Chapter 29: Chapter 29 - Kurenai 1

It could be forgiven if a casual observer thought that Hyuuga Hinata was attached to her boyfriend at the hip.

The truth was the girl had been clingy her whole life. Perhaps this was related to losing her mother at a young age. The poor Hyuuga heiress had very little love and even less security in her formative years.

What this meant was that she had latched on to Naruto from a very early age in the academy, though been simultaneously too insecure to approach him.

But in addition, it meant that she also formed grateful bonds with her team.

And beyond all else, she held an almost daughterly bond with her Sensei.

Kurenai-sensei had seen something in her that she hadn't even recognized herself.

She had seen that all the girl needed was a little push.

Kurenai gently guided her into being friends with her teammates. Because underneath her quiet and reserved personality was just a normal girl that wanted people to like her.

She owed Kurenai-sensei a lot, and visited her frequently.

"Sensei." Hinata greeted, walking into the red-eyed woman's apartment. She had her own key. "Sensei, I brought some groceries. You haven't eaten, have you?"

No response.

Slowly, Hinata began to follow Step-by-step instructions for a hearty stew.

She was gradually studying more feminine arts.

It might be surprising, because her bust had grown so ample and her features were so utterly refined, but Hyuuga Hinata wasn't all that great in the kitchen.

She knew more about Tea Ceremonies than she knew about Tea Brewing itself.

She knew more about how to manipulate another person's chakra circulation than she knew about how to manipulate a Wok.

But now, with a boyfriend like Uzumaki Naruto, she had begun to take on the more mundane womanly tasks. She wanted to knit more things for him. She wanted to cook delicious meals for him.

And for her Sensei as well.

She already had made a few little boots for the upcoming child. She had also learned many healthy meals fit for a pregnant woman's nutrition.

"Sensei?" She called gently, after putting the stew on low.

Walking into the bedroom, ever so gently opening the door so as not to wake any slumbering mother-to-be, Hinata finally found her teacher.

Yet finding Kurenai had almost broken Hinata's heart.

Kurenai-sensei was merely staring at a photograph while clutching a cigarette case and lighter to her chest.

Hinata slowly closed the door and returned to the living room, depressed.

Kurenai-sensei didn't like it when people fussed about her. She felt proud as a teacher, and as an older woman. She didn't want her students to fuss.

But Hinata couldn't help it.

The fact her teacher hid away in her room to wallow in her own grief all alone was even more worrying. She would prefer that Kurenai could break down in tears where she could see.

But Kurenai-sensei had cried too much. Her tears had run dry. Her sorrow had numbed her. She walked through life like a ghost.

Hinata looked around herself in the living room.

Kurenai-sensei wasn't the only ghost in this house.

Everywhere she looked, Hinata could see evidence of the late Asuma Sarutobi.

Even though they had been dating in secret, it now could not be more apparent.

Hinata sighed.

"Oh! Hinata? I didn't hear you come in." Kurenai-sensei said with a bright voice as she slowly descended the stairs.

Hinata's special eyes could not be deceived.

Kurenai-sensei's cheer did not reach her eyes. Her eyes were as sallow and empty as ever.

"I knew my chakra would be disrupted by this pregnancy. But I had no ideas my conventional senses would be so dulled." Kurenai laughed self-deprecatingly as she sat beside her student.

Her laughter did not reach her eyes, either.

Hinata wished she would just stop.

How could her Sensei fool her? How could she hope to fool any of her students, when she had taught them everything they knew about how to track and discern?

Kiba and Shino could already not bare to see their teacher in this way.

"Sensei. There's more than that. Aren't you lonely? I know that… it hasn't been very long, and you're still grieving. But you could just let one of the boys stay in the guest room. You shouldn't be alone right now. It isn't safe, and it must be frightening..."

Kurenai froze at Asuma's name, as she always did. It had become simultaneously taboo and unavoidable in this household. "…Hinata. No. I just couldn't…"

"Sensei…" Hinata gently reproached. "By your third trimester, it's not normal for you to be all alone. I do know about these things. I've been reading up."

Kurenai blinked. "You have?"

"Well… Naruto-kun and I… we've been thinking…" She said, blushing as she folded her hands above her womb. As usual, her baby tank was fit to burst with her lover and master's virile ejaculate. Contraception techniques were, as ever, the only thing between her and a ripe pregnancy.

Kurenai clapped her hands, overjoyed that the shy girl she had once tutored had come so far. "Will there be a wedding?" She asked excitedly.

"Maybe…. Maybe later… I mean. Right now Sensei… we are all thinking of you." Hinata confessed. "You are still in this condition. Kiba, Shino, as well as Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji… we're all trying to be here for you."

"No one can replace Asuma. No one, ever."

"We're not trying to -"

"And no one can replace Naruto, either. Hinata." Kurenai said, grasping the young woman's hands. "Take it from me. If it's your last lesson from me as your Sensei. Don't wait. This profession of ours… it doesn't have the best life expectancy. I know that he's strong. But you never know, Hinata. You never…" Kurenai trailed off, gazing into the distance.

Hinata felt her heart break all over again.

Yakiniku Q

The Konoha 11 (13 now, with the inclusion of Sai and the return of Sasuke) were meeting up at Yakiniku Q, the favorite BBQ hot-spot for Team Asuma.

"Ano... Well… It's been seven months." Hinata said sadly, hugging her boyfriend's arm tightly. The two were scrunched together at one end of the table. Another table had to be brought in to accommodate the large group. "She's… not improved at all."

"Sorry. Thanks for checking on her." Kiba said sadly. "It's been hard to drop by for me lately."

"She was always so strong." Shino said, arms folded. "This loss has wounded her deeply, and I feel that she isn't comfortable with us seeing her in that state."

"You two were always a little closer." Kiba admitted.

Hinata sighed, burying herself into Naruto's side. "I don't know what to say to her either. In the end, I still have my love. It's hard for me to tell her what she should be doing."

"Well she has to do something." Ino objected. "She hasn't left the house in ages! Asuma-sensei wouldn't have wanted this."

"Sensei was… always concerned with others." Shikamaru said, massaging his temple. "In Shogi, I remember. He put the king first. And the queen second. All the rank and file came after. If the children are the 'king' then… is Kurenai-sensei the 'queen'?"

"Anyway I agree." Choji said between mouth-fulls of meat. "She's got to get out. Get some sunlight. Stretch her legs."

"That's also good from a medical standpoint." Sakura pointed out. "Of course, nothing crazy. But she can't be moping about all the time. She needs to stretch her limbs."

Naruto of course had yet to say anything. He was merely trying to race Choji to the best slices of BBQ.

But slowly he began to notice the pinprick of stares concentrated on him.

He frowned. "What?" He asked the table.

"Ah, baka." Sakura pouted. "Don't you have anything to say on the subject?"

If Hinata was latched on to his right side, then Sakura was seated smartly to his left, and was affixing him with a stern and disappointed look.

That was very common for team 7.

Naruto shot her a flat look.

"What?" She asked. "You're being oblivious!" She argued, looking around. "See? Read the mood."

"Okay." Naruto said, turning back to the table. "So what is it?"

"Well…" Hinata began slowly. "I was thinking - we were thinking that you could do something."

"Me?" Naruto asked. "I don't know her that well." He admitted.

"That's exactly why." Shikamaru agreed. "The rest of us are too referential to her. It's a problem. We tell her that she has to get out of the house. And she says no. And we just… That's Asuma-sensei's woman…" Shikamaru trailed off sadly.

Naruto pursed his lips. "I understand." He said. "When Ero-sennin died, I felt like I couldn't touch a single thing he had left behind. I felt like I was unworthy, as a student that had not been there when he died. But you are all being too soft on her. For her own good, you need to put your foot down. At least that's what it sounds like."

"It's easy for you to say." Sasuke grumbled. "Your special move is beating people up until they reform their ways."

"That's not fair." Naruto argued. "There's nuance to my methods."

"Whatever dobe. New dictionary word?" Sasuke sneered. "Nuance? Two whole syllables?"

"Yeah. I read up on it between the sixth and seventh time I kicked your ass." Naruto replied smartly.

"Naruto! Don't pick on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura chided.

"Pick on? Sakura-chan. He started it!" Naruto objected.

"I don't care who started it. I'm gonna finish it." Sakura said, cracking her knuckles.

Shikamaru held up his hands, separating the two. "Look. The point is, forget about all this. This isn't about you, or him, or me or anyone. Let's think about Kurenai-sensei right now. Naruto, please. Can you take care of this?" Shikamaru asked. "From all of us. Just… take her out somewhere. Don't let her talk her way out of it. Just… get her out of the house."

"That seems…" Naruto folded his arms. "I don't know. I don't want to stick my nose into it."

"It's what Asuma-sensei would have wanted." Shikamaru pressed. "She's withering away. Haven't you seen her?"

"I can't say I have." Naruto offered. "She's never around."

"Exactly."

"Hmmmm… Hinata-chan is always talking about her Sensei's condition... Just take her out somewhere?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun. Please?" Hinata pleaded, hugging him close. Her big, watery eyes were the nail in the coffin.

Kurenai's House

Yuuhi Kurenai was sitting at the dinner table, staring into a bowl of uneaten stew, when she heard the door unlock.

She looked up, expecting to see her star pupil, Hinata. But the man that followed her in was a surprise.

"Naruto?" She asked, shocked. "What brings you here?"

"A movie." Naruto replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down heavily.

"A movie?" Kurenai echoed, lost. "No. Why did you… sit there?"

"I don't know. It's the had of the table." Naruto shrugged. "And there's a paper here." He pointed out, unfurling it across his knee. "Let's check the show times…"

"Is there a problem, Sensei?" Hinata asked in innocence.

Kurenai was going to point out that Asuma used to sit there. He used to sit in that chair, and she would light his cigar, and he would complain about the news, and they…

But the words were stuck in her throat.

His name was stuck in her throat.

"There's been a lot of talk. There's a lot of people worried about you and long story short: I'm taking you out on the town." Naruto told her matter-of-factly. He glanced over, looking the pregnant woman up and down.

Kurenai felt his gaze rake over her body. Her breasts had become even more huge, and were beginning to lactate. Her modest dress had nipple stains that were indecent given the company.

But she so rarely had anyone but Hinata or Ino over.

And he was so.

His gaze traveled down to the round curve of her belly.

Kurenai felt bloated like a balloon, these days. She blushed and covered her belly as if ashamed.

"I was going to tell you to get dressed, but your pregnancy has only made you more beautiful than before." Naruto judged. "Do you want the 7pm or the 8pm show?"

"I… No… That…" Kurenai spluttered. "What?" She pleaded, glancing swiftly between Naruto and her student.

Hinata had her hands under her chin, and was staring with an expectant and excited gaze. "What do you think, Sensei? Doesn't it sound nice? Just one night out."

"No… Hinata. This is so sudden!" Kurenai complained.

"Sudden? Sensei, we've been saying for months that you should get some fresh air! We've been trying to drag you out of the house for so long now!"

"But! But you never brought a… a man!" Kurenai complained. "I'm not dressed!" She spluttered.

Hinata smiled, feeling that progress was being made. "So you just need time to get pretty?"

Kurenai, realizing what her words implied, spluttered a denial. "No I…. I mean… I mean… I mean!"

"She's already stunning." Naruto said flatly, gazing at the pregnant Jounin in question. "Get your coat. The 7pm is some kind of romance film. You girls would like that, right?"

"I…I'm not ready." Kurenai objected. "It's too soon."

To this, Naruto simply folded the paper in half, and in half again to put it aside. He affixed the woman before him with a no-nonsense stare that made her know that he was not here to ask for permission. "Don't make this difficult. I said we're going out, and we're going out." Naruto replied seriously. "Get your coat."

Kurenai's breath felt short, but also hot.

Her thighs quivered even though she was seated.

In her mind, she saw Asuma there. In his seat, with his paper before him.

In public they were equals. They were both Jounin, and in truth from range she could make him her bitch with the nightmares of Genjutsu.

And she was a cool, confident pillar of an independent woman that didn't stand for nonsense.

But Asuma would always come over, secretly of course, and she would hand him the paper and a coffee and he was so firm when they were alone. He alone knew how to cut through that feminine wile that she had used for so long as an armor. He knew how to handle a woman.

"I…" Kurenai said weakly. "I… um…"

Naruto abruptly stood up. The sound of his chair scraping against the floor startled the two women. Naruto sighed. "If I have to say it a third time -"

"Okay! Okay!" Kurenai fretted. "W-Well 8pm! Let's go to the 8pm show! I need time to get ready!"

Naruto looked annoyed, but assented.

Upstairs

She opened her make-up door for the first time in seven months.

She looked - really looked at herself - for the first time in seven months.

Bags under her crimson eyes. A sunken face.

Which part was stunning? Which part was beautiful?

Kurenai powdered her face with a frantic energy.

Beside her, Hinata offered her advice. "This shade, for your lips. A nice bright red. It will match your eyes, and he likes bright colors."

"I… I'm not dressing up for him." Kurenai objected, taking the bright red lipstick anyway.

"Yes you are." Hinata said, running a comb through her Sensei's hair. "It's all right. You have my blessing to do whatever comes naturally. You don't have to do anything you really don't want to. It can be just a little platonic date between friends. But if you feel like it. If you feel like you have needs and those needs start to look like a tall blonde with dazzling blue eyes…"

"He's your boyfriend." Kurenai said weakly.

"He's my Master, too." Hinata answered. "He's my owner and my future husband, and I can't think of a better man to make you feel like a woman again."

Kurenai blushed. Hinata had told her all the lewd stories. She was the girl's confidant, after all, ever since the age of fourteen. "Your 'Naruto-kun' has gotten pushy."

"Oh Sensei. He was always pushy." Hinata smiled. "But now he's focused. Besides, his voice dropped a few octaves and now he knows how to make his requests sound like demands. And of course…." she trailed off, bringing her lips close to whisper in her Sensei's ear. "he looks soooo yummy in those geans."

Kurenai's whole body twitched in response. "I… I need to change." She muttered. "Help me pick out a dress?"

"Of course." Hinata answered lovingly. "Don't worry. I know what he likes."

Kurenai looked nice for the first time in seven months.

Living Room

"W…Well?" Kurenai asked. She had ruby red high-heels, stocking covered thighs, a knee-length black dress that bulged out for her baby bulge, and tits that were almost spilling out of the dress's valiant attempts to keep the third most busty woman in Konoha constrained. She had a frilly pink shawl, a necklace of pearls, and two simple silver hoop earrings.

She was, simply put, dressed to her finest. Her crimson eyes glimmered with life for the first while in a long time.

And Hinata, who was in her normal sleeveless sweater outfit, couldn't be happier at her side.

Once again, Kurenai felt the young man's assessing gaze on her. She hadn't felt a man's gaze, really, in these past seven months. Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Shino dropped by, but none of them really met her eyes. None of them really looked at her.

She had been pregnant, alone, with only her memories of better days. This base, uncivil thing just felt so missed in her life.

"I'm starting to see why Hinata was so sure that I needed to escort you. If any of the randy guys in town lose their minds from looking at you too long, I'll have to settle it with my fists."

"You're just saying that." Kurenai blushed. "I feel like a whale."

"I say a lot of stuff. But I don't just say anything." Naruto replied flatly, offering her his elbow.

"...No." Kurenai admitted meekly, taking his arm. "I guess… you aren't exactly known to."