Despite it All

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Naruto's POV (Residence of the Uzumaki Family)

Naruto woke up as he often did. Regretting being awake, a bit confused, and sore. There were certain things different about this morning. He still regretted being awake as he often did. But the minor confusion he usually suffered was upgraded to dazed. He didn't feel the soreness he had grown accustomed to as a shinobi. Instead, his head pounded a melody of pain sounding throughout his head. Echoing throughout the rest of his body. It came in waves, each leaving the blonde feeling a bit undead. He also recognized for some odd reason he was asleep face down on the couch in his living room. The blonde could feel his mind stirring as he put consideration into his situation. But the pain convinced him to give up, instead, he shifted trying to get onto his back. But he had a significant weight on him. It made turning difficult, it was too heavy to be any normal blanket. The blonde reached over to his back to see what was weighing him down. His hand reached and touched some kinda warm cloth. His hand slid down attempting to discover what it was but he stopped once he touched something that felt similar to skin. Naruto's eyes popped wide open, someone was on top of him. He looked to his left shoulder and saw the sleeping face of Ino. Her head rested against both his shoulder and a pillow. Naruto felt panic fly through his senses. 'Ino's kinda cute when she is sleeping.' His mind unhelpfully added. Ino could be wrathful at the best of times. Waking up in his house with him feeling her up, he imagined that would be much worse. He lifted his hand off her carefully. Moving as if the young woman was a bomb.

So far so good. Now how would he escape this without Ino beating the tar out of him? Naruto knew he had grown more intelligent with his mother's and Kakashi's training. But he simply did not know a method of removing her without waking her up. If she awoke before he did though the same result would occur. He considered a body flicker, but he was new to the technique and it always produced a heavy cloud of smoke. Ma had banned him from using it inside till he got it down with no smoke. Naruto wracked his brain for three painful minutes. His thoughts were racing, his heart as well. He was unsure why but he found Ino was enjoyably warm and soft. If Naruto was being honest he enjoyed the contact. It was surprisingly comforting. But his newly discovered peace was disturbed by Ino shifting. Her arms wrapped around him as she snuggled closer. Naruto could feel his heart stop. She sleepily nuzzled against his face. His unruly hair poked her nose as she did so. Naruto watched with bated breath as she did this twice. Her nose twitched, warning him of his doom.

Ino sneezed quietly, her eyes opening after. Blue eyes met blue eyes, the two silently staring. Ino's eyes held confusion, embarrassment, and quickly growing anger. Naruto's eyes were much simpler. They held a primal fear.

"Now Ino, I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for this." The blonde didn't get to start his rousing speech, but he was sure would've won her over. Instead, she locked her arms around his head sweetly. This lasted mere seconds before she used a shoulder throw to launch him into the kitchen. Kami took some level of mercy on the blonde, his arc was high enough to avoid the bar counter. But he smashed into the kitchen table with a crunch. The wooden table was unable to endure the crash. Naruto groaned pitifully. His mother would kill him.

"Oh, my bad I didn't realize where I was." Ino said tiredly as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "I have the most awful headache."

"Ditto. But, for the record, I did nothing." Naruto replied as he crawled slowly to his feet. Looking as if he was prepared to flee.

"Oh blondie, I know a nice guy like you wouldn't do a thing. You should be more worried about me." Ino said teasingly as she fixed her hair into a ponytail.

"Stop. Calling. Me. Blondie." Naruto said annoyed. Boldness returned now that he realized she wouldn't be attacking him.

Ino's smirk merely grew as she approached the blonde. She stepped well into his personal space. A giant smile on her face. A nervous frown on his. Their faces mere breaths away. "Make. Me." She said defiantly. The tension between the two grew.

"INO! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!"

"Naruto! Ya just can't do whatever you want ya know?!"

Both jumped up as both of their parents called out. Naruto felt fear yet again, he wasn't sure if his mother being pissed or interested was worse. Ino was embarrassed, she knew her daddy well. Despite his raw intelligence, when it came to boys he lost his mind. Surely in his eyes, it was romantic! And he wasn't even that off!

Kushina and Inochi stood side by side. Inochi was the father of Ino and the head of the Yamanaka clan. He had long blonde hair done into a ponytail which reached his lower back. His eyes were similar to Ino's blue eyes but they held an edge to them Ino lacked. He wore Leaf fatigues covered by a red open sleeveless vest. The two formed a united, terrifying, parenting unit. They looked at each other and nodded. Both body flickered to the target of their ire. Kushina appeared in between the blondes. Ino fell back into the Living room as Kushina unloaded prominent questions.

"Are you his girlfriend?"

"What shampoo do you use?"

"Was he a gentleman?"

"Protection?" Kushina smirked inwardly as she saw both blondes' faces become fully red. She winked at Inochi to spike her set.

"You better take responsibility for your actions. I won't settle for you treating my princess like anything less than royalty. Also, you may not touch her, look at her, or think about her." Inochi instructed as he held the blonde in the air by his collar.

"We didn't do anything!" Ino called out in her unusually shaky voice. "We went out with the other Genin last night and got drunk. I asked him to take me home but I couldn't give instructions. He took me to his house and passed out on the couch. I followed shortly after. Nothing happened!" Ino had intended to pretend she couldn't remember to avoid questions from Naruto about it. At least until she figured out how she felt about it.

"We know." Both parents answered, both smiling brightly.

"I had come to Kushina when you hadn't come home last night." Inochi stated simply. "She had discovered you this morning."

"I thought my boy had become a man for a second ya know?" Kushina said, laughing boisterously. Inochi glared at this before adding.

"For the record, you cannot date until you are thirty." Inochi stated. Ino merely rolled her eyes at this.

"So we're in the clear?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"You brought a drunk girl home, you were also drunk. All unannounced, I might add." Kushina answered with her voice containing some level of anger in it.

"I hate mornings." Both blondes said before fist-bumping quietly.

"I hate Mondays, ne!" A new voice interjected. The group all look up to see a man sitting on the living room couch. Kakashi at some point had joined them.

"Kakashi! I told you not to come through the windows!" Kushina called furiously.

"Hahaha," Kakashi laughed nervously. "I was just here to collect my cute little genin for our meeting about a mission we got."

"We have a meeting with Cyclops sensei?" Naruto stated as he made himself a cup of ramen. "Can it wait? I think I have that hangover thing they talk about."

"I second that." Ino replied lazily as she rubbed her eyes.

"Nope! You don't mind, do you, parents?" Kakashi asked.

"Work them hard." Kushina replied happily. Tossing the pair some clothes and packed bags. They had discussed this already.

"Like dogs." Inochi growled. Neither of the two teens could even attempt a complaint before Kakashi picked both up. Similar to the way a seasoned farmer would pick up sacks of potatoes. The two attempted to struggle, but their sensei was shockingly strong, holding both with an iron grip.

"Ja Ne~" The Jounin sang as they all poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

"Damnit Kakashi! We agreed to smokeless body flickers!" Kushina roared angrily. "AND WHO THE HELL BROKE MY TABLE!" As a seasoned husband Inochi knew when it was time to leave. It was only polite after all. Inochi slipped out silently as Kushina raged. He would need to speak to Naruto soon. Preferably away from the defensive mother. Kushina had always scared him.

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Neji's POV (Estate of the Hyuga Clan)

 Neji walked quietly through the halls of the Hyuga manor. The building was large and ornate. Not too dissimilar from the clan itself. The halls are bare, marked with various high-class art. But otherwise was spotless, not a single blemish could be seen. Easy enough to do with the powerful eyes of his kin. As nice as it all seemed, Neji had grown to hate it all. To his eyes, it was all a monument to false glory. Paid for by the blood of fellow Hyuga. Justified due to tradition. The Side House had served as subordinates for generations. It was no great secret that Hyuga Elders preferred to keep it this way as well. It made his blood boil in a way he used to relish. After all, if one is truly helpless why not rage? If life could be so cold and uncaring of right and wrong why not show the world your wrath? Naruto had been the one to challenge that. Perhaps not directly at first, but even his character challenged it. Naruto was a nobody. Part of a long slain clan, from a controversial mother, and known to be an unexceptional shinobi. His being so excited to learn, yearning to reach the peak of the shinobi world, and even him being so confident and self-assured were contradictions to Neji's philosophy. Naruto's burden may not be fully known to the Hyuga, but whenever the two matched eyes he could feel his pain. In some ways, it had felt comparable to his own. Yet he had stood tall, proud, defiant even. Why did he not rage like him? How dare he ignore the unfairness of the world? Neji wanted to show him the errors of his ways. So he had poked and prodded attempting to stoke his anger.

In the academy, Neji had been popular due to his skill. He was known for it, if not for one despicable Sasuke Uchiha he would've been the best in their grade. His temper was short and with his known power, most of the student body had been careful around him. Yet Naruto from the start of the team had merely stood even taller. Unafraid to come to blows even though his loss was almost certain. Neji had thought the blonde's defeat would be fated. He had been certain of it. Despite that, the blonde had met him. Proudly declaring Neji wrong and even offering to help him change it. If Neji had been honest it had hurt his pride. And as he now saw he often did, he had intended to make him pay for the perceived slight. Naruto and he finally fought. Neji held nothing back, he even had trained in preparation for the brawl. He never was one to fully underestimate a foe after all. How wrong he had been, Naruto who at the formation of the team Neji was sure he could've thrashed. Somehow not only closed the gap between them. But had displayed a level of skill and battle intelligence that he had thought him incapable of. Naruto had dominated most of the fight, tanked his best moves, and then smashed his "ultimate" defense. In the process of the violent clash, Neji saw some of himself in the blonde. Somehow he could tell the blonde could relate to some degree. Then he felt the blonde's spirit. Felt the strength behind his hands. Watched as someone he labeled a fool outmaneuver him. It had been… humbling. He now remembered the truth he had known from the start. Fate is merely a concept. It had weight and if one merely lazed through life they would be subjected to it. But it seemed if one fought hard, maintained despite adversity, and was willing to grow, the chains of fate were ineffective.

If Neji was being fully honest he was unsure what to do with the knowledge. He had already remedied things with his teammates. The two made it so easy. Having been greatly supportive and inclusive ever since. He supposed in that sense he should be thankful. Though it would be even better if they could learn to be silent. But regarding the rest of his life, he wasn't sure where to go from here. He could not escape from the Side House. He was already sealed. What could he truly affect here? As Neji walked out to a courtyard to mediate he saw someone who only further complicated his feelings.

The woman had long blue hair that reached her lower back. She wore a lavender hoodie and black combat pants. Her eyes looked similar to his though hers had always shined with kindness. A stark contrast to his previous behavior. Hinata in truth had never been cruel to him. She had only shown kindness and a palpable guilt. Yet in his previous state of mind, he had seen it as thinly veneered pity. He had told her as such. Terrorized her truly, a glare there, a rougher-than-needed spar there, yes he had ensured she suffered. Looking at her now he could see she suffered for the sins of others. He was no fool, the only course of action would be a sincere apology and polite interactions from there on. But he couldn't swallow his pride and apologize to her. She may not have been complacent to rulers of the clan's treatment, but she was the heir. Meaning she was likely to continue the practice.

He watched her, for someone meek, she was training hard. She did seem honest in her effort to grow. Perhaps she really could become clan head one day. If only Neji could attempt to explain the plight of the Side House to her. She, as kind as she was, may be the only house member to understand. Certainly more likely than her soon to be replacement. If he had disdained Hinata, then he truly hated Hanabi. Three whole years younger, yet she seemed to grow quickly. Beating Hinata in their spars. If not for the new curriculum for the academy Hanabi would've replaced her already. Hanabi was seeming to be for all accounts the next drone for the Main House. It would be a shame once she… oh. Neji allowed a small smile, he could work towards his forgiveness and work toward improving the Hyuga in one leap! He would train her himself. Allow her to maintain her heir status. And if along the way he managed to sway her over to being more supportive of the Side House… well that would be fate.