Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.
Chapter 1
Hinata Hyuga is no longer the soft hearted, gentle girl she used to be. She no longer stuttered or showed her weakness to anybody.
The war had shaped her friends and herself into heartless killers.
'Not heartless'. Sakura had told her, 'just a bit steel-hearted.'
But hinata didn't believe her. She knew sakura was assuring herself with those words as well.
When the war ended everybody rejoiced even though their hearts were heavy with the loss of their loved ones.
Hinata grieved for neji and all the hyuga that had fallen.
"Only in death can you finally be free."
Those words still haunted her in her dreams.
She felt responsible for his death. She had considered him as a big brother and had promised to protect him and her loved ones.
And yet, here she was grieving silently in front of his grave, even after the war had been over years ago.
"Hinata-chan" Naruto called out "let's go."
She liked to think she had become her usual self since the war but she knew better. She knew that she had just become better at hiding it around her family and sometimes she almost forgot about that heartless side her. Almost…
"Mom!" boruto and himawari called out.
She smiled at them.
She had married the nanadaime a few years after the war. She still remembered it vividly.
Iruka crying happy tears, Kurenai sensei beaming at her, Kakashi putting his Icha Icha aside under the angry glareTsunade sama was directing towards him. All her friend smiling at her.
It was one of the happiest moments of her life.
She took a deep breath.
She said a quick goodbye to neji's grave and walked towards her husband and children who were standing at the entrance of the hyuga grounds.