Disclaimer: Naruto ain't mine.

Sorry to disappoint but this ain't the last chapter! D: It's actually something that had been chewing my brain since ch4. It's quite short, as it isn't supposed to be part of the actually story - it's more of an omake: AKA a bonus.

Hopefully, it explains a bit the last section of ch4 and allows me to write ch5 now :C Also, this is Naruto's POV, not Minato's for a change, and it changes to Tsunade's near the end.

Enjoy!

When one certain tiny Uzumaki Naruto proclaimed he wanted to best his Pa and become the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure, he had been simply visualizing himself as a kick-ass hero on a kick-ass coat. Awesome jutsu left and right, sweet taijutsu moves as he battled enemy ninja and finally, standing on top of a hill as everyone bowed down to his awesomeness!

Though, having one of said Hokage as his father quickly ruined the charm the position held for his young mind. From the moment he was introduced to his dream job, well… It became more of a nightmare, really.

Never mind enemy ninja. Paperwork was the real opponent for a Hokage.

However, he was quickly passed down the secret to defeating it. He still remembered how his father had created a couple shadow clones and set them to work before he leaned forward and put a finger to his lips, winking as his little self saluted and sworn secrecy. His Pa's secret was safe!

Many years had passed since that day. While he was still not Hokage - his Pa still considered himself young and, well, considering how old the Third had been when he stepped down… He was probably right - he had begun to learn how to deal with the job.

Not that his Pa had ever told him he was next line (even if he was awesome enough to be the Fifth!) - He just wanted less work, the cunning pain-in-the-tush! At first, he had wanted to tell him exactly where he could put all of those documents but then again, maybe this was a chance to show his Pa he could do it!

Naruto sighed, being brought back from his inner musings. He never regretted such a decision like this one, he thought bitterly as he gazed upon the pile of paper in front of him. And his Pa wasn't even there! Nooo, he had assigned Granny Tsunade to deal with the more sensitive paperwork and had gone on a day off because, apparently, Naruto was a S-class ninja but could not be trusted to pick up his own montsuki kimono. It wasn't like he would return it and ask for one in orange!

His wedding would be tomorrow, there wasn't time to commission a whole new garment! He knew it, he had asked!

… He was starting to see why his Pa had gone instead. Damn it.

Still, it wasn't fair. It was his wedding. He should be the one running around like a madman, making sure everything was under control and taking care of last minute details. Not his Pa… And Hiashi, who was sure to be trying to monopolize everything on Hinata's end, if his nth attempts to do so were any indication.

Naruto sighed loudly, left eyebrow twitching in irritation. No, he would not let that man piss him off today. Not when his happiest day was right around the corner.

Beaming at the thought, Naruto leaned back on his chair and stared at the ceiling. Asking Hinata to marry him had been one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life.

It wasn't because he did not want to marry her, it wasn't that! It was because it had to be perfect. It had to be one of those moments in your life that when you told your kids and grandkids, they would go 'ahh' and 'ohh' in admiration!

The first step was finding the perfect ring. He'd agonized for over a week before his Pa approached him and wordlessly gave him a small blue box. Knowing instantly what it was, he tried to refuse - he could never take something that he knew his father cherished more than any other of his possessions - but he had insisted and told him that if there was a better place for that ring to be than his Ma's finger, then it was on Hinata's.

It was just gathering dust in that box, his Pa had said. Now we can start a family tradition or something by passing down that ring through generations.

He had thought of refusing again at the thought of his Pa giving up such a memento but most of all, he didn't want to hurt his feelings. After that, all that was left to do was sneakily make sure the ring would fit Hinata - which consisted in a very elaborate plan of breaking into the Hyuuga compound, get one of Hinata's own rings and take it to a jeweler to make sure it would be a perfect fit.

Now, he had grown in skill and strength over his career as a ninja. He no longer relied simply on his Rasengan and Kage Bushin skills and now had a pretty lengthy repertoire of wind jutsu up his sleeve; even some water jutsu, his second elemental affinity. He was naturally fast and on top of that, he could use the Hiraishin.

What didn't change… were his infiltration skills, which proved catastrophic in a compound full of all-seeing ninja.

Of course that this went and destroyed what little plans he had for the actual proposal. He had wanted to give his girlfriend something to remember over a sweet, romantic little setting with just the perfect amount of light and no-one around.

What Hinata got was a breathless, desperate proposal/explanation against the hard wood of the Hyuuga's compound's floor as most of the branch house - and main house too, actually - held him down to prevent any escape. Not that he could flee. Most of his chakra coils had been shut, after all.

The following hours were some of the most awkward he had ever experienced. Everyone kept glaring at him - Byakugan always active -, Hinata, who had outgrown her little tick, relapsed and was out cold for a while and the look his Pa had given him once he got to compound would haunt him forever.

He never thought it was possible for someone to look so torn between embarrassment, exasperation and the urge to laugh hard enough to be sent to an early grave before he had seen his Pa that night. The teasing that followed him days after wasn't much better, either.

At least Hinata said yes, right?

"Oi…!" Startling, Naruto batted an odd flying object away before it connected to his face. A paper ball, he noticed after he looked down. "Daydreaming isn't going to get your work done, Naruto."

"Sorry, granny." The blond chuckled, straightening and looking over his pile of documents at the older woman. While she held no official position at the Hokage tower, being the granddaughter of the first two Hokage and student of the Third, Tsunade was almost like councilor, much like the actual members of the Council were and had taken to helping his Pa from time to time. Only his Pa trusted Tsunade more than he ever trusted Koharu and Homura together.

Smiling knowingly at him, Tsunade folded her hands under her chin. "Thinking of the big day tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Naruto beamed, now sorting through the papers. "I mean, I'm getting married tomorrow, granny. Just yesterday I was a loud, short annoying little kid from whom chicks used to only want distance; like I had cooties. Now I'm one step away from marrying a beautiful girl whom I love!" Letting out a soft sigh, he gave Tsunade a goofy grin. "Tomorrow can't come soon enough!"

-xxx-

Coughing into a hand to avoid laughing at how similar Naruto still was to his 'annoying little self' when he got excited, Tsunade decided to poke a little fun at the young man. After all, what could go wrong? "Oh? You're that eager to get settled down? One would think you'd be dreading the day a little."

"… Why would I dread it?" Naruto frowned, eyeing the woman. "It's a good thing!"

"Yes, in part." Reaching into a drawer, Tsunade opened it and searched inside only to hastily take her hand back when she felt only paper. Peeking, she huffed. Minato had found another of her sake stashes, if his cheeky little paper note saying 'No drinking on duty!' was any indication. Naruto had rubbed way too much on his father; it should have been the other way around! "I mean, you do know it isn't just getting married, moving in together and it's done, right?"

"… Well, yes but-"

"You'll have to help with house chores-"

"Which I already do; I know you're not that old, Granny, but do you remember who my Pa is?"

"-You'll have to keep the house clean, which means not leaving around any dirty clothes-"

"I grew out of it by the time I was seventeen-"

"-Or any ramen cups-"

"Pa was gone for a week for the first time! I went off the deep end and I'm not proud of it!"

"-And you'll have to keep your temper in check-"

"I'll have you know that I'm a saint most of the time-"

"-And you know what? Your ramen intake will have to be cut down to half. I mean, do you really expect Hinata to eat ramen left and right?"

"But-but she likes ramen-"

"Do you even know how to cook anything else other than ramen?" Sighing dramatically when Naruto squinted and shook his hand in a so-so gesture, Tsunade fell back on her chair and rested a hand over her eyes. "Oh Hinata, why…?" Raising a couple fingers so she could peek when the only answer to her lament was silence, Tsunade blinked at the suddenly frowning blond. "… What is it?" She could almost see the gears turning in the man's head.

"Am I that bad?" Naruto scoffed, staring at the desk as if it held the answer to all his questions. Seeing that it didn't hold anything but paperwork, he looked back up at the ceiling and he hummed low in his throat. "I wouldn't marry me if that's so." He announced, crossing his arms. Suddenly, his eyes flew open. "Wait. Why is it that Hinata wants to marry me, then?"

Tsunade gaped. What? She had only been picking on Naruto, she had not intended for it to turn out this way…! "W-Wait a second, Naruto-"

"I mean, I'm loud and quick to act and slow to think and what if Hinata is marrying me cos I asked her in front of all of her clan and she didn't have the heart to say no after that?" Hinata was kind enough for that, what if…?!

Blinking at the flurry of words leaving Naruto's mouth, Tsunade shook herself and slammed her hands down on the desk. "Stop!" She barked, glaring. "Honestly, kid! I was just messing with you." She said, exasperated, as Naruto blinked in confusion before scowling at her, definitely not amused. "Hinata's been pining after your blond ass for years now; as if she would say no to your proposal. She'd take you even if you looked like one of the frogs you summon and were as messy as a toddler."

"But-"

"Look, it's true that sometimes you can be a little too much to take but you've been, what, dating the girl for five years now? Naruto, if she didn't want you, she would have already left you ages ago… So raise your chin, puff up your chest and go back to being that annoyingly happy bundle of joy that you were before this all happened, okay?" Tsunade demanded, fully intending to turn back to work.

She did manage to do it, if only for a short while. "… Granny."

Tsunade sighed softly. "What is it now, Naruto?"

"… Do you think Hinata could have done better?"

Blinking in surprise, she looked up and saw Naruto staring back at her. He was serious. Thinking for a moment, she finally entwined her fingers and answered. "Naruto, she loves you. She doesn't want better, she wants you. Sure, you have flaws." A crapload of them, even. "She has them too. Heck, even I have them." She smirked. "We're all human. Thing is, there aren't perfect couples: only imperfect ones who can see past each others' imperfections and are happy together. So no; she could not have done any better."

Nodding slowly, Naruto sighed quietly and began to pounder over her words. It wasn't hard to see that he still had his doubts, if his squirming was any indication, but she hoped she had fixed most of the damage she had inflicted to his confidence. Tsunade ducked her head and made a face. 'Oops?'

Before anything else could be said or done, Minato flashed right into the middle of the office with barely a sound, holding what she assumed would be Naruto's montsuki kimono tomorrow. "Hello." He greeted, grinning. "How's all that paperwork goi- Naruto?" Looking over, Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the now empty seat and at the open window, having most likely been Naruto's mean of escaping. "… Was he alright?" Minato asked after a moment, utterly lost.

"I'm sure he's fine." Tsunade reassured, making sure to act normal. While she could hold her own against the Fourth, she truly did not want to find out how pissed off he'd be if he ever knew how deep she had put her foot in her mouth. "It's probably just nerves." She shrugged off.

Her answer was a short laugh. "Nerves…? He's been counting the hours left until tomorrow! If I've ever seen a guy look completely relaxed about his wedding, he's Naruto." Minato told her while giving her a look, sitting down at Naruto's previous seat. All that paperwork had to be finished one day, right?

Feeling a smirk spread across her lips, Tsunade's eyes glinted. Ohh, this was too easy. Way too easy. "You're sure he won't get cold feet?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"How about we make a bet, then…?"

There, guys! I hope you liked reading this as much I liked writing it!

Ahh, Tsunade. How I love you. YoubetterbealiveSOB-

Next: Full Circle (really, it is!)