A/N: I've spent a while writing this, so I'd really very much appreciate reviews. Like, you don't even know how much, hehe. So, please, please, please, review!! :)
"Daddy, do you think I'm pretty?" the little girl asked, twirling around in her pink dress.
"Hina, it should be a crime to be as beautiful as you," Naruto declared, making her giggle.
They were on their way back from Neji and Tenten's wedding. Neji had wanted his niece to be the flower girl and at seeing the glorious dress, Hina had accepted immediately. Naruto's suit had gotten wrinkled and his tie was nowhere to be seen, while Hina's dress freely billowed about in the breeze.
Hina grabbed Naruto's free hand and smiled up at him before venturing into dangerous territory.
"Am I as beautiful as Mommy was?" she asked quietly.
Naruto wasn't really ready for a question about Hinata, but he forced his usual grin.
"Of course you are," he assured her. "Or maybe even more so."
Hina blushed at the compliment but shook her head.
"Nobody could be more beautiful as Mommy!" she told him. "Never!"
Naruto wanted to lighten the mood by laughing or doing something silly, but when the subject of his late wife came up, he just couldn't bring himself to feel happy. No, not even for Hina.
"Daddy, tell me about it," she pouted, tugging on his hand impatiently. "About how you and Mommy got married."
"Hina I told you it's not something I want to talk about," Naruto sighed.
Hina shrugged. She was used to her father's reluctant behavior when it came to all things Hyuga Hinata.
"Daddy, am I going to Sakura-sensei's house today?" she changed the subject.
"Yeah, I have a lot to do today so you'll have to," Naruto frowned. "Sorry."
"No problem!" Hina said brightly.
They found Sakura later that night, at Neji and Tenten's reception.
"Sakura!" Naruto called.
Sakura stopped dancing and waved to them as she made her way over.
"Hey Hina-chan!" she exclaimed. "My God, you've gotten so much bigger. And so much prettier too! Just the spitting image of…"
She trailed off at seeing the pained look on Naruto's face.
"You'll take care of her?" Naruto queried.
"Of course," Sakura nodded. "Hina-chan is always welcome in my house."
"Thank you Sakura-sensei," Hina smiled up at her. "You're awesome. By the way, I'm big because I'm six and a half now, not just six."
Naruto hugged his daughter quickly and left. His mouth was set in a straight line, giving him quite the serious appearance for such a cheerful ninja.
After Sakura had her fill of dancing wildly and getting Hina to do the same, she sat down with a sigh.
"Man, I am worn out," she remarked. "What about you Hina-chan?"
"Me too," Hina agreed. "Are all weddings this tiring?"
"All of them," Sakura answered.
"What about my parents' wedding?" Hina questioned her.
Sakura looked taken aback and almost choked on the drink she was holding.
"You should probably ask your dad about that," she told the little girl gently.
"Daddy never says anything about Mommy!" Hina complained. "When I try to ask him, he just shoots it right down or changes the subject."
"Maybe it's for the best," Sakura suggested.
"Is it a good thing that I know nothing about my mother?" Hina asked in an annoyed voice.
Sakura bit her lip for a moment, wondering if telling Hina would be wrong.
"Sweetheart," she began, pulling her into her lap.
"If you're not going to tell me then don't just say how I shouldn't know," Hina said bitterly. "I've had enough of that, thank you."
"Your parents went to the ninja academy together," Sakura told her. "Back when nobody acknowledged Naruto, she was already in love with him."
Hina grinned at Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi was one of her favorite people for good reason.
"She loved him to a point that it was hilarious for anyone who knew them both," Sakura continued.
"Funny?" Hina cocked her head to one side, perplexed.
"She was just so overcome by her emotions that she could barely talk to Naruto," Sakura explained. "She would turn bright red at the sight of him and oftentimes, she would faint on the spot. Kiba and Shino will assure you of that, seeing as they were mostly the ones who had to revive her."
Hina giggled a bit at the vivid images appearing in her mind.
"Yeah definitely," Kiba agreed, sliding into the seat next to Sakura. "She was so nervous around him to the point that it almost drove us insane."
"I'd say the only reason it didn't is that you were already insane," Sakura teased. "Don't you think so Shino?"
Hina jumped as she realized that Shino had silently taken up the seat on the other side of Sakura. She had always thought that he was a little creepy, what with the bugs that were always surrounding him.
"Yes," Shino said simply.
"Aw man, you could've at least lied for me," Kiba whined.
He turned to Sakura with a flirty grin on his face.
"So, want to dance?" he asked.
"Why not?" Sakura accepted, shifting Hina onto another chair. "I'll be back soon honey. Until then, Shino can stay with you."
She threw a hopeful look to Shino and was glad that he nodded.
"I don't need someone to watch me," Hina grumbled to Shino. "I can take care of myself perfectly well. Daddy taught me some ninjutsu."
Shino raised his eyebrows.
"You're much like Naruto in personality," he told her. "But in looks, you are all Hinata."
Hina was surprised that the stoic man had actually talked to her, but she didn't mind hearing about her mother from her former teammate.
"So, what was Mommy like?" she inquired.
"Shy," Shino replied. "Quiet, but very talented nonetheless. Unappreciated, especially by her father. Kind to everyone. Beautiful of course, but you already know that. Overall, she was a wonderful person and a wonderful shinobi."
"But she sounds like the exact opposite of Daddy," Hina pointed out, her eyebrows furrowed. "How did they manage to end up together?"
Shino smiled a little bit, though Hina couldn't see it behind his jacket. It was just as well that she couldn't really make out his expression, because then she would've seen the sadness clouding his eyes.
"He was her hero," Shino shrugged. "Everything that she wanted to be. Outspoken, confident, determined, and quite talented, even though he wasn't accepted in society. It was a time when your mother's self esteem was at an all time low. One of the few things that kept her going was Naruto, though he barely knew her. He just thought she was a nice girl. At that time, he was in love with somebody else."
Hina's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"But Daddy has always said that Mommy was the only girl for him," she protested.
"Well back then he probably hadn't even considered romantic involvement with her," Shino replied.
Sakura wasn't back quite yet, but another kunoichi had come to join Hina, allowing Shino to go about his business.
"Hina-chan!" Ino exclaimed, hugging her enthusiastically. "You've–"
"Grown, I know," Hina interrupted. "That's what all adults say. I thought you would come up with something more original, Ino-sensei."
"That's what adults do," Ino shot back with a grin. "We can't help it. I hated it at your age too. So how are you doing honey?"
Hina made a face. Apparently all adults made it a point to ask that question too.
"I'm fine," she sighed. "As always. But, um, Ino-sensei, I'm trying to piece together my parents' love story. Mind helping me out?"
"Of course not," Ino answered amiably. "What do you want to know?"
"Shino-sensei told me that Daddy was in love with somebody else before," Hina frowned. "So that's about where you should start."
Ino stared into the distance thoughtfully and then launched into an explanation.
"You know who your dad's team was, right?" Ino made sure the girl nodded before continuing. "Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto, the unlikely threesome that managed to save the world in all their different ways. More famous than even the Legendary Sannin."
"Yeah yeah, I know," Hina told her impatiently. "Sasuke-sensei ran away then later came back to marry Sakura-sensei, and he was super powerful and killed Uchiha Madara. Then Sakura-sensei became more famous than her teacher, because she was even more awesome at medical ninjutsu and fighting and stuff. Then Daddy became Hokage, and he's supposed to be just as good, if not better, than the fourth Hokage."
Ino laughed at Hina's extensive knowledge on Konoha history. Of course, Naruto would've drilled it into her. Hinata had been very serious about their child's education, and Naruto had never done well in school, so they both wanted Hina to be as intelligent as possible.
"That's all true," Ino agreed. "But there was a Team 7 love triangle as well. Naruto used to be in love with Sakura."
"Whoa!" Hina almost shouted. "That's just… Wow."
"Yeah," Ino laughed. "It was just wow. Sakura never really loved him like that of course, but Naruto was rather persistent."
Hina was confused than ever now. Her mom had loved her dad just about forever, but her dad hadn't loved her mom? So how did they end up together?
"Ino!" Sai called. "How about a dance?"
"And the husband calls," Ino sighed. "Who will stay with you now…?"
She glanced around, looking for someone reasonably responsible. Her eyes landed on Konoha's laziest ninja.
"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled. "Get over here!"
Shikamaru threw her an annoyed look but came anyway.
"What troublesome thing do you want me to do now?" he groaned.
"It'll be a good excuse to not dance with Temari," Ino pointed out. "Just stay with Hina until forehead girl comes back. Please?"
"A little troublesome," Shikamaru shrugged. "But I'll do it."
"You're amazing Shikamaru!" Ino hugged him and ran off to Sai.
He sat down next to Hina, and she studied him, fascinated. Shikamaru was one of the most interesting people she knew, incredibly smart, yet the laziest person on the face of the earth. He seemed to have an annoyed look permanently set into his face, but Hina liked him all the same.
"Shikamaru-sensei?" she poked him tentatively.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I've been trying to find out more about how my parents got together," Hina said. "Do you think you could help?"
Shikamaru thought about it for a second. Storytelling wouldn't be too troublesome, he supposed.
"Where did Ino leave off?" he inquired, settling into a comfortable position.
"Thanks!" Hina grinned. "Um, apparently there was a Team 7 love triangle, and my dad was in love with Sakura-sensei?"
"Oh yes, he definitely was," Shikamaru nodded. "Too much, some might say. But in the end it was just a crush. Only a crush, really."
Hina noted that with an inner smile. So he hadn't been in love with Sakura-sensei, but he had liked her like that at one time.
"So how did he go over to Mommy?" she questioned him.
"Actually we had to set them up," Shikamaru smirked. "It was pretty easy, what with Hinata being in love with him and Naruto being more clueless than well, anything else in the world. We did it casually at first, going out to dinner, everyone a couple except them. Let's see, who was there… Temari and I, Sakura and Sasuke, Sai and Ino, Neji and Tenten… Am I leaving anyone out? No, I don't think so. Basically we made it so that they were forced to talk with each other."
"You guys are sneaky," Hina laughed.
Shikamaru acknowledged this, inclining his chin slightly in agreement.
"It kind of worked," he went on. "But only kind of. Naruto realized that Hinata was a person, and I suppose that was a big jump for him, but he only thought of her as a friend. That's when we realized that if we were there, nothing of the sort would ever work. The problem was, Naruto would never agree to go on a date with anyone. He knew Sakura would never be his, but he was still a rather stubborn person."
"So, what'd you do next?" Hina prompted him to go on.
"We made sure everyone had dates on the same night except them," Shikamaru grinned devilishly. "Even the people who aren't really attached to one person. Kiba, Shino, Choji, Lee, even Kakashi-sensei and all the other senseis. They all had dates, leaving Naruto nobody to hang out with except for Hinata."
Shikamaru stopped talking, leaving Hina impatient to know more.
"Go on Shikamaru-sensei," she begged. "Please, please, pleeease!"
"Nah, it's too troublesome," he shook his head. "My wife is shooting death glares at me, so let's get you situated with someone else Hina."
Hina disliked him very much in that moment, but she'd heard about how scary Temari was, so she understood his need to go.
"Neji!" Shikamaru motioned for the groom to come over.
Neji and Tenten had been taking a break from dancing, so they walked over to Hina.
"I know it's your wedding and all, but could you watch Hina for a little bit?" Shikamaru pleaded. "Temari's going to murder me otherwise."
"We'd be happy to," Tenten beamed, pulling Hina onto her lap.
"Thanks Tenten-sensei," Hina grinned. "You guys are awesome."
Neji wordlessly sat down next to Tenten and watched as Shikamaru went to join the fuming Temari.
"So what's up with you Hina?" Neji asked.
"I've been researching my parents' love story," she answered. "And it looks like you guys are left to tell me how they got together."
Neji and Tenten exchanged worried looks. Naruto didn't talk about Hinata, but the girl had a right to know.
"Where did Shikamaru stop?" Tenten queried.
"Apparently you guys all went out on dates so they only had each other left," Hina replied.
Neji and Tenten exchanged looks again, though this time they were more amused.
"Yeah, I remember that," Tenten said fondly.
"Naruto asked Hinata to dinner at Ichiraku," Neji snickered. "That idiot, he never had a way with women, but he always had a way with Hinata. He didn't think it was like, a date, but she certainly thought so. Then slowly…"
"He realized that he was rather attracted to her," Tenten finished. "Throughout the night, little things caught his eye, or well, this is what he told us. This is typical Naruto idiocy, so don't expect it to be too romantic. He said her eyes were like the moon, and that he'd always wanted to go to the moon."
Hina had started laughing and she just couldn't stop.
"And he asked her why she had never told him that she was so mesmerizing," Neji added. "We never knew that he knew such a big word like mesmerizing, but apparently with Hinata, his brain got bigger."
"Hinata of course never told him that people weren't supposed to tell other people that they themselves were mesmerizing," Tenten giggled. "She loved him too much to correct him on anything, even little things like that. Naruto didn't realize what he was doing, but he kissed her that night."
"And they started dating after that," a new voice concluded for them.
Hina looked up to find Sai standing behind Tenten, his (was it genuine?) smile plastered on his pale face.
"It's your wedding," he told Neji and Tenten. "I'll watch Hina for a little bit."
They gave him grateful looks and hurried back to the dance floor, romantic as can be.
"So did they date for a long time?" Hina inquired shyly.
Sai made her a little nervous, so Hina was a slightly nervous around him.
"What do you consider a long time?" Sai mused. "Well, they never had fights, so it seemed like they had been together forever. They worked quite well together. Hinata calmed Naruto down a little bit, and he did the opposite for her. Those two must have been the couple that was most in love among all of us. Hinata was the best thing that ever happened to him, at least that's what Naruto says. Keep in mind that it was his dream to be Hokage his whole life, but even that paled in comparison to Hinata's love."
"So she was really special to Daddy," Hina bit her lip sadly.
"The most special," Sai nodded. "He asked her to marry him after only a few months. Being the nice person that she was, she told him that he should consider other girls as well. By then, he knew he was going to be Hokage in a matter of weeks, but even Naruto knew that there would never be anyone like Hinata. He told her that if he had to force that ring on her finger, he'd do it, because they loved each other, and nothing was ever going to change that."
Hina hadn't realized that she was crying until Sai kindly offered her a napkin.
"Oh look, there's Sakura," he pointed at the green eyed girl coming towards them with her husband. "That's my cue to leave."
Hina numbly watched him go. She had never known that her parents' love story had been so complicated. She had figured that they had fallen in love at first sight and gotten married right after that. Or something like that, at least.
"Are you crying?" Sakura asked worriedly.
"I believe that's what they call it when tears are coming out of your eyes," Sasuke replied for her in a dry voice.
"Hi Sasuke-sensei," Hina sniffled. "People were just telling me about my parents."
Sasuke looked at her for a minute and finally dropped into the chair beside her.
"And what was Sai just saying?" he asked, putting her on Sakura's lap.
"How Daddy proposed," Hina explained. "It made me cry. Is that weird?"
"So they haven't told you the end of the story yet, huh?" Sakura queried.
Hina shook her head.
"I guess they left the hard part for us," Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Hinata died four years after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl," Sakura murmured, wrapping her arms around Hina comfortingly. "She was happy and she accepted death. It was a difficult mission, S-Rank, but Hinata had been sure she could handle it. She came back with fatal wounds that Ino and I combined could not heal…"
Sakura trailed off, not knowing what to say next.
"I held her hand as she closed her eyes for the last time," Naruto continued, suddenly appearing behind them.
Hina gasped at the sight of her father and looked down ashamedly. Sasuke and Sakura decided to leave, thinking it was more of a family matter.
"She was worried about you," Naruto told her, hugging her tightly. "Hinata was always most worried about others, even when she was dying. She loved you more than anything, and she told me that she would be watching us. If I did anything wrong, she said that she'd come down here and pull a few Hyuga techniques on me, in love with me or not."
"Daddy I'm sorry," Hina cried. "I just wanted to know…"
"I should've told you," Naruto said quietly. "I'm sorry. Hinata would have wanted me to, and I certainly don't want her to come down here just to beat me up, though it would be quite out of character and rather amusing. And even though I'd give almost anything to see her again…"
"She was perfect, wasn't she?" Hina asked.
Naruto laughed. Hinata never would've allowed anyone to call her perfect. She knew her flaws better than most people knew theirs.
"Nobody's perfect," he told his daughter. "But she was as close as they get."
Naruto took the napkin Sai had given her and wiped off her face.
"Let's go home," he suggested.
"Yeah," Hina nodded. "That'd be good."
They exited the building together, Hina holding Naruto's hand with a small smile on her face.
"Oh, I should go say bye to Sakura-sensei," Hina realized. "Hold on Daddy, I'll be back in like a second."
She ran back inside to inform Sakura that she was going home, and Naruto stared up at the sky.
"Ne, Hinata-chan," he grinned. "Wherever you are, you're smiling, right?"