My first fanfiction! :3 (spoilers for those who haven't reached Chapter 653)
The conversation Shikamaru remembered is from the anime and the last part is from the manga.
Disclaimer: Is this even necessary? We all know Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
I wrote this in a hurry, hoping to get it out before the next chapter comes out. Hope you enjoy it! :)
Because I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
He shook his head, trying to get the echoing words out of his mind; although this bit of effort from him only made things worst.
I want to be by your side forever.
Forever.
Forever.
Forever.
Fore—
"Agh!" he let out a scream.
"Ne, Naruto-kun?"
"Hm?" he looked up.
"Do you mind not destroying the counter with your head?"
Naruto Uzumaki, the seventeen year-old shinobi, laughed nervously, "Sorry, Ayame-nee-chan."
"So, what seems to be troubling you, Naruto?" Ayame asked curiously as she wiped a ramen bowl clean. "It's like I haven't seen you in forever."
Forever.
Forever.
Forever.
Naruto was half way through bashing his head against the table counter again, but he just let out a sigh, his head landing softly against his arms, "Tsunase-baa-chan gave me a lot of S-ranked missions, I've been away for the last five months."
Teuchi placed Naruto's first bowl of ramen in front of him, Naruto broke his chopsticks, "Itadakimasu!" and started eating without missing a bit.
"I meant, you seem to be having troubles," Ayame clarified, although her earlier question didn't need clarification because that was exactly what she meant; but she didn't want to pass up the opportunity to tease the young shinobi.
Naruto made an unidentifiable sound that sounded like a question.
"Mhm," Ayame nodded. "Girl troubles."
Naruto choked on his ramen, Ayame laughed a bit nervously, hiding her satisfaction at getting the wanted reaction from the blonde. She gave Naruto a glass of tea, which he drank quickly.
"D- don't joke about things like that!" Naruto exclaimed.
Forever.
I love you.
Forever.
"Agh!" Naruto exclaimed one last time before diving into his ramen bowl—not literally, of course—and eating hurriedly, obviously making it known he didn't want to open up the conversation. He quickly finished his bowl, before he said, "Another!"
And the next hour was spent like this with Naruto eating like a madman. A couple more bowls later, Naruto finished, paid, and hurriedly went outside after muttering a hurried, "Thank you!"
"He must've been really hungry," Teuchi commented with a chuckle. "An busy too, he was in such a hurry."
Ayame nodded, she brought a hand up to her lips and covered her giggle with a cough, "Or troubled."
Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha with a troubled expression.
"Ahh! That was so troublesome," Naruto exclaimed, positively annoyed. He scratched the back of head.
"You saw yourself in the mirror again, dobe?" Sasuke Uchiha asked, appearing beside Naruto.
Naruto let out a harsh sigh, he glared at Sasuke, "Morning, Sasuke-teme."
Besides adding "-teme" to his name, the Uchiha noticed, Naruto made no other attempts a firing back an insult. The raven-haired shinobi frowned, "No insult, hn? Something's wrong."
"You don't say," Naruto muttered, but not the least bit sounding sarcastic.
"Definitely wrong," Sasuke nodded.
"Well, you're talkative," Naruto pointed out irritably. "Something must be wrong with you too."
Patience. The Uchiha thought with a mental sigh, "Let's just spar, loser has to treat the winner to dinner."
This visibly lightened the blonde shinobi's mood, he grinned and ran towards one of the training grounds, "You better prepare, cause you're about to run out of money!"
The Uchiha smiled, if a fangirl saw him, she would have fainted. It was rare for Sasuke to smile without it looking like a smirk or a sneer. Some thing's never change. He thought. Following his friend at a leisurely pace.
Somewhere at the other side of the village, Obito Uchiha stretched his arms and yawned.
"You look bored, Obito." Kakashi Hatake said by way of greeting.
"You're late," Obito accused with a teasing smile. He had actually fallen asleep.
"Hardly," Kakahi scoffed lightheartedly. "Can't leave an old lady alone without helping, can I?"
Obito chuckled at his excuse, "I suppose not."
"So where do you want to go today?" Kakashi asked. Obito, although past his desire to destroy the world, was still viewed as a threat by the village, if not for a certain orange shinobi's persuasion, the other Uchiha would have been dead or locked away; he was granted a bit of freedom, he could go around but he had to be under a close watch of a jounin, and who better than the silver-haired prodigy, Kakashi Hatake?
"I was thinking about visiting Rin's grave," Obito murmured with a slight blush.
Kakashi chuckled, "Good choice, I was about to suggest that too."
Obito beamed, "Let's go!"
Now, a few hours later, back to Naruto and Sasuke's intense sparring session. The two shinobis had been fighting for hours, nonstop; there was still no clear victor and it was beginning to get dark. Sasuke, despite the dislike he felt for the thought that flitted through his head, allowed that his sparring partner was distracted and therefore wasn't giving a hundred percent of his abilities in the spar.
Punch.
Dodge.
Jump back.
Rush forward.
Kick below.
Jump to avoid.
Jump back.
Stop.
"Eh, why'd you stop attacking?" Sasuke lowered his guard down a fraction, looking curious and bored at the same time.
"I just got to thinking, that's all," Naruto murmured quietly, completely letting go of his guarded stance. At first Sasuke thought it might be a plan to catch him off guard but his best friend looked serious as hell.
Sasuke also dropped his guarded stance, "Ne, what about?"
"The war," Naruto murmured. "I just remembered what happened back when we attended the Ceremony of Heroes."
Sasuke fell very quiet, and his silence was the uncharacteristic kind. He wasn't silent because he was annoyed or bored, he was silent because he felt sympathetic and sad—it was like losing his clan all over again.
"Tenten's been pretty down lately," Naruto commented out of the blue.
Hoping for a lighter situation, the Uchiha managed to joke, "You like Tenten, hn?"
"What!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. "I don't like her! I like—" Naruto seemed horrified by his sudden outburst, and the words that had been out his mind his entire spar with Sasuke came back full force, as if vengeful that he tried to get then of his mind.
Forever.
Because I love you.
Forever.
I love you.
"Agh!" The blonde shinobi shouted, furiously running his hands through his hair. "Never mind who I like! I'm just worried about Tenten because she's been so down lately!"
Sasuke chuckled, "Calm down, dobe."
Naruto sighed, obviously frustrated, "Tenten trains a lot, but now I rarely see her training. She's always at Neji's grave and—"
Naruto fell silent.
Sasuke sighed.
"She'll be fine," Sasuke muttered. At least, he hoped the kunoichi would be fine. They weren't close, but they were friends, and he really had nothing against her.
"I hope so," Naruto sighed again.
Seeing his usually loud friend so quiet and down made Sasuke uncomfortable. So with a sigh and a mental shake, he said, "Come'n, dobe. I'm done sparring, how 'bout we eat?"
When the Naruto didn't reply, Sasuke gave himself another mental shake again before biting back a groan and saying, "My treat."
This made Naruto beam at him with a grin that was brighter than the sun; and while Sasuke felt happy he'd managed to bring up his friend's mood, he didn't feel particularly happy about having to go on more missions since he was in danger of having all his money spent.
Obito and Kakashi walked at a particularly leisurely pace and somehow managed to pass by the Naruto and Sasuke.
"They remind me of us," Obito commented, a few minutes after they passed by Sasuke and Naruto on the way to their destination.
"That sounds like something you'd read in a Shouju manga," Kakashi commented.
"Idiot!" Obito suddenly said, the outburst seemed out of place, and yet nostalgic at the same time. "What are you talking about!?"
Kakahi held up his hands in mock surrender. Obito quieted down as the conversation of the two young shinobis played in his mind. The two were a good distance away from them but their conversation didn't escape his acute sense of hearing.
Kakashi, sensing the troubled aura rising from his friend, asked, "What's on your mind, hm?"
"I just remembered the ceremony," Obito shrugged. An Uchiha's curse is his negativity. Obito concluded. After all, what did it take to activate an Uchiha's Sharingan? What did it take to make it stronger? To make it reach its fullest potentials? Pain, hate, sadness, anger. He sighed. Such a messed up dream and a broken ideal. He thought glumly.
Kakashi studied his friend quietly with a sidelong glance until they reached their destination. Obito visibly tensed. Kakahi raised an eyebrow and dragged his gaze to where his friend was looking. Sitting quietly near one of the gravestones was a kunoichi.
"Obito?" Kakashi asked.
"I... I must do something," an emotion that you would only see in the old Obito gave rise in his eyes.
Kakashi shrugged, "As long as it doesn't involve another war, do whatever you want."
Obito grinned.
Flashback
Godaime Hokage, Tsunade Senju was just about finishing her short speech of gratitude and praise in the Ceremony of Heroes. The last one she honored was a certain Hyuuga Jonin.
One of the perks of having a certain demon fox sealed inside you is being quite sensitive to emotions around you, negative ones especially, and while the current scenario presented him a sickening amount of negativity, Naruto felt one that actually tugged at his heart with more than just simple sympathy.
He took the initiative and walked forward, demonstrating once again his unbelievable maturity.
"Ne, Tenten?" Naruto murmured softly, taking the kunoichi's hand, it was meant as a friendly, comforting gesture. "It's alright if you cried, you know?"
He could feel her tremble even if it was unnoticeable. Despite the rain, it was obvious that there wasn't a single dry eye, Naruto was simply surprised and at awe because Tenten was unbelievably stoic throughout the entire Ceremony.
If you're wondering why he chose to comfort Tenten instead of a particular female Hyuuga well... Hinata Hyuuga was standing between her teammates and they seemed to be doing a very good job at comforting her, any move from Naruto to go there would have looked awkward, while not unwelcome, still would have brought discomfort to the people within close proximity since Team 8 was standing somewhere crowded. Tenten chose to stand on her own, with Rock Lee respecting that decision although he was fairly close to her.
She turned her head to the side, her forehead rested against Naruto's shoulder.
"No one's going to hold it against you if you cried," Naruto said softly. "Neji wouldn't have mind."
Not that Naruto needed to say anymore, the tears were already falling the moment her forehead landed on his shoulder. Quietly, with a sense of understanding, Naruto did the next best thing he knew to do. With a quick, almost graceful movement, he had his arms around the crying kunoichi.
"It's going to be alright," Naruto murmured softly. Lee chose this time to walk forward, also showing his support and comfort for his teammate.
While the entire thing ensues, Obito, under the close watch of Kakashi who was in the crowd, sat under the tree looking very dejected and guilty that it was almost comically painful to look at.
The one Sharingan-eyed Uchiha let out a sigh. He brought up his hand to his left eye. The Rinnegan. He thought bitterly. I wonder...
Flashback End
"Good evening," Obito said with all the seriousness of an Uchiha. It was already dark because he made Kakashi and himself make several stopovers before reaching the Konoha Cemetery; he had done this in hopes they'd arrive and be the only ones there, but obviously with no such luck.
Even without his acute, perceptive senses, he still knew the kunoichi had been at the cemetery for quite some time.
Tenten simply nodded, not really sure what to say.
Obito cleared his throat, and there was a slight tinge of red on his cheeks that it was almost unnoticeable.
"Do you mind... ehm..." Obito cleared his throat again, looking more uncomfortable; this earned a curious look from Tenten. "Close your eyes."
Kakashi chuckled, Obito sounded like when they were younger, Tenten eyed him but he just shrugged and nodded at her as if to say 'It's alright.' So Tenten, not really understanding what was going on, closed her eyes.
She heard the Uchiha mutter something that sounded close to, "It's time to make this stupid Rinnegan useful."
Despite herself, Tenten thought that possessing the Rinnegan wasn't stupid at all, or useless like Obito seemed to have voiced out.
"Is this going to work, Obito?" Kakashi asked, his voice held a quiet note of curiosity that piqued the weapon master's curiosity as well.
"It should," Obito answered. "After all, I am Obito Uchiha."
As if that explained everything; except she felt a shift in the atmosphere, then the presence of the two older shinobis disappeared, leaving only one, more familiar presence.
Tenten opened her eyes.
"Tenten?"
Tenten's eyes widened. She was either dreaming, hallucinating or was under a genjutsu of some sort from either Sharingan users who was in front of her earlier.
Still, none of those mattered at the moment. She felt the tears in her eyes again; and to think she thought she was past the tears.
The shinobi frowned, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. It was an uncharacteristic gesture for someone who always looked so stoic, but the gesture was welcome nonetheless.
"What happened?"
"You're back," her voice sounded almost disbelieving.
He couldn't help but smirk, "I know."
There was silence, and because she didn't know what else to do, Tenten wrapped her arms around Neji Hyuuga.
Two Sharingan Wielders watched the entire scene unfold, the raven-haired one seemed ill-at-ease, and the silver-haired one seemed worried.
"Hm, Obito, you alright?" Kakashi eyed the visibly drained Uchiha.
"Mh," was all Obito managed to say. Then like a little kid, Obito fell asleep just in front of Rin Nohara's gravestone.
In the midst of all the drama, somewhere in the heart of Konoha...
"Oi, dobe!" Sasuke exclaimed irritably. "At least try to pretend you aren't emptying my wallet!"
Naruto laughed, and grinned apologetically, "Can't help it. It's free ramen."
Sasuke let out a sigh. Just then someone came stumbling inside the Ichiraku Ramen shop.
"N- Naruto-kun!"
The voice stopped everything Naruto was doing. His mind registered who the voice belonged to.
Forever.
I love you.
Because I love you.
Forever.
Almost magically, Sasuke watched as Naruto stop eating and turn around.
"H- Hinata-chan," he grinned at her.
Sasuke watched Naruto's cheeks turn red with some satisfaction. Good to see 'THAT'S' going somewhere.The Uchiha thought.
What do you mean he knew? Of course he knew; she was always too obvious and he was always too oblivious.
Suddenly, Hinata exclaimed, "I j- just s- saw N- Neji-nii-san!"
Ah, so that's why her stuttering came back. She saw Ne— "You WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. Even Sasuke stopped eating.
"I think she said she saw Neji," Sasuke muttered to himself, barely loud enough for Naruto to hear.
"'Nata, you sure you're not under some genjutsu?" Naruto asked, half nervous.
Sasuke, although his Sharingan-related senses told him there wasn't any genjutsu at work, decided he wasn't past asking the same question.
"I really did see him!" she cried out indignantly, her stutter disappearing, but her blush remained and seemed to have deepened. "Alive. With Tenten."
Naruto blinked once. Twice.
Sasuke's mouth dropped open, but clamped it shut when he realized he looked stupid.
Hinata, deciding that she didn't have much more to lose, grabbed Naruto's hand and Sasuke's wrist and uncharacteristically dragged the two out of the shop. Sasuke managed to get his wallet out of his pocket, throw it for Ayame to catch and give her an apologetic shrug.
And so the trio discovered what was happening...
"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata," Tenten just grinned. Neji nodded once, he still thought that his cousin's expression when she saw him was priceless.
"N- N- N- N- Neji!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at Neji, visibly trembling. It was an amusing sight to watch. "W- w- w- What! H- h- h- How?!"
Neji raised an eyebrow, then he smirked. It was either Hinata and Naruto's personality swapped or Naruto was just shocked; probably the latter.
"I was obviously brought back from the dead," Neji stated calmly like he had just commented about the weather.
Naruto stopped trembling altogether, he fell silent, a dark smile crept on his lips, "Back... from... the... dead."
And because whoever Kami was watching over them decided that the situation couldn't go anymore out of hand... Naruto fainted.
"N- Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, barely able to catch the falling Genin in her arms; she ended up in a sitting position, with Naruto's head on her lap.
Neji raised both his eyebrows. Perhaps his cousin and Naruto's personality did exchange.
Sasuke watched the entire scene unfold in front of him without saying anything.
"Care to explain, hn?" Sasuke asked.
And Neji did just that.
Somewhere in his confused mind, despite his unconsciousness, Naruto processed everything the now alive Neji was explaining; as much as he disliked opening his eyes and getting up—because his head was resting in the most comfortable way he thought imaginable. His eyes fluttered open and milky-white eyes tinged with lilac greeted him.
"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked worriedly, although she wasn't stuttering, her cheeks were flaming red.
"Gah! Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, his sudden movement to sit upright led to their bare foreheads meeting.
Hinata bit back an exclamation, her hands flying to her forehead, Naruto looking idiotically apologetic, kneeling in front of her and waving his arms in obvious panic, "Hinata! I'm sorry!"
Naruto felt two fists connecting at the back of his head.
"Be careful, dobe!"
"How dare you hurt Hinata-hime."
Naruto swallowed, looking terrified at the two threats to his life, one looking explosively angry and the other with deathly calm.
"It- it's fine, Naruto-kun," Hinata giggled a bit. Naruto's attention snapped back to the Hyuuga kunoichi.
Would you look at that. Sasuke thought amusedly. It would be a shame if Naruto suddenly fell on top of her. Hn. Oh well.
He mentally shrug and sent a kick to Naruto's back, the blonde shinobi perfectly landed on top of Hinata.
"My foot slipped," Sasuke shrugged, sensing the murderous intent emanating from Neji.
"You—"
"Neji?" Tenten said, and the murderous aura dissipated.
"Hm?"
"Let's train," Tenten simply said.
"Mhm," Neji nodded with approval. He looked at Naruto and Hinata, then he sighed. I'm getting too old for this, and I'm only eighteen for Kami's sake.
The two walked off to the training grounds. Neji took Tenten's hand in his.
"Tenten..." the Hyuuga prodigy said slowly.
"Yeah?"
"About training..." Neji tugged at her hand and pulled her closer.
Tenten grinned at him, "I know."
Neji smiled. Yes. It was definitely good to be back from the dead. He liked the feeling of blood rushing through EVERY part of his body.
Back to an oddly satisfied looking Sasuke...
"S- Sasuke?" Naruto managed to ask, momentarily forgetting the Hyuuga beneath him.
"My wallet's at Ichiraku," Sasuke said, turning around and walking away. "See ya, dobe."
Naruto blinked the he remembered, "Oh right! Hey, 'Nata, you alright?"
Naruto was on top of her.
Of course, there was nothing wrong or perverted about that since he was kicked—erm... accidentally hit with a foot foot so he'd be in the said position. Right.
"I'm f- f—"
"Oi," Naruto said thoughtfully, not really looking bothered by their awkward position. "You're forehead's kinda red."
"Her entire face is red," a Hanabi a few meters away commented with exasperation, her Byakugan was obviously active.
"You shouldn't be spying on Naruto-nii-chan and your sis—" then Konohamaru stopped talking altogether and exclaimed loudly instead, "—is that Hinata-sama?!"
Hanabi rolled her eyes and deactivated her Byakugan, "Yes."
"Wh- wha- what!" Konohamaru blinked rapidly, he looked like a fish out of water.
"You shouldn't be here," Hanabi stated calmly. "I was training and I just happened to hear the commotion. What's your excuse?"
All Hyuugas possess unbelievable senses.
"Uhm... Well..." Konohamaru looked flustered. He couldn't really say that he was following Hanabi. He'd get killed for sure.
Hanabi smirked at him, "Don't worry, I know you've been following me."
"Ah..." Konohamaru, obviously flustered, glared at her. "I was just going to ask you for a spar!"
"And it took you an hour to say it?" Hanabi asked testily.
Konohamaru huffed indignantly, "Let's just spar!"
"You do know I'll just beat you, right?"
"No you won't," Yes she will.
"Alright," Hanabi shrugged and took a fighting stance. "Byakugan!"
Konohamaru swallowed. I'm dead.
Meanwhile back to Naruto and Hinata... Naruto, forgetting his earlier dilemma suddenly leaned in very closely towards Hinata.
"A- ano... Naruto-kun?" Hinata said softly.
"Mh?"
Not that she minded being too close; but for the sake of her consciousness... "Too close," Hinata managed to say; to think that, here she was, the woman who confessed while battling an Akatsuki and almost dying, someone who went through and survived the in the front lines of the war... was very much close to fainting.
Before Naruto could react, Sasuke was a few meters away from them, coming from the direction of Ichiraku.
Hn? Sasuke thought, seeing his two friends looking even closer than when he left them. How long have they been on top of each other? Never mind. He smirked, then he stared down at the wallet and he smirked even more. With an Uchiha's deadly aim, Sasuke threw the wallet at the direction of Naruto's head.
Sasuke was quick in retrieving his wallet, "Sorry, my hand slipped," and with that, he walked away again.
My lips are... Hinata started to think.
Hinata's lips are... Naruto also thought simultaneously.
And together their thoughts were—
We're kissing!
And in a split second, several thoughts were being processed in the two shinobis minds.
Naruto inwardly smiled. I like this—scratch that... I love this! I love her! Wait... Where did that come from? Hinata? I like—LOVE Hinata? Y- yeah... I think I might love her even more than ramen, this is—aw hell... Never mind.
Hinata felt like her heart would explode, several thoughts screamed in her head. He's kissing me! Naruto-kun's... Smiling?
Hinata's eyes widened and here blush deepened. Naruto smiled and he parted his lips, making Hinata's lips part a little too, then he deepened the kiss—Jiraiya would have been proud.
Hinata's hands found its way at the back of Naruto's head, pulling him closer.
What was I worrying about? Naruto thought absentmindedly as he kissed her. Neither of them bothered to get up.
Such an indecent behavior for a Hyuuga. Hinata thought. If father saw this... Then she melted in Naruto's kiss even more, all her thoughts went away.
Sasuke was a meters away from the obviously new couple, and he was smirking.
"Who knew you were such a matchmaker, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura Haruno giggled teasingly.
"Hn," Sasuke shrugged, then he narrowed his eyes at her. "Were you following me?"
Sakura lifted a shoulder, "Who knows? I'm a busy medic-nin, Sasuke."
This made Sasuke nod, "Right."
Sakura kept walking beside Sasuke.
"Hn, what would it take for you to start walking away from me now?"
"If you declared your love for me," Sakura was half-joking and half serious. After all, while she wasn't the fangirl she used to be—it was troublesome now that she was really busy at the hospital—she still liked Sasuke.
Sasuke's Sharingan flared, "Hn."
Sakura swallowed.
Sasuke's eye twitched. Bah. Who cares? I'm not letting Naruto beat me in this one.
And with that one final thought, Sasuke pulled the medic-nin into a kiss. I might start getting use to this. He thought.
Ino Yamanaka saw this and felt terribly jealous. She wasn't letting Sakura, her rival, have a boyfriend before her!
"Ino, isn't that—" Chouji Akimichi choked on his chips, a thing that hasn't happen for a long time.
"Chouji!" Ino shouted, half annoyed. She was about to give Chouji the water when... I have a better idea. She chugged the water and pulled the Akimichi shinobi closer, giving him the water in an unusual, yet welcomed way. Oddly enough... She liked it.
"From here onwards, I want you to always choke," Ino declared. That sounded lame.
Chouji looked horrified, then he chuckled when he saw the blush on Ino's cheeks, "You know, I don't have to always choke if you want to kiss me, Ino. I don't mind."
Ino have him a fiery glare. Chouji laughed nervously, "Choking now! See!" He made it a point to over exaggerate it.
Ino grinned, "Better." She pulled Chouji closer, this time there was no water.
"THE FLAME OF YOURH SURE BURNS PASSIONATELY IN KONOHA TODAY!" Rock Lee declared with passion, he had passed by a lot of couples as of late during his laps around Konoha.
Sai had heard the green spandex-clad shinobi and the next thing you know was his sketchbook filled with a lot of the people he knew... Kissing.
Kiba Inuzuka and his partner, Akamaru, along with his teammate Shino Aburame, was just finished talking with Sai, who showed his impressively detailed drawings.
"I can't believe we might be the only ones without a girlfriend," Kiba whined.
Shino simply nodded, "It led me to thinking that—"
"Don't even go there, man!" Kiba shouted. "I ain't doing it with you."
Shino glared at his teammate from behind his goggles, "Kiba."
"Right, kidding," Kiba laughed nervously.
"As I was saying," Shino continued. "Speak for yourself, Kiba. I am engaged."
"You're WHAT?!" Kiba looked horrified, shocked and happy for Shino all at the same time.
"It was arranged, but I believe there could also be love."
Kiba's eye twitched, then he groaned, "So I'm the only one without a girlfriend."
"Rock Lee's still free."
"Shino!" Kiba looked completely horrified, even Akamaru let out a whine.
"I only meant that Rock Lee's busy with training and he's still also... Single."
"Right."
"Sai seems to be free too."
Kiba groaned, "Please just stop, Shino."
Shino shrugged.
"Shino?" Kiba asked. "Just so you know, I actually have a certain girl in my mind. She loves dogs as much as I do."
Shino looked at Kiba once, "I see."
Aand somewhere else in the village...
Shikamaru Nara and Temari, an ambassador of Suna were walking through the busy streets of Konoha, they had just finished a briefing with the Fifth.
"If Sai's drawing is true, then it seems like Naruto's gotten ahead of you with getting a girlfriend, crybaby," Temari teased.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru grunted, not looking like he was paying that much attention.
"If you stopped being lazy, I bet you'd be hitched by now," Temari laughed.
"Hm," was all Shikamaru said.
"Dad, why did you marry a hard-edged woman like mom?"
Shikamaru remembered asking his father.
"Even though you're mom's like that, she smiles gently sometimes."
His father had simply replied.
"Is that the only reason?"
He continued to prod. For a genius like him, he didn't understand the point of marrying such troublesome women—although yes, he loved his mother, even if she was admittedly terrifying.
"Well, I guess I'll be off then," Temari declared when they reached the gates.
Shikamaru looked at Temari with an intensity he only usually used in battles and shogi matches.
"Don't worry, crybaby." Temari grinned. "I'll be back soon enough."
I think dad's reason was enough.
"Temari?" Shikamaru said with a slight grin. "If you gave me a chance, I think I could prove which one of us is the crybaby," with a sly smile he added, "I'm positive I can make you cry."
Temari smirked, "Oh?"
The two glared and smirked at each other, emitting a dangerous aura that terrified civilians and made shinobis steer clear of their way.
"Wouldn't it be to troublesome for you?" Temari taunted with a raise of an eyebrow, Shikamaru was sharp enough to see the slight tinge of red on her cheeks.
"Hm... I'll survive."
And with that, the Suna kunoichi was swept off her feet. Literally.
Somewhere back in the training fields, Konohamaru was lying on the ground, half unconscious with a worried Hanabi looking at him. His current state of semi-consciousness wasn't brought by Hanabi's impressive jyuken or their accidental tumble which led to Hanabi landing on top of him and getting their first kiss stolen by each other.
No. It was more like Hiashi's talk about responsibility that put him in a daze; and at the back of his mind, he feared for the safety of the shinobi he called big brother.
"Eherm," a familiar, stern voice cleared his throat.
"F- father!" Hinata looked up, shocked.
Hiashi Hyuuga narrowed his eyes at his daughter and Naruto. The two were sitting under a tree, holding hands and laughing, and looking all couple-y and romantic before Hiashi had arrived.
"Father, I can explain what's—"
Hiashi held up a hand, and Hinata stopped talking; now worried about what her father might do.
Hiashi looked at Naruto, "I expect there to be a marriage proposal early next morning."
"There will be, believe it," Naruto flashed his trademark grin. "But, Hiashi-dono?"
Hiashi raised an eyebrow, letting the blonde continue to speak.
"I want to marry Hinata when I become Hokage."
"When will that be?" Hiashi asked rather testily.
"Soon," Naruto hoped. "But I'm not going back in my word. I'll marry Hinata even if I don't become Hokage."
Hiashi trusted him. Hinata believed him. Well, none of them had to worry because back at the Hokage's mansion...
"Shizune, I'm getting to old for paperwork," Tsunade complained. "I'm thinking of naming my heir, make sure the next Hokage will be prepared, then I'm resigning."
Shizune smiled, "Do you have someone particular in mind?"
"I do," Tsunade nodded; and it was a certain orange shinobi of Konoha.
What do you mean there could be many orange shinobis?
Fine. He's also the Kyuubi's, Kurama's jinchuuriki and is currently having this conversation with the current head of the Hyuuga household.
"I love your daughter, Hiashi-dono," Naruto said with utmost sincerity. "And I want to stay by her side forever."
"And you?" Hiashi asked his daughter.
"I love Naruto, father," she said with clear determination.
"Alright then," Hiashi nodded, a slight smile broke his usually stoic expression; and with that Hiashi left, leaving the couple speechless.
Soon, the night fell upon Konoha, blanketing the entire village with peace. Sasuke was in his apartment near the Uchiha compound and Sakura was in his arms, sleeping peacefully.
He was closer to reviving his clan, step one was almost at completion... but maybe he could skip to step two.
He carefully removed his arm from under Sakura, which made the kunoichi frown in her sleep. Sasuke chuckled and he placed a kiss on the top of her head, for Sakura, even if she was asleep, that was a particularly endearing gesture that made her smile.
Sasuke went out of his apartment quietly, and started walking towards the Hyuuga compound where he hoped he might catch Naruto.
"Night, Hinata," Naruto smiled endearingly, kissing her on the cheek.
"I love you," Hinata blushed but did not stutter.
"I love you too," Naruto chuckled, he had never felt so complete before. "Always."
Hinata smiled at him and went inside the Hyuuga household.
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke?"
"I would like you to do me the honor of becoming my brother."
"Huh?"
"There's this jutsu that was taught to all Uchihas," Sasuke explained. "You can only perform it once, allowing an Uchiha to choose a non-Sharingan wielder to become officially part of the clan."
"And you want me to be—"
"Yeah, dobe," Sasuke smirked. "What? You expected me to do that with Sakura? She's a girl. If anything, she'd be my wife."
Naruto also smirked, he saw a small mark on Sasuke's neck, "You're talkative today, teme. Had a good night with Sakura-chan?" Naruto waggled his eyebrows.
Sasuke glared at Naruto and have the blonde a punch to his head, "Do you want to become my brother or not?"
Naruto grinned at his best friend, "Of course I want to!"
Sasuke sighed, "Open your jacket and lift up your shirt."
"Are we heading THAT direction, Sasuke?" Naruto joked.
"No, you dobe!" Sasuke practically shouted. "It's necessary! So I can put the Seal of Brotherhood!"
Naruto chuckled, "Joking, teme."
Sasuke performed the hand seals and wrote a kanji in the air. Naruto felt a slight burning sensation on his chest, above his heart, it disappeared as quickly as it came.
Naruto looked down and saw the kanji of the Uchiha name written above his heart. He pulled down his shirt and grinned at Sasuke.
"So were brothers now?"
"You're an Uchiha now," Sasuke nodded.
Somewhere, walking away from the direction of the Konoha Cemetery, we go back to Obito and Kakashi who spent almost the entire day reminiscing in front of Rin's gravestone.
"I was half expecting you'd use that jutsu on Rin," Kakashi commented out of the blue. "It would be difficult since she's been gone for a long time, but I'm sure you could do it."
Obito grinned at him, resembling the Obito from the past, "Yeah, I was expecting myself to that too; but you know what?"
"Yeah?"
"I just thought about how it should be time I stop being selfish."
Kakashi smiled quietly, watching the whistling Obito. Suddenly he wondered if the sudden spike in romance—as according to Sai and the variety of drawings he's been showing around—was Obito's doing too... but he figured it was just fate and destiny being fate and destiny, and one thing just led to the other.
Naruto yawned, waking up to a new day; he had a long day yesterday. He started getting ready for the day, he was just finished eating when there was a knock on the door. He went and opened the door.
"Nii-san!" Naruto grinned cheekily, sounding like a little kid.
Sasuke smiled—yes, smiled, not sneered or smirked—and his thought fleeted back to Itachi. He unconsciously raised his hand and gave Naruto a chakra-induced tap on the forehead with his index and middle finger.
"Ow, teme!" Naruto muttered, rubbing his forehead. "What was that for?"
Sasuke chuckled, "Nothing; but it felt nice doing it."
Naruto glared at him, "Whatever, why are you here anyway?"
"Tsunade-sama wanted to see you," informed Sasuke.
"Oh," Naruro frowned. I wonder why. "Let's go."
And so a few minutes later...
"They're here!" Shizune called.
"Alright, send them in," Tsunade waved.
"What's up?" Naruto said by way of greeting.
"Naruto, how do you feel about becoming Hokage?" Tsunade suddenly asked.
"I always said I'd be one, and I'd be the best one too," Naruto grinned happily.
Tsunade didn't doubt those words at all, "Well, I'm planning on naming you my successor."
Naruto's eyes went wide, the he remembered something—Hashirama's wish for Madara to be Hokage. An Uchiha Hokage isn't so bad. Naruto decided.
Naruto smiled nostalgically.
"I'll marry Hinata even if I don't become Hokage."
"I think Sasuke should be Hokage," Naruto declared. "Konoha needs an Uchiha to lead it."
Tsunade and Shizune seemed speechless.
"Dobe," Sasuke hit Naruto at the back of his head. "You ARE an Uchiha, remember?"
Naruto's eyes widened, then with fierce determination he looked back at Tsunade, "I accept the responsibilities."
Tsunade nodded, "Alright then, you better get ready."
Another Uchiha was on top of the Hokage Monument with a certain silver-haired shinobi.
"I guess this isn't your Dreamworld, Obito," Kakashi commented.
"It's not," Obito nodded, the he beamed brightly. "It's even better."
Obito closed his eyes, for the first time in a VERY long time, he felt an odd sense of relief and contentment...
The current host of the ten-tails felt his eyes widened; briefly, he wondered Naruto saw the vision he just did, but judging from the boy's expression, he was the only one who saw it.
"Stop running away. Come to this side... Obito."
Naruto held his hand out to Obito.
The Uchiha jinchuuriki looked at Naruto's hand, a sense of nostalgia washed over him.
Better than my Dreamworld, huh? He thought.
It was a split second—one vision and an offer to make it all come true.
Obito Uchiha looked at Naruto Uzumaki's hand, he mentally smiled. He had finally decided what to do.
It's a long one-shot, but I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the mistakes and typos, I'll edit them as soon as I can. :)