Rumors in Konoha
Rumors in Konoha usually spread through the village like wild fire. Everyone spoke of them without even thinking who could be listening. The women mostly gossiped about things that were not true and it slowly became something of a topic at Ichirukas when there was nothing else to discuss. Ayame would fill the customers in on the down low and dirty gossip she had heard from the older village women, but at the end of each rumor she would always wave her hand and say:
'But that is just hear say, ya know.'
Naruto had expected her to do the same thing after she finished telling him the latest gossip. He sat there and waited for her to dismiss almost everything she had just said, but it never happened.
"Are you serious?" He stared down into his bowl of ramen; he was unexpectedly losing his appetite.
"Yep." Ayame nodded her head as she prepared more noodles, "I was surprised when I heard it myself. Can you imagine, Hinata getting married to some random clan heir from another village? Would she stay in the village or would she go to his vil—"
"I'm not hungry." Naruto suddenly slammed his chopsticks on the counter and walked out of the restaurant without saying another word. He left his bowl of miso ramen untouched.
"I wonder what changed his mood." Ayame whispered as she watched him disappear behind the curtain before she greeted the next customer. "Kakashi! Finally back from Suna?"
It seemed that everywhere he went all he heard were the whispers of the Hyuga Heiress's betrothal. How the elders of the Hyuga clan picked a noble man from the Land of Water. He tried to ignore all the talk, but the more he blocked it out, the louder her name sounded in his ears. In his own mind. When he passed the only flower shop in the village, on his way home, he stopped and stared at the door. He could hear Ino talking, loudly, about the rumor in the village; it was not until he heard Sasuke's voice that he walked into the shop.
"I don't think she can." Sakura replied to Sasuke, while holding a finger to her lips, "If the elders of her clan picked him wouldn't it be out of her hands?"
"She can refuse." Sasuke leaned his back against the counter with his arms crossed, "Just because the elders want her to marry someone doesn't mean she has too."
"But to make her get married so young…" Ino's face scrunched up in disgust, "…to a man so old."
Sasuke nodded his head in agreement, before looking towards the doorway. His eyes scanned over Naruto's body with curiosity, his former teammate was tense. "Hey, dobe."
It was the young women's turn to look at Naruto. Sakura's eyes softening slightly at the dejected look on his face and decided to change the subject, "Before I forget, did those flower I order come in?"
"Yep, I sure hope the hospital is paying for them." Ino turned towards the backroom, "Pretty expensive just for some research."
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up!" Sakura called after her long time rival before she turned back towards Naruto, "I thought we were meeting you at the training ground for a sparring match?"
"No, point in hiding it, Sakura." Sasuke shrugged as he nodded in Naruto's direction, "I'm sure he has already heard it around, these villagers have nothing better to do than talk about clan gossip."
"You have no tact whatsoever." Sakura glared up at the Uchiha, "Besides no one knows if it's for sure or not yet."
"What did Ino mean by 'old'?"
Sakura and Sasuke both turned their gaze to Naruto. His blue eyes narrowed in deep thought.
"What do you think, dobe?" Sasuke shook his head in slight annoyance, "Old as in old."
"Not that old. Like Kakashi old." Sakura added with a small grimace, before jabbing Sasuke in his rib cage and sending him a pointed look, "Anyways, after I drop these flowers off at the Hokage Tower, we all can head over to the grounds and you two can beat the crap out of each other."
"Nnn." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, slightly. From the look of Naruto, only one of them would be getting beat up, and it was not going to be him. What fun was a sparring match when his opponent's head was somewhere else? "How about we reschedule?"
"Yeah…" Naruto sighed, "I'm not really feeling up to it."
"O-okay." Sakura scratched the back of her head as the silence fell over the three.
"Alright, here you are, Sakura!" Ino walked through the backroom door, holding a bouquet of a strange looking blue flower, "These are hard to find just so you know. I had to order them from an island somewhere near Kirigakure."
"Thanks you, Ino!" Sakura smiled and took the bundle of flower from Ino, but only ended up handing the rather large bouquet over to Sasuke, "They're perfect!"
"Yeah, yeah, now back to Hinata." Ino waved Sakura off and looked up at Naruto, "Did you hear Naruto? Hinata's is getting married off to some rich old man since she told her father she didn't want to be the next head of the clan."
That was a missing piece of the rumors that he had yet to hear. Moving from the door and to the counter, Naruto raised an eyebrow at her, "Whaddya mean 'she didn't want to be the next head of the clan'?"
"From what a very good source told me, when Hinata refused to become head of the clan because those elder didn't approve of yo—certain reasons, Hinata refused them and now the old men are allowed to make one demand on her." Ino leaned on the counter and placed her cheek in the palm of her hand, "To marry someone you don't love, that's the cruelest punishment they could give her."
"Yeah..." Sakura agree softly and the two women exchanged knowing looks.
"Like I said, she can refuse the marriage and take her place as head if she doesn't want to marry the guy." Sasuke adjusted the bundle of flowers in his arms and looked at Sakura, "I'm heading to the tower. I don't want this disgusting smell to seep into my skin any longer."
"They do not smell disgusting!" Sakura stomped her foot on the ground at Sasuke's retreating back, looking at Naruto and Ino she sighed, "I'll talk to you guys later, okay?"
Before either of them could answer, Sakura was already following Sasuke out the door and into the sunny streets of Konoha. It baffled him sometimes at how much time Sasuke and Sakura were spending together. He could not figure out who was following who around and if they were in a relationship or not. The whole situation was confusing.
Nevertheless, their circumstances were not as confusing as his feeling at the thought of Hinata getting married.
"Naruto?"
Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at Ino, "Yeah?"
"You know what tomorrow is right?"
At first, the question itself made his brows scrunch together in thought then suddenly it clicked in his mind, "It will be the six year mark since we rebuilt the village after Pein's attack. Why?"
"Six years?" Ino smiled sadly, as she tapped the pen in her hand on the counter, "That's a long time to wait to answer someone's confession, don't you think?"
His eyes slowly widened at the realization of her question. No, it was not a question. It was more of a statement.
"But maybe that's just me thinking out loud." Ino moved around the counter as a few customers entered the shop, "Anything I can help you ladies with today?"
"I gotta go." Naruto mumbles as he passes Ino and moves towards the door, "Thanks."
Her pale blue eyes followed his back and she let out a small sigh of relief. Even if they were not the best of friends, she had seen the way he looked at the Hyuga princess from across the room. She knew that look all too well. Knew that feeling all too well. Turning back to her customer, she smiled softly, "Has Shikamaru returned from Suna yet?"
He ran the entire way to the Hyuga compound. He could feel his heart slamming against his sternum as he looked up at the large oak wood doors that were now in front of him. The clans name etched into the middle of the doors gave him a strange feeling. He had only visited the Hyuga compound four times since the war had ended. The first time was to attend the funeral of Neji Hyuga; the three other times were to wait for Hinata for a mission.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto knocked on the wooden door, his hands slightly shaking as a branch member opened the door to greet him.
"Naruto-san, I am sorry to inform you this, but Lord Hiashi and Lady Hinata are in a business arrangement at the moment."
Naruto knew this branch member. He was one of Hinata's friends within the compound. Naruto had seen them walking in the streets together, laughing and talking about simple things. A few times, he had joined them.
Sighing, Naruto went to move passed him, but Ryuu got in his way. Backing up two steps, Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Listen, Ryuu, I really need to see Hinata. It's important. "
"I'm sorry, Naruto." Ryuu shrugged his shoulders, "I was given orders to not allow anyone in the compound til the meeting was over."
"How can you be so calm about this?"
"It's just a meeting Naruto." Ryuu looked at Naruto in confusion, "It will be over in about an hour or so."
"It's not just a meeting!" Naruto lifted his hands to the top of his head, his fingers digging into his hair, "They are marrying her off!"
"Marrying who off?" Ryuu opened the door a little wider.
"Hinata." Naruto groaned, "That guy from the Land of Water, he is here to marry her."
The look of surprise on Ryuu's face surprised Naruto, "Didn't she tell you?"
"She didn't."
"She didn't what?"
Hanabi's voice carried over behind Ryuu, who turned to look at the second Hyuga heiress. Her hands on her hips and her eyebrow rose slightly.
"Lady Hanabi." Ryuu bowed slightly, before turning back towards Naruto, "And you are sure about this?"
"Positive!" Naruto took a step towards the door, his hands out in front of him as he spoke, "That's why I have to talk to her. She can't do this."
"Who can't do what?" Hanabi moved towards the two of them; her arms now crossed over her chest, "I demand you tell me."
"Lady Hanabi." Ryuu bowed again, "Naruto has just informed me that Lady Hinata is to marry Lord Kiyoshi."
Hanabi's eyes widened, "Hinata is marrying that old man?"
"It would seem so, my lady." Ryuu sighed in slight defeat, "I knew the elders were hounding her to make a decision, but this is a little much."
"I need to see Hinata." Naruto said more forcefully, his gaze no longer on Ryuu, but on Hanabi.
Giving Naruto a pointed stare, Hanabi rolled her eyes and waved her hand at him, "Their in the main hall, so you—"
"Gotcha!"
"—should probably hurry."
He was already gone before she could finish her sentence. Leaving her standing there with her eyes narrowed and arms crossed over her chest again. Sometimes, she did not see what her sister loved about that man.
"Is the agreement suitable for both parties?"
Hinata nodded her head in agreement and looked up at the man that stood in front of her. Lord Kiyoshi was a very handsome and noble man for his age. His dark red hair contrasted against his tanned skin. He was nothing like the older men she had seen in Konoha. Then again, none of the men in the entire world would be able to compare to Naruto Uzumaki.
A small smile crossed her lips as Kiyoshi nodded his head in agreement as well.
It was done.
Naruto raced across the compound. His feet carrying him fast across the rather large property, before he came sliding to a stop and walked towards the giant doors leading to the main hall. Taking a deep breath, he slid the door open with a slam as every head in the main hall turned to look at him. The horrid stares of the elder could not give him a greater sense of happiness than when his eyes met hers.
Walking into the room, he passed all the old men sitting on the floor and only stopped when he was standing right between Hinata and the Land of Water person. His harsh stare was directed straight at Hiashi.
"Why was I not informed of this meeting?"
"Lord Hokage." Hiashi bowed slightly, "This is a Hyuga clan matter and it does not concern the village."
"Like hell it doesn't!" Naruto hissed, before shooting a glare towards Kiyoshi, who took a few steps back from him and Hinata.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked softly. Recently, Naruto had asked her to stop referring him to him 'Hokage-sama' and just address him as Naruto. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Naruto turned his glowered gaze at her, "What's wrong is that you are actually going through with this marriage to a complete stranger! What happened to our Ninja Way?"
"M-marriage!?" Hinata's voice squeaked in surprise, "Naruto, you have it all wro—"
"Let me finish, Hinata." Scratching the back of his head, Naruto took the deepest breath he could before he looked back down at her, "For a while now, I have been trying to figure out what exactly you mean to me."
The room had grown quiet and her face was marked with completely and utter confusion.
"We had our own code. We were proud failures, now look at us, I have reached my dream of becoming Hokage and you have surpassed your father's expectation, but now you're throwing your dreams away just to please these bakas! " Naruto rubbed his hand over his face and then threw his hair, "Hinata, I don't know if you still love me, but I don't want to wait anymore. I've been dumb and I should have answered you years ago. "
Her eyes widened as Naruto's hand grasped her shoulders and he stared down into her eyes. His eyes barely glazed over with tears as he smiled at her, "Marry me, Hinata, and don't marry him."
Absolute silence fell over the room.
"You think I'm marrying Hinata off to Kiyoshi?" Hiashi's laughter filled the air, followed by the elders, and Kiyoshi.
Naruto froze on the spot. His fingers digging into Hinata's arms as she gave out a light giggle and shook her head, before shaking her head, "I was never marrying Kiyoshi."
"You weren't marrying Kiyoshi?" Naruto repeated slowly.
"No." She smiled up at him, "Kiyoshi has asked our clan to train his sons in the art of Taijustu."
Removing his hands from his shoulders, Naruto sunk to the ground and hid his face underneath his hair. His face was burning with embarrassment as everyone in the room continued to laugh at his misunderstanding. He thought barging into the compound and sweeping Hinata off her feet would make him look like the coolest guy in the entire village. Besides the fact he was Hokage, he still had his pride to uphold.
"But if Hiashi had offered me, Lady Hinata, I don't think I could refuse."
Naruto's body stiffened and he jumped to his feet.
"Na-Naruto-kun!"
Gathering Hinata in his arms, Naruto bowed to Hiashi before turning on his heels, and carrying Hinata out the door before anyone could say anything.
"If I were you Kiyoshi, I wouldn't anger our Hokage." Hiashi sent a small knowing smile towards the man, "I heard he almost turned into a fox for her once."
He did not stop running until they were on top of the Hokage Tower. Carefully, he set her down on her feet and met her gaze, before he turned away from her a rush of red covered his face. He felt so ridiculous.
"I don't know if you meant everything you said back there, Naruto." Hinata spoke softly into the afternoon wind as she looked up at him, "But if you did…"
Slowly, he could feel a lump in the back of his throat forming, and he crouched on the ground again. When she did not answer him right away back at the compound, he knew. She no longer loved him. Now, he would have to painfully sit through her rejection.
"…if you really meant everything, Naruto, I would be more than happy to marry you." Her voice fought through the tears that she was now allowing to show. She would have cried back at the compound, but she was too in shock to realize what he had just offered her.
Snapping his head up, Naruto's lips formed into a full out grin as he jumped back to his feet and picked her up by her waist. Spinning her around, excitedly, Naruto let out a laugh mixed with a sob, he could not remember the last time he felt so happy, so relieved, and so complete. Her laugh filled his every sense as he placed her back on the ground.
"Thank you, Hinata."
Looking up at him, Hinata tilted her head, "For what?"
"For never doubting me. For cheering me on and believing in my Ninja Way." He pressed his forehead against hers softly, "Just thank you, for loving me."
Softly, Hinata pushed her chin forward and pressed her lips against his. Naruto stiffened for a moment, but leaned into the kiss. The kiss was soft and sweet, just like he knew it would always be with her, "No, Naruto-kun, thank you for your smile."
"Did you hear?" Ayame smiled down at Kakashi as he sat down in front of his bowl of ramen. He gazed lazily at her, before smiling.
"Do you have some gossip for me, Ayame?" The crinkle in his eye always sent a wave of emotion through her body. She was the only woman in all of Konoha to actually see his face, sure, it was because he ate at their restaurant, but still, it made her feel special.
"Naruto proposed to Hinata yesterday."
"Did he now?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly as he moved his chops around his bowl.
"Mhmm." Ayame leaned against the counter, her chin resting on the hands as she smiled at the jonin. Then suddenly, she popped her head back up as she remembered something important. "I forgot I need to return those books to you."
"There's no rush." Kakashi pulling down his mask, he surprised her with a bright smile, before he pulled it back up as Gai and Rock Lee pushed through the curtain.
"I wonder how if Naruto is doing any better today?"
Sakura asked Sasuke as they walked down the street and towards the bridge that crossed over the small river on the outskirt of town. The sun was brighter than yesterday and the rumors of Hinata's 'secret marriage' seemed to have disappeared from the gossip scene practically overnight.
"Maybe it was just rumors." Sakura smiled at the thought, "I was so worried about him yesterday that I almost messed up twice while making that new medicine. Can you believe that?"
She let out a soft laugh and turned towards Sasuke, who had stopped on the bridge to look at the water. His onyx eyes seemed to be piercing the water in search of something. Walking next to him, Sakura looked over the small railing, but found nothing of interest. Putting her hands on her hips, she looked up at the Uchiha and shook her head.
"You've been acting strange all day." She shifted her weight on her other foot and jutting a hip out as she stared up at him, "If you got something on your mind you should just say it."
"Sakura…" His eyes met hers and she felt the air being sucked out of her lungs, "…I can't make you any promises of romance, I can only offer you what I have and the security that comes with it." He moved from the railing and took a step towards her, "If you are willing to help me rebuild my clan, I will make sure for the rest of your life you are happy and safe."
Her heart rose into the back of her throat as she tries to blink back the tears. Without thinking, she tackles him to the ground, her hands in his hair, and her lips pressed firmly against his. It was not until she feels his hand pull her closer against him that she realized what she was doing. Reluctantly, she pulls away and moves off him. Her eyes shimmering with tears as she nods her head repeatedly.
Smiling, he opens his arms and braces himself for the impact that shortly follows; along with the soft sobs. His arms slowly tightened around her and he buries his own face and tears on the top of her head when a few words leave her lips that he thought he would never hear again from her.
"I love you, Sasuke-kun."
As promised, the wedding was the event of the year. Hundreds of people came from around the ninja world to see Naruto Uzumaki finally get married to the Hyuga Heiress. For months, the village buzzed with preparations and excitement as the day grew closer and closer. Then finally, in the village's center, Tsunada married them under the sunset as they recited their own vows to each other. Both of them, blinking back the tears as they spoke. When the ceremony was over, the night sky greeted them with stars as the wedding reception began. The cheers of the crowd and the laughter of his villagers could not make him happier than the warmth of his brides hand wrapped around his waist as they watched everyone dance in celebration.
"I still find it funny that you believe I was to be married to Lord Kiyoshi." Hinata giggled into her hand as she stole a quick glance at her husband, "What would have done if Lord Kiyoshi and I were too married."
A sly smile crept across his face, "I would have killed him."
"Naruto!" She looked at him slightly surprised, "Please don't say such things."
Naruto laughed as he looks down at her, pulling her closer into his side, and kissed the top of her head.
He would have to remember to thank Ayame.
Rumors in Konoha usually spread through the village like wild fire. Everyone speaks of them without even thinking who could be listening. The women mostly gossip about things that are not true and it slowly becomes something of a topic at Ichirukas when there is nothing else to discuss.
But that's just hear say, ya know?
My very first, Naruto Fanfic and I feel that maybe everyone seems a little OOC, I don't know, you can tell me. The couples in this one-shot are obvious: NaruHina, SasuSaku, ShikIno, and KakAya (KakAyame? Not sure about this one). I am a ShikaTema, but I could not help myself when it came to adding it ShikIno, it fit better with the flow of the story. In addition, its kinds of, InoShikaTema, I guess, since Shikamaru is suppose to be in Suna during this, and we all know who is in Suna.
*Wiggle Eyebrows*
Everyone is around 22 or 23 years-old by this point. Kakashi and Ayame are around 30-36.
I was listening to It's Beginning to Get to Me – Snow Patrol at first, and then by the end, I switched to the acoustic version of Clarity – Zedd.
I welcome critics.
I hope to write more Naruto fics in the future.
Until Next Time!
See you Space Cowboy