A Nara´s fixation and the Hatake´s matriarch
Ichiro groaned as they approached the compound with Jiro in tow, who was barely just standing upright. The could already see the gates and the two guards on duty, Shimizu and Tadashi, who perked up at the sight of the trio coming back.
Tadashi, a man with dark brown hair tied up in a similar style to Shigeo´s, but a little messier, stood a little straighter at their arrival and immediately frowned when he saw the state Jiro was in. In the dark, it was difficult to see what exactly was going on with the youngest, but before Tadashi, being a mother-hen and constantly worrying over everyone, could panic, he gave a curt nod.
“Tadashi, Shimizu, good evening.” He droned, threatening to collapse under the exhaustion of having to carry his half limp little brother. Shigeo was in similar state, but was still somehow better off.
Tadashi´s frown didn´t leave his face, but Shimizu only looked amused. The woman was a rather relaxed and laid back individual, short hair cut down to her shoulder blades and lazily tied back with a green ribbon. Her dark eyes shimmered with bemusement at the scene in front of her. “Are you three drunk? What´s the occasion?” She mused, snorting when Tadashi shot her a disapproving look.
As soon as they were in range, Tadashi stepped forward and lifted Jiro from the two men´s shoulders, allowing them a moment of relief. Shigeo muttered a small thank you while Ichiro was giving the Shimizu a deadpan look.
“Correction, my little brother is drunk. Shigeo and I are only tipsy.” He rolled his eyes when she grinned.
“That´s not like the three of you at all.”
“She´s right,” Tadashi butted in, now fixing Ichiro with a somewhat glare as he supported Jiro, before he began chastising him, “And if you do end up drinking, at least makes sure it´s moderate amounts. Jiro-kun is going to be waking up with a headache in the morning and will loudly complain to the medics. When that happens, I expect you to nurse him back to health, Ichiro.”
This time, the elder brother groaned, running a hand across his face. He just came back from a taxing night where he lost shogi multiple times. His brain was woozy and his mind was still running through those games, but more importantly, his mind was still stuck on Naruto.
The blonde hardly left his thoughts, even after he left their presence. Whatever this was, Ichiro wouldn´t rest until he found the man again and found out everyone he wants to find out about the blonde.
Wait, no –
That´s a lie. He´ll rest up until he´s sober and then he´ll start thinking about Naruto again.
The point is, he was not in the mood for one of Tadashi´s lectures.
Shigeo, bless his soul, noticed and chimed in, a knowing smirk on his face and patting Tadashi on his shoulder. “Lay off for now, Tadashi. Ichiro is still suffering the aftermath of being brutally defeated in multiple shogi games, and still not figuring out why he lost. Our master mind of his age group was thoroughly humbled today.”
Well, that certainly caught the guards´ attention. Especially Shimizu´s, who has never won a match against Ichiro.
She smiled in glee, suddenly very interested and Ichiro could feel the headache already coming. “Now you don´t say? Our little prodigy was actually beaten multiple times? Who is the winner, I´d like to meet them.” She turned to let her eyes flicker behind the group as if Naruto were to appear behind the tress after being called, and Ichiro scoffed.
If only. He would have enjoyed talking to the man some more, especially after he overstepped multiple times that evening. He would have to properly apologize the next time they saw him. Asking about his clan, mindlessly grabbing his arm, and bringing up his dead friend. Ichiro normally was pretty straightforward, but this was really more than a little tactless of him.
The memory made him groan and he tried to sink down into the ground in embarrassment. He couldn´t even blame most of his behavior on the alcohol. It was shameful, really.
He should be glad that Naruto was so friendly, open and patient with him. Any other shinobi would have probably flipped him over the table and pinned him to the floor had he tried to feel the seals on their arm without asking for permission beforehand. The way he had grabbed his exposed arm, pulling it close to expect every inch of the sealwork that Naruto had created himself. Every bit of information about the blonde that he could get, he craved.
The blonde however had simply smiled like a saint assured him that it was fine. He´d endured the borderline invasive questions without any sign that he was offended, endured the behavior of the three of them, paid for their drinks and was overall the nicest foreign shinobi he´s probably ever met.
Dear sage the alcohol was really kicking in, huh? Normally he wouldn´t be swooning like this. Ichiro just hoped that he was about to fall asleep on the spot before he had to answer any questions.
Shigeo – and Ichiro was going to take back every nice thing he ever said about him, the traitor – laughed and grinned mischievously, directly making eye contact with Shimizu. Put those two together in a room and his world will eventually end. Ichiro tried to avoid that as often as possible.
Was he being dramatic? Probably. He blames the alcohol again.
“Do you want me to be honest? With the way Ichiro over here stared at blondie and tried to take him apart piece by piece with his eyes only, I wouldn´t be surprised if he tried to kidnap the guy and drag him to the compound, if only for his company. I´ve seen cases of Nara Fixation before, but this? This was hilarious to watch. Ichiro is done for, especially if blondie keeps condoning his behavior like that.”
Silence.
Shimizu was staring at him with her jaw wide open in surprise, and Tadashi was eyeing him almost comically with his eyes wide open.
“Nara Fixation? Ichiro is actually that interested in someone? Who is he? What did you do? Where did you meet him?” Tadashi fired off question after question, trying to crowd Ichiro as best as possible with Jiro still over his shoulder.
Cursing their curiosity – so goddamn troublesome, he wasn´t in the mood to be interrogated about this right now – Ichiro leaned back, trying to avoid answering the question, and silently thanked whatever god just helped him out, because their conversation had caused a stir at the entrance and they were now interrupted.
He slowly crept around a Nara – a short man with ashen gray hair that came to take Jiro off of Tadashi to allow the man to continue his guard duty. One of Jiro´s closer friends that came over as soon as he saw them come back – that grabbed Jiro and tried to retreat into the safety of the compound and his own home.
Skillfully ignoring the look that Shimizu sent him over that clearly warned him that this wasn´t the end of the conversation, he turned to leave. He was sure Shigeo would gossip with her about this evening anyways, and judging by their characters, at least half the compound will know about his Fixation by the end of the next day.
However, to Ichiro´s utter doom, before he could finally leave to his home a tall man appeared before him, eyebrow quirked up in what seemed like a mixture of amusement, curiosity and annoyance, and arms crossed in front of his chest. He was lazily leaning against the gates were some people were fussing over Jiro and the others were drowning Shigeo in questions.
Ichiro stilled, knowing it was too late to escape, and slumped with a sigh. He lowered his head, careful to avoid the eyes of his superior and spoke in the steadiest voice he could muster right now.
“Lord Shikari.” He said in greeting.
The man looked up and his eyes immediately pinned Ichiro. Nara Shikari was taller than average and very broad and muscular. There was a single scar right on his throat that he gained from when an Inuzuka had tried to slit his throat once during his younger days, a long but rather shallow scar that made his voice sound raspy, like it hadn´t been used for a long time.
He was wearing a small coat over his casual clothing to shield himself from the rather chilly night and his long hair was tied down into a low ponytail, held together by a single piece of red ribbon. His hair was a dark shade of brown, almost black and occasionally shining bronze when the light hit it in a certain way, similar to the color of his intelligent eyes.
Nara Shikari only hummed in response in what sounded a little like disappointment. Going by the fact that the man wasn´t yet ranting about Ichiro´s actions, he was probably also a little amused.
“Ichiro. I know I told you that the injury you suffered two days ago would put you on medical leave. But I also know that I told you that during that time you were to finish the documents I assigned to you.” He pushed himself up from the gate and by now had the attention of all the Nara assembled in the place. Shigeo bowed in greeting, as did Jiro, albeit the latter was a lot more clumsy doing so.
Shikari gave them a nod in acknowledgement back but then turned his attention back to Ichiro, whose head was still lowered.
“Now tell me, why is it that I find you up and gone from the medics station, documents hastily finished, even after I made it clear that I wanted to have a debrief with you over the reports after you were done.”
Ichiro, feeling particularly rebellious and done today – once again, alcohol was good scape goat – only hummed. “Well, I did finish the reports. I suppose the debrief completely slipped my mind when my younger brother asked me to accompany him and Shigeo outside. And, with all due respect, the hospital room was getting maddening and medical leave is no fun. Neither is paperwork.”
For a second, he was contemplating strangling himself, not knowing what in the world possessed him to talk back to Shikari like that, but the clan head snorted at his response, causing the tension in his body to leave.
“Well,” the man drawled, “I suppose that you did do as I ask, even if you left afterwards. However what I am curious about is what Shigeo said.”
His eyes turned to the oldest Nara of the trio, crinkling at the corner when he saw the small smirk playing at the corners of Shigeo´s lips. Ichiro, knowing he was about to be put on the pedestal here, was already internally wishing to be as gone as his brother. Maybe that would get him out of this frankly very embarrassing situation.
“My Lord, good evening.” Shigeo inclined his head and Shikari waved a dismissive hand.
“Skip the pleasantries, Shigeo. I heard that Ichiro over here is fixated on someone? I´m curious as to who that is. The person grabbing one of my advisors attention is definitely someone I have to hear about.”
The famous Nara Fixation.
It happened quite often that Nara were interested in something, or very passionate about a certain topic, even if they didn´t always show it. What happened a few times with the most gifted Nara was that they started to hyper-fixate on a certain topic. It didn´t even have to be anything new or particularly odd. Sometimes, Nara hyper-fixated on certain jutsu, making sure to refine and study them until there was nothing else to be discovered about it. Sometimes it would be a certain person in their life that caught their interest. Most of the time when that was the case, they tend to loose every bit of shame and restraint if it helped them find out what they wanted to. Relentless questions and days filled with company spend with one another wasn´t a rare thing.
Nara fixated on that certain person until there was nothing more to learn about it. Often times it became a problem when the targets privacy was brutally invaded, to a point where once, the target of a Nara had tried to stab in in retaliation and in anger.
That Nara hadn´t let off, though. Nothing could stop a Nara from information digging if they wanted to, not even the threat of death.
Ichiro was aware that the feelings he held for Naruto were similar to that. The moment he had laid eyes on the blonde and the moment he heard him speak, saw him smile, the Nara looked at Naruto and thought “I want to know more about this person.”
Shigeo told Shikari as much.
He told their clan head of Ichiro´s attention wavering for the first time he saw him. He told of the elder brother´s easy acceptance when Naruto asked to join their table. Of the way his eyes never strayed from the blonde and the way he asked question after question with no sense of restraint. How he bordered on being rude, and how Naruto had brushed it off with a smile. How Ichiro had grabbed the man´s arm and tried to read him through his work, tried to find out what Naruto could do, and how Naruto was once again completely easygoing with that, as if there was absolutely zero issue with that. How Ichiro had seemed even more spurned on after seeing that Naruto was so open, and yet so confusing.
With every word, Ichiro felt himself drown in embarrassment more and more.
In the end, Shikari laughed. It was a scratchy sound, strained by the injury on his vocal cords, but nonetheless was it loud and full.
“Well, it seems like skipping the debriefing was worth it then, was it not? Tell me a little about this Naruto person from your perspective in the morning Ichiro. I would love to know more about this, especially if this really turns into a Fixation. I have a feeling this will be very entertaining to watch.” The man smile, and this time Ichiro could feel a small shiver down his spine.
This right there was the smile Shikari wore whenever he plotted something. The smile he wore when he had managed to brutally destroy someone in their shogi games and when he was already so sure of victory. The smile he wore when he formed a strategy that guaranteed their clansmen to win the battle.
Ichiro was doomed, and this time he didn´t blame the alcohol.
He blamed Naruto.
.
Kozume was having a good day. He was having a good week, even.
Ever since their clan head had been found and retrieved safely, things were starting to go uphill again. The incident was covered up so that the news of their clan having been weakened for a short time wouldn´t come out and the compound had been on lockdown for a while, enough to give Lord Shirogane time to recover and get back to his duties.
Kane had been very busy during that time and made sure that the clan wouldn´t slack off just because Shirogane was back. Not that any of them had. All of the Hatake had been ecstatic at their clan heads return and put in all the more effort to make sure such things would never happen again. Shirogane was well liked by most, and those who didn´t like him at least greatly respected him as a clan head. It made recovering a lot easier than it could have been otherwise.
After the incident, Kozume once asked Kane what exactly he, Shirogane and Kitsune had talked about, since none of them had been there to hear. Kane explained that they had gained a tentative ally that they would support and gain help in various categories in exchange, but that he had no authority over giving away any more information about that talk unless it was specifically requested by Shirogane.
Kozume didn´t mind. In fact, he was very happy about it. The fact that they had an alliance together, no matter how tentative, meant that they were on good terms and that Kozume could see Kitsune again. The young Hatake adored the masked shinobi, not only for his skills, but also for the fact that he brought back their clan head. Kitsune had been nothing but kind and patient as his clansmen threatened him. Even after that, he had helped to the best of his abilities.
Kozume would have done the same, but he knew plenty of shinobi who would have immediately killed the ones who kept holding kunai to their throats despite being offered help. It made him a little sad to think about the fact that Kitsune had seemed so incredibly used to the hostility coming from Senjuro and Kane at the time. That he seemed genuinely kind despite being treated with suspicion and spoken harshly to.
He had told the story of that day to his friends, who then told the others. Ever since then Kitsune had been a very well-liked and highly respected person in the clan, despite no one ever having really met him safe for his group and Ren´s squad.
Currently, he was giving the report of his latest mission to Shirogane. There had been nothing out of the ordinary, only a messenger from the Inuzuka that he had run into. Lord Inuzuka Katsuo, current clan head of the Inuzuka, was asking after Shirogane´s wellbeing after his prolonged absence. The Inuzuka and the Hatake were close, but not close enough for Shirogane to disclose any kind of information about his latest whereabouts as well as their new development with Kitsune. So far, the clan had been ordered to keep tight-lipped about their alliance.
“Thank you, Kozume, I´ll make sure to send a reply in due time. Katsuo held out longer than I thought he would before sending a letter. I´m surprised he didn´t immediately send a messenger as soon as our clan went into temporary lockdown,” the clan head mused, taking the letter from the messenger into his hand and playing it on top of a pile of other important documents that he had yet to come back to.
“Understood.” Kozume inclined his head, waiting to be dismissed.
Shirogane sighed, not at Kozume but because of the work he had yet to catch up on, before giving the young Hatake a nod.
“Then, you´re dismissed –“
The faintest foreign chakra pulse had the clan head pausing before suddenly, a flare came from the right side of his desk.
Before either of the two or the guards in the room could react, a seal that was placed at the corner of the table lit up and almost instantly a flash shone through the room.
No one even had the time to blink before out of absolutely nowhere, someone appeared in the room in all his glory, lazily standing at the table where the seal was placed, and radiating an air of amusement.
Kozume, not having any time to recognize who that was, violently startled at the presence that appeared like a flash. He didn´t have his sword on him, but the kunai in his pouch was pulled out quickly and ready in his hand. The guards had taken a second to recover from whatever powerful chakra had so suddenly invaded the room and immediately surrounded the intruder, weapons drawn and pointed at whoever dared to come into the clan heads office like this. One guard stayed close to Shirogane, ready to defend his clan leader´s life.
Shirogane had stood up, body tense and braced for a fight. His chakra was flaring at the intruder, a heavy presence that would have brought any lesser shinobi immediately to their knees.
Whatever they had expected though, this wasn´t it.
There, surrounded by angry Hatake, calmly stood the man responsible for this reaction. His hands were in his pockets and his head tilted to the side, assessing the situation with an alarming indifference, like the lashing and angry chakra of Shirogane was nothing more than an annoying buzz to his sense.
With a gasp, Kozume realized who exactly stood in front of him.
The young Hatake found himself facing the familiar white fox mask with red details. Blue eyes glinted in amusement as they slid over the group before finally settling on Shirogane. There was a snort, and then –
“I probably should have announced myself.”
.
“I hadn´t realized that this worked the other way around as well,” Shirogane grumbled, still very much angry at the unannounced visit from Naruto.
Naruto shrugged, shifting from one leg to another. By now, they had calmed down after Shirogane gave them the order to stand down, for he was an ally. The guards had done so, albeit reluctantly, before realizing that this was Kitsune, the shinobi that rescued their clan heads live.
Kozume had been almost been vibrating in joy when he realized that Naruto was there, and had immediately started throwing question after question, asking how it was possible for Naruto to just suddenly appear here, eventhough no one had seen him enter the compound. How he just teleported here and if this was the work of that seal on the table.
Naruto was about to answer, but Shirogane had quickly dismissed Kozume, saying that whatever questions he had could be answered later. Kozume looked a little dejected, but Naruto shot him a wink and whispered a promise of a conversation later, which immediately made the grey haired seventeen-year-old brighten up. When he left the office, there was a light spring in his step that had Naruto chuckling in amusement.
The guards went back to their positions, though Naruto could feel their curious gazes and awed swirls in their chakra.
“This seal goes both ways, Lord Shirogane. While you can call me anytime by sending chakra through this, I´m also able to use this as an anchor to transport myself here.” Naruto explained, not minding the way the chakra signatures around him lit up in various kinds of reaction, all in a spectrum between awed, confused and suspicious.
Shirogane pinned him with a deadpan look, clearly conveying his words. “I would have been glad to have been told that tidbit of information in advance. I certainly would have kept that seal somewhere else had I known.”
Naruto at least had the decency to look a little sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck, “Right, I apologize for that.”
The silver haired man let out a long measured exhale at that, trying to contain a response, and waved him off. “That hardly matters now that you´re here. Next time, I want you to properly announce yourself in advance, unless you´re being called or unless it is an emergency.”
“That´s the issue,” Naruto chimed in, making Shirogane look up from where he was seated, “This is an emergency and I require help, and since I have no one else who could help me with this I came here.”
That had the clan head narrowing his eyes at the blonde. His posture straightened and dark eyes pinned Naruto´s cerulean one´s, searching for a lie or an exaggeration in any way, but once the man was sure that Naruto was being serious, his mood shifted accordingly. Naruto could feel Shirogane´s chakra harden in a sense and brace itself for whatever emergency might be plaguing Naruto.
The blonde, sensing the man´s slight distress, waved a hand in a placating gesture and leaked his own chakra, pushing against the growing mass that consisted of Shirogane´s white cackling chakra. Not having expected the resistance of that potent but also calm chakra, the Hatake startled and retreated a little.
“This is nothing life threatening, nor something that has to be dealt with right this second, so no need for that. It´s still an emergency, but no life-or-death situation.”
That had the man relaxing a little, even if his gaze was still calculating.
“I have a guess what this might be about then, but how about you enlighten me first.” Shirogane drawled, leaning back in his chair now that the first wave of worry had dispersed.
Naruto blinked, surprised, and tilted his head to the side with a small smile. “You do?”
The clan head shrugged. “It´s hardly a secret what you have been up to lately, Kitsune. The shinobi rumor mill is a powerful thing, which is why it didn´t take too long for me to figure out you were with the Uchiha.”
Some of the guards stiffened a little at the mention of the doujutsu possessing clan, and Naruto figured that there was some bad blood between these two. Shirogane himself felt nothing but wariness, no outright anger at the mention of the clan, so perhaps whatever it was, it was personal.
The blonde scoffed and shifted from one leg to another, scratching the back of his head. “No use beating around the bush then, is there? You were right, Lord Shirogane, this is exactly what I came to you about. However before I tell you, would you mind…?” His question trailed off and he let his gaze wander around the room, eyes pausing on the guards. His hand gestured in a motion that indicated wanting privacy, and Shirogane regarded him for a quiet moment before letting out a measured exhale.
“Hiro, you´re staying here. Everyone else, leave and make sure we will not be disturbed during this meeting. Should there be anything urgent, tell Kane to take over.” His voice was stern, but not unfriendly as he ordered his guards outside. Though Naruto could feel their uneasy and reluctant feelings, they obeyed immediately.
The guards, safe for the one that Naruto assumed to be Hiro, left the room and Naruto could feel their chakra signatures settle outside the door, guarding entry to the office. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked back at Shirogane, who was eyeing him with a somewhat blank and unreadable expression, before he sighed.
“Would you mind me setting up some privacy seals? Just to ease my mind.”
That request did have Shirogane narrowing his eyes and his chakra swirled in a slow build-up of emotions. It reminded Naruto that no matter what they agreed on, for now Naruto was still a stranger to them.
“I didn´t take you to be the paranoid type of person.”
That on the other hand made the blonde snort slightly, and he didn´t bother to even cover it up. “Well, being paranoid is kind of in the job description, don´t you think? I don´t usually make a fuss out of it, but I do enjoy the safety of privacy.”
He could tell by the amusement in both the chakra signatures that whatever tense atmosphere had started to build up was starting to lessen and Naruto was glad for that. He´d never been one for tense silences, really, and this situation as starting to make him twitchy. He´d never been good at talking to authority figures, especially not respectfully, so this was making him a little nervous, if nothing else.
Not that he´d ever admit that, though.
When Shirogane reluctantly approved, Naruto gave him a grateful nod and swiftly whipped out a few privacy seals out of his arm that he flung at the wall with a flick of his wrist. They stuck and glowed a light blue before the glow faded, leaving only what looked like scribbles to any non-seal master.
He could tell by the buzzing in their signatures that there were questions the two wanted to ask, but unlike Kozume, Shirogane and the stern looking guard Hiro were much better at keeping their curiosity at bay.
“Alright,” Naruto said, clapping his hands together and gaining the attention of the two Hatake in front of him, “Now that that´s done I should probably start with saying that I do not have any idea of how clan costumes work. The situations in which we met lord Shirogane were – well, unconventional is a rather fitting description for it, but otherwise I do not know how to approach clan heads in an official setting.”
“Really?” Shirogane interrupted very dryly, face pulled into an unimpressed expression, “I could hardly tell.”
Naruto rolled his eyes at the clear sarcasm and simply brushed over that comment. Teleporting into the office unannounced had not been his best idea, he admitted that. “What I am trying to say is that I was never part of a clan, therefore I have no idea how to do the whole clan costume thing. Which is a big issue, seeing that Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna have officially invited me to the Uchiha compound, the former to thank me in person for saving his brother´s and his cousin´s life. Additionally, they made it very clear that refusing the invitation is not an option. Therefore, I came to you in hopes of getting help.”
He finished his explanation a little breathlessly. Saying it openly like this and speaking it out loud somehow made the entire situation appear more real than it was before. He wasn´t nervous about meeting Madara per se, but Naruto simply didn´t know what to expect.
What does one expect when meeting the past not-yet-unhinged version of the psychopath that worked on resurrecting himself to submit the entire world into a genjutsu in the name of peace? It´s not like that is an everyday occurrence. There´s no real guide on how to really do that sort of interaction. And while Naruto was all for spontaneous and surprising situations and, frankly, had a knack for dealing with them very well, this seemed a bit over the top, even for him.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts he looked back at the pair of Hatake, slightly confused about the lack of answer.
Now that he was listening, the silence emitting from the two suddenly seemed very loud. The guard was looking at him in utter surprise, jaw slightly open. Shirogane on the other hand was looking at him like he grew one of Kurama´s fluffy tails.
“You – what you are saying is that the Uchiha Madara officially invited you? Because you saved Uchiha Izuna´s life? Is that right?” Shirogane had gotten up from his chair by now, leaning on the table with both of his hands flat on the surface. There was a sort of urgency in his tone that Naruto could relate to on a certain level. The man´s chakra was spiking in confusion and surprise, making Naruto shift again.
“That´s what I said, yes. And I need help, because I am extremely unprepared for an occasion like that. I need help, because I don´t want to accidentally start some sort of war by – I don´t know, insulting the Uchiha! This is a huge step towards the right direction, towards peace, and I intend to make the best of it!”
Naruto´s eyes shone with determination and where he had been slightly nervous before, he was now fully prepared. It wasn´t often that his uncertainness lasted long before being replaced by his fiery willpower and determination.
He held Shirogane´s gaze, neither letting up first, but whereas Naruto was simply resolute in his intentions, Shirogane seemed to be having troubles processing what Naruto just told him.
“Kitsune, you – “ The clan head let out a measured exhale, that wasn´t quite a groan but not a sigh either, more like a weird mixture between the two, and ran a hand through his silver strands.
“Listen, when you told me you worked towards peace, I thought it was nothing more than an idealistic fantasy. The wish of a not-yet-mature young man with no power to back it up. I humored you because you saved my life and because you showed a resolve I have only seen in leaders. Because I do not make a habit out of not repaying the debts I owe. But the fact that you have gotten yourself in the good graces of the Uchiha clan head by saving Izuna, someone who is incredibly hard to kill even without the backup of Madara, is incredible.
When I told you to show me your gratitude for our support through your actions, I will be honest in admitting that I did not expect to you bringing results this quickly.” Shirogane had walked around the table during his little speech by now and was now standing right in front of Naruto, eyes set right on the blonde, stormy grey clashing with cerulean blue.
Naruto tilted his head, not quite understanding yet, but Shirogane continued, “As much as I still find peace a very hard dream to believe and to place my faith in, I do admit that whatever it is that you do has an effect on people.”
Naruto regarded the man for a few seconds longer, but he could find nothing other than honesty in his words.
While the blonde already knew that this was a big deal, he hadn´t expected this kind of reaction from Shirogane. Apparently Madara was as much of a legend during this time as he was during Naruto´s own. Or maybe it was just unusual for clan heads in general to do something like this.
Naruto neither knew, nor did he care to know. What he did want to know, is whether or not he will have the support he needed for this.
“Does that mean you will help? That you will show me how to not accidentally start a hunt for my head?”
Shirogane huffed, more baffled than amused, and rubbed a hand against his temple as if to massage the oncoming headache that would be helping Naruto away. “Per our agreement I would have done it either way. I´m just quite honestly baffled at the fact that you managed this.”
And before Naruto could even respond to that, Shirogane turned to Hiro, who immediately straightened at the attention. “Send a summon for Arisu. Tell her that this matter is urgent but leave out the details until she reaches my office. Dismissed.”
The guard gave a short nod and moved to leave through the door. Naruto frowned, turning back to Shirogane. “Arisu?”
“She will be the one to guide you through the basic rules and costumes. When is the meeting?”
“In around four days.” Naruto admitted, turning slightly sheepish when Shirogane let out a sound between annoyed and frustrated.
“That´s – by far not enough time to prepare.” The clan head sighed before turning to Naruto with a sudden gleam in his eyes that told the blonde he would not like whatever came out of the man´s mouth next.
“Kitsune, you will stay the next few days in the guest rooms here in the compound. Arisu will take care of you and teach you as much as she can, so I hope for your sake that you are a fast learner.” When Naruto moved to protest, he held up a hand, effectively shutting him up long enough to finish his sentence, “This is non-negotiable. You wanted the Hatake clan´s support? This is it. Deal with it and make the best out of it. Arisu will arrive here shortly, after I debrief with her on the situation, you will get to learning immediately.”
Naruto huffed at the commanding tone, one that clearly came with being a clan head. Too bad for Shirogane however, he was not Naruto´s clan head, so the tone of voice had absolutely zero effect on him.
“With all due respect, I can´t just stay here until it´s time for me to go.”
Unimpressed, Shirogane raised a brow. “And why would that be?”
“I have a home, Lord Shirogane. Staying here would be…” uncomfortable, Naruto thinks, but doesn’t say out loud.
After having lived only with the company of the dead and with Kurama, staying around too many people for too long would be uncomfortable, especially for the night. During the day it was a different story. He was conscious and awake enough should anything happen, but during the night, Naruto didn´t think he could allow himself to rest surrounded by shinobi he didn´t know.
He hadn´t slept during the mission with the Uchiha either. And even before that, nightmares had kept him awake. If he were being honest, Naruto did want to finally sleep again, but doing so in the Hatake compound.
Naruto supposed that only if he were able to excessively plaster the room he was staying in with safety and barrier seals, then he might be able to rest.
But it wasn´t like he could explain that to Shirogane like this. His questionable sleeping habits were his own to deal with, and as much as Shirogane had jokingly told him he hadn´t pegged him for the paranoid type, after Kaguya, Naruto was careful and hyper aware of his surroundings every second of the day.
“Would be what?” The clan head challenged, either not sensing Naruto´s distress, or choosing to ignore it.
Before Naruto could give any sort of argument to make his point, the door opened and a woman stepped inside with wide and confident strides. Her long silver hair, a few shades lighter than Shirogane´s, was tied into a neat high bun with a dark blue ribbon, and the long robes that slid over the floor with each step matched in color. Her face was almost expressionless, except for her darkly painted lips that were set in a thin line.
Naruto could tell by her chakra that she was slightly shaken by whatever she had been told, which is why her stance seemed to hold so much urgency.
Her green eyes didn´t so much as glance in his direction and she immediately strode to Shirogane and stopping right in front of him.
“What happened?” Her tone was demanding and Naruto was pretty sure that she was no ordinary woman to be able to speak to the clan head like this. No greeting, no title, just a straight up question that came off more like a command than an actual question.
Naruto´s thoughts proved themselves to be true, because despite the situation they were in, Shirogane´s chakra seemingly cleared from all annoyance and uneasiness, and was immediately replaced by a strong surge of affection.
The clan head reached out, placing a hand on the woman´s, and squeezing it slightly in reassurance. Naruto´s eyes widened slightly at the gesture and he watched as the woman practically melted into the man´s touch, eyes softening when they met.
Being a sensor of this caliber, Naruto almost felt suffocated when he focused on the two of them.
“Arisu, love, I need your expertise on this matter. Please meet Kitsune, the one I told you about.” The man spoke, and this time his voice was gentle, like the day Naruto found him in the cave. This kind of voice was reserved for special people. Shirogane´s kin and his love apparently.
Only now, the woman turned to him, eyes calculating, but not cold or unkind.
“Kitsune, this is my wife, Lady Arisu. She will be the one to teach you.”
Naruto did his best to not choke on the word “wife”, because never would he have guesses that Shirogane was actually married. However, in order to not to accidentally offend her or her husband – he was still not processing that tidbit of information – he quickly tilted his head forwards in respect.
“It´s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Arisu. I´m Kitsune.” He said, because he really didn´t know what else to say.
Arisu regarded him for a moment before she tilts her head in a similar way that he does, only she made it look less endearing and much more elegant.
“You´re the one who saved my husband, yes?” Her voice was clear and strong, representing what Naruto could already tell to be a part of her personality. Her chakra was harsh, but not unkind, and he could already tell that she was a hard woman to sway. She had a resolve that some men could only dream of, and without even having spoken to her much, Naruto knew that this was a woman he could come to respect. In a way, her chakra reminded him of Konan´s, strong in love and will.
“Yes, that was me. Although I suppose it was a joint effort –“
“Raise your head, child.”
It took a second to process what she said, but when she did, Naruto immediately bristled. It´d been a while since someone had called him a child of all things, especially with a tone like that. It wasn´t necessarily condescending, but not really much of a compliment either.
Before Naruto could retort anything, he was once again interrupted – the Hatake in general seem to be making a habit out of interrupting him – by the woman´s voice.
“If that is true, then I owe you my gratitude. Thank you, Kitsune. I do not know what you might need help with, but as soon as I do, I will repay you for saving my husband´s life.”
Well that… had not been what Naruto was expecting.
His ears flushed slightly at the earnest tone in her voice and he spluttered a little, trying to find his words. The amusement in Shirogane´s chakra didn´t make it any better for him.
“Right, of course – I appreciate that.” Naruto answered, somewhat mumbling in response.
Once again, the woman turned her attention away from him and back to her husband. “Now dear, do tell me what was so urgent you had to send Hiro-kun to come get me.”
As Shirogane went off to explain the situation to her, Naruto sighed and let his shoulders drop a little. There was no use escaping this anymore, he was now set to learn clan costumes from the Hatake matriarch.
He´d never thought he´d land in this type of situation, but alas, in order to be the most unpredictable ninja, Naruto had to end up in the most unpredictable situations.