The Future - Peace: Part 1
Before you read this, you should read "Timeline" it will explain how everyone ended up the way they are.
********************************************
Tap tap tap.
Kiba’s eyes opened blearily.
Tap tap tap.
Kiba groaned. He’d heard that sound often enough to recognize it immediately. He slowly pulled his arm out from under Naruto and gently threw back the covers.
Tap tap tap
He stood up and stretched with a moan, then made his way to the window, picking up and putting on his boxers as he did.
Tap tap tap
He opened the curtains and saw a red tailed hawk sitting on the window ledge, tapping the glass with his beak. When the bird saw him, it nodded once and took off, flying towards the top of Hokage Rock. Kiba considered climbing back into the bed with Naruto, but knew that Tsunade would have a fit if they made her wait. Sighing, he went to the bed and gently shook Naruto.
“Naruto…Naruto…come on, get up.” he said quietly. It only took a minute of shaking for Naruto to open an eye and glare at Kiba.
“Why are you waking me up so early?” he growled, murder in his eye.
“We’ve been summoned.” Kiba said simply, and then walked to a dresser on the opposite side of the room. He got out his usual mission attire, mesh shirt, armor plate for his abdomen, leather pants and his jonin vest. He also got out Naruto’s clothes, orange pants, long sleeved black shirt, red over coat, and jonin vest. He set Naruto’s clothes on the bed and began to dress himself. Naruto growled again, and then threw the covers off of himself. Laying next to him was a small gray puppy, laying on its side with his tongue hanging out slightly as he slept. Kiba smiled when he saw him, and remembered all the time’s he’d woken up with Akamaru next to him. It was impossible for him to sleep with Akamaru at home anymore, the dog was just too big to fit in the bed. The puppy that had slept with them last night was Ryomaru, the runt of Akamaru’s latest litter. Naruto reached down and stroked his fur lightly, and then stood up with a stretch. Mid way through, he nearly doubled over with a gasp of pain. Naruto grabbed his side and fell back on the bed.
“Damn. Must have pulled something last night.” Naruto grumbled, but there was a smile on his face and he gave Kiba a wink. Kiba just laughed as he continued to dress.
“Hurry up and get ready, I’ll go make us some tea.” Kiba said as he tied his headband on.
“Bless you.” Naruto said as he stood up and grabbed his boxers from where he’d he dropped them the night before. He stood and began to dress, all but the overcoat. It was the middle of summer in Konoha and Naruto didn’t think he’d need it. He tied on his head band and made his way downstairs. Before he went into the kitchen, he stopped by the small shrine that had been set up in the living room. A picture of Tsume Inuzuka and Kuromaru were inside, and Kiba had lit some incense before starting on the tea. Naruto brought his hands together in front of him and prayed silently, then went into the kitchen. Kiba was just taking the kettle from the stove when Naruto walked in.
“We should hurry, I’m sure she’s waiting on us.” Kiba said.
“Let her wait You just got back yesterday afternoon, and I got back the day before yesterday. Besides, she knows we’re not early risers.” Naruto said, and then gave a loud yawn. Kiba smiled as he poured their cups and set them on the table, before he sat down he went and opened the window.
“Akamaru! Here boy!” Kiba shouted then sat down with Naruto and sipped the tea. After a moment there was a large ‘THUD’ and Akamaru’s head appeared in the window, his mouth was opened in a doggy grin, and Naruto and Kiba smiled at him. They got up and went out to greet him.
“Good morning boy.” Kiba said, and he got down on one knee to hug him.
“Mornin’ Akamaru.” Naruto said, and scratched him behind his ear. Akamaru licked Kiba’s face a few times and then turned and tackled Naruto to the ground. It was a routine they had begun a few years ago after Naruto or Kiba would return from a mission. Kiba laughed as Akamaru slobbered all over Naruto’s face. Naruto burst out laughing as he tried to shove the huge dog off of him, with little success. There were times when Naruto thought he might actually have use a rasengan just to get the dog off of him. Finally, Kiba put a hand on Akamaru’s shoulder and gave a little push.
“Come on boy, that’s enough.” he said. Akamaru gave a sad whine, but got off of Naruto. Kiba offered his hand to Naruto, which he took, and stood up. He spent a moment wiping the dog drool from his face, and then gave Kiba a soft smile.
“We better get going.” he sighed. Kiba climbed onto Akamaru, and the three of them began making their way to the Hokage’s Mansion. It was still early enough that not many people were out and about, but they waved at the few they saw. When they got to the mansion grounds, Kiba told Akamaru he would have to stay outside. Just as they were about to enter, they heard some shouting from behind them.
“Naruto, Kiba good morning!” Sakura shouted to get their attention. Akamaru gave a bark and ran over to her.
“And a special good morning to you, Akamaru.” She said, then knelt down to give the dog a hug. She dusted herself off as she got up, then hugged Kiba.
“Hey Sakura. Any idea what Granny wants?” Naruto asked, as he also drew Sakura into a hug. They turned and entered the mansion together.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing the two of you can’t handle…or enjoy.” She said with a smile.
“What’s that mean?” Kiba asked, sharing a confused look with Naruto.
“I’ll allow my Lady to explain.” she said as she led them to her office door. Sakura knocked, and the heard a muffled ‘enter’.
“Ah, Naruto, Kiba, just who I wanted to see. Sakura, would you bring us some tea?”
“At once, my Lady.“ Sakura bowed and left, shutting the door quietly after her.
“So, what’s up Granny?” Naruto asked as he slid into a seat in front of her desk.
“I have an assignment for the two of you.” she said, lacing her fingers in front of her.
“What kind of assignment?” Kiba asked apprehensively.
“Don’t worry, you won’t even be leaving the Land of Fire for this one. In essence, this is only a training exercise. Kiba, I want you to train some of the chunin in tracking.” As she spoke, the office door opened again and Sakura entered with a tray of tea and cups. She set them down on the corner of the desk not covered with disorganized paperwork, and left with a bow. Tsunade reached over and filled the cups, then offered two of them to Naruto and Kiba.
“That explains what you need me for, but what about Naruto?” Kiba asked, reaching out to take the cups from her. He handed one to Naruto, then took a long drink from his cup.
“Naruto is going along to help with the training…besides, if I sent you off on something like this Naruto would just go sneaking after you, so I may as well make this his official assignment.” She replied, smiling at them.
“So, what are the details?” Kiba asked.
“I’m sending the two of you and thirty of our chunin, you’ll head for an area near our borders with the Waterfall and Grass Villages. Upon your arrival you will be greeted by a delegation from the Waterfall Village. They have requested a joint training exercise with us, and I think the two of you could use the experience. You’re only assignment is to train them in different tracking techniques. I’ve already sent messages to the neighboring countries about this, so they know it’s a routine training mission and not an invasion force. You are, for absolutely no reason, to cross any borders, is that understood?” She said, giving them a look so they knew she was deadly serious.
“Understood, Hokage.” Kiba said.
“Mam!” Naruto said with his usual salute.
“I had Shizu…” she stopped for a moment, and a sad look crossed her face, “I had Sakura make a detailed list of all the chunin who will be going with you. You’ll receive information on the Waterfall chunin from the jonin accompanying them.” She reached into one of her desk drawers and pulled out a large manila envelope, which she handed to Kiba. They both stood and started to exit, when Tsunade spoke again.
“Naruto, I need to speak with you…in private.” She said. Naruto took Kiba’s hand and gave it a squeeze and smiled at him.
“I’ll catch up to you in a minute.” he said. Kiba returned his smile and left the office. Naruto returned to his chair and looked expectantly at Tsunade. She sat there in silence, looking introspectively into her tea, then sighed and stood, turning to look out the window.
“Granny?” Naruto asked, he’d never seen her so….apprehensive before.
“This will probably be your last mission, Naruto.” She said.
“What! What do you mean?!” Naruto shouted, and leapt from the chair, slamming his hands down hard on her desk.
“Forgive me Naruto….I should have phrased that better.” She said, but Naruto looked into her reflection on the window and saw the smile on her face, “Once you return from this mission, I will be stepping down as Hokage.” She turned to face Naruto, a smile still on her face, although it looked somehow sad now.
“But why…” Naruto began, but she raised a hand to silence him.
“I’m getting old, Naruto.” She said, and saw Naruto attempting to suppress his snicker, “Well, older I suppose.” That got a full laugh from Naruto, and after a few seconds she joined him. They shared in the laughter for a few minutes, then she sighed and sank into her chair.
“Do you know why I retook the position of Hokage after Kakashi was killed during the Cloud invasion?” she asked.
“I just thought it was because you were most qualified. That’s why Kiba and I voted for you to be reinstated.” Naruto said.
“The truth of the matter is that your name was the first one put up by the jonin representative, but I argued against it.”
“You what!” Naruto snarled, and for the barest instant his eyes turned to slits. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then allowed Tsunade to continue.
“You had grown powerful Naruto, but you still had much to learn…and you still do. However, when I step down, I will ask that you replace me as Hokage. Congratulations.” She walked to him, a look of affection and pride on her face, and hugged him as a proud parent would. Naruto was too shocked to speak. His fondest wish…his greatest dream, might come true. His mind couldn’t seem to absorb it, he just stood there as she hugged him, a look of confusion on his face.
“Now that I’ve told you this, you cannot discuss it with anyone else. Not even Kiba, understood?” She looked in his eyes to make sure he got the point. He just nodded mutely, his face still a mask of confusion.
“I also need you to understand that just because I recommend that you become the next Hokage, it doesn’t mean it will happen. Not only do the jonin and anbu representatives have to agree, but the feudal lord and the village elders…although at least you won’t have to deal with Lord Homura and Lady Koharu, may they rest in peace.” she muttered, “Don’t worry though, you’ll have me, the jonin representative, and the anbu representative backing you and the feudal lord will probably back you, what with your relations and your past mentors.” she returned to her seat, and picked up her tea to take a sip.
“Yeah.” Naruto said, his gaze distant.
“For now, I need your full attention on this mission, understood?” She asked in a commanding tone. After a second, Naruto gave her a salute, his eyes a little teary.
“Yes, Hokage.” He said, then bowed and left the office. Tsunade sat there, looking at the door with a stunned expression on her face.
“That’s the first time he’s ever called me hokage.” she said, then leaned her head back and gave a bark of laughter.
*********************************
Naruto met Kiba outside the mansion walls, where he was waiting with Akamaru.
“What did she want?” Kiba asked.
“I can’t say.” Naruto said, and averted his eyes from Kiba’s. He knew that if Kiba gave him his puppy dog eyes his resolve would melt instantly. Kiba stared at him for a couple of seconds, wondering if he should push for more info or not.
“Ok, if you say so.” Kiba said. Naruto gave a sigh of relief that Kiba was going to be understanding.
“Come on, we need to make a stop before we head home and pack.” Kiba said, and climbed on Akamaru’s back.
“Whe…” Naruto started, before the answer came to him, “The hospital, of course.” The three of them began walking to Konoha Hospital at a slow pace.
When they arrived, Kiba once again informed Akamaru that he would have to wait outside for them. Akamaru gave a whine, but curled up and lay down about ten feet away from the main entrance. Naruto and Kiba walked inside and asked a nurse for the location of Dr. Inuzuka. She said that she was working in the records room just down the hall. They walked down the hall and opened the door quietly. Hinata was slumped at the desk, her head resting on her hands as she snored quietly. There was a computer monitor on in front of her, and an opened records book close by that she must have been reading from. Naruto and Kiba just laughed and went inside. Kiba reached out gently shook her shoulder.
“Hinata….Hinata, wake up…” he whispered gently. Hinata groaned and her eyes opened slowly, before she snapped up. Her long purple hair hung down in clumps and there was drool coating her left cheek, and there were deep bags under her eyes. She ran the back of her hand over her face to wipe away the drool, and yawned loudly.
“Oh, Kiba…good morning.” she said.
“You should head home and sleep.” Kiba said, giving her a kiss.
“I know I should, but I’m almost finished logging these records into the computer.” she said, “We’re so short staffed right now, and beside’s this is the only thing they’ll let me do.” She said. She started to stand up, but her swollen stomach wasn’t helping. Naruto gave her his hand and helped her stand the rest of the way up.
“Oh…Naruto, I didn’t even see you there, good morning.” she said, raising her arms over head to stretch.
“Good morning Hinata.” Naruto said, then leaned in to give her a kiss. “Kiba’s right, you should just go home and rest, isn’t that what Dr. whatsername said?” Naruto said.
“Her name is Dr. Isana, and she said light work like this was fine, but I shouldn’t push myself.” Hinata said defensively.
“I’d call falling asleep at your desk pushing it.” Kiba said sternly.
“I’m fine, really.” she said.
“Come on Hinata, come home with us and we’ll make you something to eat.” Naruto said, and grabbed a hold of her hand.
“Really, I’m…” her stomach rumbled loudly, and she blushed fiercely, “Alright, you win. What will you make?” she asked.
“Whatever you want, anything.” Kiba said as they led her away from the record room and towards the door. When they left the hospital, Akamaru came over and lightly bumped his nose against Hinata’s belly. Then he lay down, and let Kiba and Naruto help her sit on his back. He got up slowly so as not to rock her, and they began making their way home.
“I think I want….Toast and eggs, with jelly, and pickles, some whipped cream and chocolate ice cream, and ramen.” Hinata said.
“I think we have all that stuff.” Kiba said, when Naruto blushed, “What?”
“We…we used all of the whipped cream last night.” Naruto said.
“What did you….oh” Hinata said, also blushing. She was a little jealous for a moment, but only for a moment. Although most women had uncontrollable sexual urges during pregnancy, Hinata wasn’t one of them. The thought of sex at that moment actually made her ill, and she had Akamaru bring them near a trash can so she could vomit. Naruto held her hair back while Kiba rubbed her back, and they both whispered encouraging things into her ears. Since she had little in her stomach, she vomited for only a moment, then leaned back and again rubbed her mouth with the back of her hand. She sighed, and ran her other hand over her belly.
“I can’t wait for this part to be over.” she said.
“How much longer?” Kiba asked.
“Dr. Isana said probably two or three more weeks, but the decision’s not up to me or her, it’s up to them.” she said, and stroked her belly again, a warm glow coming to her face.
“Naruto, will you run to the store and get some whipped cream for Hinata?” Kiba asked.
“No problem, see you at home.” with that, he leapt to the roof of a nearby building and began making his way to the nearest store. Hinata and Kiba walked in silence, she couldn’t take her hand away from her belly, and Kiba couldn’t stop smiling each time she gave it a gentle rub. They arrived at the Inuzuka compound, and were greeted by Haimaru Sankyodai. They came loping up to greet them, and fell in pace with Akamaru and Kiba. Kiba opened the door, and Akamaru walked into the living room, and lay down next to Hinata’s favorite chair. Hinata got up (with a little help from Kiba) and sat down in her chair, sighing with fatigue. The smell of fresh tea was coming from the kitchen, and Kiba assumed Hana was making herself some breakfast. Kiba walked in to find her at the stove, cracking eggs into a pan.
“Good morning, Kiba.” she said, not looking away from the pan.
“Hana, how about you let me handle that. You can check on Hinata.” Kiba said nervously. Hana had tried over the years to improve her domestic abilities, but had failed miserably in each attempt.
“Sounds good to me. Now I know I’ll have a decent breakfast.” she said, and walked away from the stove. Kiba moved into her place and looked into the pan. The egg yokes had popped open, and there were small shell shards floating around. Kiba took the pan off the stove and poured it into the sink, and began to scrambled three for Hinata when he heard Naruto walk in.
“Oh, good morning Hana.” he said as he passed her to the kitchen.
“Good morning Naruto.” she said from where she sat next to Hinata. She had propped Hinata’s feet up and was checking her pulse and temperature to make sure everything was fine.
“Well, do I pass inspection, Dr. Inuzuka?” Hinata asked with a grin.
“I’d say you’re perfectly fine, Dr. Inuzuka,” It was an old joke between the two of them to refer to each other as doctor “…but I think that after breakfast you should get some sleep. I’ll go get the downstairs bedroom ready for you.” Hana stood, and went down the hall. Hinata sat in her chair, staring out the window, and gently stroking Akamaru’s fur.
“Hey Kiba, I wasn’t sure which kind to get so I just grabbed a bunch.” Naruto said as he dropped a plastic sack onto the table and pulled out a few different plastic tubs and cans of whipped cream.
“That’s fine, we’ll use it all anyway.” Kiba said with a grin, “How about you get started on the toast and jelly while I finish this.”
“Sure thing.” Naruto replied as he got down the bread and began a search for the toaster. Naruto wasn’t sure how, but it never seemed to be in the same place twice, “Kiba, where’s the toaster?” he asked after his fifth cabinet.
“You passed it two cabinets ago, behind the blender and the mixer.” Kiba said without looking up. It was uncanny how well Kiba knew his way around the kitchen. Naruto checked, and there it was. He set it down on the counter and plugged it in before he popped four pieces of bread into the slots. He pressed down on the handle…and then his mind wandered. He saw himself in a few weeks, standing proudly atop the Hokage Mansion, wearing the Kage hat, and addressing the entire village. Kiba stood to one side, with Hinata and Sakura on the other. There were roars coming from the crowd, and they had begun to chant his name.
“Naruto….Naruto!….Naruto!!”
“NARUTO!!!“ Kiba shouted. Naruto hadn’t realized it, but he’d kept his hand on the toasters handle, and smoke was rising from the bread slots. Naruto jerked back, and the blackened toast came flying up. Kiba opened a window and let the smoke flow out.
“What happened?!” Hana called from the front room.
“The toast burned, don’t worry!” Kiba called back. Kiba tossed the lumps of charcoal which had once been bread into the trash and gave Naruto a look.
“Sorry Kiba…I have a lot on my mind.” Naruto said.
“It’s ok, it’s only toast.” Kiba said, “So, does this have to do with what Tsunade talked to you about.”
“Yeah….but please Kiba, don’t press. She made me promise not to tell anyone.” he said. He opened his eyes wide, and tried to make them tear up as much as possible without actually crying. It had taken Naruto years to perfect this face, and Kiba had absolutely no defense against it. Only Hinata seemed to be able to turn down ‘The Face’, as Naruto had dubbed it.
“Ok, ok. I won’t ask any question, just turn it off, please.” Kiba laughed. Naruto laughed, and hugged Kiba.
“Thanks.”
“Now, let me get back to the eggs. Can you handle the toast, or should I do that too?” Kiba grinned at Naruto.
“I can handle it dog breath.” Naruto shot back, then put more bread into the toaster. He made sure his hand wasn’t resting on the handle, and in a moment, the four perfect pieces of toast popped up.
“Ok, put jelly on those and get the ramen ready, I’ll get the ice cream, whipped cream and….pickles.” Kiba said, making a sour face. Kiba went to the fridge and got out the jelly, pickles, and ice cream. Naruto went to the ramen cabinet (so called because it was stuffed with every kind of ramen available) and got out Hinata’s favorite.
They finished preparing her breakfast and loaded it all onto a tray. Naruto picked it up and walked into the living room, while Kiba began to make breakfast for the rest of them. Hinata was dozing in the chair, her hand still on Akamaru. Naruto looked from the tray to her, wondering what to do when Hana walked back into the room. She saw Hinata sleeping and smiled, then looked at Naruto, who still looked confused.
“She needs to eat, then we can put her to bed. Go ahead and wake her up.” she said as she slid onto one of the couches in the room. Naruto set the tray down on the table and shook Hinata’s shoulder gently. Her eyes opened slowly, and she smiled when she saw his face.
“Here Hinata, eat and then we’ll put you to bed.” he said, and slid the tray into her lap (what there was of it). Hinata looked at the tray blearily for a second, then began to devour the food. It was almost scary to watch, as she attacked her food with a single mindedness. Kiba walked into the living room with another tray of food for the rest of them. He set down a tray of toast and eggs by Hana, then Naruto, and finally one for himself. Naruto looked at him, then sighed.
“No ramen for me?” he asked.
“Sorry, I wanted to get all this stuff out here before it cooled.” Kiba said.
“Admit it, you want me to starve, don’t you.” Naruto said, grinning at him.
“Of course, that’s the master plan. With you out of the way, Hinata and I can live a pretty simple life.” Kiba replied. They all shared a laugh at that, and the dug into their plates. Somehow, Hinata managed to finish her meal first. She leaned back in the chair with a content sigh, and closed her eyes. Her hand returned to Akamaru’s head. The rest of them finished their meal and set the plates on the table.
“We should move her to the bedroom and put her to bed.” Hana said as she stood up. She moved to help Hinata up, but Naruto and Kiba moved faster. They each had Hinata by an arm and were helping her to her feet. They helped Hinata down the hall to the bedroom. They helped her take off her clothes and lay down in the bed, then covered her with the blanket. She gave a content sigh, and her eyes began to droop.
“Thank you.” she murmered. Naruto and Kiba just chuckled, and they each gave her a kiss on the forehead before they slowly backed out of the room.
“When do we tell her about the mission?” Naruto asked as he shut the door.
“Later, when she wakes up…but for now we’ll tell Hana, and then we’ll pack. Ok?” he asked, then gave Naruto a soft kiss.
“Sounds good.” Naruo said.
****************************************************
If, after reading this you have a good idea for a title, please let me know. This is the first part of the first chapter, and I plan for this story to have three chapters, with each chapter having two parts. Try as I might, I can't decide on a good title for the series overall. Hope you enjoyed, and please comment (my ego needs to feed).