Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

When I'm Gone	By : tragic.violinist Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 2133 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: NARUTO and its respective characters were created and are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Summary A/U Hikari the niece of the fifth Hokage moves to Konoha to become a shinobi. Sasuke has returned to Konoha of his own volition, Hinata's father is a dick, Orochimaru is not all evil. Pairings are still a WIP but the main focus will be around Hikari/Neji there will more than likely be alluding to some quite a few yaoi pairings but there won't be any lemony goodness unless there is interest in them in which case I will post a side fic full of one shots dedicated to those most requested. Some characters may be OOC but hey it's called fanfiction for a reason. Also note I do not have a Beta so please be kind when it comes to spelling/ and other grammatical errors that I may have missed. Enjoy :)

Chapter 1: When I'm Gone
A/N Chapter one now had been been edited and proofread
Perched atop Mt. Hokage a small figure watched as the village slowly came alive on this early spring morning. The sun had just risen over the tree tops in the distance as the wind blew her light brown and copper hair out of her face. Her amber eyes gazed off towards the building that housed the Hokage. She knew the woman was more than likely still passed out after enjoying a few too many drinks the night before. Not wanting to see her before she has had a chance to nurse her hangover, she decided to wander Konoha for a few hours before announcing her arrival.
    Pounding on the door awakened Naruto from his slumber, he felt as if only moments had passed since his head hit the pillow. A quick glance at his alarm clock proved many hours had passed since then, it was now shortly before noon. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and stifled a yawn as he slowly shuffled down the hall to the front door.
    “Yeah, yeah I'm coming, keep your pants on,” he called out. The pounding stopped just as he reached for the door knob.
    “Like I would ever want you to see what's in these pants, Dobe.” Sasuke smirked. He had been back in Konoha for over a year now and some of the villagers were still leery of his presence. Naruto was the only one he could count on that had never changed, still treating him as he did back in the early days of team seven.
    “Sasuke-Teme, what the hell are you doing here?” Naruto demanded while stifling another yawn.
    “Hokage wants to see us, Kakashi and Sakura are already waiting for us over at the tower. Hurry up and get dressed, lets go.” Sasuke said tersely and headed down the stairs without waiting for him.
    “Hey, wait up, I'll only be a minute,” Naruto floundered as he struggled to pull his shirt on and lock his door at the same time.
    “Hn.”
    As Sasuke and Naruto were racing towards the tower, the young woman stood in front of the Hokage's desk next to a young man with long black hair and pale eyes. He stood straight, waiting to hear why he has been summoned and doing what he could to ignore the girl standing just a few feet from him. Not that hard, considering she paid him no mind herself. She had had a long journey from her mother's house in the country to Konoha and just wanted to find a nice bed to crawl into and pass out. Unfortunately she had just been told that the village inn is filled to the brim in anticipation of the coming chuunin exams.
    “Hyuuga, I have spoken to your uncle and he has given permission for young Hikari here to stay in the guest house on the compound. You will escort her there, and show her around once she has had a chance to rest.” Tsunade informed him.
    “Yes, Tsunade-sama.” He turned and addressed the girl called Hikari politely. “Please follow me,” Outwardly he shows her nothing but respect, yet inwardly he groaned. Despite his rank as a jounin, his uncle still liked to keep him on a short leash, never passing up the chance to volunteer him for menial jobs around the village. Now he was forced to play tour guide. The only sign she gives that she heard him is to shoulder her pack and turn to the door.
    He leads her out and towards home, occasionally pointing out points of interest, the training grounds, the hot springs, the ninja academy where young children were chasing each other outside. She didn't seem to care at all, how the hell is he supposed to know if any of those things interest her. He knew nothing about her, not even her age, and he didn't really care to know either. He would take her home, as he has been told to, and hopefully she would learn her way around the village quickly, so he didn't need to spend too much time with her.
    They approached his uncle's guest house, “This is it. It should have just about everything you need once you fill the fridge,” he told her as he unlocked the door for her. “Did you want to settle in first or did you want to see the market now?” he asked.
    “Later, I'm going to bed,” she said tersely and closed the door in his face.
    Neji blinked in mild surprise, staring at the now closed door. Looks like she'll get along just fine with Uncle Hiashi, he thought to himself darkly. Whatever, the less I have to deal with her the better. Neji returned to his room to meditate until his uncle decided that he was needed again.

    Hikari looked around the small guest house, the living room was cozy, containing a couch, arm chair, coffee table and small TV. The open concept kitchen held a full size fridge and stove, an island seating area as well as a small formal dining table with seating for four. There were two doors off the main room, one leading to a large bathroom with a generously sized Jacuzzi tub and shower, the other leading to the bedroom. The large futon calling her name, she dropped her bag next to the bedroom door, stripped down to her underwear and threw her clothes into the hamper in the corner. Crawling beneath the black silk covers, she sighed in relief and was out cold in minutes.
    Kakashi entered into the Hokage's office with his team in tow, one look at Tsunade and he could tell she was preoccupied, looking over the papers scattered around her desk.
    “Some of the Lords are starting to push for those two to finally re-take the Chuunin exam,” Tsunade informed him.
    “Why not just make us Chuunin?” Naruto demanded, never able to keep his mouth shut. “It's not like we haven't completed enough C and D rank missions, you know we can handle it.”
    “What I know doesn't matter this time,” Tsunade snapped at him. “Other countries would accuse us of favoritism and demand the same rights, causing discord. What would be the point of holding the Chuunin exams if each country could just promote shinobi whenever they felt like it. No, we will not be bending any rules this time. As you will remember the first two stages require a full team of three to take part. Since Sakura has already become a Chuunin, the two of you will need to train with another Genin to prepare for the next exam in six months...”
    “Six months?! But there's an exam in just a few weeks, why can't we take that one?” he demanded.
    “Because you need time to learn to work as a team with your new member and I don't doubt that will take much of your time,” she informed them. “Considering how insufferable all three of you are,” she added under her breath. “My niece just arrived in Konoha this morning, she wishes to become a Shinobi here and the two of you will work with her,” she left no room for argument. “She is currently staying with the Hyuuga's in their guest house; I will inform her of her assignment to your team in two days time. Now get out of my office,” she snapped, though her voice lacked any malice. She would always hold a soft spot for both Naruto and Sakura. The young Uchiha on the other hand, left something to be desired. The only reason he wasn't a prisoner right now is because Naruto had vouched for him. Sasuke knew it too and had been on his best behavior since. He had refused to tell anyone why he was no longer with Orochimaru and had been honest in admitting that he still wished his brother dead, but vowed that he would not abandon the village to seek him out again. Still she could not bring herself to fully trust him without knowing his reasoning for leaving his former master. Perhaps Hikari, after spending some time with him, would be able to shed some light on the situation.
    “So now we have to babysit some spoiled brat that’s just being made a Genin because she's Tusnade-baba's niece. Talk about ironic.” Naruto complained.
    “You shouldn't talk about Tsunade-sama's niece like that,” Sakura scolded him. “Besides, Tsunade wouldn't do something like that. If she's a Genin it's because she has proven herself, not just because she's related to the Hokage.”
    Hikari woke to the sound of a soft knocking on the front door. A quick glance at her clock showed it was just shy of four. She quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before making her way towards the door, wondering who would be coming to see her. Aunt Tsunade was most likely still at her office, and the young man who had shown her here earlier didn't come off as the type to be knocking so timidly. She hadn't yet met the head of this clan, so she deduced that it was most likely a messenger sent by him to take her to meet him. She opened the door to see a young woman standing there, dressed in a lavender and gray coat with blue pants. She had long black hair and the same pale eyes as the guy from earlier.
    “I'm sorry if I woke you,” she said softly, averting her eyes to the floor, “My name is Hinata. My father is the head of the Hyuuga family, he asked me to see if you would like to join us for dinner at the main house.”
    All Hikari wanted to do was go back to bed, but she knew it would be considered rude to turn down the offer. She also had yet to eat today and figured this would be easier than having to seek out the other guy again to escort her to the market. She flashed a bright smile at Hinata, “Thank you so much for the offer, I really appreciate it,” she said politely, “I'll just get ready quickly.”

    Hinata offered her a shy smile, “Oh no, there's no rush really. Take your time, dinner won't be served until five thirty, Father said that Neji nii-san will come to escort you to the main house at quarter after.”
    “Oh, okay then, I will see you at dinner then,” she smiled at Hinata again. Hinata excused herself and left to get ready herself. Hikari decided now would be a good time to try out the shower, Hinata had probably been too timid to say anything, but even with a change of clothes Hikari was less than clean after her time on the road without even a tent to sleep in.
    She scrubbed her skin raw, washed and conditioned her hair and worked out the tangles with her fingers before drying off. She donned a large towel around her torso and another held up her long hair. Once back in her room, she dug through her backpack in search of something nice to wear. Her aunt would expect her to play nice and not embarrass her.
    She pulled out a soft pink kimono featuring green dragonflies, it was made of silk and very pretty, something she would never wear normally. Her mother has bought it for her on her last birthday and it had been sitting in her closet ever since. Her mother had insisted that she take it with her to Konoha and she had finally conceded just to shut her up. Now she was glad she had, otherwise she would have had nothing appropriate to wear tonight. She dressed and brushed out her hair, twisting it up into a loose bun and adding a couple of dragonfly-shaped hair clips for good measure. Taking out her make-up case she applied some eye shadow and blush in more soft pinks, forgoing the usual darker tones she normally wore. A light application of pink lip gloss later and she was ready. Just in time too, as she heard an impatient knock on the door. She opened the door quickly to find the young man from earlier standing there. He was now dressed in more formal clothes better suited to dinner with the head of the family. Hikari was glad she had chosen the dress as she did.
    Neji expertly hid the surprise he felt when she opened the door, she looked nothing like the girl he had dropped off this morning. Gone was the baggy boyish clothing she had been wearing, her eyes appeared larger and her lips fuller. Not that he cared, he told himself. “You ready?” he asked with a small frown on his face, clearly showing his displeasure at having to act as an escort again.
    Hikari nodded and followed a step behind him. Who shoved a stick up his ass, she thought to herself. She didn’t know what to expect now; Hinata had been shy, timid, and polite; Neji was uptight and any politeness he had shown came across as forced. Who knew what the head of the clan would be like. Neji led her into a formal dining room where Hinata already sat waiting with a younger girl and their father sat at the head of the table. Hiashi stood to greet his guest.
    “Welcome to Konaha, Hikari,” he said pleasantly, “I hope you have found everything to you liking so far.”
    Hikari smiled softly and bowed politely to him, “Thank you very much for welcoming me into your home, Hyuuga-sama. I must say your home is very beautiful, as are the accommodations you have been so generous to afford me the use of.”
    “Think nothing of it. As the niece of the Hokage, you will always be welcome here. Please have a seat,” Hiashi gestured to the seat across from Hinata before taking his seat once again at the head of the table. Once Hikari had seated herself, Hiashi silently directed Neji to the seat next to her and across from Hanabi. “You have already met my eldest daughter Hinata, this is her sister Hanabi.” he told her.
    “It's a pleasure to meet you Hanabi, I like your kimono very much,” Hikari complimented the girl.
    “Thank you, your hair clips are beautiful.”
    Just then, several others entered the room carrying in food to place on the table. Hikari took this time to survey her hosts. Everyone was acting a little too formal. The only ones who appeared comfortable were Hiashi and his youngest daughter. Hinata seemed flustered and out of place, Neji was tense and looked as if this was the last place he wanted to be. She could practically feel the waves of tension emanating from him.
    Hiashi was careful to keep a pleasant conversation going throughout the meal between his daughters and Hikari. Inquiring about her life back home and her hobbies. The whole time ignoring Neji.
    “Will you be attending the ninja academy?” Hanabi asked her.
    “No, it was decided that there was no need for me to attend, I had a couple different private tutors growing up and they did a wonderful job. I will still be taking the Genin exam before being assigned to a team to work with. My aunt thought I was a little old for the academy anyway,” Hikari explained.
    “How old are you Hikari?” Hinata asked softly, before instantly regretting having spoken.
    “I'm seventeen,” she said with a smile, to show she wasn't offended at the question. She had expected the question sooner or later. She was very small for her age after all, coming in at just under five feet and only weighing ninety-eight pounds. As with many women in her family, she was a late bloomer and therefore still flatter than a twelve year old boy. “I'm used to it, everyone always thinks I'm much younger than I actually am. It can come in handy though to have people underestimate you.”
    “Exactly right,” Hiashi nodded in approval, “Gives them a false sense of security.” He definitely approved of this girl. She seemed intelligent, polite, self-assured yet not overly so, perhaps she could teach Hinata a thing or two where others had failed. “Did you have enough time to enjoy the market today?” He asked her.
    Hikari felt Neji tense up even further at the question, something she didn't even think possible, judging from the way he had been ignored throughout the meal. She deduced that the two men in the room did not normally get along and sensed that he would be held accountable for not taking her shopping earlier. “No Hyuuga-sama, I have not yet had a chance to visit the market. Neji offered to take me, but I was so tired from my travels that I asked for him to take me tomorrow instead.” she assured him smoothly, sure to keep eye contact with Hiashi and fought the urge to look at Neji out of the corner of her eye to see his reaction. She did however feel him relax slightly.
    “Understandable, then you must join us for breakfast tomorrow morning,” he insisted.
    “You are too kind, Hyuuga-sama.”
    “Nonsense, Neji will collect you at seven tomorrow morning,” he told her.
    “Thank you, it would be my pleasure,” she smiled at him.
    After dinner was over, Neji led her out of the house and back towards her own. He left her at her door and she went straight for the shower to scrub the make-up from her face before heading to bed. She really wasn't looking forward to the morning. She had always been a late riser and now she would not only have to rise earlier than usual, but she would once again have to play the part of the perfect guest. She had nothing against the Hyuuga girls, they seemed nice enough. Hiashi, on the other hand, just rubbed her the wrong way. She had always found the best way to judge a person was not to view how they treated their peers, but how they treated those who had to answer to them. His obvious dismissal of Neji showed that he was not as generous as he appeared to be. Then there was Neji himself, he certainly came off as cold and uncaring. She would be stuck with him for a good portion of the day tomorrow and they had barely spoken a word to each other today. She decided that she should at least make an attempt at conversation with him in the morning, or she would die of boredom before noon.
    Neji walked back to the branch house eager get some sleep, any extended time spent with his uncle was exhausting. Still, as he lay in bed his mind would not shut down. What was with that girl. This morning she was downright rude, but at dinner she came across as charming and well-reared. She even assured his uncle he had not shirked his duty to escort her to the market. Why? He just couldn't figure it out, she knew nothing about him, about any of them, why would she go out of her way for him?

    Four in the morning rolled around and Hikari still couldn't manage to sleep. It was going to be another one of those nights. She climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She sighed as the warm water ran down her back and began to hum to herself. She was soon singing quietly,
I got my ticket for the long way round,
Two bottle of whiskey for the way,
And I sure would like some sweet company,
And I'm leaving tomorrow whadaya say,
When I'm gone, When I'm gone,
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone,
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere,
Oh you're gonna miss me when I'm gone,
When I'm gone, When I'm gone,
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk,
You're gonna miss me by my talk,
Oh you're gonna miss me when I'm gone,
I got my ticket for the long way round,
The one with the prettiest of views,
It's got mountains, it's got rivers,
It's got sights to give you shivers,
But it sure would be prettier with you,
When I'm gone, When I'm gone,
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk,
You're gonna miss me by my talk,
Oh you're gonna miss me when I'm gone,
When I'm gone, When I'm gone,
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone,
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere,
Oh you're gonna miss me when I'm gone,
When I'm gone, When I'm gone,
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk,
You're gonna miss me by my talk,
Oh you're gonna miss me when I'm gone,
    She wondered if her mother missed her at all back home. Sure, she was the one who had begged to come here, because she wanted to be a shinobi, but she had a feeling that deep down her mother was glad to see her go. Hikari frowned as she struggled to pick out something to wear for the day, it wouldn't have to be as formal as dinner was but she had to be presentable. She recalled back to what both Neji and Hinata had been wearing prior to dinner. With Hiashi knowing that she would soon become a Genin, she knew that she could get away with something casual yet functional. She slipped on a fishnet shirt with a simple black tank top over top, two black arm bands covering her forearms, coupled with a pair of three quarter length cargo pants, ideal for carrying her kunai and shuriken, which she would leave at home. Grabbing her seldom-used purse from her backpack, she put her wallet inside and placed it on the coffee table in the living room, before settling down on the floor to meditate before Neji came to get her. If she couldn't sleep the least she could do was relax her mind and body before having to deal with people.

    After breakfast, at which everyone continued to play their parts from the night before, Hikari followed Neji towards the market place. Once again he was silent and avoiding looking at her as much as possible. If he wasn't going to talk on his own, she would have to get things started.
    “So, what rank are you?” Hikari asked him.
    “Jounin,” he answered shortly.
    “How old were you when you completed your training at the academy?”
    “Twelve.”
    “What do you like to do for fun?” she pressed, this was shaping up to be much harder than she had anticipated.
    “I spend my free time training,” Gods was she going to keep up this meaningless prattle all morning.
    “Have you always had that stick up your ass, or was it put there recently?” she asked seriously.
    Neji stopped and stared at her shocked, “Excuse me?”
    Hikari smirked and kept walking forcing him to jog a few steps to catch up. “So you do have another expression,” she laughed, “I was starting to think you were a robot or something. Look you may not like me, and though I don't really know you, you seem like a bit of a pretentious bastard. But I'm willing to let that slide for now. You see, we're going to be stuck together for most of the day, so wouldn't it be better just to at least attempt to have a civil conversation? Otherwise, I may have to kill myself to avoid the long drawn out process of dying of boredom.” she finished dramatically.
    Neji was dumbfounded she had just insulted him twice in less than a minute, only to crack a joke a moment later in an attempt to lighten the mood. However, she was correct. As much as he enjoyed his quiet time, the atmosphere would only get more tense with time if they continued to ignore each other. Just because she had covered for him last night at dinner did not mean she would continue to if he was anything less than hospitable towards her. “Fine,” he sighed.
    “Okay, let's try this again then. Other than training, what do you like to do?”
    “There really isn't much else to be honest,” he told her, “I will occasionally play a game of Shogi, not that you would think that it's very exciting.”
    “It doesn't have to be exciting to be worth mentioning, I just asked what you like to do with your free time. And just to clarify, I don't consider Shogi boring. It's a very intense game and I find it rather relaxing.”
    “You play?” he asked. Perhaps being forced to spend time with this girl wouldn't be so terrible after all, the competition in Konoha was rather lacking, he was tired of getting his ass handed to him all the time by Shikamaru.
    “Of course, I wouldn't have said that if I didn't,” she said with a smile, “I've never had the chance to play as much as I would like, and I could most definitely use some improvement, but I'm no novice.”
    “Why didn't you get to play often?”
    “The downside of living in the country, not many neighbors to socialize with. I only ever got to play when we made our monthly trips into the village or when I could convince my tutors to take a study break.”
    They kept up a steady conversation as Hikari shopped. When the bags got to be too much for her to carry, Neji helped her. Yes he knew it was required of him but he found himself actually wanting to help. It was the least he could do after she was able to make this whole trip a lot more bearable. She even let him off the hook by doing the majority of the talking so that he didn't have to talk about himself too much. On the way back he just had to ask, “Why didn't your parents come with you to Konoha? They were just okay with you leaving home to come here?”
    Hikari's eyes darkened momentarily before answering, “I could never imagine asking my mother to leave her home and my father, he passed away when I was four.” she said quietly refusing to elaborate further.
    Neji was internally smacking himself in the head for that one, he for one hated to talk about his parents' passing and now he had just opened an old wound for her. “I'm sorry,” he apologized, “I know how hard it is, I was four when my father passed as well.”
    Hikari nodded at his explanation but said no more on the subject. She understood what he wanted to say without coming right out and saying it, I understand, I will say no more if you will say no more.
    They reached the front door and Hikari put the bags she had been carrying down so she could fish out her key. Retrieving the bags, she led Neji inside and directed him to put them down on the island.
    “Would you like help unpacking?” he offered.
    “I think I can manage. You don't have to help me if you don't want to.” Hikari was fairly certain that this job had been assigned to him because of his uncle. It wasn't the type of job normally assigned to a jounin. It was more suited to something more of his younger cousin Hanabi's level. The man seemed to take pleasure in reminding Neji of his station in life, though Hikari still wasn't entirely sure what that entailed.
    “It's fine, I don't mind.”
    “Okay” she smiled warmly, “why don't you put stuff away in the cupboards and I'll deal with the fridge and freezer.”
    They worked in silence until the job was done. Hikari offered him a seat at the island while she made tea. He noticed her beginning to prepare a light lunch and tried to protest, “No it's fine really, I'm not that hungry,” he explained, but his stomach chose that time to betray him by letting out a rather large growl that she couldn't have missed if she tried. Hikari laughed and it was music to his ears, not that he would ever admit it.
    She put the tea and lunch out on the island and sat across from him, “It's no problem, really, just eat.” While they were eating a messenger had come to inform her that the the following morning she was to report to the training grounds to meet her team for the first time.
    After lunch Neji watched Hikari clear the dishes as he contemplated whether there was anything else his uncle would expect him to do for her right now. He found himself strangely reluctant to leave. If he did, no doubt his uncle would find something menial for him to do. Even though this was technically considered a mission, he would much rather spend time in her company, which was truthfully not bad. “Would you care for a game of Shogi?” he asked her.
    “I would love a game of Shogi unfortunately, I don't have a set.”
    “I have one back in my room, if you want I can go and get it,” he told her, secretly hoping that she really was interested in a game and not just trying to politely get rid of him.
    “That sounds great, and I'll make more tea.”
    Hikari set the tea on the coffee table in the living room, she grabbed a couple of the over sized throw pillows off the couch and placed them on either side of the table figuring it would be more relaxing to play there than in the kitchen. She let Neji in when he got back and he began setting up the board.
    “Neji, can I ask you something?” she asked him after they had been playing for awhile.
    “Hmm?”
    “After this game, do you think it would be possible for you to show me the training grounds again? I'm afraid I wasn't really paying attention yesterday,” she said quietly.
    Neji moved a piece before looking up at her, “Sure that won't be a problem, anything you need help finding just let me know. I've been assigned to help you until you are comfortable navigating around the village on your own.”
    Hikari frowned slightly before smiling brightly again, “Thanks, I can't wait to start training tomorrow,” she said after moving a piece.
    Neji internally smacked himself again. Great, now she thought he was only hanging around because he had been ordered too. While it may have been true at first, he would much rather be here than doing some of the other jobs his uncle could think up. “Do you know who is on your team yet?” he asked trying to keep the conversation going.
    “Yeah,” she said pulling out a paper our of her pocket that the messenger had given her, “Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Team leader is Hatake Kakashi.”
    Neji let out a small chuckle, “good luck with that, Naruto is a loud mouth, and Kakashi is perpetually late.”
    “What about the other guy? Uchiha?”
    “Let's just say if you thought I was I pretentious bastard I would hate to see what you would label Sasuke as.”
    Hikari had the decency to blush at that, “I'm sorry about that by the way, you're not nearly as pretentious as I originally thought,” she told him.
    He could tell she didn't really mean it though but decided to play along, “But I'm still a bastard?” he asked.
    “Just at first,” she said with a smirk to show him she didn't really think so.
    “Check mate.”
    “I take it back your still a bastard,” she said with the laugh and threw her hands up in defeat.
    Neji packed up the board and stood up, “Training grounds then?” he said and offered her a hand up, which she gladly accepted.
    “Lead the way,” she told him and followed him out the door. Her first full day in Konaha was shaping up to be pretty good.
A/N: Lyrics from When I'm gone by Anna Kendrick
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When I'm Gone