Here's a story, rushed, I made today for all the Veterans that have given their life to protect the home they love so much. Thank you for all the hard work you have done over the years and over the years to come.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, any of the characters, or the song Riding With Private Malone in which this fanfiction is based.
The sun slowly started to set on the quickly picking up busy city of Kohona. A plane slowly landed and wished everyone a good night once they were safe. A young man with army greens on stood up and grabbed his bags before heading off the plane. His obsidian eyes looked around before spotting his name in the crowd with his family and friends all around. He walked to them as his mother broke though the crowds and hugged her youngest son, showering him with kisses. His brother grinned at his war hero brother, father proud without showing it. His friends were grinning before one with shaggy brown hair raised his arm in the air. "Yo! Welcome home, Private Uchiha."
Private Uchiha nodded to the man and the long haired man beside him. "Inuzuka, Hyuga."
"Private," Hyuga Neji nodded back before motioning him to follow.
"Aw yeah! Bring out the drinks!" Inuzuka Kiba cried as he followed.
The youngest Uchiha bowed his head to his family, Mikoto waving him off. "Be back home some time tomorrow. We have to celebrate you coming home."
"Promise, Okaa-chan," Uchiha Sasuke's smooth voice rang out to her before following his friends to the car to head to a bar.
"How does it feel to be back, Uchiha?" Kiba asked, looking around and keeping his voice quiet for the two anti-social men.
"Hn," he said, taking a large swig of his beer as he looked around too. It didn't seem like anything had change within the seven months he was on tour. Kiba was still a loudmouth, Neji didn't want to talk much, and all the girls were giggling and chatting near them about the three handsome men.
"Are you still looking for a car?" Neji finally said to break the silence.
Sasuke looked over to him before nodding. "Yeah, got an idea?"
"Well, my grandma Hinata has an old car of hers, had it for thirty years. She really wants to get rid of it since it's just collecting dust."
Sasuke thought about it before slowly nodding. "Sure, I can fix it up for her to sell it."
Kiba blinked. "Uh- didn't you Hyuga? He said sell it."
"I heard," he growled. "I do want to help her to sell it. You can't exactly sell a car that can't run."
Kiba and Neji looked to each other before nodding. "All right. I'll tell her you'll swing by tomorrow."
"Thanks."
"Hello Sasuke-kun," Hyuga Hinata smiled as she slowly pushed herself off her rocker. "Here to see the chevy?"
"Yes ma'am," he said, looking to the frail old woman getting her cane.
"Follow me then," she said, slowly moving towards the barn on her lot, Sasuke following.
He opened it up for her before he looked around the dusty place. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. He looked down to Hinata, who had tears in her eyes looking at the place. He looked back before seeing a lot of tools that seemed in perfect condition back forty years ago. He walked in and looked at the tar covering the car. "Is it here?"
She could only nod as she walked back into the place she hadn't stepped into forty years ago. Her fingers danced against the old workbench, seeing all the unfinished potted plants ready to be decorated and planted for her. She sighed deeply before hearing Sasuke throw off the tarp and turned to him.
Sasuke's eyes widened. This wasn't a Chevy, it was '66 corvette. "Whoa... Miss Hyuga, this is more worth than you're asking for."
"I know," she said softly. "But the battery is more than likely dead and engine shot and the shocks aren't as good-"
"I'll buy it from you," he said immediately. "As long as I can use this garage to fix it up."
She thought quietly about it before slowly nodding. "Okay, Sasuke. You can pay me tomorrow then."
He nodded before helping her out and closing the garage, making a mental checklist of what to bring to fix it.
Two weeks later he had it fixed and shined up. He grinned before driving it out slowly to the front for Hinata to see.
She stood up from her swing on the porch before whistling lightly. "Wow, Sasuke, you sure did clean it up nicely."
"Where's the title?" He asked, brushing off the last bit of dust on the dashboard.
"Oh- uh- it's not in the house. Why don't you check the glove compartment?"
He nodded before opening it up, seeing the title with two letters. His eyebrows knitted together, seeing Hinata's name on one and new owner on the other. "Miss Hinata?" She looked to the man that walked out of the car and handed her the letter. "This has your name on it."
She took it before slowly starting to cry silently. She opened it before reading it quietly.
He opened up the other before seeing the date- forty years ago this day.
"If you're reading this then I, Private Uzumaki Naruto, never came home to my dear Hinata. This car was my dream to drive along with my girl in the seat. But since dreams were made to be broken so others can be made, this is now yours. Though you may take her and make her your own, you'll always be riding with me, Private Uzumaki Naruto. Believe it! Oh, and please check up on my girl every once in a while. Thank you."
He looked towards Hinata, who had sat down with her letter in her lap, sobbing quietly. He slowly sat down beside her, patting her back to comfort her.
"Hey suga! Why don't you take me for a ride in your baby?" A blonde haired woman leaned into the car that had its top down.
The sunglasses looked over to the woman before he snorted. "No thank you." He shooed the stunned woman away as her rosette friend laughed from the sidewalk of the mall. He started to leave again, making sure not to run over her. He fiddled with the radio, growling that all was going on was static. "Stupid thing. Why do you only get the oldies, especially at night?" He revved the engine, hearing his new baby purr under the hood before hearing a yell. His head turned to beside him, seeing a blonde hair man, raising his arm. Though when Sasuke blinked, the man was gone. He shook his head at the horn before quietly going through the green light and to Hinata's house without seeing her for three weeks.
"Oh, hello again Sasuke. How's the car treating you?" She asked with a smile.
"Wonderful," he said, hopping out of the car without opening his door before heading up the stairs to her. "How are you feeling today?"
"Oh, the knee is acting up again, but nothing too serious." She continued to smile, seeing blonde hair within the car and disappearing immediately. "Come, come inside. Let's get you some lunch. I'm sure you're starving."
"Sasuke-kun, you can't be serious," his mother said, afraid for her son's life. "It's pouring there. Please stay here until morning."
"No," he growled. "I've got to get home now." He retched the door opened to his parents' home and shut it just as quickly.
Mikoto sighed deeply, afraid of her furious son driving at this time of night with pouring down rain. She flew back into the room to give a verbal lashing to her husband.
Sasuke revved his engine, pouring out anger before tearing out of the driveway. He continued to the deserted back road, speeding up from sixty to seventy. Before he knew it, he was fishtailing and took the curve way too fast. The car flipped a couple of times, knocking Sasuke out before hitting a tree with the man slumping over the wheel. Oil leaked from the oil tank as the thunder rumbled overhead.
A passing car stopped, seeing the car and pulling out her phone. She started to speak quickly to the operator as she looked inside to try and help the man out. She screamed at the lightning bolt that struck the tree and, moving away quickly, it lit the oil on fire and started to torch the car. "I need the fire department too. It's flaming up. Someone's trapped too. Quickly!" She moved away immediately, shaking that she couldn't help.
The fire department was on the scene first to see the pink haired woman holding a man away from the car whose clothes were singed and her trying to get him to wake. The car was still a large ball of fire as they started to put it out.
The ambulance came back and put the young man onto the stretcher and into the back. Sakura moved back to her car before following, wondering what happened to the blonde haired man that had pulled the man out of the wreckage and then left to the woods.
Sasuke growled before slowly opening his eyes to the white room with soft beeping all around.
"Oh, Mister Uchiha, you're all right." He heard a sweet tone on his left with a scooting of a chair. He looked over to the pinked hair woman he saw only the day before as she smiled. "Well, let me go get your parents then. They were very worried about you." She left, leaving him to his thoughts as to who the woman was and why his head was throbbing.
He closed his eyes for a moment. All he could remember was he was in a crash and then waking up here. He opened them again to his family and two friends coming in.
"Oh Sasuke-kun! You are all right." Mikoto cried into Fukagu's shoulder. Before long, she had hit his shoulder. "You have something to say to your son, don't you?" She glared up to him.
The old man cleared his throat before apologizing. Then he led his wife out of the crowded room for the boys.
"Damn Sasuke, never thought you were that stupid," Kiba grinned. "You didn't get killed in the war, but you were about to kill yourself here. What a story."
Neji nodded before looking to his grandmother coming in. "Grandma Hinata, what are you doing here?"
"Of course I came to see Sasuke-kun since he didn't come over today," Hinata told him before smiling to the young man healing in bed. "Sasuke-kun, how are you feeling today?"
"Better- I can't remember what happened though."
" Oh, well that young nurse, Sakura-chan, knows. She had saw you go off the road and tried to help you out. She says though a blonde haired solider pull you out to her. He grinned before fleeing into the woods. She only wished she could get his name to thank him."
Sasuke looked to her before he gave a lopsided smirk and looking out the window. "Ah. I should thank him the next time I see him."
"Was he part of your platoon?" Neji asked.
Hinata cleared her throat before Sasuke answered. "Let's give Private Uchiha some sleep," she said with a knowing smile. "We'll see you tomorrow when you get out."
Sasuke slowly sat up with a nod, watching the last of his visitors leave. He turned to the window, seeing a man in his army greens, Uzumaki in black lettering above his breast pocket, whiskers on his cheeks, blonde hair pointing everywhere, with his blue eyes sparkling towards the man. He saluted before Sasuke saluted back. The ghost grinned before closing his eyes and disappearing in the evening light.
"Thank you, Private Uzumaki Naruto," Sasuke murmured out.