Chronicles of Hanabi and Naruto

Fanficition by Spark of Fate (Lord Kokuryu)

Important information

- I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would be rich as shit -

- I will do my best to keep as lore-friendly as possible -

- I've been keeping up with the manga, and it should end soon, I think -

- My inspiration for this fanfic pairing is The Ice Princess of Konoha by JohnnyG -

- R&R is welcomed. I am not perfect, so please catch the mistakes I don't catch -

- Rating will be T for now. May change to M for various reasons later on -

- Chapter posted 21MAY14 -

- Last updated 21MAY14 -

My Lingo

Here is a brief list of how I type in the story. Most of it will be common, but even so, everyone do tell stories in different ways.

Descriptions and the sort.

"Regular conversation."

"A whispering or slight emphasis on a word in a conversation."

"A word with strong emphasis or emotion in a conversation."

'A normal thought.'

'An emphasis on a word in thought.'

"Bijū or the sort speaking."

'Bijū or the sort thinking.'

*A sound effect or action of some sort.*

*Bijū's sound effect or action of some effect.*

Title.

Section.

Names of reviewers and titles of stories.

[Note from author. Rarely will be used.]

「Time Skip and Date」

Author's Announcement

Well guys, as I promised in the last chapter, here it is. The first real step towards Naruto's and Hanabi's relationship. Now, it may not be a large step forward, but rather a small, solid step forward, purely meant to set the solid foundation for the 2.

I don't want to rush it, as in she suddenly falls head-over-heels for our blond hero and just throws herself at him. I want her to recognize her surroundings a bit more, allowing her to get a more clear grasp on what her feelings could become for her sensei. Even so, this is a tough thing for me to pull off, so sorry if the execution isn't perfect.

Nonetheless, it's going to be slow, and for some of you, down right painful, lol. Just like when you see a couple which you are just like "Hurry up and get together for damn sakes!". It's because the struggle will be real here. If you want a further explanation, it's in the Author's Notes towards the end.

Also, I'm pleased. I broke 50k words with the previous chapter! Also, Chapter 7 got 1.4k views in 1 day! Really happy with that number! But anyhow, enough of my blabbering. Let's get to what you all came here for!

Previous Chapter

"Seeking power is not wrong, but as I said before, it should not be the only thing you seek. Don't let your desires lead you to ruin. It would devastate your old man to see his own child take such a path."

Hanabi felt ashamed of herself. She reflected on her desires and noted where she started to go wrong. She closed in on her father, hugging him, letting her emotions through. She felt ashamed for failing her father. For disgracing her clan with her actions. She felt the need to be powerful, but went about it all wrong.

At least her father stepped in before it got out of hand. For that she was truly happy about that. "I'm sorry Father. I'm really sorry for shaming you." Hanabi cried into her father, each tear filled with sadness.

Hiashi was taken back slightly. He never had much close interactions with his daughters, so hugging was still a bit of a foreign concept to him, but he couldn't stop himself as he wrapped his arms around his precious daughter. "It's alright. As long as you recognize the errors and correct it, it's alright." Hiashi comforted his daughter.

He knew he had done the right thing. Hopefully with this, he can begin to improve the relationship between both his daughters. It was awkward for him, since he never had paternal love growing up, so he didn't know how to treat his own daughters, but he swore he would do his best.

Chapter 8

The First of Many Steps

「18th of May」

The Sun rises, and like always, it casted it brilliant light upon the 5 Mountain Faces of the protector's of Konoha, alerting everyone in it's presence that the dawn of a new day has arrived, as fiercely as it has done so before. The town as a whole, minus a few exceptions, has begun to stir from their slumber through the use of alarms or the fierce light of the unrelenting Sun.

One of the exceptions was a grown shinobi of blond hair description. He stayed in his deep slumber, only stirring slightly in annoyance.

One of the many who weren't of the exceptions was a young, slender Hyūga with the given name of Hanabi. No matter how much she wished, she could not deny the will of the Sun's warmth upon her face, coercing her to leave her comfortable bed.

Promptly, she followed her daily morning routine with no incident. That was until she had breakfast. Enjoying the beginning of the Sunday morning, the scent of sweet cinnamon wafted to her, alerting her sense.

She made her way to the kitchen, her body starving for her favorite food. She earned a plate full of sweet cinnamon rolls. The scent alone wetted her tastebuds as she made her way to the dining hall. 'Sundays are the best!'

Normally, people would be hesitant about eating a small mountain of cinnamon rolls, but being a kunoichi held many perks, including burning an insane amount of calories. Accompanied with 2 bananas and a large glass of milk, she began her breakfast in earnest, savoring each bite she took, for she knew it would be another week until she could savor the same flavor.

Hanabi's father, Hiashi, made his way around the corner, spotting his youngest daughter devouring the mountain of sweet before her. He offered up a small smile. He specifically made it so that every Sunday, the chefs would bake fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls for he figured his daughters had a sweet tooth for them.

At the sight, he convinced himself that he could spoil himself once in a while and asked for 2 of the cinnamon rolls from the kitchen. Upon receiving them, he joined his daughter at the table, who was already halfway through her ginormous pile.

Hiashi wondered for a moment as to where the next Head was at, but figured that Hinata was enjoying time with her husband, and would join them later. He picked up the thick morning newspaper and began to read through it, taking a small bite out of the sticky cinnamon roll every now and then.

Hanabi finished off her rolls and chased it down with the glass of milk, grinning in satisfaction. She heard the rustling of paper and glanced over, seeing her father fold down the newspaper, looking at with with an expression saying that he wanted to say something.

"Do you have any plans for today Hanabi?" Hiashi inquired the plans of his daughter.

"Nothing in particular Father. Do you need me for something?" Hanabi asked, wondering if her Father had any tasks for her to complete on her day off.

Hiashi gave her a negative shake of the head. "No, but if I may suggest, maybe you should visit your Sensei. Give him proper thanks for his tutelage thus far."

Hanabi listened to her Father's suggestion. It was odd of him to suggest it. She always thanked him, but as she looked back, she can't say she did anything other than that. 'He must be asking me to do this to show proper respect. But what can I do to show thanks?'

Hanabi tilted her head in thought, trying to figure a way to show her teacher how much she really appreciated his help so far.

'To be honest, I don't know much about Naruto-sama even though he's been training me for 1 and a half months now. I guess I could spend the day with him, getting to know him and take him out for food as thanks. Seems good enough, lets go with that! Besides, it's not like I have anything else planned for the day.'

Hanabi mentally nodded at her choice of action. "I will Father. I'll go see him right now." She faltered slightly at noticing an error. 'Even though I've been training with him for over a month now, I still don't know where he lives…'

Hanabi turned towards the current Head of the Hyūga Clan. "Father. Do you know where Naruto lives?"

Hiashi thought for a moment, recollecting his memories of the address. He gaver her the adress and directions to get there.

Hanabi gave her thanks as she stood up and excused herself from the table, leaving her dishes for the maids to take.

Hinata came around the corner, immediately spotting Hanabi's retreating form. She sent her father a questioning gaze, asking an unvoiced thought.

"Good morning Hinata. Sorry, but your sister will not be joining us this morning. She's going to visit Naruto-sama and give him proper thanks for teaching her so far."

Hinata mulled over her thoughts for a moment. 'This is odd of Hanabi. While she is more open to making friends than I am, she typically doesn't go too far out of her way. I guess she's noticing how lucky she is to have Naruto as her sensei.'

'Still… She shouldn't get too close to Naruto. Wait. Why does that even matter. Stop it Hinata. You're married to Tokuma now. You swore that no matter what happened to Naruto, you wouldn't interfere with his love life. Still… It's my sister.'

Hiashi focused on his older daughter, watching as a myriad of emotions play across her face unbeknownst to her. One of them he thought to be envy. Hiashi's stoic complex turned to one of slight concern. 'It's probably nothing. Hinata is mature enough not to take things too far.'

Hinata began to berate herself. 'Dammit Hinata. You're reading too far into this. Even if it comes to that, you can't do anything. You already hurt him once. Don't do it again.' Hinata sighed as she collected her scattered thoughts. 'Just don't think about it. Just focus on the goal. I can't waver now, especially with the sacrifices I made.'

Suddenly she notice the scent of cinnamon. Her thoughts drastically changed and focused on the food the scent was coming from.

Hiashi let out a small chuckle at Hinata's dramatic change in demeanor. 'She just might like cinnamon rolls more than Hanabi.'

Hanabi strolled through a section of the village reserved for apartment complex. She eventually found her way to the correct apartment complex and made her way up 5 flights of stairs, reaching the 6th floor. She walked down the hallway until she came to the room number.

'No way. Naruto-Sensei could live here… This place is dingy' Sure enough, she at the apartment number, which matched the number her father gave her. 'I guess this is his is place. Why would be be living in this dump?'

Hanabi knocked on the door several times. With no response, she could only think she must've gotten the wrong place. 'Oh, don't tell me this isn't the right room. What if I misremembered the number Father gave me, and some random person came to the door. Yeah. That has to be it. There is no way how Naruto, of all people, be living here in this dumping ground they call an apartment.'

She looked down at the name plate, hoping it would assure her that she was indeed in the wrong place. It didn't. Firmly printed on the name plate was 1 Naruto Uzumaki. She sighed in defeat as she rapped her knuckles against the door once again.

Something stirred beyond the door. 'Please let that be Naruto. I will die of absolute embarrassment if it wasn't.' She stood there, slightly freaking out silently in her head as she saw the door knob twitch a few times before hearing the lock being undone. 'Please. Please. Please let it be Sensei.'

Surely enough, the door opened up and one tall shinobi with a messy mop of blond hair stood before her. In shorts. Completely shirtless. Hanabi's eyes widen as she saw the teacher before her.

She witnessed the large mass of his biceps and triceps. She saw the firmness of his pectorals. She examined the defined lines of his obliques. Her eyes traced each line of the 6-pack on Naruto. Her eyes lowered and saw the V-lines leading down past his shorts. 'Damn. I knew he was fit, but I never saw him shirtless…'

"H-Hanabi?" Naruto called out in a sleepy tone.

Hearing her name being called, she immediate shook herself from her awestruck daze, leaving a blush on her cheeks out of embarrassment at where her thought were leading to. "G-Good morning Sensei!" Hanabi called out with too much energy as she bowed.

'That's a bit energetic of a greeting…' Naruto thought to himself as he was questioning why Hanabi would show up to his apartment. "What brings you here? It's not Monday is it? I thought it was still Sunday. Did I sleep for a whole day or something?" Naruto questioned out-loud thinking that he somehow lost track of what day it was.

Hanabi raised her head, trying her best to have her eyes glued to her teacher's chest, which was proving rather difficult. "N-No. It is still Sunday. I. I wanted to spend the day with you." Hanabi mentally smacked herself in the forehead. She realized that it just sounded like a confession.

"I mean, spend the day with you to get to know you better." She mentally slapped herself again. 'God dammit Hanabi. That doesn't sound any better! Get your act together!'

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'Wait… What? Nah. Don't think too hard about it. It will only make things awkward.' Naruto brushed off his thoughts. "Ah. I see. Sorry about that. I've only been focusing on training you, so I guess we never spent much time getting to know each other."

Hanabi exhaled a sigh of relief. 'Oh. Thank god he didn't misunderstand me. That was about to get awkward real fast.'

"Well, come on in." Naruto motioned as he left the door open. He retreated back to his bedroom to toss a shirt on.

Hanabi looked around examining his apartment. A very minimalist. She noticed a ton of scrolls laying unfurled across the table and a thick tome opened wide. Hanabi walked over the the simplistic coffee table and picked up the book, reading a brief excerpt from the page.

"Upon the creation of Konoha, the founders decided to have the village sectioned off to areas where similar a vast majority of similar buildings would be grouped together. Such examples would be for housing complexes to be grouped with other housing complexes, stores with stores, restaurants with restaurants, so on and so forth. This would make navigation of the new village simpler.

The Clans picked their respective areas of the village for their complex to be built. Of the numerous clans of Konoha, there are currently 8 Noble clans. These clans are the Aburame, Akimichi, Hyūga, Uchiha, Senju, Sarutobi, Namikaze, and Uzumaki. Of these 8, Aburame, Akimichi, Hyūga and Uchiha were the original 4 Noble clans.

Senju was given Nobility due to being a founding member and for providing 3 Hokages. Sarutobi was given Nobility because of their great influential members and producing members who consistently held high positions of authority, one of them being the 3rd Hokage. Namikaze, while there is only 1 surviving member, was given their title of nobility due to one of their members becoming Hokage.

Lastly, the Uzumaki clan was given a title of Nobility due to their relations to the Senju clan with their ties to Konoha, along with contributing members of their clans to be Jinchūriki. Their people are the only ones with chakra strong enough to house and bind the Kyūbi.

Other noteworthy members of Konoha consist of Inuzuka clan, known for their use of ninken as fighting companions, Yamanaka, who specialise in mind related techniques, and the Nara clan, known for their intelligence and shadow jutsu."

'So this is about the history of Konoha's clans. Never thought Naruto would be interested in this kind of stuff.' Hanabi thought to herself as she placed the book on the table. Hanabi heard the closing of a door, catching her attention.

Before her was her sensei in a simple pair of grey shorts and a large white t-shirt that engulfed his frame. 'With him wearing that, I can actually look at him without blushing now.' Hanabi's mind was at ease, until she saw the mop of golden locks upon his head. A giggle slipped through her lips.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, questioning what his student was laughing at. "What's so funny?"

"You're hair." Hanabi pointed to the top his head. "It's ridiculous." Hanabi couldn't help but laugh lightly at the erratic hair style Naruto was sporting unintentionally.

'Ah, she means my bed head.' Naruto gave a light shrug as his stomach growled.

Hanabi could help but laugh again. "I guess someone's hungry." Naruto made a movement, but Hanabi waved him off. "I'll make you some breakfast, Sensei. Just tell me a bit about yourself."

Naruto was a bit shocked of the situation he was in. 'A cute girl making me breakfast. That hasn't happened in awhile.' Naruto smirked a bit before sitting down, letting Hanabi to her devices. He figured this would be easiest to go with the flow. "What would you like to know?"

Hanabi opened up the fridge, looking through the selection of chilled goods. "Well. I'm curious as to why you live here. I'm sure you can afford a much better place." Hanabi noted the carton of eggs and pulled them out, closing the fridge. She grabbed a pan and placed it on the stove. "How do you want your eggs?"

"Ah, scrambled will be fine."

'Easy enough. I'm not a great cook, but I can't mess that up.'

"As to why I live here, it's because the Third bought it for me a long time ago."

Hanabi cracked a couple of eggs and began to stir them. "The previous Hokage bought an apartment for you? Why?" Hanabi asked, her curiosity growing by the second.

"Well…" Naruto paused for a moment. He didn't like talking about his past too much, but he didn't feel like he had any reason to keep things from his student either. "You know I was raised as an orphan. After a few years, the orphanage kicked me out, so instead of living on the street, the Hokage bought me an apartment."

"Wait. You were kicked out? That's pretty messed up!" Hanabi practically shouted, stirring the eggs with even more ferocity than before.

"Well, when you are the Jinchūriki, and everyone thinks you're a demon in disguise, people can be pretty harsh."

Hanabi sighed, setting the bowl on the counter, opening up the fridge again. She pulled out a carton of milk and poured a small amount into the whipped eggs. "Sorry to hear about that."

"It's alright. It's not your fault. But yeah. I stay here because it was a gift given to me. Plus I don't have to pay rent. It may be small, run down, and not the best place, but it's free, and it was the first gift ever given to me." Naruto smiled, remembering all the memories he had in this place.

Hanabi smiled. 'So it has a lot of sentimental value to him.' She turned on the stove and poured the simple concoction of egg and milk onto the pan. She grabbed the loaf of bread and held it up. "Toast?"

"Yes please." Naruto replied with a growing grin.

"What level do you want your toast?" Hanabi asked as she slipped 2 pieces of bread into the toaster.

"5 will do."

"Butter?" hanabi asked, pushing down the lever, activating the toaster.

"Nah. Jam on one, peanut butter on the other."

Hanabi gave a simple nod as she stirred the eggs in the pan. "Mind telling me more about your childhood? I take it the Ichiraku Ramen stand is important to you since you eat there all the time."

Naruto gave an energetic nod. "Old man Teuchi and Ayame are family to me. They were practically the only restaurant that never shunned me for what I was. They even gave me free meals occasionally and meal tickets on my birthdays!"

"Family huh."

"Yeah. They made my life better even if I was ganged up and beaten almost everyday."

Hanabi visibly flinched. She couldn't even began to imagine how bad it was to be beaten up almost everyday. "They really hated you that much? Didn't the Hokage do anything about that?"

"He tried, but he can't go around killing citizens just because they hit a kid. Besides, he couldn't spare ANBU to keep an eye on me 24/7. That would be overkill. He tossed them into jail regularly, but it didn't stop most of them. Thankfully they never tried to kill me too often."

Hanabi removed the pan from the source of heat and turned around. "They tried to kill you?! What was wrong with those people." Hanabi almost yelled out.

Naruto sighed. This was why he didn't like explaining his past. People always got extremely emotional about it. "Well they didn't understand the concept that I was the jailer and Kurama was the prisoner… Or as Tenten put it, I was the scroll and he was the kunai. So they thought by hurting me, they would be hurting the fox who killed those who they loved."

'He's the scroll, not the kunai. That's a pretty good analogy.' Hanabi sighed as the toaster launched the warmed bread. "Even so, that's pretty inhumane." Hanabi spread the jam and peanut butter on the toast, and scooped the eggs onto a plate. She spun around with finesse and placed the plate of simple food before Naruto. "Sorry it isn't much."

"Nah. Don't worry about it Hanabi. It's kind of you to fix me breakfast in the first place. How about you fix yourself something."

"No. I'm good. I already ate with my family." Hanabi smiled as she thought back to the sweet taste of cinnamon rolls.

Hanabi snapped out of her reminiscent state and poised another question. "So enough with negatives. Would you mind telling me some positives?"

"Ah, sorry. Sadly there wasn't much positive until I became a Genin. I made some good friends in the Ninja Academy, so they helped me through my childhood, always making me smile when I was in their company."

"Once I was a Genin, things started picking up. Kakashi was a good Sensei, Sasuke became like a brother, even though we always fought, and Sakura. Well, Sakura was Sakura. Always having my back, even if she was punching my face a lot."

Hanabi had a small fit of laughter. "I heard from Hinata that you chased her relentlessly."

Naruto left out a small chuckle. "Yeah. In the end, she becoming more like a sister though. Where all I cared about was her being happy."

"After that, we had the Chunin Exam, with the invasion soon following. That day, I lost the one person who was looking out for me since the very beginning. Even today, I still miss Hokage-jiji." Naruto sighed as he briefly thought of the grandfather-like Hokage.

"Jiraya and I left to find Tsunade, and shortly after that, Sasuke betrayed us and left for Orochimaru. I'm sure you know all about that."

Hanabi gave a silent nod. She knew all about how 2 future clan heads almost died on that mission. The clan heads were pissed about it. Even her father was pissed about what happened to Neji and the others. There was a big uproar over that situation, everyone one of them wanted the Hokage to send ANBU to kill the traitor. Saying they shouldn't show favoritism just because he was one of the last of the Great 3 Dōjutsu.

The Godaime Hokage refused it. Saying that if she sent ANBU after Orochimaru, it would only end in their death. Orochimaru was too dangerous, even with his arms sealed. So they didn't pursue the traitorous Uchiha.

"After that, I left with Ero-Sennin. We traveled, collected information, and trained together, helping me gain more control over my Jinchūriki form. That pretty much sums up my childhood in a nutshell."

"I'll be honest Sensei. It sounds like you went through hell as a kid."

Naruto let out a laugh after finishing off a piece of toast. "It wasn't so bad. I had a good group of friends, and I would trade anything for that."

Hanabi smiled. Before her was the most powerful ninja in all the land, yet he was simple. He didn't crave power. He didn't seek glory. He didn't think himself above others. Always seeking a simple life. Caring for what he has right now.

"Any other questions?" Naruto asked as he started eating away the scrambled eggs.

Hanabi grinned. "Many." She sought understanding of this person named Naruto Uzumaki.

Hours passed by. Before they even knew it, it was noon. Hanabi asked question after question. Asking about his missions, his jutsus, his training, his path to becoming a sage, and even about Kurama himself. Each answer brought her closer and closer to understanding him, but she was running out of questions to ask.

"Lets take a break. I still need to shower." Naruto admitted with a bit of embarrassment. Naruto stood up and headed towards his bedroom.

Hanabi looked around. Naruto tidied up the place a bit as she was asking questions. His scrolls were rolled up and stacked upon each other. The books were closed, bookmarks left where they were once opened at.

The sound of water running caught her attention. Her mind suddenly flashed back to when she first knocked on Naruto's apartment door. The memories of seeing Naruto standing there shirtless rushed to the front of her mind.

'Stop right there. Don't go getting perverted thoughts Hanabi.' She mentally berated herself, even though she knew it to be no good. The sculpted body that Naruto had couldn't leave her mind anytime soon. A blush threatened to spread across her face.

She quickly forced her mind to focus on something else. Anything else. She glanced around fervently, until something caught her attention. Several things actually. Several picture frames.

She lifted herself from the couch and moved across the room to the window sill. There rested several photos. One was of his team as Genin. The young group of Team 7. Next to it was the older picture of Team 7, Kakashi substituted by Yamato, and Sasuke substituted by Sai.

The 3rd photo was of all 5 members grouped together. The 4th one was of Naruto achieving the Chūnin Rank. The 5th was the same, but Jonin rank. The 6th was of the 4th Hokage and his wife pregnant with Naruto. His only family picture.

The 7th was of Naruto and Tenten gently kissing each other. The picture brought a slight blush to her face seeing the two prominently displaying their affection. She heard of when Naruto started dating the weapon mistress. It was a shock to everyone in the village. It was completely out of left field.

Nonetheless, they made a good couple from what it looked like in the picture. To say Hinata was disappointed at the news would be an understatement. Her older sister was devastated, locking herself in her room for a solid week.

She looked to the final picture. It was Naruto and Hinata. The smile on her face was radiant. A small blush on her face as she clenched closely to her boyfriend's arm. Seeing how happy she looked in that, she didn't understand why her sister would break up with him.

She never got a straight answer from her sister. As far as she knew, her Father never got an answer from her either. She decided to stop pushing the subject a while ago. If she was to know, her sister would tell her. Still, it bugged her. She never seen her sister so happy before, or so sad afterwards.

A heavy sigh came out, scaring her half to death. She spun on the spot and saw Naruto standing behind her. He was dressed in a casual set of clothes. A black pair of cargo pants and a dark blue tshirt. No special designs or anything. His golden locks still shimmering with small droplets of water imbedded between the spikes.

He had an unreadable expression on his face. It was out of place from the normal grinning ninja she came to know over the past month and a half. Almost as if he knew what she was thinking, he flashed her a grin, calming her nerves.

'How does he do that?' Hanabi asked as her heart settled down.

"Like the pictures?" Naruto asked.

"Uh… Sorry. I didn't mean to pry or anything."

"Nonsense Hanabi. They are sitting out in the open for other's to see."

"Oh…" Hanabi fidgeted on the spot, wondering if it would be proper to ask the questions that were roaming in her mind at that instant. 'I won't know unless I ask.'

"Uh… Sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me about your relationships?"

Naruto cheerful demeanor left his face, giving her the same unreadable expression he had just moments before. His expression darkened with a hint of pain. "I rather not talk about that topic." Naruto answered as he turned his head, unable to look at her in the eyes.

'The pain must still be there.' She knew what it was like to have a relationship end. She dated a few people, but thankfully, for her heart, they never got really serious. She could only imagine the scars on Naruto's heart.

She heard that both Tenten and her sister were equally distraught after breaking up with the blond man before her. She heard about the fighting between Tenten and Hinata on both separate occasions. How could she not. When anything concerning Naruto came to light, the entire town would gossip about it.

If it hurt the girls as much as she thought, she could only imagine how much it hurt for Naruto, who was on the receiving end of being dumped. Both times. "Sorry. I shouldn't of asked."

Naruto shook his head. "There is nothing wrong with asking Hanabi. Maybe in time I can tell you, but right now, I can't."

"I understand Sensei."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled with appreciation. "Thanks Hanabi. Now how about we go eat out for lunch? Since you made me breakfast, lunch is my treat. You can decide."

She flashed a grin and left.

Naruto could only sigh as he followed his student. 'Why do I have this feeling that I'm going to regret this?'

Hanabi proudly walked through the street of the dining district, her sensei in tow. She wore a radiant smile from the aspect of her teacher promising to treat her to lunch, and it was her own choice as well! Finally, it would be time to pay him back for always making her eat at that ramen stand during the training sessions.

It was good, no denying the chef's skill, but she could only eat so much of one thing so often until she got fed up with it. She scanned each of the restaurants, making notes of each one that peaked her interest. 'So many good ones to choose from.' Hanabi sighed. 'Which one, which one… I feel like having sushi. So what's a good place to pick?'

Finally, her eyes found what she was looking for. One of the best, if not the best in the village for sushi. Above the restaurant was a sign with the kanji for "The Swimming Leaf". 'Ah, Suiei no Konoha. That will suffice!'

Hanabi promptly turned on her heels and faced her teacher, who she has been dragging this whole time, much to his resistance. She pointed to the the restaurant. She flashed him a toothy grin as all color left his face.

'Shit. I know that place. She wants sushi? That stuff certainly isn't cheap!' He sighed in defeat. 'Sorry Gama-chan. You'll be starving after this.' Naruto remarked, knowing that once again, his frog wallet, which is usually filled to the brim, was going to be deflated. He made a mental note to quote unquote feed his wallet with some bills afterwards.

Slowly, he made his way to the restaurant, where Hanabi was already asking for a table of 2. The hostess flashed a grin upon seeing who, she presumed, to be her date. Naruto knew that grin from anywhere. 'Oh god. That's the grin Ino gets when she gets her hands on some gossip.' He hanged his head in defeat. He only hoped this wouldn't get too out of hand.

The hostess lead the 2 to a table and handed them a variety of menus. "Your waiter will be here shortly. Please enjoy your stay." The hostess flashed another smile to the 2 before leaving, returning to the front of the restaurant.

Hanabi grabbed the menu you and flipped it open. She started to read the selection of sushi the restaurant offered, noting each one that seemed appealing to her at the time. 'Hmm.. There's a lot of different fish. Even eel. This one has some crab. Oh, and this has sea urchin.'

"So which one do you think is good to try?" Naruto asked, unsure as to how the sushi would taste. "I never ate raw fish that much."

"It all depends on the type of fish you like eating."

"Well, I don't know. The concept of raw fish is a bit weird." Naruto said with uncertainty.

"You'll like it, I promise." Hanabi said, attempting to convince him.

'If you say so.' Naruto scanned through the selection of nigiri section, looking through the descriptions. 'Something simple there, and that Salmon looks delicious.' He scanned further down, through the maki section, another one catching his attention. 'Tuna and Crabmeat. What is this, avocado rolled with Salmon? It's topped with Tobiko, Mango sauce and Unagi sauce. Sounds good enough to try as well.'

Hanabi was also surfing through the menu. 'I haven't been here in a while, so I think it would be best for me to get a variety of sushi. Who knows when I will be back.' With a grin, she found what she thought to be the perfect one.

The waiter arrived as the 2 finished looking over their menus. "Do you have your orders?"

"I think I'll go with the Sake Nigiri and the Orange Blossom." Naruto decided, closing the menu.

The waiter scribbled down the blonds order before turning to the other customer.

"I would like the Rainbow Maki." Hanabi replied to the waiter.

"Anything to drink?" The waiter asked.

"Water please." Both of them replied in sync.

The waiter claimed the menus and left, leaving the 2 in silence again.

"So. Since we talked about me this morning, mind telling me a bit about yourself?"

'I guess that's only fair.' Hanabi smiled. "What would you like to know?"

Naruto shrugged. "Oh, just the common stuff. You know, like your dreams, your goals, your likes and dislikes."

"Well. My dreams and goals have shifted greatly fairly recently. I was slated to be the next Clan Head, but it seems more and more likely it will go to my sister and I will be placed in the Branch House. So I guess for now, my dream is to be a representative for the Branch House."

"My goal is to master the Gentle Fist and become the best kunoichi I can be. I like training. The foods I like the most are bananas, milk, and sweet things. On the other hand, I hate the taste of mitsuba."

Naruto chuckled lightly as his student's visible displeasure from the thought of her least favorite food. The waiter showed up and silently distributed the cups of ice water to the two, before leaving them alone once again.

Naruto's light aura changed dramatically as the waiter left. "I don't mean to pry, but I want to know. Do you have any resentment to your sister for taking the position of the next Clan Head from you?"

Hanabi shook her head. "I don't. Although I don't want to be in the Branch House and have the Juinjutsu placed on me, it was originally her position by birthright. Plus, I know she is taking the more difficult road of the 2 of us."

"Speaking of seals, I got a question for you. What got you into learning seals sensei?"

"Well, the reason why I'm learning seals is because I have to seal the other Bijū. As it stands right now, there is no balance of power. The Land of Fire, or rather I myself, hold too much weight."

"For the past few years, when I take my trips, I always spend some time in the Land of Whirlpools, hoping to recover some seals left behind by my clan. I haven't broken through a lot of their seals, and there is much more to explore in the ruins."

"Sounds really important. I don't know much about seals, but I'm sure they are anything but easy."

"Normally, most seals aren't that complex. When it comes to seals created by my clan though, that's a different matter."

"They were feared by the world for a reason I guess. None of the books I read said anything about the types of seals they used to make them so feared though."

"The seals don't necessarily have to cause a lot of damage to be feared. Just think of your seal. Imagine if that got out?" Naruto hinted at the ramifications.

"Ah. I see. If other villages heard about that, they would seek out the knowledge to use it themselves."

"Or worse, capture someone with the seal and try to reverse engineer it. Luckily, this seal isn't all too complex. Any master-level fūinjutsu user should be able to create one themselves."

"But there aren't too many fūinjutsu specialists. Anything other than common seals are becoming a rarity, even I know that."

Naruto sighed. "I know. The last seal master we had in Konoha was Jiraya. Luckily for me, I have his notes on seals. Unluckily for me, they aren't as extensive as I would hope."

The waiter came by, bringing the plates of sushi.

Naruto looked down at his first plate, intrigued at how the food would look. The Sake Nigiri has several bright orange slabs of Salmon with white lines running across it, tied by seaweed on a small piles of rice.

His second plate had the Orange Blossom Maki. Slices of Salmon curved, outlining the level of rice on the inside. The center was filled with Tuna, Crabmeat, and avocado. Each piece topped with Tobiko, Mango and Unagi sauce.

Hanabi stared at her plate. There was a long line of a variety of colors, representing the different types of fish placed on top of the roll. She was pleased with the attention made in this artful creation. From a glance, she could tell they used Sea Bass, Tuna, Salmon and Yellowtail sashimi along with avocado on the top of the roll.

They both picked up their chopsticks. "Let's dig in!" Naruto cheerfully said, taking his first bite.

Hanabi giggled, seeing her sensei eating with a passion. She was awed that someone so powerful and influential acts like a normal person. 'Well… Maybe not like a normal person. I should really teach him some manners.' Hanabi let out another giggled, catching Naruto's attention.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked, point his chopsticks at her in a menacing, yet playful manner.

"You're lack of etiquette is what's funny."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is the matter with my eating habits?"

"Starters, you didn't say itadakimasu." [Proper way of saying "let's eat"]

"I was close enough." Naruto returned.

"Saying let's dig in is not close enough. Secondly. You aren't eating with any grace." Hanabi pointed out.

"Oh?" Naruto asked in a questioning tone. "And how does one eat so gracefully?" Naruto asked, offering up a challenge to his pupil.

"I'll show you." Hanabi held her hands together as she offered a silent prayer and gave thanks for the meal. "Itadakimasu." She swiftly pulled the chopsticks from their paper wrapper and broke them apart.

She fluidly slid them into her hands and plucked the first sushi roll that was adorned with avocado. She placed her left hand under the floating piece as she took a bite, half of it disappearing beyond her lips.

Silently, she swallowed her portion before eating the other half, never letting a grain of rice fall into her cradling hand. She gently laid her chopsticks down and smiled at the blond. "That is how you eat with manners." Hanabi replied smartly, yet playfully.

"Aye, aye, sensei." Naruto playfully replied, taking a bite from his Orange Blossom.

Hanabi grinned as she picked up a slice with Tuna sashimi. Taking a bite, her lips curled with delight from the taste. She took the next sliced and tasted Salmon. She looked over and saw Naruto was already finished with half of both orders. 'Damn he eats fast.'

"Enjoying your meal?" Hanabi asked as she took a bite out of a slice with Sea Bass.

"Yeah. It's better than I expected."

Hanabi smirked with success. "Told you so."

Naruto merely scoffed. "How's that roll?" Naruto asked, wondering of it's taste.

"Pretty good. Here," Hanabi extended her chopsticks, holding the remaining bit of the roll. "try it. It's Sea Bass."

"I didn't ask for a bite, Hanabi." Naruto refused.

"Well, you won't know the taste until you taste it, dummy. Now say ah." Hanabi replied, bring up a solid point.

"I can feed it to myself. I'm not a kid, Hanabi." Naruto declined.

"Stop being a spoil sport, and just say ah." Hanabi demanded in a firm, yet light tone.

Naruto huffed, exhaling the last ounce of his resistance. He begrudgingly opened his mouth with an ah-sound. Hanabi smiled as she slipped the remaining roll into his mouth, to which he closed promptly.

"Now. Was that so hard?" Hanabi asked with a smirk of her triumph.

"No, but it was embarrassing as hell." Naruto replied near mutely.

"And why is it so embarrassing?" Hanabi asked.

Naruto stared at her, unsure whether to answer that question or not. Deciding with the former, he gave her the answer. "Because it felt like I was being fed by a girlfriend."

Hanabi was shocked when she heard Naruto whispering out the final word. 'Girlfriend? I mean… I guess if someone was looking from outside in, they may see something like that. Still, can't believe he said that. Does that mean… No. Don't read into it. He only said it felt like, not that he was. He wouldn't be interested in you. There are more worthy people than you. Don't get carried away. He wouldn't like someone like you like that.'

Hanabi was blushing on the spot as she followed her train of thought. She ended it before it got too wild. She placed the next roll in her mouth as a distraction, focusing on the prominent taste of avocado.

She looked down and saw that the next slice was Yellow Tail. She glanced over at Naruto's plates and scanned his food. 'I don't see any Yellow Tail in his dish. So he might be interested in this.' She mused to herself.

Hanabi ate half the roll again, before placing it back on the plate. She fiddled with half-eaten roll for a moment. 'Should I? I think I already made it awkward enough, so I shouldn't, but I still want to. I think if I do, then maybe… Just maybe, I can get him to like me. Just a little.'

Hanabi struggled as she lifted the half roll into the air. 'Do it. Just do it!' Hanabi steeled her resolved as she offered up the last half of the roll with Yellow Tail sashimi on top. "N-Naruto."

Naruto, up until this time, was trying to finish off the rest of his sushi to help pacify the embarrassing feelings welling up inside. Hanabi's voice along with his name captured his attention. He gazed up at her, seeing her posed, offering him another bite of one of her rolls. He let out an audible gulp.

Seeing such a misplaced timid expression on his student, he didn't know what to do. His mind coming up blank as what to do next. He tried and nothing came. He could only stare at her, seeing the tiny shivers of embarrassment tremor through her body.

Mustering up the bit of courage she had, she told him what to do. "Say Ah."

Hearing such a sweet and docile tone coming from Hanabi compelled him to do what she said. He couldn't think to open his mouth, or to keep it shut. His body's will was entranced from the sound of her voice. His mouth open as she commanded.

She carefully placed the remaining half of the roll into his mouth. As soon as she was sure it was safely placed, she withdrew her chopsticks and stared down at her food again.

Naruto's mind began to turn at a furious pace as she chewed on the sushi. 'Why is she nervous? Wait. Of course she's nervous, you idiot. She just fed you. Hell. I'm nervous as all fuck! Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.' Naruto chanted to himself as he finished the roll.

"That was good. Thank you Hanabi."

Hanabi kept her head down, but she was smiling at the thanks. The both of them remained in silence as they finished the meal.

Hanabi didn't know why, but time was flying past her at a neck-breaking speed. Last thing she remembered was sharing that roll with Naruto. Next thing she knows, she's standing maybe 20 meters from her compound, Naruto leading her all the way from the dining district in silence.

She couldn't let it end like that. She knew she couldn't. She had to say something, preferably away from the guards. She was nervous enough as is. Knowing there would be ears, and ears of her family, would not make it any easier. So she stopped in the street leading to the compound.

Her action, or lack there of, immediate caught his attention. He turned back to see Hanabi standing still. He saw she was clenching her fist. "Hanabi. Are you ok?" Naruto asked in a worry-filled tone.

"Y-Yes!" Hanabi replied slightly more fiercely than she meant, earning a chuckle from Naruto at the expense of further embarrassing herself. She was ok with it. Just hearing that laugh made her feel warm.

Hanabi looked up to her sensei, staring into his blue eyes. For a moment, she felt lost in the ocean of blue that was reflected in his eyes. She firmly grasp the edge of reality and focused her attention. "I just wanted to say thank you for spending the day with me and letting me getting to know you more."

Naruto smiled as the sweet demeanor of his student. 'She may be tough on the outside, but she's a sweet and kind person on the inside.'

"I hope we can do this again sometime." Hanabi voiced her thought with a beaming smile before walking past him, making her way to the compound.

Naruto turned and watched his student retreating figure with a questioning gaze. 'Do what again? Talk? No. Far too happy of a tone for just simply taking. There was a different meaning there with that tone.'

Naruto thought throughout the day, taking in the events the unfolded. Suddenly, it clicked. 'No. It couldn't be… Nah. It couldn't of been a date. We never said it was. Still. It felt faintly like it. Stop it man. That's your student there. You're going to misunderstand it if you think too hard. She just wanted to learn more about her teacher. Just leave it there.'

Still, the thought of today's events seemingly unfolded into a date-like scenario lingered in his mind. A thought he was sure he should be happy or mad about having.

Author's Notes

Oh God. Finally done. This chapter was so hard. I worked through several variations, and I'm still not sure that this is as good as it could be. Hell, I have half a mind to not release this and keep working on it, but it's already been 8 full days. 8 FULL DAYS!

Again… Sorry. This chapter was hard, and class is not making it easy. As well as having the PRT looming over my head, which is in T-Minus 8 hours of this being posted. Ugh. I'll pass though. Fit enough. Just hate doing it.

Anyways, I feel I should explain myself here after you read the chapter, so you will better understand what I'm going for and why. Also, if I place it here, rather than in the Author's Announcement, it won't spoil anything for you all.

You have a single man who is easily the most powerful in the 5 nations. A man who bends not only the will of 1 Bijū, but 9, to his will. And not just 1 half of them, but both halves of them. Well, I wouldn't say bends their will. That would make him seem like a tyrant. Rather, he can convince them to help him. That's a lot better.

As for Hanabi, she's a single person. While yes, she is currently a member of the Main House of the Hyūga clan, she is also being threatened to be placed in the Branch House. She see's this a major devalue to herself. So she wonders why would Naruto, her sensei, would want anything with someone who is so… Mundane in status, in comparison to himself, who could marry any person he wants, literally. Grand-daughter of the Daimyō? Totally up for grabs for him if he so wishes it. Not saying he will, I'm just using that as an example.

His title goes a loooooong way. As it should. He freaking saved the world! He doesn't care for his title, but whether he wants it to or not, it does go a long way. Which frustrates him a bit, which I hinted at before. Just a bit… More plot on that later.

Hopefully, as you can tell, I have a lot of plots intermingling with each other. This is going to be a very intricate story, so I pardon ahead of time if it gets a bit confusing. My muse runs wild a lot, so I have to keep it on a leash. A tight leash.

Speaking of leashes, some of you might be wondering why Sasuke is still alive. One reason. Naruto. Like I said. His title goes a loooong way. Not only that, but Sasukes did have a MAJOR factor in saving the 5 Nations. Safe to say that if it wasn't for Naruto, he would've been killed, if they could manage it. He is ALMOST as powerful as Naruto without help from multiple Bijū. Pretty OP.

So Sasuke is in a precarious situation. He can't act out in any way. He has to be obedient and control his emotions, which can be difficult for the Uchiha. But his whole situation will come forth a much later time. He will have a role in this story later on.

Also, I hope you guys saw what I did with the title of the chapter. If you didn't, read the Author's Announcement then the Title. XD

Oh, and just so you guys know, and fully understand, Naruto is OP as shit. I mean, read the manga and tell me I'm wrong. Sooo OP. Sasuke isn't much better either. Even so, without the help of the Bijū and/or their chakra, he might be on par with the demons. The only thing that is holding him back from fighting Kurama is absolute certainty of winning.

I'll explain more later on. Until then, see you all next chapter!

Replies to Chapter 7 Reviews

Guest117: Happy you like the story.

- Tenten: Eh. There is more to her than that, but I understand your POV.

- Hinata: What can I say. Life is complicated. Also understand your POV.

- Anko: Definitely comic relief, as well to stress the point that there are people who want him.

- Naruto: I try my best, lol.

I'm sure the next chapter will be up soon.

warrof: Thank you again for catching the mistakes. Fixed them. As for the 3rd. Well, I know cannon wise, it isn't so, but for this story, it is. The reason why will be explained when Naruto teaches Hanabi the Shadow Clone.

9tailsfox2: I'm happy you are happy with the chapter. It's still a rough draft, seeing how I have no beta. TT-TT. As for Hanabi's shift in goals. It's the same, but she will pursue it more… Maturely? Yeah. Naruto will notice this, which will give him a breather from his worries.

And yeah, the fight between Naruto and Kurama, won't lie. Thousandson's work was an influence, but it was a thought in my head with my previous, scratched, works. Besides, he hasn't made them fight yet! . Still waiting on that next chapter.

As for the other Jinchūrikis, they will be OC, obviously.

LordHero: You're welcome for the new chapter! ^_^. And I love focusing on characters interations and development. It makes them feel more alive, which lets my muse decide what to do with them. Or well, let my muse decide what they would do in those situations.

And yeah, I definitely used that time skip for that very reason. The whole 7 and 13 year old pairing, or even younger, just doesn't flow well with me. Just feels too young for me. Waaaay too young.

As for Sasuke and Karin… Well, he's also married to Sakura too. Nonetheless, if you read the latest chapters, it would be impossible to gain the Rinnegan because it's not the genetics that brings it forth, but rather something else. Won't say anymore cause spoilers. Not until the anime catches up.

Sasuke is doing his best to repent for his actions, and you bet your ass everyone is watching him. He's on a tight leash. I'll go more indepth about it when Naruto talks to Sasuke. Their relationship is rocky, but there is still a bridge there.

As for the strengthen Byakugan… Well… We will cover that later. That is a major plot I don't want to reveal too soon as to what I want to do about that. So much I can do with it. Too precious to let the cat out of the bag yet.

Ryuujin96: Haha, yes! More reviews are always good! I have to thank you for leaving a review with every chapter. Not only to you, but to everyone else who has done so as well! It shows that you are closely following my work and always giving suggestions via reviews or pms, so I thank you all for that!

As for Hinata, I'm happy you are pleased with it. I want Hinata to be strong like Naruto, even if she can't be with him. It shows that she really did take on his Nindo, or his Ninja Way. As for me, I reflected a bit of myself on Hinata there. My love for my family is greater than the love I have for others, for through thick or thin, they will be there for me.

As for Hiashi, that is his job as a father. He's learning how to be a proper father and mend the relationship with his daughters, which thankfully isn't too late, much like how he mended the relationships with his nephew, Neji, who he probably saw him as his own son seeing how he was the son of his twin brother.

As for letting go of the other Bijūs, don't be sad. He will have a bit more time with them, and even afterwards, he will interact with them frequently, making sure the fellow Jinchūrikis are raised correctly and help train them.

Strife666: I'm happy to hear your thoughts! I hope you will continue to love it in the future.

girrr: Thank you.

catsan: Happy you love the story. I will keep up the hard work.

Minders: Wow. Long review. Yes I have read that fanfic. There are some influences from that work in here, but I promise you it will be vastly different. Just give me a bit more time to cover more ground to show the different direction I am going.

As for Hinata, keep in mind, the main people in this story are Naruto and Hanabi. Anyone else is extra. Nonetheless, some of those 'extras' will be important in their own right. Each of them will interact with Naruto in significant ways to help shape him into what he needs to be in order to be a good Hokage.

Thank you very much for catching that error. I already corrected it. It says kids, instead of King. I will keep up the hard work. I look forward to more of your reviews!

jamnaz79: Thank you. Happy you like it. I'll be sure to keep it up as long as I can!

Edits

21MAY14: Corrections made as per warrof. Thank you very much!

- Chapter 8 -

- COMPLETE -