Followed
Hinata stared her cousin in the eye as she stood in front of the entrance with her friends. Neji glared back at her, "well, I'm waiting."
Hinata looked back at her friends for a moment, she didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell him that they were there for Naruto, could she? Just then Shikamaru stepped forward, "why does it matter to you what Hinata does in her own time?"
Neji's glare turned to Shikamaru, "frankly, I could care less. However, since I was asked by her father to watch her and bring her home today, I would like to know what's going on. She is not scheduled for a doctor's visit for a few more weeks." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that but let Neji continue, "as the future head of the Hyuuga clan, and a member of the Hyuuga clan, she should carry herself with dignity. Meaning that she isn't allowed to act in a way that will disgrace the clan."
"Then if you must know, we were here supporting our friend," Shikamaru said before stepping closer to Mia. He took Mia's hand in his to reassure her, she looked at him worriedly but said nothing.
Neji raised an eyebrow at him, "your friend?" He looked at the girl he was holding hands with, then he looked at Hinata for a long moment, "if that's the case, then you can invite your friends to dinner at the Hyuuga compound, tonight at six, sharp." With that, he turned around and walked away without saying another word.
Hinata turned to Shikamaru, "why'd you tell him that for?"
Shikamaru was staring in the direction that Neji walked off in, "because, Naruto is presumed to be dead, and Mia is a girl going through a difficult situation." His eyes meet with Hinata, "as her friends, shouldn't we be there for her during times like this?"
Hinata's eyes brightened, "oh, yes, of course." She got the idea, that didn't mean that she felt comfortable bringing Naruto to her clan's compound. "But we'll be going to the Hyuuga compound, they could see right through anyone if you give them a reason to."
Chouji nodded, "she has a point," he looked from Shikamaru and Hinata before his eyes landed on Naruto.
"I agree," Shikamaru sighed, "that's why this is going to be a little tough." he tightened his grip on Naruto's hand a little, "come on. We've got some things to think about."
Later that day
Shikamaru and the others went on about their day as planned. They went shopping for the twins, went to the movies to see a movie before they all went back to their hideout to find something to wear for their dinner invitation. Shikamaru wore a simple dark green polo shirt with khaki shorts, with a pair of his favorite green converses. Chouji wore a light orange polo shirt with khaki shorts and a pair of black converse. Hinata wore a simple, short-sleeved lavender sundress that came down past her knees with a pair of light brown sandals. Naruto dressed in one of the sundresses that Hinata got for him, he picked a pastel yellow dress without sleeves, the straps crisscrossed in the back. The dress came down to his ankles, he put on a pair of white sandals, he transformed into Mia and let Hinata fix his hair to be presentable.
Naruto was nervous about having dinner at the Hyuuga compound since their dojutsu could reveal that he was using a jutsu to hide his appearance. He wore a light summer cardigan to cover his arms, he hoped that it would also hide his stomach better so it wouldn't look like he was pregnant. He wouldn't might if they thought he was just a little chubby since they couldn't do anything about it. However, if it was found out that he was Naruto, and pregnant, during the dinner, he didn't know what he would do if they found that out. It made him even more nervous just thinking about it.
"Naru, try to relax, okay?" Hinata whispered as she finished with his hair. She pulled back his loose curly hair with some star-shaped hairpins that matched his dress.
"I know worrying about it isn't going to do anything for me, but..." Naruto let out a deep breath. "I can't help but try to keep my distance from others in the village. Especially the elders."
Hinata placed her hands on Naruto's shoulders, "if they try anything, we'll be right there. I promise." Naruto looked up at Hinata's reflection in the bathroom mirror as she spoke, he nodded his head slowly, but he was still worried. Hinata turned Naruto around to face her, she gave him a small smile, "did you know, you don't even sound like yourself when you look like Mia?"
"Really?" Naruto asked curiously, he thought he still sounded like himself. He smiled a little, "well, maybe that might work in my favor."
Hinata nodded her head and took his hand before they left the bathroom. They made their way downstairs to meet Shikamaru and Chouji, the group soon left the house to walk over to the Hyuuga compound for dinner. For the whole walk, Shikamaru reminded them to act like it was a normal dinner invitation. They knew that they had to act as if they didn't know that Mia was actually Naruto, and they had to back up their story about how Mia entered the village just in case. By the time they all got the gates of the compound, the sun was getting ready to go down, the guards and one of the side branch members greeted them before they were led inside.
The first step into the compound was the Hyuuga clan's head office. Hiashi meets them at the door and lets them enter their office, the group of four took a seat in front of Hiashi's desk. A long silence fell over the room as Hiashi looked over the so-called friends that his daughter seemed to have made. "Hm, Hinata, who are these children you have brought with you? I thought I asked Neji to invite you and your friend to dinner, not a small crowd." Hiashi folded his arms in front of him, he didn't like surprises, so it was clear to see that he didn't like the extra two bodies who were sitting in his office at the moment.
Hinata took in a deep breath and let out a sigh, "I did get the invitation from Neji-nii. As you can see, I did bring my friends along with me since that is what I assumed you were asking of me."
Hiashi's frown deepened, "I see. So i am correct in assuming that you have alined yourself with these two boys as well." Hinata looked her father in the eye, which surprised him, and nodded her head. Hiashi didn't know what it was that he saw in his daughter at that moment, but he knew that it wasn't the girl he was used to. He hasn't bothered to pay her too much attention for some time now, he spends even less time with her now that he started training Hanabi. If he had, would he have noticed the time when she had started gaining more of her newfound confidence?
Hiashi also noticed her posture and dress. He was used to seeing Hinata wearing her training clothes or her jacket with the clan symbols on it, he couldn't remember the last time he had ever seen her dress the way she was today. In fact, he couldn't ever remember a time when she ever wore a dress like this, it complemented her well in his opinion. "Hm, she does seem to have grown up a little bit, I wonder what caused this change in her," his eyes fell on the two boys that came with her, "could it be that she's trying to impress one of them?" Hiashi didn't like that train of thought at all, he was hoping that he, whenever the time came, would share in the experience of his daughter finding a potential partner.
Now that he was pressed with this line of thought, his mood soared. "Hinata, tell me, why have you decided to dress like this for dinner when it's not unusual for you to be more...modest," Hiashi asked.
Hinata looked down at her lavender sundress, it was plain, and went down to her knees. Her arms were covered, so was her back, and chest, with that, said, she didn't see what he could be concerned about. "What do you me, Oto-san?" Hinata asked innocently.
Hiashi sighed, "she's also not calling me 'Oto-sama' like she used to. Something is definitely wrong here," he cleared his throat just then as he decided to change the subject a bit. "Nevermind, why don't you tell me about your friends here?"
Hinata nodded, "yes," she gestured to her left where Shikamaru was sitting, "as you know, this is Shikamaru Nara, the heir to the Nara clan. He has proven himself to be quite smart, however, he dislikes showing off his knowledge most of the time." Shikamaru bowed his head to Hiashi while Hinata turned to her right where Chouji and Mia were seated. She started with Chouji first, "this is Chouji Akimichi, the heir to the Akimichi clan, he is a very skilled cook in my opinion. He seems to have the talents of those of his elder clan members, and he also enjoys cooking lunch and dinner whenever we are all hanging out together. His food is very good," she explained with a smile, "which is also why I don't always eat dinner here,"
Hiashi raised a brow at that information, he did notice that Hinata's place at the dinner table has fallen empty a lot recently. He thought that it was because she was trying to train herself so she could prove her worth to him. Yet, that no longer seems to be the case, he narrowed his eyes at the Akimichi who didn't seem to be too fazed by the look he was receiving. He gave up on glaring at the chubby boy for a moment as his attention turned to the last member of Hinata's little group.
She was a beautiful young girl that looked to be maybe a year younger than Hinata and her two friends. Her curly honey-colored hair looked to be silky smooth and stood out amongst all the different hair colors he's seen before. At least in this village. Her eyes were a sparkling emerald green that shinned even in the slightly dimmer lighting of his office, and her freckled skin was pale like a doll. "Who is this young lady?" He asked curiously, he knows for a fact that he had not seen anyone who resembled her features walking around the village recently, so he couldn't say if she was a part of a clan or not. By her age, he assumed that she was probably in school, probably at the academy because he could sense chakra coming off of her.
Hinata cleared her throat as she turned to Mia, "this is my best friend, Mia. She recently started going to the academy a couple of months ago with her older brother and sister. We became fast friends."
Hiashi stared at Mia for a long while, he felt like she was familiar but also unfamiliar at the same time. He was curious to know more about her, "Mia, are you the same one that went to the children's center for a doctor's visit with my daughter today?"
Hiashi's tone was strong and demanding, it made the freckled girl shrink back a bit, "y-y-yes?" She stuttered out nervously, she couldn't help but look down at her lap. Hiashi's gaze was a bit much for her, the way he was looking at her brought back memories of the villager's stares. Harsh, judgemental, overwhelming. It was getting to be a little too much for her as her eyes started to water. Hinata quickly placed a hand on Mia's shoulder, sensing her fear.
The action seemed to calm her down a bit, she lifted her eyes up to see Hinata and gave her a small smile. Hinata smiled back at her before sharpening her eyes at her father. Shikamaru and Chouji both seemed to be giving Hiashi the same look of dislike, though their thoughts never reached their mouths. "They seem to be pretty protective of this Mia girl, I wonder what her background is," Hiashi thought, "I will have to send someone out to look into her more later."
Just then a knock came at the door, "who is it?" Hiashi called out.
The door slides open enough for one of the side branch members to be seen bowing down in front of the door. "Hiashi-sama, dinner is now ready and waiting in the dining hall," they said.
"Hn, very well, I will escort my guest their shortly," Hiashi replied. The branch member nodded their head once before closing the door and leaving them alone once more. Hiashi sighed, he wished that he had a little more time to talk with Hinata, but he figured that he would have more than enough time. They were going to have dinner together, and there was still after dinner to look forward to now. With that thought in mind, Hiashi got to his feet and started for the door, "come along, before dinner gets cold."
Hinata and the others got up as Hiashi made his way over to the door, Hinata made sure to help Mia to her feet. This did not go unnoticed by the clan head who observed them while they walked. It was a silent journey from the office to the dining area where they would be eating. On their way there, Mia kept her head down, refusing to look at anything other than the ground and Hinata's hand as they walked. Hinata was not about to let go of Mia's hand after their time in her father's office, it made her feel a little defensive with the way her father looked at Mia as if she might be a problem.
When Hiashi arrived at the dining area, he was greeted by his youngest daughter, Hanabi. The little girl came over to her with a big smile, "hello, Oto-sama, how are you this evening?" She asked sweetly, not even noticing the other people he had with him.
"I am doing well, my dear, did you finish your training for the evening?" Hiashi answered, he stepped aside to reveal his guest, Hanabi's eyes instantly went to Hinata. The two sisters stared at each other for what felt like years, Hanabi was no longer smiling at that point. "Hanabi, these are your sister's friends, they will be joining us for dinner tonight."
Hanabi's eyes left her sister for a moment to look at the people who were with her. "Oh, hello," she stepped out of their way, "thank you for joining us."
Shikamaru nodded his head, "our pleasure," he said as politely as he could. The group found their seats near the head of the table, Hinata was instructed to sit next to her father on his left, while her sister sat across the table from here. Chouji and Shikamaru were instructed to sit in the seats next to Hanabi, while Hinata had Mia sit next to her. Hinata's grandfather was seated at the other end of the table, while the side branch members acted as servants and catered their food.
At that moment, Mia was just trying to get through dinner without breaking down. The atmosphere was much too tense than what she was used to when it was only her and her friends having dinner. Instead of calm and relaxing, she was surrounded by formal and stiff. She wished that dinner would end soon, which was a first since she usually looked forward to eating good food. And what the Hyuuga had served up did look rather delicious, yet, the tension around her made it a little hard to enjoy.
Somehow, dinner went by quickly without anyone saying much of anything to each other. Once they were done, the plates were taken away and they were left alone. Hiashi's father made some small talk with Hinata about her progress in her training, to which Hinata replied that it was going well. He did the same thing with Hanabi, then he addressed Hinata's new friends. "While I am happy that my eldest granddaughter was able to make friends, I do hope that they will not disrupt your focus on your training." After that, he got up and excused himself from the table, leaving Hiashi alone with his two daughters and company.
"Well, it is getting late soon," Hiashi started as he got up from the table, "Hinata, make sure you show your friends out courteously." He turned to Hanabi, "and you make sure to go to bed early, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Yes, Oto-sama," Hanabi replied. Hiashi nodded his head and left the dining area. Now that the two sisters were somewhat alone together, Hanabi went back to staring at her sister. "What are you doing here?"
Hinata didn't shy away from the question as she used to, "father invited me to come to dinner with my friends, so I did."
Hanabi shook her head, "no, that's not what I mean. Why are you here now? Where have you been for the last few months?"
Hinata sighed, "I've been training with my friends. Now, if that's all, we're leaving," she got up and started to help Mia to her feet when Hanabi jumped to hers.
"I'm not done!" Hanabi said in a rush, she looked angrily at her sister. "Why aren't you training?"
Hinata rolled her eyes, "I just told you that I was."
"With me!" Hanabi said folding her arms in front of her chest. She had all the makings of a temper tantrum that Hinata did not want to be a part of, so she turned away and started for the door with Mia.
Shikamaru sighed, "troublesome," he got to his feet and followed Hinata and Mia with Chouji right behind him. Before they left the room, Shikamaru looked back to see Hanabi glaring at their backs. "Hey, kid, I don't know what's going on between you and your sister, but maybe you should consider calming down a bit and ask yourself that same question. If you still can't find the answer, then you can come to find us at Uzu park tomorrow evening." With that, Shikamaru left the room, leaving Hanabi to think about what he said.
Outside
Naruto breathe a sigh of relief once they made it out of sight of the compound, "finally, I feel like I can breathe again!" He put his hands on his lower back and stretched, his back ached a lot since he was trying to sit upright and act classy around Hiashi. But instead, he felt even more tired than before, he didn't think he could be more stressed than at that moment.
Chouji patted his back to cheer him up, "well, at least it's over now."
Naruto sighed tiredly, "I know, but now we have even more stuff to put away when we get back." He yawned, "all I want to do is take a warm bath and go to sleep."
"Then should we just have another sleepover tonight?" Hinata asked, "it was so much fun last time, wasn't it."
Naruto turned to her excitedly, "that does sound like a good idea." He paused, "but don't you have to go back soon?"
Hinata shrugged her shoulders then linked her arm around Naruto's arm, "yeah, but I really don't want to."
Shikamaru put his hand up to his mouth as he yawned, "I also don't feel like walking home. The house is pretty far away from most of the clan residential district, so I wouldn't mind another sleepover tonight."
"Same here," Chouji agreed.
Naruto chuckled, "it almost feels like you guys were thinking about staying over all along. I don't mind though, it feel better to have company around than to be there all alone."
"That's right!" Hinata cheered, "and we'll have even more fun tonight, we can continue that series we started yesterday, play more games. And tomorrow we're going to the park for some light training." She turned and smirked at Shikamaru, "I can pay you back for letting Hanabi know where I would be."
Shikamaru sighed, "yeah, okay, so it's completely up to her if she comes. Second, whatever you do, try not to stop my heart with your palms. Thanks."
Hinata chuckled, "that all depends on tomorrow," Shikamaru rolled his eyes at her reply but kept quiet.
When they got home that night, Naruto and Hinata went upstairs. Naruto let Hinata take her bath first while he got started on putting away the rest of the baby clothes they bought for the twins today. He held up one of the onesies that said 'daddy's little ninja' on it, he looked at it for a moment before the tears started to fall. He wasn't completely sure why he was crying right now, but this had not been the first time, every time he was left alone, he would start crying over something. Dr. Filo did say that this was normal for a pregnant person, but he wished he didn't lose control of his emotions so easily these days.
"Hey, Naru, do you want some-uh," Shikamaru walked into the room and stopped when he saw Naruto holding one of the onesies and crying. "Um," he started to back away slowly to get Hinata, but it was too late."
"Shikamaru, do you think I'll be a good dad?" He asked through his tears, before the Nara could answer, Naruto had him in a tight hold that gave little hope of escaping. "I'm not fit to be a dad right now, I'm too young! There are so many things I didn't get to do yet, I don't even know HOW to be a dad!" He started crying harder into Shikamaru's shoulder.
All Shikamaru could do at that moment was stand there and try to calm Naruto down the best he could. But he was way out of his element here. "Uh, yeah, of course, you'll be a good dad, you'll be a great dad Naruto. You don't have to know how to be a dad from the start to just be one." At this point, Shikamaru was just repeating some of the things that he either heard from his mom and her friends, or from something he read at some point. Either way, he had no clue if he was helping the situation of making it worse because Naruto kept on crying. "Um, you know what Naru, you don't even have to worry about all of that because we'll be right here with you the whole time. We made a promise, didn't we?"
"We did..." Naruto looked up at the Nara's face, his eyes were red and puffy and his nose was starting to run.
Shikamaru nodded his head, "yeah, what kind of uncle would I be if I didn't make sure my little niece and nephew were happy and healthy?" That seemed to put a smile on Naruto's face, but it didn't stop the tears. Shikamaru looked back at the door hoping that one of the others would walk by to help, but when he looked at the door, he saw both Hinata and Chouji handing behind the door frame. They were peeking into the room as if they were trying to find something to gossip about. Hinata even had the guts to take a picture of the moment.
That was when Shikamaru knew that he would not hold back during their spar tomorrow.
The rest of the night was relatively tear-free and quiet. After Naruto calmed down a bit more, everyone finished getting ready for bed. They all headed downstairs to the living with tones of blankets, Shikamaru's laptop, and lots of healthy-ish snacks. They spent the remainder of their night snacking, playing games, and watching movies before they all fell fast asleep in a sea of blankets of warmth.
That following morning was the last day of their weekend. Even though they woke up late yesterday and had a lot of other things they did, on a typical weekend, they would gather in the empty area of the park to train. Chouji, Hinata, and Shikamaru would have a spar with each other while Naruto judged on the sidelines since he couldn't afford to be so serious. But while the other three were off practicing their taijutsu and such on each other, they would give Naruto jutsu scrolls to read so he wouldn't get bored. None of which were clan secrets, but were still helpful enough to get him excited to start training after giving birth.
Currently, it was around eleven o'clock when Shikamaru and Hinata decided to have their sparring match. Chouji sat on the side with Naruto to watch and call the match when there was a clear winner. Naruto could tell by the looks in their eyes that today's match might be a little more intense than usual. The tension between them could be seen before their fight as as they stared at each other, in the blink of an eye, they started.
Hinata got into a loose form of the Hyuuga fighting stance before taking off towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru did the same thing, getting into his own clan's fighting style before charging off towards Hinata. The two clashed in the center of the Shikamaru tried to dodge most of Hinata's hits while Hinata tried her best to land her attacks. Naruto watch the two of them go at it for a while, he knew that it would be a while before those two stopped, so he went back to reading his scroll while his friends spared. Chouji was eating chips next to him without a care in the world.
The weather was perfect. The wind was blowing gently, the sun wasn't too hot, Naruto was sure that there wasn't anything that could ruin their day right now.
That was when someone approached them. Naruto only noticed when their shadow blocked the light from the sun over the scroll he was reading. When he looked up to see who was there, he saw an older, slightly tanned version of Shikamaru standing before him, but he wasn't alone. He looked over to the other two men that came with him, one of them looked like Chouji, and the other looked a lot like Ino if she was male. Naruto pushed some of his hair behind his head just to check that his transformation was still in place, "um...may I help you?" He asked casually reminding himself that he was Mia right now since he didn't expect anyone to bother them like usual.
Shikaku looked over to where his son and Hinata were sparing, before turning back to look down at Chouji and the girl he was sitting next to. "Hey, Chouji, what a coincidence running into you guys here," Shikaku said with a small yawn. He had spent most of the night up with his friends watching the house that his son and friends seemed to be staying in. He thought it was a bit odd that his son would go into the abandoned section of the village to a sleepover, but he didn't really get much time to talk to his son these days. It was mostly because of the distance that had grown between them since that night.
"Is it?" Chouji asked through a mouthful of chips. He was acting nonchalant as he spoke, he didn't feel comfortable with his father and his friends being so close to Naruto. They were smart, Shikaku especially, so they had to be careful.
The sound of his father's voice caught Shikamaru's attention, he blocked another hit from Hinata before looking over to see his father and his friends. "Hinata," he nodded his head towards his father making her stop and look. The two shared a look before making their way over to them, "hey, dad, what are you guys doing here?"
Shikaku yawned again, "me? I was just wondering when my son was going to come back home, that's all."
Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders as he took a seat on Mia's other side. "Is that so? I guess I must have lost track of time while hanging out with my friends."
Choza chuckled, "looks like the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree," Inoichi stated.
"Seems like Shikamaru's entering that rebellious stage you were worried about, Shikaku," Choza comment to Shikaku's annoyance.
"Yeah, I can see as many guys, thanks for noticing," Shikaku replied. He sighed, "well," he looked back down at the kids gathered in front of him. His eye drifted to the girl seated carefully between Chouji and Shikamaru with Hinata standing behind her. "Is this girl really that important? I wonder when they started hanging out in earnest." He thought, "hm, so, who's your friend, son?"
Shikamaru glanced at Mia for a moment, "Mia...we're classmates and close friends." He looked back up to his dad, "what more is there to say?"
Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "oh, then I guess you wouldn't mind inviting her to dinner tomorrow night, right?" He asked before looking at the girl, Mia, "that is if you're not too busy then."
Shikamaru clicked his teeth, "we'll have to see, but I make no promises."
Shikaku nodded, "that's fine. Just make sure to at least try to come by. I'm sure your mother would love to have a look at your new friends." With that, he turned and walked away with his friends in tow.
As they walked away, Inoichi couldn't help but look back at the kids for a moment, "do you think they're hiding something?" He asked as he turned to his friends.
"Who knows," Chouza said nonchalantly, "aren't all kids hiding something or another? I mean, I can't know what it is that they are trying to hide, but it can't be as bad as we thought, right?"
"Right, maybe Shikamaru just doesn't want to admit that he found a girlfriend or something." Inoichi started, "I mean, did you see the one he was sitting next to? She's quite the looker for her age. She's probably didn't want his dear old dad to know that they were dating so he didn't get embarrassed."
Shikaku rolled his eyes, "as if," he said with a frown. "Still, could that be it? I mean, when I looked down at her, she subconsciously covered her stomach. I wonder what that was about."
Meanwhile, Shikamaru sighed tiredly, there wasn't any reason for him to think that his father had any real bad intentions in mind for them. He did stay out for about two might in a row this time, so of course, his parents would worry. Then again, he was on the fence about bringing Naruto to his house, even if he had a disguise on. Then again, he's noticed that they have all become more protective over Naruto, keeping his real identity secret, worrying about him every time they go outside. "Guys, I think we should try relaxing a bit around Naruto."
Hinata looked down at Shikamaru, "what do you mean by that?"
Shikamaru shrugged, "just try to act a little more natural whenever we're around. We seem a little paranoid whenever we crowd around him like this." He stated, "this formation is typical of a Kage traveling to a foreign country to be a dignitary."
Naruto frowned, "I guess that makes some sense. What's the point of a disguise if we're acting suspiciously at the same time."
"Exactly." Shikamaru stood up and turned to his friends, "let's call it for the day. We can head back home, for now, we'll have lunch and then study a bit." The others agreed, Chouji helped Naruto to his feet while Hinata gathered their stuff before they left the park. As they were leaving, Shikamaru noticed that Hanabi was standing off in the distance in view of their training area. Since academy students aren't ninjas yet, they were not allowed to use any of the training grounds, so they had to make do with the open area of the park. She didn't seem to want to come near them, so she only watched from afar as they made their way out of the park.
"So she did come after all." Shikamaru paused for a moment to look over in her direction, when she noticed he was looking her way, she turned away from his gaze. He watched Hanabi walk away for a second with a frown on his face, "guess she's not ready."
Hinata looked back when she noticed that Hinata stopped walking, "you okay, Shika?"
Shikamaru nodded, "yeah."
To be continued...