(Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com)
A bowl of nuts slid across the polished maple counter.
Two more bowls followed. They spun as they traversed the slick wood.
Hinata reached out and stopped one, handing it to Naruto. Choji grabbed the other two, an eager look on his face. He offered one to Shikamaru, who shook his head.
“Oi! Barkeep!” Naruto slammed his Frog Purse down, causing it to make a jingling sound. “Sake. For everyone. On me.” He smiled. Life was good.
There had still been no sign of the kitsune. While Tsunade had signed a treaty with the fox women, she currently kept Konoha a haven from yokai of any kind, and steadfastly refused to let Kuko and her family pester Naruto.
Now that the kitsune had made their presence known amongst humans, it seemed that someone reported sighting another kind of mythical creature every few months. Fortunately, few of the claims could be proven, and the number of intruding yokai were very small.
“Your best appetizers, too!” Naruto banged his glass against Choji’s. “And dog biscuits, if you have them. If not, bones of any kind.” Akamaru barked his thanks.
Kiba smiled, then downed his drink. “I thought this was supposed to be guy’s night out,” He looked over at Hinata. “I know that you two have become inseparable and all. Geeeez. Can’t you give the guy a little more leash?”
“I asked Hinata to come,” Naruto said. “Today’s a special day, as far as we’re concerned.” He pointed over at an ornate calendar hanging at the back of the bar. “It’s been a year since we got back from that mission. Things have gone very well since then.”
“Yes,” Hinata said, leaning against Naruto. That had Kiba rolling his eyes again. He had his share of girlfriends, but he was not about to let them hang all over him in front of his buddies. Naruto had a lot to learn.
“I think Naruto means more than his relationship with my cousin,” Neji said. He flashed a rare smile, knowing how much Hinata had changed over that time. “While none of us know the details, the secrets you two brought back to the Leaf helped defeat Akatsuki.”
“The kitsune played a big role in that defeat as well, didn’t they?” Shikamaru asked. “After your teams returned from rescuing the Kazekage, something happened. But, no one will say anything about it.” He cocked his head, staring at Naruto. “My father was sitting in this very bar one night, when a drunken ninja claimed that he saw a fox turn into a woman, somewhere outside of Sunagakure.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Naruto said, his eyes saying quite the opposite. “And neither does Hinata. No talk about foxes! She and I are celebrating a fox-free year.” He smiled. Tsunade and Jiraiya had done research, and came up with a way to detect the kitsune when they took on the form of villagers. A separate ANBU squad had been formed, for the express purpose of keeping a watch out for the fox women.
“Well, if you won’t talk about the… kitsune…” Kiba smiled, seeing Naruto clench his fists when he heard that last word. “…Maybe you’ll tell us something about that mission.” He looked at Hinata. “I remember Neji saying you told him a few stories before the Hokage put a lid on everything.”
“Do you know what he’s talking about, Neji?” Naruto rubbed his nose, hoping Neji would play along.
“I’m afraid not,” Neji said. “If what I’ve heard is correct, it is elephants that are supposed to have good memories, not dogs.” That had Naruto ordering a glass of the best stuff for his friend.
“Actually, when taken as a whole, the memory of a whole nest of chakra bugs is far superior to any single animal.” Shino still had his deep cowl on, even though they were sitting in a dark and smoky corner of the establishment.
Everyone looked at each other, sighed, and shook their heads.
“Ahhhhh-hhhh-hhh-hh-h… I have tried to get Neji to tell me the heroic parts of the story.” Lee knocked over his bar stool, stranding up to strike a pose. “But, he is far too honorable to break his word to the Hokage.”
“Hinata and I have spent a lot of time together, writing things down.” Naruto said. “Some day, you might be available for the common shinobi to read.” He smirked, seeing Kiba’s face. “But, things were so amazing, few people will believe that it actually happened.” He struck a pose that had Lee looking jealous.
“Sometimes I have trouble thinking it wasn‘t a dream.” Hinata was looking at Naruto when she said that. She blushed. Just the same, her quiet confirmation seemed to have more effect than Naruto’s boastful teasing. She put her hand up to her ear, running her finger over one of the earrings that she had brought home.
“Well… you won’t tell us about the temple…” Kiba poured some sake in a bowl for Akamaru. The bowl was huge, seeing that the large dog could barely fit at the bar these days. “But, that doesn’t mean you can’t tell us about something even more important…” Naruto had let the word ‘temple’ slip one day; but, he remained closed-mouthed about the one subject that a majority of guys would find most intriguing.
“Shhhhh-hhhh-hhh-hh-h…” Naruto stuck his chin out. He made a point of ostentatiously looking in Hinata’s direction a number of times.
“No doubt you are referring to mating,” Shino said. The light from a cluster of candles reflected off of his dark glasses. “It is not such a touchy subject amongst insects.”
“Shit!” Kiba said. “Not mating. Sex!” Sometimes he really worried about his teammate.
“Ohhhhh-hhhh-hhh-hh-h…” Lee shook his head. “Youth may be explosive, a burning fire that cannot be contained but never quenched...” His eyes looked even more intense than usual. “…But, one should respect women. Hinata probably does not wish to hear that kind of talk.”
“Then she probably shouldn’t have come here tonight,” Choji said. He looked eager to hear anything that Naruto might care to mention. “Guys will be guys.”
“I hope this doesn’t become more bothersome than usual,” Shikamaru said, downing his Sake in a single gulp. “If I wanted that, I could have stayed home and listened to my mother and father argue.”
“Or you could let Temari’s name slip in front of Ino again,” Kiba said, smiling. “I heard about that one…”
“If you feel uncomfortable, we could go somewhere else.” Naruto tried to tell if Hinata was embarrassed or anxious.
“It’s alright, Naruto-kun.” Hinata squeezed his hand.
“See, Hinata thinks it’s OK.“ Kiba downed another Sake. “So, tell us, did you give into that fox babe?” He was pushed aside when Akamaru stuck his massive head up on the bar. He wanted to hear the answer too.
“Don’t be a jerk,” Naruto said. “You know a gentleman doesn’t talk about that kind of thing…” The way he said that carried with it the unspoken continuation ‘in front of his girlfriend.’
“What does that have to do with you?” Choji asked. That had Kiba slapping him hard on the back.
“Oooooo-oooo-ooo-oo-o…” Lee looked a little tipsy after a few shots. “Naruto is upholding his honor. One should always be respectful to one’s date.”
“If he ever has a date,” Kiba said. That had Lee hanging his head and sighing.
“Choji is essentially correct,” Shino said. “We are still talking about Naruto here.”
“That’s right!” Kiba’s loud laugh had a number of patrons looking in his direction. “If he actually did anything, we would have heard about it dozens of times by now.” He scratched Akamaru’s head. “There’s no way that Konoha’s noisiest ninja can keep anything a secret.”
“Especially something like that.” Choji added.
Neji looked over at Hinata. She hadn’t mentioned anything on that touchy subject. But, he knew his cousin well enough to tell that something had happened. He wasn’t about to mention that, however.
“Naruto could never score with a hot chick like that!” Kiba laughed again. “Human or otherwise. No matter what kind of strange attraction she had for him.”
“No doubt he would screw things up somehow,” Shino said.
“That’s a very good choice of words.” It was a woman’s voice. A familiar woman’s voice. There was no way that Naruto or Hinata would forget that voice after a year. They would never forget it!
An open menu fell from Hinata’s hand. Naruto spilled his drink in his lap. Lee froze like a statue.
“AROOOOO-OOOO-OOO-OO-O”
That was Akamaru. It could just as readily have been Kiba.
Everyone in the bar stared at the beautiful woman who walked in, her long lustrous indigo-colored hair hanging well past her hips. The men all wanted to be with her. The women all wanted to be her.
“I just forgot my name,” Kiba said.
Naruto stood up abruptly. He turned to face the new arrival, his brows furrowed and his fists tight. “What are you doing here?” He scowled. “Old Lady Tsunade said the village was off limits!”
“And… well… she…” Hinata squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. “The Hokage arranged for ways to detect kitsune.”
“That she did,” Kuko said, jumping into Naruto’s arms. She wrapped her legs and arms around him, and gave him a long deep kiss. “How’s it hanging, stud?” She reached down and grabbed him some place she had no business grabbing.
“Kuko!” Hinata instinctively took up the stance for the Gentle Fist.
“Little sister…” Kuko jumped down, turned, and gave Hinata a long hug. “You follow my lead yet?” She tossed her hair. “Keeping him warmed up for the rest of us?”
“No… fucking… way…” Kiba sat down hard, missing his stool.
“What he said,” Choji gasped. The food in his hand actually missed his mouth.
“’Troublesome’ doesn’t do this justice,” Shikamaru said, making a wry face.
“How?” Naruto asked.
“There’s always a trick that will beat another trick,” Kuko said, leaning back against Naruto. Without warning, she went completely naked, wrapped only with her beautiful tails. She passed a stack of napkins to Lee, Kiba, and Choji. They used them to help stop their nosebleeds.
“What trick?” Hinata took hold of Naruto’s arm.
“Well, we couldn’t defeat the detection jutsu in our human form, or the shape of another woman.” Kuko admitted. Feeling especially mischievous, she waved her hand, setting Hinata’s shoelaces on fire. “No doubt the sentries were probably told to keep a look out for beautiful women who were strangers to the village.”
Hinata and Naruto both nodded their heads.
“They probably don’t look for foxes curled up under a blanket in the back of a produce wagon.” Kuko took fox form for a moment, causing Akamaru’s eyes to go wider than Kiba ever thought possible.
“Or in a basket on the laundry wagon,” Shakko said, stepping into view.
“Not to mention large mail pouches,” Nogitsune said, as she slid in next to Kuko.
“Pickle barrels,” Genko added, taking the form of a dripping wet fox before resuming her human form.
“Bread box on a baker‘s cart,” Kiko said.
“Fertilizer bag,” Koryu frowned when everyone backed away from her. She had already cleansed herself a number of times.
“And no one bothered to check to see if the traveling tinker’s dog was indeed a dog.” That was Tenko.
“What are you all doing here?” Naruto asked, feeling his heart rate increase. His fight or flight reaction was charging up. “Does this mean….”
“That’s right,” Kuko said, licking her lips. “Just like old times.”
“Shit!” Naruto smacked his hand hard against his forehead protector.
“Yes,” Hinata nodded.
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