Yay! It's my first fanfic!
I am a big fan of NaruHina fanfics, so I thought why not write one?
Please please please review! Criticism is definitely welcome! (and so are compliments =]). If you like the story, just let me know and I will work hard to finish it!
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the story.
Disclaimer: I DO NO own Naruto. (sigh) I know, life sucks. Well, onto the story!
Promises of Tomorrow
Naruto sighed as he lay down in the cool, green grass. He usually wasn't one to feel depressed, but after everything that has happened to him recently, no one could blame him for feeling down. Failure after failure after failure…..who else can I possibly let down? Naruto laid in silence as he re-capped everyone he ever let down in his head. Let's see….I let Sasuke down by not bringing him back to the village, I let Sakura down for not bringing Sasuke back, I let Hinata, Kiba, and Shino down when I farted on that bug mission……..tears started to stream down Naruto's eyes as he stood up from the grass.
"And I let this whole damn village down!" he shouted out as he remembered all of the villager's hateful glares for having the Kyuubi sealed inside his body. That hurt the most. Having a whole village against you. On the surface, they are comrades. Deep down, they were just waiting to stab Naruto in the back-literally.
Hinata flinched as she saw Naruto get up and shout. She wanted to go out and comfort him so badly….to just let him know how important he is to the village-and her. Hinata inwardly cursed at her shyness. For years, she has had the biggest crush on Naruto. That crush has blossomed into love. She truly wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She would even die for him (even though she would rather live with him).
"Damn it…..I am so pathetic…" Naruto said, barely above a whisper as he plopped himself back onto the wet green forest grass.
Not as pathetic as I am thought Hinata. I have loved you for years, but all I could ever so is watch you from behind this tree!
Naruto looked around at the surrounding forest.
"Well, at least the scenery is nice…," he said as he looked around his secret clearing. No one except Naruto knew about the clearing in the forest. It was beautiful. Naruto found it a perfect place to train or think without being interrupted. It wasn't even that deep in the forest. The reason why only he knew about the clearing is because the people of Konoha were too busy to explore the beautiful forest. They were either too busy traversing the trails to trade with neighboring villages or jumping through trees to complete a new mission.
Naruto smiled. He always came to this special clearing since his academy days a year ago. His special spot that no one knew about…..except Hinata, of course. Little did Naruto know, Hinata would watch him every single day as he would train or rest in the clearing.
Naruto sat up and rubbed his stomach hungrily. Even on his worst days, he could always go for a nice, hot bowl of delicious, golden noodles soaked in warm, perfectly seasoned broth: ramen. The thought of his favorite food instantly brought a smile to Naruto's face.
"Alright! It's decided! Chow-chow time!" Naruto cheered as he pumped his fist into the air. Hinata smiled as she saw her love get up and make his way to Icharaku's Ramen, whistling the whole way.
"Nothing can keep Naruto-kun down for long," she said to herself as she sighed happily and stepped into Naruto's secret clearing. She often lies on the cool grass, just like Naruto, and fantasize about her dream life with Naruto. She giggled to herself as she imagined herself hand-feeding Naruto ramen.
"Hey old man!" Naruto shouted as he chowed down on the last bit of pork ramen in his bowl. "Give me another! With miso this time!"
"Coming right up!" the cheerful old ramen shop owner said cheerfully. He was always happy to please their best customer.
Ayame giggled as she cooked the broth for Naruto's next bowl of ramen. "Geez, Naruto. Do you even take the time to taste it?"
"Yup!" Naruto said cheerfully as he started to slurp on a noodle that was stuck to his face. "I eat ramen everyday! I love it!"
"Seriously, Naruto," said a voice behind him. "A ninja must keep up his health. You should eat more fruits and vegetables."
Naruto spun around. "Pervy Sage!?! What are you doing here?"
Jaraiya sighed as he lightly punched Naruto's head. "Don't call me that! I am the great Toad Sage, Master Jaraiya, one of the legendary Sanin…….and the best looking," he added with a stupid smile on his face. Ayame just laughed nervously and Naruto muttered something under his breath.
"Anyway," Jaraiya said, back on the topic. "Remember when I told you that we are going to go on a training trip soon?"
Naruto nodded with excitement. "Are you going to train me???" he asked eagerly.
Jaraiya chuckled. "Yes, Naruto. I think it is time I taught you what I know."
"ALRIGHT!!" Naruto yelled loudly.
"Calm down, Naruto," Jaraiya scolded. "You may want to say goodbye to your friends. We are going to be gone a while."
Naruto's smile instantly turned into a frown. He remembered, again, how he let everyone down. His failure at retrieving Sasuke, how he endangered his friends against the Sound Four….
"I'm afraid I don't really have many friends to say goodbye too," Naruto said sadly. "It would be better I didn't-they wouldn't even notice I'm gone."
Jaraiya's goofy expression hardened into a serious scowl. As much as he and the blonde argued and fought, he stilled loved the boy like a son.
"Naruto," Jaraiya began, trying to offer encouraging words.
"It's alright, Pervy Sage," Naruto said as he gave Jaraiya a fake smile. "I'll be ready tonight, okay?"
Jaraiya shook his head. He only hoped that he could be a good enough teacher to snap Naruto out of his depression. He let out a long sigh as he watched the young boy walk off in the direction of his apartment to gather his belongings.
"We have a long road ahead of us…," he muttered under his breath.
-Hours Later-
Hinata slowly got up and rubbed her eyes. She fell asleep dreaming about her and Naruto. She started to walk back into the village.
Whoa! I was out for a while! she thought. It's getting dark!
Hinata walked up to Icharaku's Ramen. Seeing the place reminded her of Naruto. Maybe Naruto is eating there right now, she thought to herself hopefully.
Hinata walked up to the shop and peeked inside. She frowned. No Naruto. Oh well…, she thought as she began to leave.
"Excuse me, young lady," the old shopkeeper said. "Are you looking for someone?"
"Did you happen to see Naruto come by here?" she asked with a small blush.
"Sorry," Ayame said, emerging from the kitchen. "He left with Master Jaraiya on a long training trip earlier."
Hinata's eyes widened with shock. "H-h-he l-left?" she said through tears. "I-I-is this a j-j-joke?"
The old man shook his head sadly. "It's a real shame," he said quietly. "Before he left, he said he had no friends….no one to say goodbye too. He has really gotten lonely recently.."
Hinata let her tears fall when she realized he wasn't telling a joke.
"He'll be back," Ayame said soothingly. Naruto's depression also saddened Ayame and her father. Naruto was, after all, their favorite and best customer. He would always share his exaggerated tales about how he valiantly kicked Sasuke's butt on his newest mission.
Hinata shook her head, trying to shake herself out of this nightmare. "N-n-n-no I-I…h-h-he… I didn't even t-t-tell..," she cried in between tears. She ran off towards Konoha's front gates, hoping to catch Naruto before he left.
I never even told him I loved him…..
Ayame and her father watched Hinata take off towards the village gate.
"Someone really is fond of him," the old shopkeeper said solemnly. "I knew it. Naruto really can be a pain sometimes."
Ayame nodded in agreement. "Things will be boring for a while without Naruto."
"Yes it will."
-Flash Forward-
Hinata stood by the gate. She has remained at the spot for as long as she could remember. She watched as the beautiful autumn leaves paraded around her wrinkly body. She slowly moved her mouth. Speaking has been hard for her old body recently. Her gray hair flowed in the breeze, causing it to tangle and catch an assortment of brown and red leaves.
"H-h-how long?" she asked slowly with a harsh cough. Her wrinkly hands couldn't even reach her mouth to cover up the cough. Damn old bones.
"Naruto……."
Hinata snapped awake, breathing heavily. Thank God…just a dream, she said, trying to calm down her racing heart. Ever since Naruto left two and a half years ago, she has had nightmares every single night. She got out of her bed and made her way towards the washroom. She splashed her face with cold water and brushed some of her long, silky dark blue hair out of her face.
Over the years, Hinata really grew. Not only was her Gentle Fist Technique getting better by the day, but she really grew into a beautiful young woman.
Recently, it has gotten even harder to face the fact that Naruto left. It was as if Hinata's heart ached more and more for him everyday. She secretly knew that she would never stop loving Naruto the way she did, no matter what.
Hinata also began to really get scared. Naruto has been gone for more than two years. She began to doubt the fact that he would come back, as much as it killed her to do so. Either that or he comes back when he's eighty years old, like in her nightmares.
Little did she know that her Naruto would return to Konoha that day!
-Noon-
Hinata got dressed up for the day. She woke up at about eleven, which was really late for her. She and her team had no missions, so she decided to visit Naruto's old secret clearing. Whenever she wasn't on a mission or training, she would lie down on the cool grass and allow the warm rays of the sun caress and heat her body.
She put on her favorite purple jacket, which clung tightly to her abdomen, showing off her curves. Yes, she has gained a little bit of confidence, at least clothes-wise. She shuddered when she remembered her old ugly and poofy Eskimo jacket. She also put on tight blue pants and standard black ninja sandals.
-Outside of Konoha, at the same time-
"Well, Naruto," Jaraiya said happily, satisfied with Naruto's growth. "What is the first thing you are going to do when we walk in? Go say hi to everyone? Pick up some hot chick? Who knows? Maybe you might get lucky and lo-"
Jaraiya was immediately cut off by Naruto's fist. "Damn it, Perverted Hermit. Why the hell can't you cut that crap out?"
Jaraiya just gave Naruto a stupid smile.
Naruto groaned and turned away from the older ninja. He could barely put up with two and a half years of this guys perverted garbage. One time, Jaraiya (censored) with (censored) in (censored) and tried to get Naruto to (censored). What was his excuse? He needed damn research for his perverted books! Seriously, who would read that trash anyways (besides Kakashi, of course).
Naruto also grew in the time he was gone. He grew very tall, just a head shorter than Jaraiya. He wore a new black Konoha leaf headband and a new black and orange jumpsuit. His hair also grew longer, causing Jaraiya to compare his appearance to the Fourth's.
"Here we are," Jaraiya announced. "It's been a while. I can't wait to party!"
Naruto sighed. "You go on, Pervy Sage. I need to go some were first."
"Gotcha," Jaraiya said as they stepped through the gates. "Just promise me you will say hi to the others.
"Fine," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. He actually didn't really look forward to meeting up with the others. Not after all he did a couple years ago. He especially remembered how his crush, Sakura, slapped him and abused him for not bringing back Sasuke. Seriously! Thought Naruto. What did I ever see in that bitch?
Naruto walked into the forest to search for his old secret clearing. He wanted to at least spend a couple hours home alone. He still remembered exactly where it was.
Naruto stepped into the clearing, and noticed that someone else was laying in his special thinking spot! Make that a cute someone, thought Naruto as he caught sight of the young girl's long blue hair and curvy figure. Naruto couldn't take his eyes off her body. Damn it! That old perv is rubbing off on me! Naruto scolded himself.
Hinata sat up after she sensed a large amount of chakra approaching the clearing. Who could it be? Only Naruto and I know about th-
Hinata's thoughts instantly stopped. She was paralyzed with shock when she saw his bright, piercingly handsome blue eyes and sexy whisker marks on his cheeks. She turned light-headed when she saw his familiar spiky blonde hair.
"Hinata!" Naruto yelled out. "Is that you? You look amazing!"
That is all Hinata heard before she slipped out of consciousness.
Well, I hope you liked it. This is the first time I tried writing. Please review so I can decide whether or not I should make another chapter. Criticism is also welcomed……
