Naruhina

by lord-daegoth

reposting stuff done on DA in a place that actually suits it.

1. Chapter 1

NaruHina Fanfic part 1: Sakura's Plan

What a day, he thought to himself as he stumbled along the dusty road. It was incredibly hot, today had the highest temperatures Konoha had seen in a long time. He was also exhausted from his training. Damn that perverted hermit, he was driving him into the ground with all the training.
Not that Naruto didn't want to train, he had to get stronger, he had to get Sasuke back. Even if it meant beating him senseless to do it. Naruto sighed, it'd been a long time since he'd had any news about Sasuke but at least he wasn't in Oruchimaru's clutches.
He looked up. Not a single cloud. He dragged his feet forward, he had to get home, in his nice cool apartment. He probably also needed a shower, he'd worked his hardest today. Though it had to be said, the work did pay off.
He had a new technique, he couldn't wait to show off. Not only that, Lee had dropped by and the perverted hermit had asked him to help Naruto improve his taijutsu skills, it had not improved much but he was getting better. He was still excited about his new move, it took a lot to do but considering it's range and damage, it'd help if he couldn't get close to an enemy.
He looked up. His eyes were drawn to one sign on the street. His favourite ramen restaurant. He staggered into it and took a seat.
"The usual please. And a big glass of water please." He croaked, the old man looked at him and nodded. Naruto looked at him and noticed even he had stripped down to the waist. Damn this heat, Naruto thought to himself. he copied the old man and removed his shirt, leaving his muscled body exposed to the air. It didn't make much of a difference, but it was something. He gazed around lazily, only to see Hinata sat only two seats away from him, blushing furiously. Naruto sighed, one day he was going to ask her why she blushes so much, he wouldn't be surprised if it was permenant.
"Hey Hinata. How'd that mission of yours go? Kiba told me that it was exhausting, but didn't say anything else," He said smiling.
"Y-y-yes it was N-N-Naruto-kun. We had to go through a-a-around three countries to get to this cave. A-a-and what we were l-l-looking for wasn't there so we spent nearly a week looking for it." She said, forcing the words out.
"wow, I thought training was tough." He looked at her closely, then gave her a disgusted look. "Hinata, how can you still wear that thing in this heat?" he said, pointing at her jacket. Jeez, he thought, maybe for once she isn't blushing.
"Oh, I-I-I don't think it's that hot really." She said. That was a lie and Naruto knew it. He put his hand up to her cheek. She was incredibly hot. He took his hand away and gave her a stern look.
"Then why does it feel like you've just come out of an oven? You should really take that jacket off you know." He said to her in a level voice. He didn't expect the response he got.
She feinted. He shot up out of his seat and caught her. He looked up at the old man, who stood there obviously found something funny, and said
"save my ramen, I'll be back soon!" then he bolted, carrying Hinata in his arms.

Hinata found herself feeling as though she were being carried. Then she remember what had happened, and she looked up into his face. Her mind went numb. He's carrying me, I'm close to him. She felt dizzy, she already knew what was happening.
She feinted again.

Naruto could have sworn he felt Hinata stir, but he'd checked and she was defiantly still unconscious. He wondered what had happened. He remember Sakura berating him about being careful in extreme heat, because it could cause heat exhaustion. When he'd asked what's wrong with that she'd hit him. Really hard. That could only be bad.

Sakura was sat at the reception desk. It was possibly the most boring job a medical shinobi to be assigned. She'd been here most of the morning, and almost nothing had happened today. No shinobi had come back injured from a mission, no sudden emergency, just endless monotonous paperwork and watching in case anyone came in.
It was all so tedious.
The doors flung open and Naruto rushed in. for a moment she almost thought something interesting was happening. Her disappointment turned to curiosity and irritation when she realised he was carrying an unconscious Hinata. What's he done this time? Probably brushed her in passing or something, it's really a wonder how he hadn't figured out why she passes out only when he is about. But then again, it was Naruto. He could be so impossibly dense sometimes.
"alright, just leave her here and I'll take a look at her," she sighed. He beamed at her, with that goofy grin of his.
"thanks a lot Sakura-chan!" he said explosively and bolted back out of the door. Sakura laughed, his speed meant that when she'd feinted he'd either been training or getting ramen. She decided it was the latter, no one could train in this heat. Once more she praised the hospital's air conditioning. She got up and looked at Hinata, and flicked her nose.
Hinata woke with a start and sat bolt upright.
"jeez, considering that jacket of yours I thought Naruto may have thought you had heat exhaustion. Oh well, what did he do to set you off this time?" Sakura asked, giggling, as Hinata's face went deep crimson. She tried to sputter out some explanation or excuse, but Sakura had no idea what she was saying because she was stuttering so much. She just laughed harder.
"don't worry Hinata, he'll recognise your feelings for him at some point," she said to the stuttering girl. She stopped stuttering immediately and looked straight at Sakura.
"do you really think that?" Hinata said very quietly.
"defiantly… though, if you want things speeded up, I can always beat some sense into that thick skull of his," Sakura said, grinning. Hinata looked at her and giggled. She liked Sakura, she wished she had her confidence. Every time Naruto came into sight she blushed. Even worse, if he touched her she fainted, though she was slowly getting out of that habit.
Hinata looked at Sakura. Her green eyes were always soft and caring, the same as her face. True, Hinata had never actually been there when she got mad, but she had heard that she seemed like an angry Tsunade-Sama if someone irritated her. The pink haired medical shinobi sat back down at the desk, still smiling. She looked at Hinata, her face turned serious.
"Hinata, tomorrow, met me here at daybreak." She said.
"w-w-why?" Hinata asked, slightly confused with what could have been described as a command.
"I have a plan of sorts," she said, her grin returning. Hinata thought that it made her look slightly feral.

Naruto looked up at the sky. Clouds. Big, Black, evil looking clouds. The weather really was all over the place, he thought. Still, it was better than yesterdays heat, considering the perverted hermit said his training was stepping up today. He could only imagine what new scheme Jiraiya ad come up with. He was sure it would be more taijutsu with fuzzy-brows lee.
He was getting close to the training ground when he hard a hiss.
"Naruto, over here quickly." It was Jiraiya. Naruto wondered what the perverted hermit was doing. A thought came to him. Whenever sensei was in a bush, whispering to him instead of talking normally, he was generally being perverted. Naruto sighed.
"no way, perverted hermit, I know EXACTLY what you're doing, and there's no way I'm picking up on that habit," he said defiantly. Jiraiya's head popped out of the bush, his aged face serious and strong. Naruto was confused, the perverted hermit never had that face on when he was watching girls. But he was in a bush, obviously looking at something. Naruto was really confused. He started walking towards his white haired teacher.
The two made their way back into the bush. They both sat and Jiraiya pointed out the two on the training grounds. Two female ninja. He knew he never should have trusted Jiraiya.
"Naruto, look at their fighting styles," Jiraiya said quietly. Naruto's curiosity forced him to look, maybe Jiraiya could be trusted after all. He looked closely at the two, it was Sakura and Hinata, and they were sparring. He looked at the fighting styles as he was told. Sakura was using her monstrous strength to her advantage, leaving holes in the ground which Hinata would later have to avoid, this was made even more perilous for Hinata as she could only dodge Sakura's attacks when Sakura was using that titanic strength. Hinata's fighting style was still the Gentle Fist style, though she wasn't using her chakra with it. She was precise as ever and her flexibility let her dodge all of Sakura's attacks, even with the pot holes.
Jiraiya let out a loud curse as something had seemingly stung his hand. Naruto held his breath. If Sakura caught him watching her with the perverted hermit he was going to get hurt. He also really didn't want to get caught by Hinata, she blushed every time she saw him anyway, he could only imagine what it'd be like if she thought he was looking at her in that way.
The two broke apart, they kept their eyes on each other. Naruto began breathing again, glad that they hadn't noticed him. He looked closely at Hinata. She was forming seals. He watched, hypnotised, curious as to what this was. A large circular area of the ground started glowing. Sakura leapt forward to attack. Hinata side stepped the blow with her arms and body weaving an intricate design. Naruto was amazed, the earth was following her, flowing like water.
Then it hit him. He'd seen that movement before nearly five years ago when trying to find Sasuke. It was her, he couldn't believe it. His head felt light, he was only vaguely curious about why the ground had come up to meet him as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Jiraiya laughed as he stood up and dragged Naruto out of the hedge. It looks as if Sakura's little plan had worked, though he wasn't sure why. He looked over and yelled
"you can stop now, he's not watching anymore!" he shouted, lifting the unconscious blonde ninja. He started laughing as he walked towards them. Hinata looked shocked, she looked at Naruto, then back to Sakura, then at Naruto again. She went stiff, as if she knew something dreadful had happened, her face flashed to crimson and she too toppled to the ground.
Jiraiya laughed even harder as he approached Sakura. "How on earth did you get her to do it right without telling her what to do?" he chuckled. Sakura flashed him a grin.
"I guess I'm just Talented Jiraiya-Sama," she said smiling.
"my, my I guess you're proud of your work here then," he said.
"oh, it's not finished. Hinata's too shy and Naruto is too dense. This is just the start..."

NaruHina Fanfic Part two: Chakra Suprise :)

Naruto opened his eyes and groaned. He wanted to go back to sleep. He wanted to go back to that dream. He remembered so vividly now. He'd seen her nearly five years back. She'd been doing the exact same movements as a few days ago. He remembered her beautiful shape dancing on top of the water, just in front of a water fall, the water following her movements with the same grace. She was the girl that'd been in his dreams for so long.
What had him confused was the fact that whatever she'd been wearing when he saw her silhouette fitted and clung to her very tightly, and he couldn't remember any clothes she had that had those properties. He strained his mind to explain it. Then it hit him.
His cheeks began burning as he came to realise it. She had no clothes that fitted that description; they were all loose and revealed nothing about her figure. Which meant that the only thing that fitted that was nothing. He felt his face get redder and redder. He couldn't believe what he was thinking. Why was he thinking about this? It's Hinata, even if he did like her, it wasn't as if she liked him. Not only that but she was the heiress to Konoha's Remaining noble clan, even if they both like each other, nothing could happen as the Hyuuga would forbid it.
Well, I have to get up, he thought, the perverted hermit might get irritable if I'm late. Though, if it's like last time, there was no way he was going to miss it.
He shoved off the bed covers had walked into the bathroom. He walked to the sink and filled it with water. Then he sank his face into it. The cold stung his face slightly, but it got rid of the drowsiness, he needed to be alert if Jiraiya was planning any tricks for him. He wondered the actual reason for making him watch Hinata and Sakura was. When he'd asked the answer he got was that Sakura represented Naruto's fighting style, direct and terribly strong, whereas Hinata's style was what Naruto needed to learn. Not the Gentle fist itself, but fragile skill. When the perverted hermit had used those words he'd laughed, which got the reply "that's what it was, and it took everything your kind of style had in it's stride, now what does that tell you?"
Those words still echoed in his head. He was tempted to ask Hinata for some tips on how to make his fighting more skilful and less reliant on his raw power and timing, but he didn't think he'd be able to face her without going as red as a tomato. He'd also thought about asking Neji, but that would be bad as Neji relied on power as well. He also didn't want to lower himself, he was too proud to ask Neji because Neji would take it as Naruto being inferior. Then he'd decided on who to try and learn "fragile Skill" from, Kakashi. Naruto was stronger than him, Kakashi had admitted that without prompting, he also had told Naruto that his power exceeded both Jiraiya and Tsunade, but he could still learn as his skill was a shadow of theirs.
That was what the perverted hermit had been getting at; Naruto was slowly improving his timing, his strategy and using them to compliment his raw power, but he still needed delicacy and more stealth. So after training today, he was going to pester Kakashi into training him a bit.

Hinata was walking down the street to the training fields again. She wanted to see Naruto. She couldn't stop daydreaming about him fainting because of her movements. He liked her! Her thoughts started racing again, her heart started beating. She was embarrassed beyond believe but Sakura's plan had worked, Naruto liked her, she had to see him again, soon.
Though, she thought, he might not, that may have just been from finding out it was me by the waterfall instead of just about me. But still, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to talk to him, what if she feinted again? What if Naruto still liked Sakura? All the "What If's" came crashing down on her. Maybe Sakura had been wasting her time.
She kept walking, lost in her own thoughts as someone slammed into her from the side. She let out a yell of surprise and threw her arms around the person to keep her balance, and he caught her by the waist for the same reason. She didn't have to look at the face to realise who it was. Only one ninja wore a bright orange tracksuit. She was holding onto him, she was really close. She felt the warmth spreading through her cheeks, she looked up at him, into his azure blue eyes. She held his gaze. It felt like an eternity until she realised that he was going red to. He was actually blushing! She felt dizzy, but she was determined not to feint.
"H-H-Hinata, would you, umm, like to meet up sometime after I've finished training?"
"S-s-sure, Naruto-kun" she said. She couldn't believe it, a date with Naruto-kun not only that, she hadn't feinted. She smiled at him. Their faces were close, she could feel his breath. He pulled away and put her upright and smiled at her with his almost trademark grin
"see you later, Hinata-chan" he said sprinting off to his training. She stared after him for a while, not truly understanding what had just happened and her heart racing. She'd dreamed of this for so long, ever since she'd first laid eyes on the blonde ninja. It was happening, her dream was finally coming true.
Eventually, she reluctantly tore her eyes from the path Naruto had just flown down and carried on to the training fields. She wished she could have followed Naruto to the place where he trained, but Kiba and Shino were waiting for her.

Naruto was elated, he'd done it. It'd taken every ounce of will power and he was still shaking but he'd actually done it. He thought about her as the air rushed past his face. His memories wondered to that night he'd seen her at the water fall to the time they had talked before his Chuunin exam match against her cousin Neji. He'd always thought of Hinata as a very kind person and aside from Sasuke and Sakura, the best friend he had in his age group.
He'd never thought about asking her on a date before now though. He suddenly went cold. What were they going to do? He didn't know what Hinata liked to do or what she liked to eat. His heart sank, he'd managed to screw up already. Well, he thought, I've never given up on anything and I'm not starting now, I'll think of something.
He saw the perverted hermit talking to Kakashi. That was good, he need to talk to him. Now about two things rather than one. The two turned and looked at him. Jiraiya was obviously in a bad mood, and Kakashi was, as always, impassive.
"hey! Ero-sennin! Why the long face?" Naruto yelled. He knew the reaction he'd get, he loved irritating his teacher.
"Naruto," Jiraiya said as Naruto got closer "how many times? Seriously, how many times do I need to tell you not to call me 'Ero-Sennin' before you actually do as you're told?" Naruto just grinned, there wasn't a need to say anything. Though he was still curious as to why the perverted hermit was upset.
"Naruto," Kakashi said quietly "they reason Jiraiya's irritable is that an ANBU member is following you." The words were like a slap in the face to Naruto. Why would the elite ninja hunters following him? He'd been questioned by them before when the trap master had got everyone running round trying to stop him from destroying Konoha, but what was happening now?
"Kakashi-sensei, why?" Naruto mumbled.
"we don't know why yet, it could be anything, but considering who it is, it's something big." Kakashi said, obviously worried. His answer, however, just made him want to know more, which Jiraiya picked up on.
"The ANBU member is possibly one of the deadliest ninja we know. He's part Kashu clan. His mission success rate is 100 percent, just like the rest of his clan, and he knows more techniques then Kakashi does. Still, that's not the worst thing, his bloodline limit gives him three distinct advantages over other Shinobi; he's been alive for nearly one hundred years and hasn't shown any signs of ageing, he has a perfect memory and he can crush some ones mind." Jiraiya said, his voice deathly quiet. Naruto still wanted to know more, how was it possible to crush some ones mind?
"Still there's nothing we can do about it. And he is loyal to Hokage-sama so we don't need to worry." Kakashi said, returning to his usual sunny disposition "anyway, Jiraiya-sama has asked me to take your training today, so you can learn some grace," even with the face mask he always wore, Naruto could tell his old teacher was grinning broadly.
"Kakashi-sensei, before we start, there's something I need to ask you." He said. Kakashi raised the only eyebrow Naruto could see. Naruto was about to begin when he remembered Jiraiya was still around. "um, I'd rather say it in private."
Jiraiya glared at him and stalked off, not happy that he was being shoved off like a third wheel. "well, umm, I'm in a bit of trouble, see, I've asked this girl on a date and I really like her, but I didn't think things through and I have no idea what she likes or anything like that. I was just wondering if you could help…" he said, his eyes pleading and his voice uncertain.
So, Kakashi mused, he's finally got himself a date, I wonder who it is.
"well, I can't really help if I don't know who it is," he chuckled. Naruto, to Kakashi's surprise, started to change colour. And he finally whispered
"H-H-Hinata."
"Well, well, well. I didn't see that one coming… unfortunately, I know as much as you do." Kakashi felt bad about saying that, his pupil had been relying on him and he could see his heart plummet as Kakashi told him. An idea hit. "you could always ask Hokage-sama,"
Kakashi got another shock, Naruto looked up at him as if he'd just saved his life. It was a little embarrassing. "okay, let's get on with the training…"

"umm, Sakura?" A small voice said. Sakura spun on her heel to see the speaker. Hinata sprang back, surprised by Sakura's reflex. Sakura smiled.
"Hello Hinata, how are you? More importantly how are things going with Naruto, I haven't seen him since he feinted," she laughed, the sight of Naruto unconscious because of seeing Hinata was one of the more amusing parts of her plan.
"T-t-that's what I came to talk to you about," the shy indigo haired shinobi stuttered. "y-y-you see, he's asked me out on a date."
"That's great Hinata, when did this happen?"
"A-a-about an hour ago… t-the thing is that I don't know what to do, this will be my first date." She seemed worried, Sakura thought she'd be happy, she's been waiting years for this.
"Hinata, just ask him to Ichiraku's place, he loves ramen, so he'll be more then happy to go." Sakura told her, it was perfectly true, if you want to impress Naruto all you had to do was give him ramen. She really felt that it was possibly the least romantic way to get a guy, but she was sure it'd work.
"T-t-thank you Sakura," Hinata said. She was already think how to say it to Naruto. She had to get over the stutter, it cropped up whenever she talked about him or if he was near. Why was she so nervous? She preferred not to think through the answers.
"no worries Hinata." Sakura smiled, but Hinata wasn't listening, in fact she was already wondering away, aimlessly drifting down the street lost in thought. "man, she really likes him…"

"you're really not getting this, are you?" he wondered if his student was actually capable of moving with any care whatsoever.
"No Kakashi-sensei, this is really, really hard." Naruto sat down heavily. He'd been practising for nearly three hours; he still couldn't avoid the strings and potholes without making a racket. This time round he'd tripped on a pothole and got tangled in five different tripwires.
He was hopless, this wasn't his style.
"let's take a break. You should go see Tsunade-sama, and on the way back, get us some food." Kakashi said, absently tossing him a few coins. Naruto caught them and was gone. Kakashi sighed, he was really getting too excited about this. Oh well, it gave him a chance to read.

Tsunade was sat in her chair, taking a look at the newest reports and requests. She looked over at the piles of paperwork, she'd never get through it all. Ever. Even her debt problems were still about after all these years, she really shouldn't have borrowed that much.
Still, there was one piece of good news, they had a link to sasuke. Naruto was sure to be happy about that. She smiled, that boy really did remind her of her little brother. Same face, aside from Naruto's whisker birthmarks, same impatience, pride and desire to protect others. Though Naruto was a lot denser. She listened to the birds singing just outside her window, they seemed happy but then again they didn't have to work.
Tsunade was about to focus on her job, but she found it impossible to ignore the feet pounding up the stairs. It looked like even Jiraiya's training could keep the blonde ninja away from her. The pounding stopped. He knocked at the door. That was the give away, he was defiantly after something.
"Come in," she said, picking up a piece of paper and pretending to read it. The boy opened the door and walked through, closing it quietly behind him. He really was after something, that door had never been shut by him without a bang.
"Tsunade-sama," that was another really big give away, no way Naruto would call her sama or drop the irritating reference to her age on any normal occasion… did he already know about saskue? "I really need your help." That was a shock, Naruto never asked for help if it could possibly be avoided, unless it was training.
"What with, Naruto?" she asked softly.
"W-well, I'm not sure how to say it." His face contorted with concentration "well, you know Hinata…" now she was interested. She dropped the paper and looked straight at him, had Hinata finally got him, after all these years?
"Yes, I know Hinata…" she left the sentence hanging, encouraging him to get to the point.
"Well, I've asked her on a date and I have no idea what she likes to do, so I need help…" his face was flushed. He was really embarrassed. Against her will, Tsunade laughed, loudly. Naruto's face went crimson as he tried to contain the torrent of insults building up in his mind, he needed her help badly, and if it meant humiliation that was a price he was willing to pay… even if it was expensive.
"So you've finally noticed, eh?" she asked, he gave her a blank look. "okay, maybe you haven't, but Hinata has had feelings for you since before you were a Genin," His jaw dropped… she never thought a she could enjoy a visit from Naruto this much. "but, with an answer to your problems… that needs some thought." She leaned back in her chair. What could he use? She thought it over for a couple of minutes, then she remembered Yondaime. That tactic was nearly impossible to resist, and she knew Hinata liked nature, so this was sure to get her attention.
"Naruto, do you know how to keep the Rasengan going when you're not in contact with it?" she asked.
"what does that have to do with this?" he asked, obviously confused.
"Naruto, listen and listen closely…"

Hinata was waiting exactly where Naruto had run into her, he was late. She felt nervous. Maybe he wasn't coming, maybe he'd forgotten. She sighed, and then smiled again. It was forced, she really didn't want Sakura yelling at her from the roof she was hiding on. She'd insisted on watching the two meet. Maybe she knew how Hinata would feel.
"Hinata!" she spun on her heel to she the orange and black clad ninja. She often wondered why he wore those colours, they were possibly the worst colours for a Shinobi to wear, but she liked them anyway. As he got closer she noticed he was grinning broadly, he practically radiated confidence.
He stopped about a foot in front of her.
"hi, sorry I'm late, I needed a bath. Kakashi put me through a fairly hard training exercise."
"Don't worry, shall we go?" she said, trying her very hardest to sound confident. He looked at her in surprise.
"where to?"
"Ichiraku's, I thought you might like to eat there." She was really trying not to stutter, and she wasn't. Her worries started to fall away. It was becoming easier for her. The two set off to Ichiraku's restaurant.
Sakura leaned back and smiled. She wholeheartedly hoped they enjoied tonight.

The two sat there, talking. Neither of them really cared what they talked about, they just talked. Of missions they'd been on, old memories they shared and memories they didn't share. The day was beginning to fade, he decided he'd wait a little longer. So it continued, they laughed and joked about their comrades. She loved his jokes about Gai and his impression of Kiba had her giggling for ages. Naruto had never heard Hinata tell a joke or do an impression and cajoled her into trying. He laughed so hard his sides hurt when she chose to tell a joke about Jiraiya instead. He looked outside, the sun was red and the sky was somewhere between crimson and pink.
"Old man Ichiraku?" he said, getting the owners attention "here's the money,"
"Thank you Naruto". He said, smiling.
"Where are we going Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, confused as to why they were leaving.
"It's a surprise, it's what I had planned before we came here." He said, his smile broader than ever.
The two left the restaurant and kept talking. It took them about fifteen minutes to get to where Naruto wanted to go. A circle of trees that had grown together so closely that their branches enveloped the tree next to it, forming a circular wooden wall, with only one way in. the two crept through.
Hinata gasped, it was a beautiful place. The sun filtered into the grove through the upper branches, there was a pond of crystal clear water lined with pebbles and beautiful water plants and a rock formation to the side that looked as if nature had intended for it to be a seat.
Naruto led her over to the rocks and sat her down, and told her to close her eyes.
"this will only take a minute or two." He whispered softly. She sat, her curiosity building. She wondered what he was doing. She gasped, but she kept her eyes closed, he was using Chakra to do what ever he was doing. She was tempted to use the byakugan to see what he was up to, but decided against it. Naruto had his reasons, and she desperately didn't want to ruin the evening.
Naruto sat back down beside her and whispered as softly as he could into her ear
"you can open your eyes now, Hinata"
When she did, she was dazzled by what she saw. A ball of flowing water sat atop the surface of the pond, whirling as if frenzied. In the centre of the ball was another whirling ball, but it was Chakra instead of the water. The Chakra's glow poured out through the water and the mist forming around it, though it was diffracted and changed by the water and the light became many different colours and shades. The beams of light shone onto the trees and illuminated the grove, mixing slightly with the red sunlight, creating the most beautiful colours Hinata had ever seen. She sat hypnotised by the lights.
Soon the red faded out of the grove, as the sun hid itself from Konoha, and all that was left in the display was aquatic blues and greens, along with a cool night breeze. This was truly the most amazing thing. It was also the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her, she forgot her worries, her scornful father, the long past death of her mother, the pressure her clan heaped on her. She had even forgotten Naruto himself and lost herself in the kind beauty she saw before her. He had done this for her, the thought caused a two twin tears to run down her cheeks. Now more than ever, she loved the blonde haired ninja that sat beside her. She looked up into his brilliant cerulean eyes and his strong, gentle face.
And she realised.
He was really struggling to keep the chakra ball and the water going. He had already done enough. She hugged him even closer to her, it felt nice, she knew she was blushing furiously but she didn't care, this was the happiest she'd ever been.
"N-N-Naruto-kun, you can stop now," she whispered, pouring as much of her love for him as she could into those words, the stutter coming from awe and love instead of nerves.
He sighed and slumped. He was tired. He had put the usual amount of Chakra into the Rasengan, he'd had no idea how draining it was to hold it for just over an hour. Still it was worth it. Hinata was hugging him fiercely and it felt good. He'd impressed her, he was fairly sure of her. He looked down into her pale lavender eyes, holding her gaze.
"Did you enjoy it?" he asked, already knowing the answer. She smiled and nodded and then did something that nothing could have prepared him for. She lifted her head up to his and put her lips to his. His heart was pounding in the back of his head and his stomach was doing back flips, but this moment was too good to let anything stop him. The two fell onto the grass around the pond, kissing passionately. To Naruto, it seemed to last forever, and one thought passed through his mind; this was the happiest moment of his life.
Hinata broke away and looked at him deeply with her pale lavender eyes. At that point Naruto could only think that those orbs were as beautiful to him as his light show had been to her.
"I-I-I love you Naruto-kun" she whispered into his ear.
"I love you too Hinata-chan…"

NaruHina Fanfic part 3: Enter Shadowmaster

Naruto lay under his blanket, stretched out as far as he could, thinking of the night that had just passed. He didn't know what to think, could it have just been a dream? It'd ended so abruptly. He remembered showing Hinata the place granny Tsunade had showed him and then putting on the light show for her.
Then they had kissed.
The thought of it made him tremble, he had enjoyed every moment of it, his heart had been thundering loudly in the back of his head and the grass had felt soft beneath him. Hinata had pushed herself into him as far as possible, she'd felt warm and soft against his body. Just thinking of her made his stomach twinge with excitement.
He hoped it wasn't a dream.
But his heart told him it had all been so very real.

Hinata lay blissfully curled under the sheets of her bed, giggling softly to herself. It had finally happened, what she had dreamed of for so long, Naruto had finally said that he loved her. Her giggle turned into laughter as she remembered what had happened after their kissing and confessions.
He'd feinted.
After having herself feinted as she thought of that moment with him, the irony that he'd feinted instead of her when the moment had actually come was, almost painfully, apparent. She sighed happily, she had finally found love. She was ecstatic, not even the thoughts of her scornful father or the fact he would not approve of her relationship with Naruto could bring sad thoughts into her mind.
She couldn't wait to see him again.

Hiashi looked into the shadow. He knew someone was there, he could sense their chakra. What had him worried was the Byakugan couldn't see him. It was the first time he had seen the Byakugan fail. He thought carefully, and realised he was wrong, he had seen the Byakugan fail before, but only once. A flood of fear ran through him. He knew who it was.
The Shadow Master.
Kaisen Kashu.
He remembered Kaisen him something close to awe. Even the third and his old Sensei respected this Shinobi's power to the point of reverence. He steeled himself, he was in his clan's complex and he should not know fear knowing that a battalion of Hyuuga guard were in the very same complex.
"I know you're there, you may as well come out." He said, forcing his fear to the back of his mind.
"You're sharp. I never expected that of you, I thought those eyes had blinded you." A deep voice came from the man materialising. The man was half a foot taller than Hiashi, and wore the mask that was the trademark of ANBU. Hiashi didn't know what to think, he wore the mask of an ANBU but his armour was completely different. ANBU armour was light, a steel mesh with a light breastplate and guards for the arms and shins. Kaisen's armour was full, thick plates of black steel, and what was not covered by heavy plates was guarded by thick chain mail. He looked like an ancient titan.
"You would do well not to insult me in my own grounds." Hiashi spat. There was no way he, a noble of Konoha, would endure taunts from a rogue ninja that had forsaken his manners.
The figure laughed "if you are referring to your guards, your head would leave your shoulders before you could speak. You forget who I am, and the sword I carry." Hiashi's mind froze. The madman had brought it with him? That sword had a long and very bloody history. The Kashu clan had forged it as one of there three prized blades, and though Hiashi did not know its power, the fact the third had requested that it never be drawn within Konoha's walls was enough to drain his pride and anger. "Though, I am not here to fight. I know you, your pride is titanic and I have often thought it one of your virtues, but now is the time to place it aside. Something that must happen will hurt that ego of yours badly, but you shall not interfere." The armoured figure warned, his voice flat and deadly. "You will know of what I speak, when it comes to pass."
The armoured man faded to nothing, not even the presence of his chakra. He was gone. Hiashi was alone, confused and furious. That bastard was going to interfere with something in HIS clan. He didn't know what it was, but they way he spoke meant he referred to the prophecy his clan followed. What foolishness. He would not allow that insult to go unpunished, and as retribution he would not allow whatever it was come to pass.
Hiashi looked up. The sky was clear, but his day was already looked upon by black clouds.

Tsunade sat at her desk, tired and irritable. She'd had very little sleep in the night, and the work was really getting too much for her. All she wanted to do now was go out to that pond of hers with a bottle of sake. But, she thought as she looked out of her window, that would never happen as long as this mountain of work remained. For one fleeting moment, she regretted meeting Shizune.
There was a polite knock at the door.
"Come in," she said aggressively, she was in no mood to be polite. The door opened and a pink haired, green eyed young ninja stepped through. Tsunade smiled. Sakura was the one person she wanted to see.
"Good morning Tsunade-Sama. I'm very sorry to disturb you, but received a very disturbing warning." The young medic looked very confused, and slightly scared. "I was asked to tell you that Hyuuga Hiashi is about to become a problem."
"Ah, I was afraid of that. Thank you Sakura." She said, deep in thought. Sakura was about to leave when Tsunade spoke again. "Sakura, have you seen Naruto and Hinata today?" she asked with curiosity burning in her eyes. She looked upon Naruto almost as her little brother, and she really wanted to know if her advice had worked.
"no, but I'm seeing them both later. Why do you ask?" Sakura replied, wondering why her Sensei was interested in Naruto and Hinata, she couldn't know about the da-
"I want to know if their date went well." She said quickly, obviously knowing Sakura's thoughts. Sakura was dumbstruck.
"how did you kn-"
"that's my business," Tsunade said smugly, she loved tormenting her student, it nearly made her work bearable, but she was still disappointed that there was no news about the two. "when you do see them, however, send them to me… and while you're at it, find Neji, Lee, Shino, Kiba and Shikamaru."
Sakura turned to leave. Tsunade let her go. Naruto was going to love this mission.

Hinata found it hard to concentrate, her thoughts of her handsome blonde ninja kept intruding into her mind. She really couldn't afford to lose concentration in training though, especially with Kiba and Shino hurling Kunai at her while she was moving on the top of a grid of foot high, upright logs hammered into the ground. It would hurt real bad if she slipped an fell. It'd be worse if a Kunai found it's mark.
She leapt into the air and landed softly on the ground. There was no way she could continue with that much of a distraction. She had to see him again.
"Too much? Hinata?" Kiba snickered.
"no, I believe it's more than that… she's distracted by something." Shino said in his customarily flat voice, but her Byakugan could see through his coat that obscured the lower half of his face. He was smiling. He'd hit the mark immediately. She was distracted, really distracted. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, daring him to say more. But it wasn't Shino that responded.
"hiding something are you Hinata?" Kiba laughed. Her face reddened. Akamaru trotted over to her and sniffed her. The large hound gave two barks and walked back to Kiba's side. "or is it some one? You're as red as a tomato and Akamaru says that Naruto's scent is one you." Kiba was only slightly wrong, his words made her face feel like it was much redder than a tomato.
"Hinata!" a female voice sounded to her left. It was Sakura. Hinata was glad to see the female medical shinobi, it'd saved her recounting the story of last night to her teammates. "Good, I found you. Hokage-Sama wants to see all of you right away. Also, do you know where Neji is?" the pink haired girl asked.
"Y-y-yeah, he said he would be on the training fields with Tenten, he said something about another version of the Kaiten technique. Why? Does Hokage-Sama want to see him too?" she said, shocked at the question.
"Yep, I think she has a mission ready, she's also asked to see a few others as well." Sakura said. As soon as she had finished she sprang up into the trees and headed for the fields. Not wanting to face her team-mate's questions, she did the same, but headed straight for the Hokage building.

Naruto dragged himself up the stairs. Sakura had been vague about why granny Tsunade had asked to see him, but she'd hinted ever so slightly towards the reason being a mission. Knowing Tsunade, it was going to be a long boring mission. Typical, he still had to see Hinata again, and she was sending him of on some run-of-the-mill errand that by rights a ninja shouldn't be doing.
Why him?
Was she deliberately trying to irritate him?
He opened the door and walked in. Tsunade looked up at him and sighed.
"close the door, Naruto." He did so. "before you start, how'd it go?" she asked. Naruto looked at her, her eyes were almost literally alight with curiosity. He found it slightly unnerving. Even if he and Tsunade were friends, he felt slightly uncomfortable with the scrutiny. He stood there, he could feel his face gating uncomfortably warm and he found he couldn't talk if he tried. She just chuckled, leaving him even more embarrassed. He felt so helpless.
There was a knock at the door, Shino and Kiba walked in. Kiba grinned wickedly at Naruto, and winked. Naruto stiffened. Did they know? Had Hinata told her team mates? Or had they figured it out? The questions that ran through his mind when Akamaru plodded over from Kiba, stiffed him and barked. Kiba laughed outright.
Tsunade thought Naruto looked hilarious, it wasn't often she got to see him look crestfallen, but when it came the look on his face was priceless. She wondered if Naruto had considered that Akamaru would notice, but she decided that he'd obviously been far too dense to think of it, as usual. Hinata walked in and looked at the embarrassed blonde ninja. Her face immediately turned pale pink, though Tsunade was shocked that Hinata seemed to be controlling it. Telling him about the Fourth's little trick seemed to have worked out just fine.
Naruto noticed that she'd walked in. he couldn't control the blush, or the goofy grin that seeing her had put on his face. She began walking over to him and his face felt as if had just entered a sauna, his heart felt as if it was going to break his ribs with its force. He felt like he was going to burst but he felt considerably better when he realised he wasn't the only one.
She was very close before he realised what she wanted. She threw herself forward and slung her arms around his neck. She tilted her face up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He didn't know what to do, but he felt pride welling up inside his chest as his heartbeat relaxed. She'd kissed him in public, dispite her discomfort at being around other people while she did it. She really was becoming more confident about herself.
Lee, Neji and Shikamaru burst through the door, and Sakura followed with a stately walk. A silence fell over the room. But it broke after a few seconds.
"it seems that we've missed something, Naruto-Kun," Lee said, shocked, but happy to see his friend with his arms around Hinata.
"I didn't," Neji said quietly. Naruto couldn't tell if Neji was happy or angry or anything, Hinata's cousin was as blank as ever. He just looked at Naruto, his left eyebrow raised. "Naruto… you may have become strong, but if you diplease Hinata-Sama, I wil…"
"Neji, do you really think I'd do that?" he said bluntly, but then, Naruto had never really considered diplomacy as a valid option in most cases.
"He has a point Neji," Sakura stepped in. "I don't think that Naruto would do such a thing… besides, I doubt anything he could do would displease Hinata." She continued, grinning.
Shikamaru spoke next. "So why did you call us? Hokage-Sama," he said, looking directly at her. He obviously didn't want to be kept in the dark.
"I'll get straight to the point." She said, now all business. "Sometime last week, a Ninja clan that belonged to Konoha at one point resurfaced. During the reign of the second Hokage, the entire clan was given the mission of tracking down several very dangerous criminals and eliminating them. The mission was completed, but it had seem as if the last of the criminals took the clan with him. We know now that this is not the case, one of the clan has returned and has asked Konoha for aid."
"It seems that one of his clan has betrayed them and stolen two of their sacred weapons. With them he has become incredibly dangerous, hence why so many of you are gathered here." She looked at them all, slowly and deliberately. "The mission is to find and eliminate this threat, and it will be entrusted to three teams. One will be composed of Shino, Naruto, Hinata and Lee. The other will be Shikamaru, Sakura, Neji and Kiba."
"I can see why you've chosen those teams, one for tracking and another for power, but who is the third team?" Shikamaru interrupted. Everyone was silent, the question bugged them all.
"The third team will consist of the last loyal member of the clan, and he will lead the mission overall, while Shino and Shikamaru lead the two teams. He is an elite, the best Konoha has to offer at this moment. His name is Kashu Kaisen." The name struck Naruto. He remembered his Sensei's words. He couldn't hold it any longer, the words slipped out.
"Is it true that the Kashu clan have a one hundred percent mission success rate?" he asked, his voice deathly quiet. He could see the impact of his words on the rest of the Shinobi assembled. He hoped that he was wrong, that there had been some mistake, and that his sensei was wrong. He didn't mind so much that his team mate was one of that clan, what worried him was that his target was also one of them.
"Yes, to date, no Kashu clan member has ever failed in a mission, several have died to bring their mission to success. That determination is one of many virtues." She said. She saw that he was genuinely worried. "it's also possible that you're target is beyond all of you, that is why Kaisen is going with you. He should be on an equal footing."
Shikamaru was about to say something, but Naruto cut him off. "Tsunade, if we're tracking a Kashu member, we need to know exactly what we're up against, including the clan's bloodline limit." He said it with the flat voice he only ever used when the safety of his friends was in doubt. This was Naruto at his best, she thought silently.
"Kaisen himself will brief you on that on your way. The last place your target was seen was the wave country, by a bridge that was finished around six years ago." She looked directly at Naruto. "By any chance do you know why there is a bridge in the wave country that has your name? Naruto?"
the reappeared on his face "yeah, it was kinda named after me…" he noticed the looks on everyone's faces and decided to continue. "well, the bridge was soon to be finished as we were guarding it, but it was attacked by Zabuza and his student Haku… to cut the story short, Haku was killed by Kakashi sensei and Zabuza died after killing this evil business man… but I'd had an impact on the village, so they named it after me when we fought off Zabuza." Naruto really wanted to elaborate on the story, but now he wanted to go, he wanted to see Inari again.
"I'll have to read Kakashi's report, but Zabuza was a member of the seven Ninja swords of the mist, and your team were the ones who finished him? That should have been an A-rank mission… I want an explanation when you get back, but you're late as it is, Kaisen is waiting for you at the main gate." She said, her tone showing that the meeting was at an end, she was a little shocked when ~Naruto joined in the customary salute as they left. Was he finally growing up, she wondered? Maybe Hinata was having an affect on him.

Kaisen looked up. They were late. He didn't know who his teams were, but Tsunade had assured him they were reliable. He was starting to think that she was just giving him whoever was available. He wondered if Konoha's Shinobi were like they were when he was last here.
Though, he had to say, the nine-tails kid had impressed him. And the Hyuuga girl. They were both stronger than he'd expected, far stronger. He wondered about the Fox Kid, he seemed like a goof off, he seemed lazy, ignorant and rash. Tsunade had assured him that when Naruto was serious he was a completely different person. He could almost believe it considering the Chakra he had and his performance with that girl of his.
They were coming. They were around four hundred metres away, he looked up. This mission was going to be the hardest he'd ever faced. He had to eliminate a clan member. It was going to be physically and emotionally draining. The bastard could wield two of the three sword relics; it made him one of the deadliest ninja alive.
If things went wrong, none of these kids would be coming back alive.
They rushed out into the gateway and looked around, they couldn't see him. No one could, he was near invisible in the shadow. Two were even using the Byakugan, he wondered if they'd notice his aura even if the couldn't actually see him. He was disappointed, they couldn't, even Hiashi was more observant then these two. He sighed and stepped out of the shadows.

The whole team span on their heels as they heard the Klink of metal on stone. Many of them gasped when they saw him. He looked like some ancient warrior of myth, or a warrior-daemon. None of them had seen him, even Neji and Hinata, until he'd stepped out. He was significantly taller than all of them.
"let's go, I'll tell you more about the mission as we travel. We don't separate until we hit the Naruto Bridge, so I can fill you all in." the figure said. His voice was incredibly deep, it was also soft but at same time it had an edge. None of the Shiobi knew what to make of him.
The group started out, and Kaisen began to fill them in. he told them about the Kashu bloodline limit, and that they would be safe from the combat effects if the stayed in the sunlight. It was mainly a genjutsu technique that relied on the dark. He told them about the three swords, and that they were incredibly potent, he warned them that the largest of the swords was unnaturally fast and lent amazing feats of agility to its wielder, and the other that the target carried was one that controlled energy of any type, draining and giving as its master pleased. He told them it's weakness was that it couldn't affect anyone that wasn't afraid.
Then Naruto's curiosity overcame him again and he spoke out "so what can your sword do?" he asked.
The figure held his hands just above his hips, spread open apart from one thumb. "That, you don't need to know." The figure's voice was venomous, and dripped with Contempt.
Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. He knew immediately what the man had meant with his hand. Nine tails. Naruto dropped his pack and forced his chakra into his hand. There was no way he was letting that stand. He leptforward, his right hand leading with a Rasengan glowing brightly in his palm. The others tried to restrain him, but they were to slow to react.
Kaisen wasn't.
He span on his armoured heel and brought up his hand. The Rasengan smashed into it. The ball exploded with a massive amount of energy. Kaisen stood still, unharmed and immobile, not even phased by the powerful blast. Naruto, on the other hand, Cannoned into a tree as he was thrown away by the force of his own move.
"We're facing a man who will use your emotions against you, he's even more adept at it then I am. If that little hand signal upset you, I'm sorry, but he will not be afraid to manipulate you. If you cannot restrain yourself, you're a danger to everyone here." The armoured figure said; his voice back to its usual unemotional tone. "That's not just you, either, it's everyone here. The place easiest to strike is your mind, that's how he will attack you, guard yourself well."
The armoured figure walked on. The group looked at Naruto, then to the figure, and then back to Naruto. He could see it. The entire team was afraid.

They stopped, Kaisen's armoured form turned to regard them.
"We stop here for the night. If he knows we're coming, it's too dangerous to travel in the dark." Kaisen dropped his pack and the others did the same. Naruto was furious, he wanted to speak up. The whole mission was dangerous, what was so bad about travelling at night? He chose to remain quite. He knew that Kaisen would either manipulate him or outwit him, there was little point in arguing.
"Set the tents up in a circle, all entrances facing the fire. If we're attacked in the night it will be by his familiars. They're defeated easily enough, but if they catch you sleeping that's it but they are terrified of fire. Only a direct order from our target would get them to go anywhere near it." Kaisen explained.
Naruto was helping Kiba set up one of the tents. The two shifted the enterance round to the area where the fire was.
"If I didn't know any better, Naruto, I'd say he scares you," Kiba said in a hushed whisper
"Well, you do. I'm not afraid of him, but we're after his clan member, he knows what he's doing." Naruto replied, his voice grating from between clenched teeth.
"Wow, did what he do really get at you that much? I didn't even understand it… though I'm guessing you're not going to tell me, considering you seem angrier than Akamaru when he's being brushed." Kiba said, very carful about his wording and voice. He still couldn't believe Naruto had tried a Rasengan when the victim had his back turned.
"No, it's something I'd rather keep private." Naruto sighed. He wished he could talk about it to someone, but he was afraid. The adults only wanted to know about the nine-tails if it was important, and he feared that if his friends knew about it they'd treat him like the rest of the village did. They'd treat him as a vile monster.
Kaisen spoke again. "Four tents. That's three in two tents, two in another and one in the last. I have no idea why you guys brought this many tents… anyways, Sakura sleeps alone, Naruto and Hinata can have one. Me and the rest of the men will take the other two." He declared, his voice still devoid of emotion.
Naruto's head snapped up, just finishing his tent, why had he been put with Hinata? Did EVERONE know? Naruto looked at the large figure. And the figure looked directly at him.
Truce?
The thought appeared directly in his head. The mask tilted to the side, awaiting an answer. Naruto nodded. The figure looked at the others.
"You guys start cooking and eating, I'm going to sleep, I'll be up in four hours to take watch for the rest of the night. It's up to you to decide who stays up till I'm awake." The armoured man slipped into the largest of the four tents.
Naruto looked at the others, only then did he notice that Hinata had feinted and Neji was looking at him with what could only be described as balefire in his eyes. Naruto gulped, he knew exactly what would happen if he tried anything. It put a real downer on the gift from Kaisen.

It was Naruto and Hinata that took the watch until Kaisen woke up. They sat talking cheerfully to each other, like they had the night before. Then Hinata looked at him in the eyes, worried.
"N-N-Naruto-kun, what did Kaisen-Sama do to make you so angry?" her voice filled with concern and care.
"it's not something I really want to talk about, but it's one of the reasons that half the village look at me as if I were some creature that has no right to live." He said. He couldn't tell her, she'd leave him for sure and that would be more than he could take.
"Naruto… I-I-I want to know what's wrong. I've seen you angry before, but this time was different, you were trying to really hurt him even though he's vital to the mission. Not only that, but you also tried to hit him when his back was turned without any warning. I've never seen you that upset before. Please, Naruto, tell me what it is. You know I-I-I" Hinata took a breath, she was going to say it again. "I love you more than anything, I just want to help you."
Naruto looked at her eyes. They were Hiata's most attractive feature, they were pale lavender and full of care and love… something his life contained precious little else. He took a breath. In truth, Hinata had been the only person aside from his team and Kakashi to have ever cared for him, and she was the only person who had ever loved him. He owed her the truth if nothing else.
Even if it meant that he would lose her.

Hinata looked into the eyes of the man she loved. It was the hardest thing she'd ever done. Tears were flowing freely down his whisker marked cheeks, and his beautiful azure blue eyes were filled with despair. It hurt her to see him like this. She had to help him, even if it hurt or it was scary she would help him. She'd seen how the villagers were to him, on occasion he'd been beaten for seemed to be no reason whatsoever, if she knew the reason for it, she might be able to at least comfort him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
"Naruto, I will always love you, just let me be there for you." She said, her voice wavering. He hugged her fiercely, as if he seemed afraid to let go. He released her and took a breath.
"hinata, the sign he made represented nine-tails. That on it's own would not be offensive to anyone. The reason it got to me was… was… please dear god don't hate me like everyone else because of this… was that, the daemon that attacked Konoha seventeen years ago was only defeated because it was sealed away…" his voice dropped to a whisper "… it was sealed inside of me…"
Hinata held his gaze. Then she hugged him, clinging to him as tight as she could.
"I could never hate you Naruto, I love you. You had no choice where the thing was sealed, but even if it is inside you that doesn't stop you from being by far the kindest person I have ever met. You care for others; you stand up for what is right, so never believe for one second that the thing inside of you makes you less of a person. It doesn't, anyone that thinks it does is a fool." She said fiercely, still clinging to him, crying openly. So this is why he was treated so badly? Why could such evil exist in this world, where a person could be forsaken because he had been used to protect those who had forsaken him?
"Thank you, Hinata… I love you so much." Hinata didn't reply, she pulled him to her, and pushed her lips into his. She shivered with pleasure as their lips opened and their tongues began sliding together.
She hoped that her love could, in some way, make up for how he had been treated.

Kaisen opened his eyes. There had never been a need for him to sleep, so he'd remained awake. The only reason he was even resting instead of out on watch was that his mind occasionally needed time to rest, or he could begin developing a deep seated psychosis. That was the only reason anyone in his clan slept at all, to stop them from going mad.
He opened the tent flap. He peeked outside and looked at the two on watch. Hinata and Naruto. He smiled. It was a rare thing for his cold and dead heart to feel anything, but these two really were something, considering what he'd heard and that they were still in love.
He was tempted to remain silent, and let the two be with each other, but they needed some rest for tomorrow's journey.
"okay, you two," he whispered, still smiling. "I hate to interrupt, but it's time for me to take watch, and you two need some sleep." They nodded in unison and headed into their tent.
Kaisen sat down by the fire. Those two reminded him very much of his daughter and her love. In fact, Naruto also looked a lot like his daughter's lover, same blonde hair and same blue eyes. They had gone so well together, until he'd died fighting the daemon, and she'd been killed by Tzumaru.
One of the many crimes the traitor would pay for when they finally caught him.