Swirling Chaos Ch. 8 (Naruto) (Patreon)

A/N: In which Naruto puts his big new plan into action!

-x-X-x-

It’s a hairbrained idea and Naruto knows it. But then, all of his best ideas in both timelines have been hairbrained ideas! He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t listen to that voice in his head spouting dumb plans at least SOME of the time. And no, the voice in his head wasn’t Kurama. No, if she were here, she’d probably have her own opinion on what he was currently thinking about doing.

But she wasn’t. As close as they were, this was the most freedom Naruto could offer her. She was still technically bound to him, and still technically locked away inside of the seal. However, he could still manifest a body for her like this and then they could both close off the connection on their end so that they could focus on what was happening irrespective of each other.

That all said, Kurama wasn’t there to give her opinion on his latest big dumb idea. Which meant Naruto was just going to go through with it, and he’d ask her for her opinion later!

“Hey, Hanabi…”

Blinking, the young kunoichi looks at him.

“Let’s have another spar while Iruka is grading my test, yeah?”

Hanabi frowns at that, glancing down at his hands, which had so easily caught her wrists. She all but glares at them for a moment before scowling.

“… What would be the point?”

Naruto flashes a cheery grin.

“Oh come on! Humor me! Just one more spar, what’s the harm in it?”

And then, because she clearly needs a push of some sort, Naruto invades her personal space and flicks her in the forehead before she can even blink. Hanabi squawks, her hands coming up to cover her forehead belatedly as she looks at him, indignation along with a flush flooding her face. Naruto just grins… and then lets out a whoop as she attacks.

Laughing, the blond shinobi falls into a steady rhythm with Hanabi. His rival in this timeline was no slouch, it needed to be said. The way he’d defeated her… it wasn’t fair. He’d taken her greatest strengths and turned them against her, and he’d only been able to do so because he was a Kage-level shinobi now. Hanabi hadn’t stood a chance and Iruka had known it immediately. That was why the Academy Instructor had ended the initial spar so early.

Now though? Now Naruto is holding back dramatically. He restrains himself to a lot slower speeds and modulates his strength so that he isn’t overwhelming Hanabi’s defenses in one single move. She can tell of course, and so can Iruka. Their sensei is currently splitting his attention between their new spar and Naruto’s test, just as Naruto knew he likely would.

As the minutes go by, there are multiple moments where Hanabi almost slows to a stop, her face scrunching up in consternation and anger. Moments where she’s just about to open her mouth to tell him off for toying with her. But Naruto doesn’t let the words leave her lips. Whenever she’s about to do that, he speeds up again and along with a carefully cultivated amount of Killing Intent, forces her into Fight or Flight reactions.

Hanabi, as he knew she would, always chooses Fight of course. And so their spar continues until they’ve both worked up a sweat. And sure, his is more because of how much he’s holding back while Hanabi’s is because she’s truly gone all out, but in the end… does it really matter?

Eventually, things come to a close as Naruto notices Iruka has fully finished grading his test and is just watching the two of them wordlessly now. They’ve been going for about ten minutes at this point, so the blond disengages and hops back, grinning as Hanabi almost lunges after him, but in the end hesitates and holds herself at bay.

As the spar comes to a mutual unspoken end between the two of them, Naruto crosses his arms over his chest and looks at Iruka.

“What do you think, Sensei? Does Hanabi have what it takes to graduate early and apprentice under the Hokage herself?”

Hanabi’s sharp intake of breath is ignored by both shinobi as Iruka tilts his head to the side. The Academy Instructor studies Naruto for a moment before finally smiling softly.

“Yes. She does. In terms of the physical exam… she passes with flying colors.”

“Wha-?! But I-!”

Finally looking at the young Hyuga, Iruka raises an eyebrow and silences her with nothing but a glance.

“The spar is not about who wins or loses, Hanabi. It’s about what you’re capable of. You’ve shown yourself to be quite capable indeed.”

Hanabi’s flush becomes a full blown blush at Iruka’s praise. She ducks her head, even as Iruka looks back to Naruto, eyebrow still raised. Naruto, cheery as ever, shrugs his shoulders.

“How’d I do on my written test, Sensei?”

“… You passed, Naruto.”

“Great! And I bet you brought a back up too, in case I accidentally ruined the first one somehow!”

Iruka pauses for a moment… before nodding and pulling out a second sheaf of papers from seemingly nowhere. Looking to Hanabi, Naruto’s grin only grows in strength.

“Here’s what we’re going to do, Hanabi. You’re going to take that test and pass it with flying colors. Meanwhile, I’m going to go and talk to my mother about taking on two apprentices instead of one. Got it?”

Hanabi’s all-white eyes are as wide as saucers as she stares at him, thrown into a state of abject shock.

“B-But… wha… I don’t…”

Naruto tilts his head to the side and feigns furrowing his brow.

“What? You don’t want to be the Hokage’s Apprentice anymore?”

That gets an immediate and visceral reaction from Hanabi.

“N-No! I mean yes! I mean… o-of course I do! I would be honored! But you can’t just-!”

“Great! See you soon with my mom’s answer, Hanabi!”

And with that, he leaves before Hanabi can get another word out, making a beeline for the Hokage’s Tower. His hairbrained scheme was working out perfectly so far! Now all he needed to do was convince his mother that Hanabi was just as worthy of her time as he was! This was going to be a piece of cake!

-x-X-x-

“I’m sorry Naruto, but that just won’t work out.”

Standing in front of his mom’s desk, a desk he’s intimately familiar with from BOTH timelines, Naruto gapes at Kushina. The Fifth Hokage sits back in her chair, looking properly apologetic even as she crushes his dreams and utterly demolishes his hairbrained idea with nothing more than a little remorse to make him feel better.

“Wha-? But why not? You’re going to let me be your apprentice, but not Hanabi? I’m telling you mom, she’s more than worthy of it!”

Smiling softly, Kushina shakes her head.

“I don’t doubt that Naruto. You’ve talked about Hanabi Hyuga quite often in fact. She’s a tough girl and just from hearing you gripe about her so much, I’ve always gotten the impression that she was a nice girl as well.”

Naruto lets out a slightly sheepish laugh at that, rubbing his hand through the back of his hair. The original Naruto of this timeline would have probably taken offense to being told by his own mother that his irritation was a sign of Hanabi’s good character… but he could admit now that he was being silly all those times he would complain about Hanabi’s attitude to Kushina.

Still though…

“… Unfortunately, you have thoroughly overestimated my free time, Naruto. Taking you on as an apprentice is one thing. We live together after all. You’re also drastically overestimating my compatibility with Hanabi Hyuga as a teacher and student. I could certainly give her some pointers, but I don’t know that I could train her. She and I have very different ninja foundations. Meanwhile, you and I are family. Your foundations are much more similar to mine.”

Damn. Both of those reasons were actually incredibly fair, at least from Kushina’s point of view. Technically, taking on Hanabi as a second apprentice alongside Naruto shouldn’t strain the Fifth Hokage’s time too much… mostly because he expected to easily surpass Kushina’s expectations and possibly even blow through his apprenticeship in record time.

While he was looking forward to getting to spend more time with his mother, the true reason behind accepting the apprenticeship had been to give himself more freedom of movement than being part of some random Genin Team would. In the end, Naruto knew there were some things Kushina could still teach him, like those Chakra Chains of hers maybe… but ultimately, they were closer to peers than the Fifth Hokage could possibly know.

But he couldn’t tell her that. He might have been tempted to, but her second reason was actually entirely valid. Kushina Uzumaki was not equipped to take on a Hyuga Student. She had no dojutsu, and her immense chakra stores made it so she didn’t have to be nearly as careful or efficient with her chakra usage as Hanabi had to. They weren’t entirely incompatible, but it was still akin to trying to shove two pieces of a puzzle together that just didn’t quite fit.

With a groan, Naruto flops into a chair and turns his eyes skyward.

“Ahhh… I fucked up mom. I really fucked up.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Incapable of looking his mother in the eye, Naruto groans some more.

“… I got Hanabi’s hopes up. I passed my tests with flying colors, and then I set her up with Iruka to pass as well. I don’t doubt that by this point, she’s finished the written exam and is ready to graduate early from the Academy just like me. And I told her I would convince you to take her on as your apprentice while she was doing the written test. Fuuuuck…”

It seemed that even with two timelines and two sets of memories, alongside some serious power and skill… Naruto was still just the big dumb idiot he’d always been. He’d jumped into this latest idea of his feet first without looking, and now he’d probably make Hanabi cry, damn it all…

“You’re right. You did fuck up Naruto.”

And then there’s his mom. Harsh but fair, Kushina’s words nevertheless make him groan even further as he sinks deeper into the chair. Only to perk up a moment later at the next thing she says.

“But then, what’s a mother for if she doesn’t help her son with his mistakes?”

Jolting upwards, Naruto’s eyes snap to his mother’s amused expression.

“R-Really?”

Kushina nods and then pulls out a piece of paper and a pen of all things.

“I still can’t promise to train the girl, Naruto. But there might be another solution. I am ill-equipped to handle a dojutsu user like Hanabi… however, you had TWO offers for apprenticeship, didn’t you Naruto?”

Naruto slowly nods at that, his eyes widening as he suddenly picks up on what she’s putting down.

“You mean-!”

Kushina just nods as she finishes the short letter she’s penning with a flourish and then rolls it up, sealing it with the Hokage’s Seal.

“Go and find Hanabi. Make sure she’s actually passed Iruka’s tests. Then, take her and this letter to Mikoto Uchiha. I think you’ll find her amenable to taking on a disciple… especially one as diligent and hard-working as Hanabi.”

Naruto accepts the letter from his mother with almost shaking fingers. To think… his mom had really come through for him, just like that! For a moment, he doesn’t feel as old as he really is. He feels like a little boy if he’s being honest, having to be bailed out by his mother. But then, one side of his memories never ever got to experience that in the previous timeline. So it doesn’t feel nearly as shameful as it should. No… instead it feels quite good.

Flashing his mother a cheery grin, Naruto positively bounces out of her office.

“Thanks mom! You’re a life saver!”

-x-X-x-

Finding Hanabi is the work of a few minutes. She was already making her way towards the Tower when he left, so he just meets her halfway. As he appears in front of her, she stiffens for a moment before relaxing.

“Did you pass, Hanabi?”

Hesitantly, the young kunoichi nods. She looks surprisingly unsure of herself. Grinning, Naruto holds up the message scroll.

“Well, I’ve got good news and bad news! The bad news is… my mom doesn’t have the time to take on two apprentices right now. Sorry about that, I really let my mouth get ahead of me there and stuck my foot in it. BUT! Do not despair Hanabi! For this is a letter from the Fifth Hokage herself, asking for her good friend Mikoto Uchiha, Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan, to take you on as her apprentice!”

Rambling onwards, Naruto just keeps talking, mostly because he’s afraid if he stops, he’ll have to deal with Hanabi’s anger over him failing to come through for her.

“Don’t worry, Auntie Mikoto is a good sort! She’ll definitely see the value in taking you on, especially with my mom’s recommendation. So I figured the two of us could go over to the Uchiha Compound right now and talk to her. O-Or if you want to, I suppose I could just give you the letter and you could go alone. I understand if you’d rather I-!”

Naruto finds himself cut off mid-sentence as Hanabi suddenly grabs him by the front of his shirt and drags him into a nearby alley. She pushes him up against the wall and growls his name, looking frustrated beyond all belief with him. Which… fair.

“Naruto…”

He could have stopped her of course, but he figures he’s due for a beatdown at this point. If that’s what she decides he deserves after yanking her around so much, he’ll understand. Hell, he’ll understand if she doesn’t wish to speak to him again. He just hopes she’ll take Kushina’s letter and make the most of it at the very least and-

Whoa. Wait… why is she kissing him? Naruto blinks as he realizes belatedly that Hanabi’s lips are on his lips. Her mouth is on his mouth. She’s definitely kissing him, unless someone played a particularly mean prank on her and convinced her that this was some Ninjutsu or attack move or something. But, uh… no. Naruto doesn’t think that’s it. In all of his infinite wisdom, with two sets of memories to back him up, he’s pretty confident that Hanabi is kissing him on purpose.

Though that does raise the question… why is Hanabi kissing him on purpose?! He almost reaches up to push her away, to demand answers… but there’s a desperation and insistence to the kissing that makes him stay his hand for the time being. Still though, this wasn’t what he was expecting. And yet… it was happening all the same, defying all of his expectations.

In fact, Hanabi was starting to push her tongue against his lips…

-x-X-x-

A/N: Syke! Hanabi was a Tsundere on the cusp of snapping all along! Fufufufu

Anyone have that on their bingo card?