Chapter 178: The Day After

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 178: The Day After

"Naruto…"

He opened his eyes slowly when he heard his name being called.

Some rays of light had begun to creep through the window, indicating it was already dawn.

He turned his head around to look back at the improvised futon they had set up in the middle of the living room, as his bed was only good for one person.

Hinata was staring at him with sleepy eyes as her long black hair barely covered her nakedness.

"Good morning," he told her.

She tilted her head to one side. "Did you sleep?"

Naruto was sitting on the floor, just a few feet away, in his natural lotus position used for meditation.

"A little bit." He rarely slept anymore, unless he got truly exhausted, it was no longer necessary for him.

She looked down at herself. "Oh…" Her face gained a red tint when she realized she didn't have a single piece of clothing on her and the mattress was only covering her lower half.

"No need to be embarrassed. We saw plenty of each other last night," Naruto told her.

The flush on her cheeks became more prominent. "Still... I should get dressed." Hinata wondered if she would eventually grow accustomed to this so it would no longer be awkward.

"Does anyone know you were coming here? Or do I have to worry about the entire Hyuga Clan looking for their missing heiress?" Naruto looked away while the girl struggled to find all her clothes. Apparently, she had thrown them around before putting on that apron.

"Few things can happen around Konoha without my clan knowing," Hinata answered calmly. "I saw Asami last night. She was wandering close to the apartment. Definitely knows I was here."

"Your attendant?... Was she looking at us?" Naruto didn't really mind that much. He had probably been observed many times already.

"She knows better." Hinata's tone was a hard one that promised repercussions if that were to happen.

"So I don't have to be concerned about your father trying to hunt me down for defiling his beloved daughter?" He decided to ask, just in case.

"He wouldn't do that…" Hinata finished tying her belt. "But he probably expects you to go talk to him at some point. My father has always been fond of old traditions and rules…but..." Hinata glanced at Naruto. She didn't want to impose something on him that would make him uncomfortable.

"I understand. Leave it to me." He had some experience dealing with old-fashioned individuals.

Hinata felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She did not want to imagine a scenario where her family and Naruto didn't get along, forcing her to choose one side.

No matter how harsh the Hyuga clan had been on her during her childhood…they were still her only family.

"Hinata." Naruto called her over while making a hand gesture.

"Huh?" She walked to where he was sitting.

Naruto tapped on his lap. "Sit down for a moment."

"Eh?!" Her eyes were fixated on his legs. She could not help but become embarrassed again.

"I'm not going to do anything inappropriate. I just want to check something," Naruto reassured the girl.

"Check something?" Now she was curious.

She took a moment to sit down as he told her, with her back towards him.

Naruto hugged her from behind and placed his hands on her belly, making her gasp softly.

"I want you to close your eyes and circulate your chakra."

It was then that Hinata realized what Naruto was trying to do. He was checking the results of last night… activities.

Hinata understood on some level that what they did had another purpose, besides being intimate with each other.

Although at the time, her mind was somewhere else.

Now she was getting a bit worried that she made a mistake during the process.

"Mmm…." Naruto murmured.

"Naruto?"

"Do you notice any difference?" he asked.

Now that he mentioned it…she did find something odd. "I feel… warmer. I never realized I was cold before."

"That's a normal side effect of gathering too much Yin energy into your core. Now you have a bit more balance. It should make it easier to control your chakra."

"So this is because of that technique?"

"Of course. You spent two years cultivating and purifying Yin Chakra under the moonlight. It is normal to be out of balance. If you kept going cultivation by yourself… well, let's just say that too much of a good thing can also be bad." Naruto said.

After all, that cultivation method that Ino acquired was meant to be complemented with a dual cultivation partner.

"So if we didn't do this…" Hinata was now getting concerned for Ino. What was going to happen to her if she…

"In case you were wondering…" Naruto interrupted her thoughts. "Ino was very much aware of those dangers before she began."

That method was created specifically for her, so of course, she would know about every single danger or side effect that could result from its practice.

"She could have told me something…" Hinata complained.

Naruto shrugged. "I won't guess about her reason for not telling you. But she probably thought that you would be fine as long as we were together."

"Mmmm…. I'm still going to talk with her." Hinata realized something else.

If Ino knew about the side effects and still decided to cultivate this method… that could only mean that she had already decided to be with Naruto, despite continuing to say that she had to think about it.

The two of them sat in silence for a few more minutes. Hinata was in no hurry to move away, but she also knew that Naruto probably had some plans for the day.

"What are you going to do today?"

"Today?" Naruto considered it for a second. "I think I have a library to visit."

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