Konoha no Hana: Ch1

A/N: Pictures that will help illustrate the appearance of the characters will soon be put in a separate entry,provided together with certain information - such as a glossary of the techniques each characters possesses.Yeah...I let my imagination run wild.Sue me! Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto;if I did,Sakura was long since dead. "Hina-oba!" a young girl,no older than five,with wavy brown locks and mesmerizing,lavender eyes,beamed up at the current head of the Hyuuga. "Hikari-chan." Hinata greeted,crouching and lifting the girl with ease into her arms.Her casual,purple blouse' sleeves danced in the wind,as she easily walked towards the house of her nii-san.Milky feet were covered by low-heeled sandals,as black capris were covering her legs down to her knees;long,long inky locks were pulled back into a low ponytail. "How was your day,auntie?" little Hikari smiled,snuggling close into the woman's chest.She wore a light lavender sundress,meaning that her training must've finished sometime ago;the little bundle of energy was a true prodigy,mastering various weapons at a tender age,and having a hell of a left hook - but then again,she is the daughter of no other than Neji Hyuuga and Konoha's Weapon Mistress. "It was fine,Hi-chan.I was busy with some meetings,though,so I apologize for not coming to see you train today." Hinata answered kindly,as she entered the hall of the cozy cottage her cousin resided in.He and TenTen had moved out of the compound once she took the power;one of the many changes the reign of the first female head of the Hyuuga had brought. She put Hikari down,and changed into her very own pair of slippers - she came here so often,TenTen just bought one for her.Then,she rounded the corner,entering the rather large kitchen;schemes of beige and brown greeted her,along with the sight of her sister-in-law.The weapon mistress sported a red apron,stained by some sauce,over her white blouse and violet pants;she was barefoot,too.Hinata smiled,"You're going to catch a cold,nee-san" . Tenten whirled around,smiling brightly."Welcome home,Hina!And colds,who cares about them?" she laughed merrily,greeting her best friend.The matriarch chuckled,as Hikari smiled at them both - the bubbly girl had claimed her spot on the counter,and now her bare feet were dangling off of the side of the wooden surface.Hinata almost rolled her eyes at the simmilarities between mother and daughter."Well,don't just stand there!Grab an apron and a knife and help me with the meat.Hana and Neji will soon be home~""Hai hai,nee-san." Sasuke dodged the kunai thrown at him with ease.His arm sparked,covered in lightning."Chidori." he simply announced out of habbit,striking down his opponents with a semi-arc of blinding light.Back to back with him,Karin striked down enemies of her own by firing a large mass of fire.Suigetsu was busy slicing down some rogues,too;Juugo was assisting him. "Frozen hell." Karin muttered,firing one more Katon. "Can't wait to get home." Sasuke agreed.After she freed herself from Konoha's prison and came to hunt him down,only to stay by his side again,he began to actually care for the redhead.Sure,she reminded him of Naruto sometimes,but... As a teammate,she wasn't bad either.Strong,proeficient in medical jutsu - and as of lately,a fire-jutsu sage.It wasn't like he romantically felt for the oddball,but he viewed her as someone whom she could trust;in return,she gave him a second chance after all what he done,and went as far as forgiving him.And since the Hyuuga matriarch had put the seals on the four of them,she bonded them,too - the four of them were a close clique. Karin's senbon flied trough the air,making a hidden nin drop dead to the ground."Be more careful,Sasuke,or Naruto will have my head for letting you die." she mock-glared,as they finished off the guards.She advanced,after hearing his familiar grunt,and cut open with a chakra blade the case of the item they were here for;expert fingers extracted a scroll,which she immediately placed in her weapon pouch."Alright.Now,we can go home." she smiled,firing an explosive kunai towards the ceilling of the building.The quatret made their exit,and she made sure the place will burn down to ashes,as instructed. The Sixth Hokage rubbed the bridge of his nose,as the meeting of today ended.Needless to say,Naruto felt tired.Very tired.He wanted nothing more than to go home to his wife.He smiled."Sakura-chan..." he trailed off,looking at the picture of his beloved;while she no longer held the title of the best medic-nin,she was still one of the strongest kunoichi - and one of the Second Sannin,closely following Tsunade's legacy.Speaking of the devil... "Naruto,I swear sometimes I feel like I should grab back my position as a Kage." the blond woman muttered,earning a chuckle from the remaining people. "Oh shut it,Obaa-san!You're an elder,and an advisor.You're too prized to be let out with the wolves.I don't want your death on my conscience." the equally blond Kage replied. "That's true,Tsunade-sama.You are a valued member of our personnel." Ino replied,from her seat next to Shikamaru.Sai,Naruto's assistant,nodded.Tsunade sighed. "Kids those days..." she muttered;although she looked like a "youngling" choosing over the years to youngen her appearance some more,she was still the only true elder in the advising council;the other was Shikamaru,who albeit felt like an old man,wasn't near one in age.Naruto chuckled. "We love you too,Baa-chan." he simply stated,as he stretched."But now y'all need to go home;it's late and people are waiting for us." he added,smiling,as he made a shoo motion with his left hand.All of the people present bowed,and began to walk towards the door.All but two. Neji will never understand why the blond had rejected his cousin in favor of the crazy pinkette;Hinata was obviously better from every single perspective.He still held some resentment towards the blonde,albeit they were on friendly terms.Assigned by the head of his clan,he represented her as much as possible when matters included the Kage.Hinata was obviously rather distant,not wanting to be in the presence of the dolt.And Neji perfectly understood her. Since her accomplishments during the war,Hiashi had deemed his eldest as a brillant kunoichi - his only regret being he wasn't the one to help her rise.It was to no one's surprise when he chose to retire in the Land of Rice Paddies and leave the clan in Hinata's hands;people were surprised,though,when she made major changes to the otherwise traditional clan.She united the two branches,using a special fūinjutsu-based technique to remove the seals the Branch members used to bear.She probably did it so Hanabi won't have to bear the shame,but who is he to judge his superior's actions? They were all amazed,though,when she also broke the elder council,replacing it with Commanders.He and Hanabi were picked for the job,becoming Hinata's direct assistants and bodyguards.No one chose to comment anything or stand in her path when she took those decisions,as she broke a wall with a flick of her finger to get her point across.Naruto had happily put his stamp on the documents she had made,and actually received a genuine smile from her for it. Hanabi,however,wasn't too fond of the Kage.While in other times she would have gone as far as considering him a big brother - he reminded her of Konohamaru,so she was willing to accept his idiocy around her - ,she came to antagonize him after his decision to marry Sakura without even properly rejecting her sister made Hinata change.While her nee-san was still the everlasting kind and warm person,she also caught a rough,bitter edge;and while Hanabi agrees it helped her become the famous nin she is today,it doesn't mean she likes it. "Neji,Hanabi,please give this scroll to Hinata." Naruto smiled,throwing with ease a small,black scroll. "A mission?" Hiashi's eldest inquired.Naruto nodded. "Nothing too bad - an escort appointment,hardly a B rank.Baa-chan recommended Hinata,so..." he trailed off.Hanabi stiffly nodded,as Neji left the room trough the window.She moved after him,sitting on the railing of the now slided pane. "Roger that.Oh,and Naruto?It's Hinata-san to you." Naruto's blue eyes widened,as he stared at the now empty spot;memories came crashing in,as he teleported home. Neji and Hanabi entered the former's residence."Tadaima!" he called,as they changed into house slippers.The smell of food-in-the making touched their nostrils,and they followed it to the kitchen;the sight of Hikari laying sprawled on the counter greeted them first,with Hinata laying the table following shortly after. "Okaeri." the matriarch smiled gently,putting away the white apron she donned in order to hug her little sister and cousin. "Tousan!" Hikari beamed,jumping directly into Neji's outstretched arms.TenTen smiled at the two,as she turned off the stove.Hinata,who meanwhile was done with her quick hugs,helped her set the food in the dishes she already laid.Once they were all set,and the meal began,Hinata looked up from her plate. "What did the Hokage require us for?" she inquired,blinking slowly,between a bite and the other.Neji shrugged. "Just an informational meeting,nothing too big.Apparently something fishy is going on in Hoshigakure,but nothing threatening,for now atleast.""And he has a scroll for you,too.Apparently an escort mission." Hanabi added,handing her said object.Hinata curiously unfolded it,her smile becoming a frown as she continued reading. "What is it?" TenTen asked,tilting her head. "...I am supposed to escort Naruto to Suna,together with Kiba,Sasuke and Karin." Ino sighed,walking out of the shower.She plopped down on the couch next to Shikamaru,shrugging on a shirt of his,without bothering to put on a pair of pants. "You know,I'm going to soon have to walk around shirtless." the genius commented,mock-glaring at his girlfriend.She playfully slapped his arm in response. "Like you'd mind it!Dressing is too troublesome for you anyway." she retored,and he smirked.They digged in their burgers,and soon enough she was cuddling into his side.Shikamaru threw a blanket over them both,and used his shadow to reach the switcher and turn off the lights.The TV was now dimly lighting his livingroom,some sort of drama show unfolding on the screen."Ne,Shika?""Hm?""Think Hinata will be alright?" the blonde asked,obviously concerned;during the years,the two became rather good friends.Shikamaru smiled,as much as he does - the corners of his mouth took an upturn. "She'll do just fine.There's nothing she can't handle.She proven it plenty of times,ever since she kept getting up in front of Neji,until she stood up and fought against Pein and when finally,she made a hole in a wall with a snap of her thumbs." he simply replied,pulling Ino closer.She laughed. "That is not what I mean,but I'm glad to see you chatty!" she smirked,mirth in her eyes."I meant,do you think...she will take this well?Being near Naruto,considering their history?""No,I don't.She'll be uncomfortable,but atleast she got the other three to make the discomfort pass.Plus,once arrived in Suna,Temari will take care of brightening her day for sure.""Well,if that doesn't work,I'm sure she'll break Naruto's nose by 'accident' to make Hime smile,anyway." Ino completed his thoughts with a chuckle.Shikamaru had to agree. Prologue