Letters

A Naruto divergence / AU

Disclaimer: I don't own the series; I'm just finger painting with someone else's palette.

This fic diverges from cannon in anime episode 95/96 (not certain where that is in the manga… somewhere in the 170's?) when Tsunade and the others are fighting Orochimaru and Kabuto. In cannon, Kabuto almost kills Naruto, but he revives quickly. Here, he doesn't revive until after Orochimaru and Kabuto take off, thinking he's dead.

Chapter 1 – Death

"You snake bastard!" she screamed, collapsing to her knees. Angry tears rolled down her cheeks.

She'd fought her hardest. She'd dared to believe in something again, and once again, she had failed.

Naruto had been killed, and Orochimaru had escaped.

"Tsunade-sama…" whispered her attendant, Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama…"

And she heard a weak gasp. Brushing the tears out of her eyes, she turned, and saw that the chest of Uzumaki Naruto had started to move.

"Tsunade-sama, you healed him. You saved him!" said Shizune.

She collapsed near him, and cried tears of happiness. She hadn't failed after all.

Later on, as they hid in an abandoned cabin deep in the woods near the town, they were all able to see the blessing hidden in the events that had transpired.

Well, some of them could.

"Hey, but I wanted some ramen, I'm starving! What the heck are we doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" He might have felt weak as a fox kit at that moment, but he still had his priorities.

"Naruto, you idiot, listen up for just one second," his sensei ground out. "Kabuto and Orochimaru think you're dead, correct?"

"Yeah, and I would have been too, if it weren't for the old lady. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'll spell it out slowly. They were going to hunt you down and kill you. Now they think you're dead, they won't come looking for you. So, we hide out, train hard, and return to Konoha when I say you're ready to defend yourself. It's a perfect opportunity!"

"Ahh… but won't we have to tell people that I'm dead?"

"Well, we'll say you died a hero, saving me or something, is that ok with you?" interjected Tsunade.

"Cool. But … ummm… won't some people be sad?" asked Naruto.

"Don't worry kid, I'm sure you'll get plenty of mourners," said Tsunade with a grin.

"One or two people, like Kakashi, we'll tell. But the more who know, the greater the danger that we'll be discovered in our deception," added Jiraiya.

"You'll stay here with me, Naruto," said Shizune. "I'll help you disguise yourself so you'll be less physically obvious. In a couple weeks Jiraiya will leave Konoha and return to start your training."

"Ummm… ok," said Naruto. "Hey… hey… Ero-Sennin?"

"Don't call me that!"

"So how about that ramen, huh?"

The reaction in Konoha to the news was mixed.

It became an open secret that Naruto had been the container for the demon fox Kyubei. If he was dead, there was no need for the adults to conceal the fact anymore.

For the gennin teams and academy members, it was a reminder that regardless of how invulnerable they felt, even the strongest of them could die.

Sakura cried for him. He had been so earnest, and now it appeared that his dream was never going to come true.

Sasuke said that it just showed the weakness of caring for others, but for some reason he no longer had any desire to go to Orochimaru, even if it was to gain more power.

For most, it was good news. For a few, there was sadness, but they recovered and moved on.

For one, there was no recovery.

A month after the arrival of Tsunade, Sakura was practicing her healing skills with her new mentor.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama?" she asked at the end of their training.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"I was wondering if you could talk to someone," Sakura asked.

"Who? And about what?" asked Tsunade.

"Well, Tenten told me that Hyuga Neji had told her that his cousin was still really upset about Naruto," she said.

"Still upset about him? Did she know him well?" Tsunade asked, a bit surprised. Naruto hadn't mentioned anything.

"I'm really not sure," said Sakura, "but I think maybe she had a bit of a crush on him or something."

"Why do you think I should talk to her?" asked Tsunade.

"Well, I mean, Naruto did… I mean, you were there. Maybe it would help her," she said.

"If you think it would make a difference, I guess she can come see me. I'll send someone to get her," said Tsunade.

After Sakura left, Tsunade had different thoughts though.

"Great, just what I need. Giving some little weeping girl a shoulder to cry on about her super serious academy crush," she grumbled. "And of course Naruto, the idiot, didn't think to mention it. He probably had no idea."

She sighed.

"Ah well, I might as well get her over here after dinner. No where did I stash that sake? Shizune! Where are you?"

A few hours later, Hyuga Hinata was shown into her office, and stood motionless in the middle of the floor.

"Hyuga Hinata?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the girl replied. It was barely a whisper. She continued to stand with her head bowed.

Tsunade started, got up and walked over to the tiny figure, cradled the girl's chin in her hand, and lifted up.

Her face was gaunt, and her eyes were lifeless. A heavy purple bruise marred one of her cheek bones.

"Sakura was wrong," thought Tsunade. "She didn't have a crush on the boy, she loved him."

"Come over here, child," Tsunade said, and led the unresisting girl over to a chair, sat down, and sat Hinata down on her lap.

"You cared for Naruto very much, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes," Hinata managed, and then started to cry. She didn't sob, or make any noise. Tears just poured out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

Tsunade sighed, and pulled the crying girl against her. It would seem silly to other people. The girl was only thirteen, but Tsunade could see the extent of the pain in her eyes.

"I know that pain," she thought, and remembered, just for an instant, holding the dead body of her love against her in the chilling rain.

"It might not be in the plan, but I have to do something. She's going to die otherwise, and I'm certain Naruto wouldn't accept that as a consequence of hiding the fact that he's ok," she thought.

Tsunade freed her arms, and formed a complex series of hand seals. She knew the two of them would be totally isolated from anyone hearing them by the barrier she'd just erected.

"Child, you have to listen to me," she said to Hinata. "This is a great secret, and you must tell nobody else at all."

She waited for a faint nod from Hinata to indicate she'd heard her.

"I'm sorry I didn't know how you felt, and tell you sooner, but Naruto isn't dead. He's in hiding right now."

Hinata jerked her head up to look Tsunade in the eyes.

"Not dead?" she asked, her eyes huge with disbelief.

"No Hinata, he's very much alive."

Hinata looked her in the eye for one second unbelieving, and then buried her face in Tsunade's shoulder and started to cry and sob uncontrollably.

Tsunade stroked the back of Hinata's head, and knew that she'd made the right choice.

After the girl had cried herself to sleep, Tsunade carried her to the hospital. She could tell from carrying her that the girl was malnourished, and from scanning her with the practiced eye of a medical ninja, it seemed clear that she had been beaten by someone.

The girl needed some bed rest, and she needed to have a word with the head of the Hyuga clan. Anyone who would starve and beat their own daughter was not someone Tsunade liked.

Two days later, Hinata opened her eyes for the first time since she'd fallen asleep in the office of the Hokage.

"I'm in bed, but where am I?" she thought. "I remember being in the office of the Hokage… she told me something about Naruto…"

It felt like a hand had clamped around her heart.

"Was it all a dream? I didn't care what happened to me, but now…" she peered around her room, trying to figure out where she way.

"I thought you would be waking up tonight, Hinata-chan," said Tsunade from her place next to the bed. She was leaning back in a chair, reading.

"Tsunade-sama… where am I?" asked Hinata.

Tsunade took the time to form a series of hand seals to prevent the conversation from carrying again, and then answered Hinata.

"You're in the hospital, and under my care now," said Tsunade. "And what you remember me saying about Naruto is absolutely right."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, and tears started to spill from her eyes again, even as a smile lit up her face.

"I have to emphasise that you should not tell anyone at all about this, Hinata," said Tsunade. "The problem is that it seems there are some powerful enemies out there who want to get their hands on Naruto, or more specifically on the chakra of the demon fox sealed within Naruto. You did hear about that, right?"

"Yes, some of the servants were talking about it, Tsunade-sama."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"No, Tsunade-sama," whispered Hinata. "I know why people treated Naruto as they did, now. But… I think... Naruto is still Naruto." She finished with her voice quiet, and with a faint blush painting her cheeks.

"Huh, this kid really does have it bad for the brat," thought Tsunade.

"The rest of the story you've heard about Naruto is basically true," said Tsunade. "Although he survived the fight, even though we all thought he was dead. So we decided to take advantage of the fact everyone thought he'd died to let him train in peace for a few years, and develop his strength."

"Now, we've told Kakashi, and Iruka, since we knew the two were close to him, and Kakashi might have figured things out anyway, being the smartass that he is," continued Tsunade, as she got up and started to pace around the room. "But it wasn't until I heard word from Sakura that you were in a bad way that we realised that someone else in town cared so much about the little punk," she said with a grin.

Hinata pulled the bedsheets up to cover part of her face, and started pushing her fingers together.

"So you can't tell anyone at all about this, ok?" said Tsunade. "Tell them we talked about things, and I told you how heroic he was… stuff like that… anyway, and you're ok with things now."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," whispered Hinata.

"And for heaven's sake, stop calling me that!" Tsunade blurted. "I've got you apprenticed to me now, so you'll be around here a lot."

"Yes, Tsunade-sa… Father… agreed to that?" Hinata asked.

"Well, I didn't give him much choice, when I saw what he'd done to you. Plus, I think you'll make a great medical nin. You've got the temperament for it, I think, and your bloodlimit will be a big advantage."

"Also," continued Tsunade, "it'll give you a reason to be around here while you're writing letters to Naruto."

"Write letters? To Naruto?" Hinata squeaked. She pulled the bedclothes up even further.

"Yup," said Tsunade with a grin. "I'll be totally open with you, I've thought up some reasons over the last couple days. See, I was planning on exchanging monthly reports with Jiraiya anyway to swap information and so on. We set up a system to do it before he left to go back and meet up with Naruto for his training. But I think you should send mail to Naruto as well. First, you can tell me what Naruto says is going on so I'm not just hearing bullshit from Jiraiya. Second, having contact with someone here will remind him of home, and keep his loyalty to Konoha strong over the years he'll be away. Third, you'll be a good balance for his abilities when he gets back, so we can put you on his team, and you'll already know about each other's strengths. And finally…" Tsunade paused.

"Yes?" asked Hinata.

"Finally, we can help you get your guy, ok?" said Tsunade, flashing a 'V' sign at her.

"….!" Hinata couldn't manage any sound at all in reply to that.

"Well, it'll give you a chance to get to know each other better, and I think you two will be cute together when you grow up," said Tsunade with a smirk. "Even if you just end up friends, you'll be a good influence on each other."

"Anyway," Tsunade continued, "rest up for a few more days, ok? Get better, and get ready for training. I'll be working with you and Sakura at the same time, and I won't be taking it easy on you! I'll get someone to bring you some writing paper and stuff in the morning so you can get started on your first letter."

Tsunade cancelled her sound barrier, and sauntered out the door with an easy wave to Hinata. "Ja ne!"

Hinata lay in bed motionless, but eventually rolled over, closed her eyes, and hugged her pillow.

"So much happiness," she thought. "I didn't think it was possible. This last month was… so dark… but now… I don't even know if Naruto will even want letters from a silly girl like me, but I'll keep writing him."

"And maybe, he'll write me back."

"Naruto-kun…"

She tried to get back to sleep, but simply couldn't. When the morning came, she ate a huge breakfast, at least by her standards, took the writing supplies a nurse brought her, and went to sit in a sunny sitting room she knew about on the third floor. She wrapped a warm quilt around her shoulders, and settled down in the deep, comfortable chair.

Then she started to write.

Notes:

Ok, you might have realised by now that all this cunning development is really just an excuse for a WAFF-a-thon of dire proportions.

See, I was thinking about how Hinata and Naruto could really communicate with each other. They manage it a few times in the series, but writing letters forces Naruto to slow down, consider what he's saying, and listen to what she's saying. At the same time, Hinata can probably write things that she'd find it very difficult to say face to face. So really, like Tsunade said, it's a perfect chance to get to know each other.