the deaf one [rewritten]

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NARUTO POV-

I awoke to the vibrations of my doorbell, hoping whoever it was would just go away. I groaned when I realized whoever it was wasn't going anywhere.

I have barely been asleep for an hour, the result of me staying up too late completing a commission.

I sat up on the surprisingly comfortable mattress, slipped on my slippers, and dragged my feet to the front door.

Opening the door, I was met with the masks of the anbu and immediately attempted to shut the door. They obviously didn't take the hint and one brave man stuck his foot between the door and the frame.

I hated trying to communicate with the anbu. They didn't seem to get the fact that I couldn't understand them through their heads. How do they think I can read their lips when they have masks on? The fact that I forgot to charge my hearing aids didn't help, although they hardly helped even when I had them in.

I assume they began to speak, and we all sat there while the one-sided conversation took place. Eventually, though, I got the general idea when they began pointing to the hokage tower.

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After about an hour of debating on whether or not I should go back to sleep, I chose to be responsible for once. So I slept for 20 more minutes, and then I began to get ready.

It was about half an hour later when I showed up at the tower, my hearing aids still not charged and my outfit barely matched, ready to receive whichever lecture the old man chose to give me today.

"It's for your own good, Naruto," He'd say, 'It helps with your development and growth, Naruto.'

What does buying new curtains have to do with my growth and development?

Anyways, despite the unnecessary and frankly boring speeches, the old man's company wasn't all that bad.

Walking into the office, I was expecting to be aggressively signed at for an hour, maybe hit upside the head a few times, and then sent on yet another meaningless trip around the village to complete whatever task I had for the day.

'Buy some plants, it makes everything more lively.' 'Go get some new socks, those have holes in them.' etc., etc.

But, to my utter surprise, the new chunin were there, seemingly waiting for something. Now I'm not a ninja myself; it just wasn't my thing, but I have a fair amount of experience from being with my godfather, Jiraiya, so often.

Why would I be here with all of the ninjas, then?

After a more thorough look around, though, I realized there were some civillians as well.

All eyes were on me, probably because of my late arrival, but it could also be because of my outfit choice. I think I look rather stylish, personally.

The old man must've done something to catch their eyes, though, because their attention swiftly went from me to him.

He started to speak, but I could hardly make out what he was saying at first. He began signing after a while though, probably remembering I couldn't hear.

I was reading his lips and watching his hands, which made it way easier to understand. Even still, I hardly paid attention.

I stopped processing what he was saying after his long tirade about the village economy. How the village was too crowded and how we needed to create more space. How this would help the future of the village tremendously.

Was he going to get to the point? He should get to the point.

Then, he dropped the bomb. It caught me off guard. I nearly choked on my spit when he said it. There was an uproar of noise after a beat, causing static to run through my hearing aids. I dropped onto the couch beside me and ripped them out of my ears, massaging them until the ache went away.

He wanted us to marry each other..?

I saw a body drop onto the couch beside me, picking up my aides and handing them back to me. I took them, grateful the person didn't try to put them back in with all the noise still happening.

They gently grabbed my chin and turned my head toward them.

He started signing to me, asking if I was alright and if my ears were okay.

I nodded, surprised he could sign as well as he did, even more surprised by how calm he seemed.

Looking around, I could tell everyone was yelling and disagreeing and asking questions. I couldn't find it in myself to be apart of the noise for once.

Everyone started to quiet down after a while, and the old man took this as an opportunity to explain how all of this would work. He talked about how they studied compatibility between everyone and grouped us as best as they could.

Was consent not needed for this? Wasn't this illegal?

Just how crowded were we?

I'm sure we have more than enough room.

He started to list off the couples, or triples? Why was he calling three names at a time?

As soon as my name slipped past his surprisingly dry lips, I knew I was in too deep.

Kiba and Shikamaru? Which ones are Kiba and Shikamaru?

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