to the barren wasteland. The first shape began to quake and grow again, but suddenly it stopped and actually began to shrink. As this was happening, some of the smaller shapes of various colors began to grow in size until all that was left of the original mass was a circular outline. Time passed and the color began to return to the mass, but it was a painfully slow process. Just as it was about to refill, the dream would end and Naruto would wake in a cold sweat, his heart racing as if he had just run a thousand laps around Konoha.

 

Tonight was no exception and right on cue he leapt up in shock, he sheets soaked in sweat and thrown all over the room. He got up to get a drink of water and try to calm down, but sleep was escaping him. Usually if he couldn't sleep he'd go outside and train, but it was raining outside and he didn't fell it would be a good idea to catch pneumonia before his big date. The dream didn't make any sense to him and thinking about it was only driving him crazy with frustration. He sat down and tried to meditate a little, or at least try and still his heartbeat. He had no intention of winding up in front of the Kyuubi's cage, but that's precisely what happened.

 

“SO, YOU'VE FINALLY COME BACK, HAVE YOU?” The mighty demon asked, red eyes showing no emotion or interest at Naruto's sudden appearance.

 

“Believe, me, you're the last thing I wanted to see right now, I don't need more stress on my mind as it is.” Naruto grumbled before slouching against the wall farthest from the bars.

 

“ACTUALLY, I BELIEVE I'M EXACTLY THE THING YOU NEED TO SEE. I'VE BEEN SENDING YOU THAT DREAM FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS AND YOU ARE JUST NOW COMING TO SEE ME ABOUT IT.”

 

“You mean that fucked up dream I've been having is your fault!” Naruto yelled. “It was all just to get me to come here? What the hell, you could've just asked me to come instead of making my dreams look like some kind of kaleidoscope!”

 

“I AM THE KYUUBI, I DO NOT GO TO PEOPLE, THEY COME TO ME, WHICH IS HOW IT WORKS, AND THAT IS HOW IT WILL WORK!” The demon roared in reply, successfully shutting his jailor up for the moment. “LOOK KID, THERE ISN'T MUCH MORE TIME BEFORE THE AKATSUKI COMES TO COLLECT US AND IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A SHOT AT BEATING THE GUY WHO TROUNCED YOUR ASS LAST TIME, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING UP AGAINST. THAT IS WHAT THE DREAM HAS BEEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO YOU, THE HISTORY OF YOUR REAL OPPOENENT.”

 

“Real opponent? Hideaki is the leader of the group…do you mean that beast he's trying to awaken?”

 

Though the gigantic demon's muzzle and face were cloaked in darkness, the motion of his eyes was enough to clue Naruto that he was nodding.

 

“THE `BEAST' AS YOU SAY HAS A NAME…IT IS YOUMEI.” (Order)

 

“Order? That's a dumb name, what is so bad about order? What's he gonna do, arrange my sock drawer for me?” Naruto joked, but the Kyuubi found nothing funny in his vessel's behavior.

 

“THIS COMING FROM THE BOY WHOSE ENTIRE NAME IS BASED ON FOOD.” This shut up the boy for the moment. “TELL ME, IN THE DREAM, WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED, WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?”

 

For a minute, Naruto was quiet. He thought about it but couldn't find an answer he was sure about. “That I shouldn't ever let you have a set of blocks to play with?” He offered weakly.

 

The Kyuubi didn't respond with words, but sighed at how dumb his guest was sometimes.

 

“LET ME TRY TO EXPLAIN IT USING SMALL WORDS AND VISUAL AIDES SO THAT YOU'RE PUNY MIND CAN GET THIS. HOW TO PUT THIS…YOU HAVE HEARD THE STORIES OF HOW THE WORLD WAS CREATED, CORRECT? OK, TAKE WHICHEVER ONE YOU WANT; MANY OF THEM HAVE THIS IN COMMON. IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS NOTHING. JUST LIKE YOUR DREAM, THERE IS NOTHING, NO LIFE, NO WORLD, NO ANYTHING. SOME PEOPLE REFER TO THIS `NOTHINGNESS' AS CHAOS. SUDDENLY, SOMETHING COMES INTO EXHISTANCE; SOME PEOPLE SAY THE WORLD WAS CREATED BY A GOD, SOME SAY BY GODS. OTHERS SAY THAT FROM NOTHINGNESS, THE GOD OR GODS THEMSELVES WERE BORN AND THEN THEY WENT ON TO CREATE THE WORLD. EITHER WAY, SOMEING FROM NOTHING, GOT IT?” Naruto nodded his head, this was kind of making sense. “THIS GENESIS OF LIFE WAS CALLED BY SOME PEOPLE, ORDER. EVERYTHING THAT EVER WAS, EVERYTHING THAT EVER IS AND EVERYTHING THAT EVER WILL BE, ALL OF THAT FALLS UNDER THE HEADING OF ORDER.”

 

“Now hold up! Let me get this straight. Order is everything in the world? I thought we were talking about the Akatsuki's plans to resurrect this thing, not theology.”

 

“ORDER, AS IT PERTAINS TO THE AKATSUKI, IS SIMPLY A DEMON, MILLENIA OLDER AND MANY, MANY TIMES STRONGER THAN I OR ANY OF THE OTHER TAILED DEMONS, EVEN COMBINED. THE ONLY THING THAT IT HAS IN COMMON WITH THE STORY, IS THAT IT IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF NOTHINGNESS.”

 

“So how does that make it insanely strong? If it's so old than why weren't you able to kill it, the thing must have been way old and decrepit.”

 

“IF I THROW TWO IDENTICAL ROCKS TOGETHER, DOES EITHER ONE GET DESTROYED? IF TWO LIGHTNING BOLTS HIT EACH OTHER, IS EITHER ONE HALTED? SINCE ORDER IS EVERYTHING, IT CAN BE HURT BY NOTHING, DO YOU GET IT?”

 

Naruto was confused, but because he had nothing better to do, he tried to work it out. “What's the point of fighting then? Order can't be hurt by anything, you just said so.”

 

His speech was stopped by the toothy grin of the Kyuubi. “THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID. YOU SAY ORDER CANNOT BE HURT BY ANYTHING. I SAID THAT IT CAN BE HURT BY NOTHING. IF YOU WISH TO HAVE A CHANCE AGAINST ORDER OR EVEN HIDEAKI, YOU MUST LEARN TO WEILD THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF ORDER…THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF EVERYTHING…”

 

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Sunrise found Naruto out on a training ground near his house, attempting to do what had never been done before. Not even the Kyuubi had been able to use chaos or even come close to figuring out how to. That was, until Naruto ended up as his vessel and gained control over all five of the chakra elements. For the first time since the fox had learned of the plan to release its former master, there was a speck of hope at the end of the tunnel. At first Naruto had been reluctant to accept training from the demon that had nearly destroyed the village, but eventually was persuaded. The task he must learn was monumental in cost and almost mind shattering in terms of control needed to even hope to get a result. Naruto had thousands of Cage bun shin working on trying to learn this trick, but each one would dispel themselves after just one attempt, so he had to continuously reform them as well as trying it himself every once in a while, hoping for any semblance of improvement.

 

`And you're sure this is the only way to do it?' He asked the demon in his head.

 

“OH, AND WHAT DID YOU HAVE IN MIND?” The Kyuubi retorted.

 

“This.” Naruto began to form a Fuuton: Rasengan in his hand. Then a Suiton: Rasengan, then a Doton: Rasengan. With each addition, the spiraling ball of chakra grew more powerful and began to turn a pale yellow color. Then Raiton: Rasengan was added and the pressure required to keep the technique together became far more intense and the color lightened to nearly nothing. Finally, he tried to add the final element, Katon: Rasengan to the mix, but when he tried, the entire thing blew up in his face, burning his arm terribly and almost removing the entire thing. Quickly the Kyuubi's chakra went about, healing the damage and before too long, his right arm was as good as new.

 

“I don't get it!” He yelled at himself as well as his prisoner. “That should've worked. Every element, combined like that, the weaknesses and strengths of each one should have balanced out one another!”

 

“GOOD MOVE IDIOT! I TOLD YOU, THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN EVEN HOPE TO GET TO A STATE OF CHAOS IS BY USING THEM ALL AT THE EXACT SAME TIME! IF YOU ADD THEM ONE AT A TIME LIKE THAT, YOU ONLY GO AROUND THE CIRCLE OF ELEMENTS. YOU NEED TO USE THEM ALL SIMALTANEOUSLY TO GET A TRULY NEUTRAL MIX.”

 

“Why?” Naruto demanded as another score of clones destroyed themselves and were replaced.

 

“IT'S PRESCHOOL MATH FOR HEAVEN'S SAKES!” THE KYUUBI WAS GETTING VERY ANNOYED WITH NARUTO'S LACK OF PATIENCE. “LET'S SAY YOU START WITH WIND ELEMENT LIKE LAST TIME, THAT'S ONE ELEMENT. THEN YOU ADDED WATER, IT DOESN'T CANCEL OUT THE WIND, SO THAT'S ANOTHER ONE, SO YOU'RE UP TO TWO ELEMENTS TOTAL, GOT IT? THEN DOTON, WHICH IS STRONGER THAN WATER, SO THAT GETS NEUTRALIZED, BUT YOU STILL HAVE A TOTAL OF TWO. LIGHTNING IS STRONGER THAN EARTH, SO DOTON IS GONE, THEN LIGHTNING IS NEGATED BY THE WIND, AND FIRE COMBINES WITH WIND TO BLOW YOU UP!”

 

“Oh.” Naruto finally got it and went back to trying to do it as he was instructed.

 

`IF HE ACTUALLY MANAGES TO GET THIS DOWN…' The Kyuubi mused as Naruto failed once again and nearly blew himself up. `IT'LL BE A MIRACLE.'

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

While Naruto tried to kill himself, Tenten and Hinata were just waking up. Each one considered this the most important day of their lives, and neither could wait for the evening to come. While each one was confident in their own abilities, there was the edge of nervousness that a first date always brought to keep their heads grounded. By the end of the night, one of them would have their heart broken and although neither one wanted to admit it, they were both unwilling to admit that they didn't want to see the other girl loose. Tenten knew that this was Hinata's one chance at a relationship that she chose. If Naruto didn't choose her, than she would most likely be forced into an arranged marriage with some foreign dignitary or some other clan heir, maybe from Konoha, maybe not.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Hinata was combing her hair thinking her own thoughts along the same lines as Tenten. Naruto had proven what the shy girl had known all along. He would be something special with enough time and some support. Obviously she wanted him for herself, and despite the fact that Tenten was showing more traits of a fan girl than a serious girlfriend, she was a good friend, and Hinata hated to see a friend in pain. Tenten might not belong to a clan, or a family with enough clout to warrant an arranged marriage, her parents had been exerting pressure on the brunette to find a man who was strong enough for their tastes, or they would find one for her. This wasn't anything formal, and all they could really do is threaten her, but Hinata knew something that Tenten didn't. The only one that fit in the category that was still available…was Lee. Kiba was happily dating the daughter of one of Team 8's former clients, a wealthy businessman from the closest village east of Konoha, and Shino had a pretty heavy relationship with Ayame from Ichiraku ramen stand of all people. Apparently, her father was once a ninja and was highly regarded by the Yondaime…who knew?

 

Chouji, as far as Hinata knew, wasn't dating anyone, but then again, the Akimichi clan had always prioritized oddly compared with the other clans, so he might not have begun looking yet…or maybe he was already engaged, you couldn't tell with him. Shikamaru and Ino were often seen hanging around a lot and though it didn't mean that they were dating, people tended to treat them like they were already engaged.

 

Sasuke was dating Haku and that seemed like a stable relationship, Sakura hadn't had time for any kind of romantic interest from the time that she became Tsunade-sama's apprentice, until recently. Apparently while in Suna, she had started seeing someone, at least that was the rumor. No one was quite sure who it was, or even if it was true, but everyone from Kankuro, the older brother of the Kazekage, to one of the council member's thirteen year old son was being named with no regard for the truth.

 

That just left Lee and Neji in Tenten's age group. Lee was still trying to chase after Sakura and Neji was…

 

Hinata blushed at the memory. She had been looking for Naruto-kun after he had returned from rescuing Gaara and had accidentally walked in on Neji making out with-

 

“Hinata-sama.” Neji's voice made the girl jump in surprise. “Your father wishes to see you as soon as you are ready.”

 

“Just a moment.” She replied, checking her appearance over to make sure she was presentable for her father before exiting her room. As she had expected, Neji was still waiting for her. “You didn't have to wait for me, Neji-niisan.”

 

“Your father actually wanted to see both of us, so I figured I might as well wait for you.” He told her as they began the walk to Hiashi's office. It was far from a short walk and so the two talked on their way. Hinata wondered if Neji knew why they were being summoned, but he had no more of an idea than she did. They reached their destination and knocked on the woodwork before being granted entrance. The first thing that both realized was that Hanabi was already there and the second thing was that Hiashi was angry. Perhaps that was an understatement. Hiashi was royally pissed off and it seemed like these three were going to be taking the brunt of his anger.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

Evening came around and it was time for Naruto to meet up with the girls at the Hokage tower. As he had expected both girls had shown up early and were eyeing each other wearily. Tenten had let her hair down a bit and instead of being held up tightly, it fell loosely to her shoulder blades before it was bunched together into a ponytail that was quite long and continued to the small of her back. She wore a red dress with silver accents that somewhat reminded Naruto of the outfit that Sakura used to wear all the time. Short skirt ending and full shoulder coverage. It was much more form conscious than Sakura's ever was, but for a male with no sense of fashion, there were enough similarities to compare the two.

 

Hinata had apparently gone all out for this date. She wore a light blue dress that came down to her knees and had straps that held the entire thing on her shoulders. It came over her bust and the straps made a square most of the way over her chest, but it covered enough skin to still be considered conservative. Naruto thought that she looked very beautiful, what with the way that the dress contrasted against the darker, royal blue of her hair and her paler skin. Not that Tenten was bad in comparison; both girls would've had any guy with a pulse falling at their feet if they dressed like this all the time.

 

When the girls had arrived at the meeting point, they were disappointed that Naruto wasn't there yet, but he still had about ten minutes, so they didn't hold that against him. Hinata kept looking at Tenten with surprise in her face. She couldn't remember a time when she had seen Tenten with her hair down. Nor could she remember ever seeing her rival in a dress or without any obvious weaponry on her body. She wore very little make up, just some lipstick that made her lips stand out a bit more from her bronze skin.

 

Likewise, Tenten was amazed to see what shy; timid Hinata had worn to the date. Especially considering that it was approaching December and the weather was only going to turn colder as the night progressed. The dress was simply beautiful, both in design and fabrication and how it made Hinata look when she wore it. Hinata hadn't worn any lip stick and the only hint of make up was just a light shading of eye shadow. The most peculiar thing that Tenten noticed about her opponent in love was that Hinata seemed distracted and didn't seem to be happy to be finally going out with the boy she had been pining after for so long.

 

“That's a very nice dress you're wearing.” Hinata complimented without lifting her eyes from the road.

 

“Thanks, I could say the same thing about your's. Mind telling me where you got it? I could use some nice ones like that when I'm dating Naruto-kun.” Tenten hadn't really meant that last barb; she was just trying to get Hinata to…care about tonight. There was no fun in winning the race if the field all quite half way through.

 

“I don't know, it belongs to Haku, she's lending it to me for tonight. I could ask her for you if you wanted.” She offered, lifting her head just a little bit.

 

That's when both girls noticed Naruto walking up; both their jaws dropped and their eyes widened. His streaked hair was as shaggy as ever and hung around his head like a porcupine. He wore a pair of black pants and a sweater. That wasn't because of the temperature, but because he didn't want the girls to see his arms, which were quite bruised after today's training. He looked like a model out of a magazine that other girls looked through and giggled over like school children.

 

“Wow Naruto-kun, you look nice!” Tenten beamed at the boy who got confirmation on his wardrobe by Hinata.

 

“Thanks, but you two look so nice that I look pretty plain in comparison.” They both blushed at the compliment, even though it was true. “So, you two hungry for anything in particular?” He asked, trying to get the night started. When neither of them spoke up, he offered his own suggestion.

 

“I know this place, over by the Academy, its got seafood and almost everything else you can think of.” When both girls nodded in approval, they trio headed out.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

Dinner was quite good for Naruto, and simply amazing for the girls. Of course, Naruto was judging the food and the girls were swayed by the ambience. After they finished, they walked around for a little while, killing time until the movie they were going to started when Naruto tensed slightly before relaxing.

 

“Something wrong?” Tenten asked. She was doing most of the talking between the two girls, and Hinata just looked at Naruto's face in worry. Naruto didn't respond immediately, but after a second just shook his head, as if shaking off water.

 

“I thought I felt something, but it must've been my imagination. C'mon, we should go get our seats if we want good ones.” He smiled and both his dates felt their hearts lighten at the sight.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

Naruto had felt something. Yugito was in way over her head. The Akatsuki had come calling, and he was much stronger than she had thought a ninja could be. She threw the Hiraishin marker than Naruto had given her, but the man that had come for her disappeared from sight and then reappeared with the kunai in his hand.

 

“I'm afraid that help won't be coming for you.” He calmly said as she watched the marker on the weapon was sliced into tiny, illegible pieces. Before she knew what to do he had started hand seals that she didn't recognize.

 

He puffed out his chest before spitting…something at her. She didn't recognize it; it had seemed to have the consistency of molasses but was brighter than any light source she had ever seen. Not knowing what this was, or how to react to it, she put up a powerful defense of electricity, kind of a static field and hoped for the best. Sadly, she got the worst. When Hideaki's attack contacted her barrier, it seemed to slow for a moment, but suddenly her shelter just cracked and whatever he had used got through. Before she even realized what had happened she saw a spark and she was engulfed in a gigantic explosion that sucked all the air out of what remained of her defensive shield and she fell to the ground and lay on her stomach.

 

Almost immediately she felt the Nibi's chakra trying to get out, but it didn't feel like when it tried to heal her. She couldn't place it, but before she could figure out the puzzle, her attacker appeared over her and placed a paper talisman on her forehead before she fell unconscious.

 

“I'm sorry, but you won't escape your fate by abandoning your vessel and killing yourself, Nibi.” His eyes were hard when he spoke that, but suddenly turned a tiny bit softer. “Poor stupid jinchuriki. You didn't realize that more than two elements could be used in conjunction to form different attacks.” He slung the girls prone form over his shoulder before touching the ring on his hand. A hole seemed to cut itself out of thin air and he walked through and without another word the `doorway' back to his lair shut itself without a trace.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

The movie had ended and the trio was heading back to the Hokage tower so that Naruto could render his final decision. Tenten was feeling confident in her chances, since Hinata really hadn't said or done anything all night, which even for someone as shy as her, was awfully weird. More than once she had contemplated asking if she was ok, but Naruto had actually asked the question for her and Hinata had answered in the negative and the night went on.

 

When they got to the tower, they heard what seemed like yelling coming from the still lit office of the Hokage. Naruto immediately headed towards the entrance to the office and Tenten and Hinata just followed. As they got closer, and the voices became clearer, Hinata recognized the voice arguing with the Hokage as her father's. What he was doing here at such a late hour, she had no clue, but the conversation quickly revealed the truth.

 

“…never in the history of the Hyuuga clan has such a thing been done! Arranging a marriage between the Heir or Heiress has never, NEVER been done and I'll be damned if they'll do it to my daughters!”

 

Tenten heard that part and looked at Hinata who had gone paler than usual and froze in the middle of the hallway. When Naruto turned to look at her, she snapped out of her little episode and tried to run away from the two of them now that they knew the truth. There had been an arrangement made while the entire clan was vacationing in Suna. She was to be married to either the Kazekage or his brother. That wasn't the least of it either! There was another provision, much less detailed than her arrangement that forced either Hanabi or Neji to wed a Sand citizen as well.

 

She had only taken a couple of steps before Naruto grabbed her arm and swung her around into a hug and tried to get her to stay. Hinata continued to struggle and remove herself from Naruto's embrace, but he proved too strong and she eventually just broke down and began crying. Tenten on the other hand, was confused. Sure she had won Naruto, but by apparent default AND one of her best friends was going to have to marry someone she had no feelings for. It was a victory overshadowed by grief for sure.

 

“Hinata…Hinata…come on, I'm sure it'll be ok, let's go inside and find out what they're talking about, your dad seems pretty pissed, maybe he's getting the whole thing annulled.” That brightened Hinata up a bit. If anyone in the village could save her from this fate, it was her father, and he had promised all three of them that morning that he would fight tooth and nail so that they would have the choice to do what they wish with their lives.

 

She nodded her head, tears pooling in her eyes, but not falling.

 

“Come on in you three, you might as well hear this.” Tsunade's voice came from the opened doors of her office where Hiashi and Neji were sitting already. When all three were seated, the Hokage began again.

 

“If you haven't figured it out already, the Hyuuga council went over Hiashi's head and arranged the marriage of his Hinata and either Neji or Hanabi to Sand ninja, in Hinata's case it is to either Gaara or Kankuro.” Tenten gasped in shock and bit back some tears. This was definitely not how she wanted the night to end.

 

“The other marriage is between, and I quote, “A member of the main branch of the Hyuuga clan or close relative thereof, and a citizen of Sunagakure of the San Council's choosing, so long as that person is from an established clan or family.”

 

`So that's why Neji's involved in this.' Tenten thought, watching her teammate's face for any reaction. He didn't have one, which either meant he didn't care, or he had heard this before.

 

“How can they just go over your head like that?” Tenten found herself asking the Head of the most prominent clan in Konoha. “You're the leader of the clan, can't you do anything?”

 

“Unfortunately the Hyuuga clan politics differs from those of Konoha greatly. Unlike the Hokage, who is without a doubt the strongest ninja in Konoha with the possible exception of Jiraiya-sama, I am not guaranteed to be the strongest Hyuuga. In fact, I am fairly certain that I am not, so I cannot forcibly override the wishes of the council like Hokage-sama did some time ago. As for a diplomatic means of resolution, my hands are tied. Suffice it to say that my Great-great grandfather had a reputation for abusing his power, and so upon his death, the council used the tiny period between his death any my great-grandfather's appointment to increase their power exponentially.”

 

“So there's nothing you can do about this?” Naruto asked. Hiashi just nodded.

 

“That's why he came to me.” Tsunade answered for the man. “He needed to know if I could overrule him on this, but alas, even with my new political powers, this is a purely internal affair of the Hyuuga clan, thus the only thing I could do, would be to declare war on Suna, and void the contract that way, something I am obviously not going to do.”

 

For a while, no one spoke up. They just sat their in silence until Tenten spoke up.

 

“What is the wording on Hinata's part of the contract? I mean the exact wording, that second part was so vague, maybe we can find a loophole or something.”

 

Hinata lifted her head from her hands to look over at the girl she had been competing against all night. Was she just giving up her winnings?

 

“Let's see here… `The following arrangements are made for the future of both the villages of Konohagakure and Sunagakure. There shall be two marriages to be arranged between the Hyuuga clan, acting on their own volition as representatives of Konohagakure, and Sunagakure. The first shall be a marriage between the Heiress of the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Hinata and any of the Houses that have held the title of Kazekage.' Then there's a list of the houses and the current members there. The Shodai Kazekage has a Great, great niece, but no male descendants. The Nidaime had no offspring and the Sandaime's house was dissolved following his death. I don't know why that was done, but it usually means that he had no descendants. That just leaves the Yondaime and his sons, Gaara and Kankuro.” Tsunade read off the contract for all to hear and by the end of it, Hinata was crying again and even Tenten was chocking back sobs. That was pretty tight, not a lot of wiggle room at all. The only other choice even was two other girls, Temari and this descendant of the First Kazekage. So unless Hinata secretly had a thing for girls, she was kind of stuck.

 

“There's another provision, it wasn't specific as to which marriage it went to, but if Hinata were to marry Kankuro, since she wouldn't have to become a Suna citizen, the second marriage would have to become one. It's basically a swap, one person to another.” Tsunade hated to be the Bearer of bad news, but when it rains it pours, and if Tenten was set upon helping Hinata out of this predicament, she needed to know all of the facts.

 

“What if I told you I can fix this entire thing?” Naruto spoke up, holding in a laugh so as not to anger anyone. “Hinata can marry me.”

 

“WHAT!” Everyone in the room yelled at Naruto except for Neji, who just stared at him.

 

“Sunagakure has officially recognized me as the biological son of the Sandaime Kazekage. That is where I got the ability to use the Satetsu; it is actually my bloodline, more than anything else is. The house was folded upon his death because he didn't have any children alive at that time. Orochimaru didn't steal his DNA from Akasuna no Sasori for another couple years and I wasn't born until much later. But the council has recognized that I am his son, so if you were to put my name on that contract it would be as valid as if you wrote Gaara's or make-up boy's name there.” He turned his Konoha headband around one hundred and eighty degrees to show that he had tied it together with the red fabric of the one that Gaara had given him. I am a citizen of Sunagakure by order of the Kazekage and have the right to come and go from the village and the Land of Wind as I please.”

 

Needless to say everyone was shocked at that revelation. Tsunade was the first one to get her mind back on track.

 

“It'll take some checking, but that could work I suppose, but what about the second marriage, you're not a member of the Hyuuga clan too are you?”

 

Suddenly, Hinata let out a loud squeal of glee and accomplishment.

 

“I know how to fix that one!” She smiled, despite the tears still in her red eyes. “Neji-niisan is dating Temari-san! If he were to propose marriage to her, that should fulfill that part of the contract! Since Naruto-kun's a citizen of Suna, and Temari is the ambassador to Konoha, they both have dual citizenship! Even that last clause if taken care of!” She was over the moon with joy. She could still marry Naruto-kun and Neji would even get to be with the person he had chosen! She had forgotten about one person however, and Tenten was far from pleased with this situation.

 

She wasn't paying attention when Hiashi and Neji approved of this plan, and didn't even register when they stood up to leave. It wasn't until Hinata was called to accompany them back to the compound that the weapons mistress stood up.

 

“Am I that bad that you'd choose an arranged marriage over free choice?” She asked Naruto crying where she stood.

 

“Tenten-chan, that's not it! Since this would still be arranged, I would still be free to marry someone that I choose too.” He tried to sooth her, but apparently he said the wrong thing.

 

“Tenten ran crying from the office. She would not, could not be with a man that chose her second to an arranged marriage. Oddly, the thought that she'd be sharing Naruto with Hinata was not as big of a turn off as it sounded to the other ninja that were in the room…except to Hinata.

 

“Am I nothing more than arranged marriage to you?” Hinata yelled, tears again flowing freely. “I'm so bad that you need another wife, one that you can choose of your own will?” Quickly she followed Tenten's example and fled from the room. Naruto was about to go after them, but was stopped by Tsunade's hand on his shoulder and the cold looks from the elder Hyuuga's.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

Hinata followed Tenten to an empty training ground where she pulled a small scroll from a hidden pocket in the hem of her dress and summoned a bunch of throwing weapons and began to take out her frustrations on a defenseless tree.

 

“Want to join me?” The weapons mistress asked the heiress without turning her back, her voice still wavering with emotional pain. Hinata didn't respond but walked over and picked up a kunai and hurled it with surprising force for someone her size. They continued to pincushion the tree in silence for the next twenty minutes until they ran out of weapons to throw. Hinata was panting a bit; she wasn't used to throwing projectiles so hard.

 

“He's a great guy, you two'll be great together.” Tenten quietly intoned. She tried to keep the sadness from her voice, but was only marginally successful.

 

“He's only doing this to save me. You're the one he chose of his own will. You deserve him more than I. I can always just marry Gaara…kun…it might not be so bad.” She too tried to keep any hints of pain and disappointment from her voice.

 

“He chose you first though. He cares for you…more than he does for me.” There was no hiding it now. Tenten was choking back tears. No one could compare with Naruto, no one showed as much kindness or compassion.

 

“It seems to me that he cares for the both of you.” Anko's voice brought the two from their pity party. The two younger girls gave her a questioning look, inquiring about her presence.

 

“I was on my way to pick Naruto up from the Hokage's office. Apparently when the two of you ran out your Dad and cousin did a number on him for hurting you two so badly. The thing is; he didn't mean to hurt you.” She had been leaping from tree to tree and dropped to the ground to talk with the two girls who had loved…no…they still loved her son.

 

“Hinata, you've been watching him from afar for a long time, always thinking that he didn't notice you, or that you weren't good enough for him. But you never noticed that all his bluster, all his security would go out the window around you. I remember, the first time I ever talked with him about school, right after he and Sasuke moved in with me. The first thing he said was that Iruka was the only person who seemed to give him a fair shake and the second thing he told me was that there was this really cute girl who kept getting picked on by the others because she had “pearly eyes”. That's a quote by the way, so if you see him, feel free to tease him to no end about it.” She paused to see if Hinata was feeling any better and was pleased to see that at least some part of her speech had gotten through. She turned to Tenten.

 

“And Tenten, you should have seen him when he was working on your swords. He had this look in his eyes that showed just how determined he was to make sure that you couldn't be beaten as long as you had them with you. Sasuke made fun of him for weeks because of it. I know you were here when we rescued the Kazekage, but here's a recap. When Sasuke and I got there, he had been knocked around by the leader of Akatsuki and was still unconscious. When he woke up, Sasuke and I were in the room, along with Tsunade-sama and Hinata, you were there too, do you remember what he said?”

 

Hinata thought about it for a second, going over all the memories she had of that trip to Suna before she admitted that she didn't know what had occurred. So Anko filled in the blank.

 

“The first thing he did when he woke up was look for Sasuke and me. When he saw that we were ok, he noticed that Hinata was in the room, you had just helped fix Sakura's arm, so you were still asleep and he asked if everyone had made it back to Konoha alright “did Tenten make it back ok?” Do you see? He cares for both of you deeply, and although it might look like he picked Hinata because of some marriage contract or that he picked you, Tenten of his own will, think of what he could have done. Hinata, you could be engaged to a man who dresses like a cat, wears more make up than you do and plays with dolls, or a man who used to kill for pleasure, is the youngest Cage in the history of the world as we know it, and still enjoys staying up all night doing paperwork. As for you, Tenten, he could have said, well I'm sorry, I do care for you, but I have to save Hinata from marrying a cat-guy, or the man I consider my best friend.”

 

While Anko had successfully drained almost all of the hostility from the situation, what little was left reared up.

 

“But do we mean so little to him that he needs two of us to make his life worth while?” Tenten asked. “I asked him what he was thinking and he gave me something about marrying both of us. What's up with that?”

 

“Look, as for the marriage thing, it's an assumption that an arranged marriage is one where neither party is in love with the other. Some time, not all that long ago, maybe twenty seven years or so ago, the council passed a law that said than any person entering into an arranged marriage between shinobi nations as a form of peace keeping, would be allowed to marry one person of their own choosing as well. It was the assumption that not only was the marriage one without love, but love would never develop between the two people, hence the law. As for his reaction…what can I say, this is the first time he's ever been in a situation like this. Sure, put him in a hopelessly inescapable situation and he'll get out every time, but put if before you two…look, just understand that everything outside of ninja arts are new to him.” She walked away, fairly certain that her son would get another chance with the two girls…women he had fallen for.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

(A/N: Hooray? Chapter 30 is here…and it…exists…what more can I say. I've been on exactly one date in my life, and it consisted of me making jokes at my own expense for around eight straight hours. Hopefully that explains my lack of details when it comes to romantic stuff. Anyway, the marriage contract was the secret that Gaara showed Naruto back in like, chapter 24 or something…Naruto now has a way to date/marry both Hinata and Tenten and it didn't involve some kind of `Clan restoration act' which I always thought was kinda thin. Lets see, what else happened…We figured out what the Akatsuki is up to…Yugito got `napped…Hideaki shows off a bit…I think that's about it…oh yeah! Most important part…beginnings of the Chaos training that Naruto has to go through.

 

Anyway, I updated Aiko on Monday I think, and I've got to say, I was hoping for more responses than I got…maybe this will force-I mean…persuade a few of you guys and gals to give that a shot or read up on the new chapter if you haven't done so already.

 

As always, thanks to all who reviewed last and all chapters of this story I have this theory, that if absolutely no body reviewed this chapter, not only would the Earth stop spinning, I might actually get out of my room and shave…but, since I hope that's not gonna happen, let my beard continue to grow! Please review, it'll kinda make up for the lack of Aiko feedback, as well as support the ego of your local starving writer. Thanks, and have a great week)