The Color Blue

*~~*

Naruto woke bright and early the next morning and dressed quickly. As he walked down the hallway, it suddenly occurred to him to check on his new houseguest. Silently he approached Hinata's room, but when he opened the door, he found her room empty.

"Hinata-chan?" he called worriedly. It wasn't safe for her to be wandering around Quadgram alone.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata called from a room to his left. Turning around, Naruto saw Hinata exiting from the bathroom, her hair still dripping as she toweled it dry.

"Oh, there you are, Hinata-chan!" he grinned widely, and she blushed. Both ninja were decked out in new, blue clothes, but where Naruto's outfit was baggy, Hinata's new clothes hugged her frame tightly.

"Let's go get some breakfast!" Naruto cheered, oblivious to Hinata's embarrassment, and ran down the stairs.

Nodding, Hinata walked into the other room, retrieved her shoes and weapons, and met the hyperactive ninja downstairs in the living room.

"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked her as he pulled his sandals on.

"Um, eggs?" she twiddled her fingers shyly.

"Can do!" he grinned, jumping off the couch and opening the door.

"Ne, Hinata-chan," he said seriously as she walked past him. She turned and waited. "From now on, you have to call me Fox, and I have to call you Vixen, okay?" Naruto waited for her answer.

The Hyuuga nodded, blushing horribly.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered, shutting the door behind them as he led her down the street.

A few minutes later, the two were seated at a fancy, outside restaurant in the square, their breakfast before them.

"I wonder where the others are," Naruto looked around as he ate his food.

Hinata looked up from her plate and looked around, hoping to aid Naruto in his search. Suddenly, she pointed, and Naruto spun around.

"Sparrow! Oriole! Falcon! Shepherd!" Naruto waved the four over.

Neji took the new name in stride, but Kiba seemed slightly irked.

"What's Shepherd doing here?" Naruto asked Sparrow as the four sat down and ordered.

"We're waiting on Retriever and Husky. They were supposed to come by to pick him up, but when we walked by the squad house, he and Akamaru were sitting on the front porch," Sparrow told him, glancing at Kiba with a sad look.

Naruto frowned. "I'm being mutinied by my men already," he sighed dramatically. Sparrow and Oriole grinned.

"I'm sure no one's mutinying," Oriole said confidently. "They're just running behind."

"Husky doesn't run behind," Sparrow reminded her teammate.

"Ne, but Retriever does," Naruto informed them, "by hours at a time."

"Seriously?" the girls chorused. Naruto nodded, and they winced in sympathy.

"Hey, guys!" a cheerful voice called out, and the ninja in the restaurant turned to see who it was.

Fennec was skipping over towards them, a dazzling, cheerful smile on her face.

"Guess she's had her coffee," Oriole mumbled. Sparrow and Naruto nodded gravely.

As the crowd dissipated slightly, they could see Wolf following dutifully behind her, and Sasuke trudging behind Wolf, bruises covering his pale skin.

Fennec and Wolf slid into seats at Naruto's table, but Sasuke melted into his seat, agony etched onto his face.

"Kami, Fennec, you killed him!" Naruto poked the motionless Uchiha. A pitiful moan rose from the bruised boy, and Naruto turned to stare at Fennec in shock.

"What the Hell did you do to him?" Naruto blinked in surprise.

"Training," Fennec replied, snatching a menu from a passing waitress and ordering coffee.

"What does that mean?" the blonde asked loudly, still very shocked.

"I put him through his paces. Running laps, lifting weights, the usual," she ordered her breakfast from the waitress as she returned with Fennec's coffee.

"What else?" he pressed.

"She asked him to bring her the cookies," Wolf broke in, "and he said no."

"You lost your temper?" Naruto asked the girl seriously.

"Yes," she replied sheepishly, staring into her coffee guiltily.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Please don't kill him. I know he's annoying, but he's my friend."

"But he's not dead!" she retorted. "Watch!" she reached across the table and poked him with a fork.

"Gahh!" Sasuke grabbed his arm and fell out of the chair, landing roughly on his face.

"See?" Fennec put the fork back down.

"Fennec!" Sparrow chided, "don't torture the guy! If I can't harass the kunoichi, then you can't harass him." Naruto shook his head sadly.

"Okay," the mischievous girl sighed, "I'll stop." Disappointed, she rose and put Sasuke back into his chair.

As the group calmed down, Naruto asked, "Did you resolve the name issue? You have two Wolf's on your team now."

"Yep," Fennec smiled. "I call this one," she pointed at the injured Uchiha, "loser-sama, and I call this one," she pointed at Wolf, who watched her with curiosity, "Wolfie."

Naruto sighed again and looked at Oriole. "How are things going at the squad house? Are things with Falcon working out?" Neji twitched when he heard Naruto talk about him.

"They're good," Oriole grinned. "He's no trouble at all."

"That reminds me," Neji spoke up coldly. "I forgot to thank you for letting me use your room."

"Um, you're welcome," Naruto replied uneasily. Hinata, spotting trouble, tugged on Neji's sleeve in an attempt to stop her cousin, but it was far too late.

"After all, we all didn't get to live in rooms that haven't seen daylight in eight years. We don't all get to live in spider paradise, with dust and mold and decay." Neji's eyes were hard, and he was frowning angrily.

Naruto grinned sheepishly, before turning on Sparrow. "You didn’t clean the room?"

"We made him do it," she replied casually as she dug into her breakfast.

"Poor Falcon-kun," Oriole shook her head, patting Neji on the back. "It took him six hours to clean it all."

"Do you know what it's like to be able to see every speck of dirt at once?" Neji ground out angrily.

"I think you gave him OCD," Sparrow informed Naruto, "he woke up looking for more filth, expecting it around every corner."

"I had nightmares," Neji said furiously, "about mold and dust."

Naruto laughed nervously as Neji glared. "Well, look at the time, we really need to go," he grabbed Hinata' hand and dragged her away, smacking straight into Kakashi.

"Where have you been?" Naruto pointed at Kakashi and Husky accusingly, "Shepherd's been waiting for you!"

"Retriever was late," Husky poked the jounin roughly in the back. Husky, it appeared, had gotten Kakashi's attention. The man was bulky, like Tigerdragon, but was only slightly shorter than Kakashi.

"Heh, sorry. I got lost on the path of life," Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Right, sure." Naruto didn’t believe his sensei for one moment. "Well, you go ahead and take Shepherd. Vixen and I are gonna go train behind sensei's house." He turned to the others at the table and tossed down some money to pay for their meal. "Meet us there later, guys!"

Naruto darted off, a blushing Hinata right behind him.

Sparrow and Oriole shook their heads. "She's got it bad for him, doesn't she?" Sparrow turned to Neji. "How long has she liked him?"

"Years," Neji replied, still miffed at Naruto and Sparrow, but willing to cooperate with his landlord. If he didn’t, he might never be allowed time in the bathroom to brush his hair again!

"Who has it bad for who?" Fennec looked confused. Wolf, Sparrow, and Oriole shook their heads.

"Don't worry about it, Fennec," Wolf patted the girl on the head, "you'll give yourself a headache." The girl took his words at face value and went back to her breakfast. Husky and Kakashi joined the group, sitting down next to Kiba, across from the girls and Neji.

"What happened to Wolf?" Kakashi was careful to use his student's code name.

Fennec looked up sheepishly. "I sorta broke him." Kakashi gaped.

"That's amazing. I didn't think anyone could do this to him," Kakashi stared at Fennec in wonder. Oriole and Sparrow started to giggle at the goofy face Kakashi was making, until Fennec turned pink. Suddenly, all of their attention was on their friend.

"Earth to Fennec," Oriole poked the girl sharply in the ribs.

"Huh? What?" she looked disoriented and confused.

"No way," Oriole whispered in amazement.

"We gotta go," Sparrow stood up, dragging Fennec with her. "Wolf!" she called behind her as she and Oriole started walking away, Fennec in tow, "pay for our meal and watch the newbies!"

Wolf nodded, though he was annoyed to be left with the four newbies and Husky.

"What was that about?" Kiba asked in confusion as he finished his food.

"I think it's a girl thing," Wolf sighed. The lump that was Sasuke gurgled in agreement.

Everyone looked over in surprise, wondering how the Uchiha was conscious. Suddenly, the lump made a noise.

"What did it- I mean- he, say?" Husky looked at Sasuke curiously.

"I think," Wolf frowned in concentration, "he said, 'is she gone yet?'."

Kiba started laughing uproariously, and even Neji smirked.

"That Fennec chick is sure a handful," Kiba commented as he waited for Husky and Kakashi to finish their meal.

"You have no idea," Wolf replied with a sigh.

"They're all very rowdy," Neji observed. "Though Oriole seems more composed than they are."

"Sparrow's not so bad," Kiba rebuked the Hyuuga. Neji frowned in disagreement.

"She made me clean that room," Neji pointed out.

"So she's clever; I would've made you clean it, too!" Kiba replied.

"Fennec's the most amazing, I think," Kakashi suddenly joined in the conversation. "She took Wolf out in one night," he pointed at the abused Uchiha.

"You realize you're arguing about which girl is the greatest?" Wolf asked them calmly. Suddenly Kiba and Neji turned pink and began shrieking in denial. Kakashi pretended he hadn't heard.

Husky laughed riotously as he dropped the payment for their food on the table. "Let's go. We have training to do. Maybe if you hurry, you'll have time to go visit your beloveds before nightfall."