"You Perv." Naruto grumbled.
Tsunade, Kakashi, Hiashi and Hinata's grandfather, Hiro, were waiting for them when they finally reached the office.
Naruto's first thought was that this was an odd group to gather. However, Hinata's heart skipped a beat.
She had more experience with the formalities of an arranged marriage, since most Hyuga marriages were arranged. She recognized right away that Kakashi and Jiraiya would be the closest that Naruto had to parents.
And Hiashi and Hiro had been there when Hanabi's intended marriage was arranged.
Plus the sour look on her father's face would be the expected response to a union between her and Naruto.
"Come in, you two." Tsunade waved them into her office.
Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and then moved closer to the desk, after Jiraiya nudged them from behind.
"We all are here to discuss something very important, which has to do with the both of you."
Tsunade looked at Hinata. "Do you know that Naruto is the nine tailed fox's jinchuuriki? The demon was seal inside of him when he was a baby."
Hinata nodded. "He just told me..."
"Good. So I don't have to tell you that it is very important that a repeat of the attack that occurred sixteen years ago, never happen." Tsunade continued abruptly. "An arrangement was made soon after your birth Hinata.
Between your father and the third hokage. To make sure that the nine tailed fox stays sealed."
"What kind of arrangement?!" Naruto demanded for Hinata.
"Lady Tsunade's grandmother was sealed with a binding seal to several different byakugan users during her long life time, in order to keep Kurama sealed and docile." Hiro replied, hobbling forward slightly. "They typically came from the main family line... it is the purest and the strongest, and none of our byakugans are sealed by the caged bird curse seal.
As a younger man, I was the last to be sealed to her before she died."
Hinata looked over at Naruto who was scowling around the room. She asked softly. "Y-you want me to be sealed to Naruto?"
"Yes." Hiashi replied. "That is what the training has been about for the last couple of weeks. You are about to turn sixteen in a couple of days. The agreement says you must be sealed to the jinchuuriki before your sixteenth birthday."
Naruto reached out and grabbed Hinata's hand. "Ok. But only if Hinata is ok with it."
"It's not that simple." Hiro said. "The sannin told us that the demon inside of you has taken over a couple of times already, for short periods. It appears Kurama has much more freedom inside of you than he had in Mito when I was sealed to her.
She was not a perfect jinchuuriki, but she had better control over him by that point. For that reason, Hinata is going to have to be sealed to both of you. And you are going to have to trick the tailed beast into accepting her."
That night, Naruto lay with one of his arms underneath the back of his head. He could not sleep, so he stared up at the ceiling and counted the cracks.
Hinata's grandfather made it sound like there was a chance that Hinata could be seriously injured or even killed during the sealing, and the only one who stood between her and the nine tailed fox was him.
Naruto did not want Hinata to do anything that could potentially kill her, especially not for him. The nine tailed fox was his responsibility. Even if he was not falling in love with her (which he was) he would have wanted to protect her.
So Grandma Tsunade would just have to find another way, because he refused to go through with the sealing.
He could tell Hinata was upset when he told her his decision. But she only quietly nodded and kept her thoughts to herself.
Both Jiraiya and Kakashi tried to convince him to change his mind, but then, they said that there might be another way.
Tsunade agreed to try the wood style user for now. But she said if Naruto did not start to show better control over the bijou, she was going to order the sealing whether he agreed to it or not.
Hinata kneeled quietly outside of her father's office waiting for the shinobi inside to emerge. Her father was so happy after Naruto refused to be sealed to Hinata, that on her sixteenth birthday, he started to search for an arranged marriage for her.
The problem was that Lady Tsunade forbade Hiashi to seal Hinata to anyone else. And once the other families heard that Hinata might eventually be sealed to Naruto, none of them wanted anything to do with her.
She looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She was not nearly as upset about that, as she was about the fact that Naruto had started to avoid her.
He tried to pretend that he was not staying away on purpose. But a couple of times, she watched him duck down another alley to avoid walking past her in the street. So she knew he was avoiding her.
She had not seen him at all in weeks. He left on a mission to help the village hidden in the sand and Gaara the Kazekage. When he returned, he never sought her out to say hello or have their usual talks.
Then he left again with Sakura and the new team Kakashi on a mission to search for Orochimaru and Sasuke.
The rumors were already circulating through the village that Naruto and Hinata had broken up. She spent most of her time hidding in the Hyuga Compound or with Shino and Kiba in the village.
They were good at avoiding the subject, and they scared off anyone who dared to ask her any questions.
"Lady Hinata, you've been summoned to the Hokage's office." Ko appeared in front of her, peering down at her kneeling on the floor.
Hinata turned and looked at the door to Hiashi's office. "But what about..."
"I'll tell your father when he comes out." Ko replied. "They say it's urgent."
Hinata nodded and then moved towards the door.
She crossed town swiftly. She did not even bother to change from the kimono that she wore for her father's guests. Her hair was still pinned up in the back, a few strands dripping down softly against the back of her neck.