Facing Bad Tropes with Naruko-chan 3 (Patreon)

Facing Bad Tropes with Naruko-chan 3 - (Naruto AU, SI)

This was going to be a very interesting day for Naruko.

At least I could say this much as I knew that Saturdays were always difficult times for a ‘new entry’ to last long enough within the list of frequent customers during dinnertime.

That was not to say the girl was unprepared, especially since she had been rather obedient with the orders and never thought of going beyond what she was asked to do.

Naruko found delight in doing small things rather than being around the stove or the oven. It didn’t take too long that she got a grip over what her responsibilities were if she was to work in the kitchen, and what to not touch to avoid getting hurt.

What worried me was a specific group that was quite punctual to check the Pizzeria for dinner on this particular day of the week: the Hyuuga Clan- the upper family at that.

Clan Leader Hiashi, together with his wife and three daughters, was a respectable and longstanding client to my business.

I think he started to make this a habit of the family after he had gone to check it when he learned that the Uchiha Clan tended to visit this place once in a while. His ‘recon’ mission was supposedly ‘successful’ as he tended to bring his family for dinner to eat some basic pizza.

It was in this place that the usually stoic and strict Hiashi adopted a bit of a softer line towards his children… but I guess that already existed due to his youngest twin daughter, Himari.

Much to my surprise (and uttermost chagrin), I learned that Hinata had a twin sister and… she was a bit of a pest. From my understanding, Himari was the ‘Road to Ninja’ version of Hinata being granted canon status within this crazy world. Another red flag, but not the end of it when it comes to the Hyuuga Clan itself.

Hiashi was… a good person. His wife was alive despite her hardly having that grade of existence in the manga and barely in the anime. And his kids were a direct result of other tropes.

Himari was the bombastic tomboy brat that little sweet Hinata was not. Due to the parallels between the twin daughters and Hiashi and Hizashi, the Clan Leader had been harsher towards his daughter and softer towards Himari (which spoiled the brat a bit too much).

His wife acted as a counter to this to keep the situation ‘under check’ despite the fact she couldn’t help Hinata much due to her ‘Clan Heiress’ status being pushed upon the soft kid. Out of all of them, Hanabi was the one spared by the pressure as the tiny baby being held by Hyuuga Hanako herself.

The little thing was the youngest and yet, like Hinata, had been spared by the Caged Bird Seal because Minato had actually opposed the practice through a village-wide law prohibiting this sort of practice.

I didn’t hear much beyond the fact that the elders bitched about it and were promptly limited in power by Hiashi himself.

That didn’t mean they weren’t eager to meddle with what little traditional power they were left with, such as giving Hinata (someone that didn’t seem to have leadership potential) the role of clan heiress and raising tensions between the twins.

The Pizzeria was usually ground for some antics between Hinata and Himari, with the latter being the usual instigator as she would try to be bratty within my range of reach.

I couldn’t exactly scold her much, not without incurring the wrath of the Hyuuga clan, but I could swat her hand if she tried to reach for food by her sister’s plate, or try to use any of the sauces she wasn’t allowed to get for herself.

Himari would give me some of the most annoyed looks possible, whine about it with her father, but be surprised when she would get scolded in return by the man for ‘causing trouble’.

I think it was a sign of awareness on Hiashi’s part in regard to how Himari behaved- he may have spoiled her rotten, but the man wasn’t trying to spark competition between the two.

So, a feud existed between Hyuuga Himari and Bugarino Jonno.

Today, this was about to change as I had Naruko help me carry two plates while I took care of two more for the Hyuuga Family. While I wouldn’t usually favor customers over others, I had to add that the Hyuuga Clan was akin to the ‘Mafia Family’ in Konoha.

Their family, despite some irritation within the former lesser branch clan towards the ‘main branch’, was still united and forged by honor, respect, and ‘pecking order’ regarding ninjas and civilians. They were, obviously, taught to always be on top despite their previous and current roles within the clan. So, while I addressed the adults and provided them with their orders, Naruko took care of the girls' food.

Hinata’s eyes were suddenly plastered on Naruko… and her adorable panda-themed outfit. Cheeks flaring red, outright smiling at the girl and appearing outrageously smitten despite this being the first time meeting the fellow girl.

Himari was… not as ‘interested’ in Naruko as her sister, but definitely took notice of her.

“Who are you?”

Naruko paused, then glanced at her. “Bugarino Ruruko.”

It was a flat introduction, but I had a feeling Himari’s annoyed look was caused by something else.

“And?” Himari pressed, her father frowning while her mother rolling her eyes at it.

“Himari.”

The brat didn’t budge, and I just saw how this question was spreading on the table through the curious gazes of the family.

“Oh, apologies for not mentioning this but… Ruko-chan is my daughter.”

“She is quite cute, Jonno-san,” Hanako remarked politely, Hiashi nodding but held back words since he was more focused on his daughter’s reaction to this.

“She is not.”

I raised a frown at that. “Hm?”

“You- You are not married.”

“That’s correct-”

“So you can’t have children without being married.”

“That’s… not correct,” Hiashi broached quietly, gaining Himari’s stunned gaze. “It can happen, sometimes, that babies can happen between mere lovers.”

“And sometimes it can actually lead to the mother not being around after the birth. I will hold back my thoughts on details but… I suppose you understand the topic is not pleasant, Hiashi-san.”

The man nodded quickly, and while Himari looked ready to protest about it, it was her mother that put her to silence with a rather odd response.

“Himi-chan, there’s no reason for you to feel jealous of little Ruruko.”

This time it was Himari’s turn to blush a storm, her jaw dropping and her father frowning harshly at me for just a moment. But why at me?

“I-I am not- I am not jealous? I am just… just- Urgh!”

Weird, but for the sake of my sanity I didn’t indulge this interaction any further as we left the family to enjoy their dinner in peace. Naruko had gone through without being noticed as none of them had used their Byakugan to check her chakra.

It wasn’t exactly a behavior many of their clan members would adopt but… as I thought this was a weird paranoia to have, I noticed mid-serving other clients that little Hinata had, unconsciously, spied Naruko through the wall thanks to the Byakugan as the fellow girl was busy with her chores and…

Yeah, as sweet as she may be, stalker Hinata was actually both fandom and canon.

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AN

Next time, the ‘Childhood Arc’ is wrapped up as the Kyuubi is introduced, has a chat with Jonno and proceeds to be weird but instill a strange idea in poor Naruko as she struggles with the familial love she is subjected with.

Also, here’s future Hinata and Himari (Since I can’t get PixAi to get the eyes done right for their young chibi form…).