A/N: Hello everyone, welcome to my first fanfic! I have been reading fanfic, mostly from my favorite anime series (Naruto in particular) and have decided to write one of my own! Now, while I am an educated person, I have not written my own stories from scratch, so if this seems to be a little rough, please be constructive about it. Also, this is a story that follows the original fairly closely, with various pairings like NaruHina, SasuSaku, etc. mixed in, so if you don't like my pairings, the door is over there. Also, I wanted to write this because I am extremely unsatisfied with Naruto's ignorance and the lack of addressing Hinata's confession. Seriously. It bothers me to no end. Besides, in the anime there is a whole freaking arc before something pressing comes up in the story, so I'm going to fit some stuff in there. Oh, and I only watch the English Dubbed version, so the jutsu will be in English and the honorifics won't be present. But enough of my blabbering, let's get on to the story!
Update: Fixed the wording, broke up the paragraphs, and generally made my crappy writing easier to read. Hopefully.
Disclaimer: All of the chapters in this Fanfiction are based on the Naruto series, which is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I do not own any of the events or characters that he created.
00000
A blonde-haired shinobi shuffled slowly through the forest, his exhaustion finally making its presence known. He leaned up against a tree, breathing heavily, as his knees started to give out. His fight with the Akatsuki member Pain had been the hardest of his life, and it showed.
Naruto Uzumaki refused to give in, his relentless determination keeping him on his feet. He had left someone in the remains of the village, someone very precious. Hinata Hyuga had confessed her love to him, right before she had been cut down by Pain. He wanted, no, needed to make sure she was okay. Even though he had sensed her chakra while in Sage Mode, he didn't know if she was still alive.
The blonde made it a few more feet before his legs finally gave out. Even though he had a nearly inexhaustible supply of chakra, he was running on fumes, and didn't have the strength to hold himself up any longer. He finally gave in to the coming darkness, unable to continue onward.
Naruto's forward movement was halted as a silver-haired Jonin caught him. Kakashi Hatake, who was thought to have died during Pain's assault, had arrived. The Jonin had been revived by Pain's Rinne Rebirth technique, and had immediately set off after his young student. Using his Sharingan to track him, Kakashi had arrived just in time to stop the young man from collapsing.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said tiredly. He was overjoyed to find his teacher alive, but he was too drained to even show it.
"Stay still, I'll carry you." Kakashi said softly. His eye shifted into its usual smile, since his mask covered the lower half of his face. He positioned his student on his back, before setting off at a slow walk.
Naruto simply settled himself on his teacher's back, grateful for the opportunity to rest. Darkness tugged at the edges of his vision, but he refused to let himself sleep, the fate of the Hyuga heiress keeping him awake.
Kakashi smiled over his shoulder at the young man, marveling at the growth his student had undergone. Once a talentless prankster that everyone saw as a monster, he was now a hero. Kakashi had struggled to destroy one of Pain's bodies, while Naruto had destroyed all six, all of them at the same time. There was no doubt in Kakashi's mind that Naruto had surpassed him, and one day, even his father.
Kakashi shook his head in wonder at the last thought. As strong as Naruto was, he was still damn heavy, and the extra weight made Kakashi push on, determined to reach the ruins of the Leaf Village soon.
00000
A sea of people waited outside the ruins of the Leaf Village. Lady Katsuyu, the Hokage Tsunade's summon, had informed them that Naruto was on his way back, and every single one of them wanted to greet their hero in person. With the Rinne Rebirth technique resurrecting everyone who had perished, and healing their wounds, there was nothing to stop them.
A massive cry rose from the throat of the assembled people as soon as they caught sight of Kakashi and Naruto. Each in every one of them shouted out their congratulations and thanks, cheering for the young blonde.
"They've been waiting for your return," Kakashi explained to his student, who wore a puzzled look on his face. Letting him off his back, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "You did very well Naruto," he praised, his voice filled with warmth and pride.
Naruto nodded dumbly, and although he was still tired, his energy had somewhat returned during their walk back. Despite Kakashi's earlier explanation, he still had no clue what was going on.
"Wha- what's this?" he asked of no one in particular. His collar moved, then stretched as the slug that had been inside his jacket made her way out.
"I've already relayed exactly what transpired between you and Pain to the villagers." Katsuyu explained. She did not wait to receive a response; disappearing in a cloud of smoke, along with her clones.
Several children broke away from the crowd, all running towards Naruto, each one eager to ask him about his exploits. Naruto found himself surrounded, and he was bounced back and forth as the kids bombarded him with questions and attempted to get close.
"Hey, cut it out would ya!" Naruto yelled in protest, his broken and beaten body unable to handle the strain. The children clung to him stubbornly, with two latching on to the ends of his sleeves. Naruto's attention was quickly stolen as a female shinobi walked up to him.
Sakura Haruno simply stood near Naruto, waiting to be acknowledged. Her pink hair shrouded her face, and she appeared to be angry with him. Naruto was oblivious to it all, and simply greeted her casually.
"Hey Sakura, what's up." He said, still trying to retrieve his arms from the kids.
"You're just so reckless!" she shouted, stepping forward and bringing her fist forward to connect with the top of Naruto's head, knocking him towards the ground and eliciting a small yelp from him. Before he fell downward, Sakura stepped forward and caught him in a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered as she held him. She had been so worried for her teammate, and was happy that he was alive and well.
Naruto simply accepted the embrace, nearly returning it nor pulling back from it. He had long admired Sakura, and while he thought he had loved her, recent events had began to change his mind. However, Naruto had been too distracted by the villagers greeting to remember Hinata, so he simply thought he didn't have his crush on her anymore.
"Jeez Sakura, did you really have to hit me?" Naruto whined, rubbing the back of his head, after she released him from the hug. He blanched as she gave him a death glare, before holding his hands up in front of him. "I- I'm just kidding Sakura!" he said quickly, wary of her wrath. Sakura gave him a neutral look before she laughed at his terror. "Hey- wait, that's not funny!" Naruto shouted while pointing at her and waving his other hand in the air rapidly. His tantrum was interrupted quickly as the rest of his friends came forward to greet him.
"Excellent work Naruto! You are the very definition of youthful power!" the green-spandex clad ninja Rock Lee exclaimed, striking his favorite pose. All of his other friends either sighed or laughed at his enthusiasm while they all moved forward to greet the young ninja.
"Great work Naruto!" Kiba slapped him on the back, with Akamaru barking in agreement. The Inuzuka had respected Naruto ever since he had lost to him in the Chuunin Exams, and his admiration only continued to grow. His teammate Shino echoed the sentiment, not one for lengthy conversation
"Well, you pulled it off pal." Shikamaru said, supported by Choji, who simply nodded in agreement. "Besides, it would have been a real drag if you hadn't." he drawled, unable to keep a smile from his face. The third member of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, Ino, simply looked at him dreamily, before remembering who he was.
Neji simply stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "You are an incredible shinobi, Naruto. You have saved the village and everyone in it. We all owe you a debt we can never repay." Naruto simply shook his hand, not understanding a word of what he had just said.
"Er, sure, no problem Neji." He said sheepishly, embarrassed at the attention. Neji shook his head, determined to make Naruto realize the immensity of his actions.
"No Naruto, it is a problem. Pain had brought the village to its knees, and would have killed everyone if you hadn't stepped in. For that, you have my gratitude." Neji relased his hand, stepping back and bowing deeply to Naruto. "You also have my personal gratitude for saving Lady Hinata."
At the mention of her name, Naruto's eyes widened. He wanted to ask where she was, if she was okay, but for the first time in his life, Naruto Uzumaki was speechless. The moment was lost, however, as he was swarmed by all the members of the Konoha 11 who were still on their feet, and then he was hoisted into the air. As he was tossed into the air in celebration, a shy girl watched from afar.
Hinata Hyuga hung back, tears of happiness rolling down her face as she saw that the love of her life was alive and well. Despite learning that Naruto was fine and had destroyed the final body of Pain, she was still worried for his safety when Lady Katsuyu had told them that he was going to confront the real Pain alone.
*Flashback*
"Good news everyone! Naruto has defeated the final Pain!" Lady Katsuyu informed them, a happy note in her voice.
"Yes! Just leave it to Naruto!" Rock Lee exclaimed, smacking his fist into his open palm.
At the news, Hinata began to cry, her emotions out of control. "Such good news!"
"Where is Naruto now?" Might Guy, the team leader and spitting image of Roack Lee, asked.
"He's on his way to confront the real Pain." Katsuyu stated. At the news, everyone looked up in surprise, worried for his safety.
"What?! Why would he do something so reckless?!" Neji asked. "Doesn't he realize that he's in danger? Guy-sensei, we have to go help Naruto!"
"Wait, Naruto said that he wanted to do this alone." Katsuyu said.
"I don't care! He's done enough alone!" Neji shouted. Lee, Guy, and their teammate Tenten all chorused their agreement. "Lady Katsuyu, lead us to Naruto!"
*End Flashback*
She watched happily as Naruto finally found the acceptance he had been craving his entire life. The look of pure joy on his face warmed her heart, and she watched as he was set down. For so long she had admired him, and not one hour ago she had confessed her feelings for him. Hinata wondered if he even remembered her confession, and if he did, if he had any feelings for her. Her question would soon be answered.
As soon as Naruto was let down, he spotted the Hyuga heiress. A million emotions ran through his mind, but one was far more prominent than the rest: anger. As everyone's attention was drawn by Kakashi and the rest of the Jonin, he pushed his way through the crowd towards HInata.
Tenten, who had noticed Naruto's movement, quietly spread the word to all of their friends, and moved to surround Naruto and Hinata, giving them some space.
Hinata had been hoping that Naruto would notice her, but as soon as he started moving towards her, she began to panic. Why did she have to confess like that? Why couldn't she have just kept her mouth shut? She was worried about the look in his eyes, but she put a smile on her face anyway.
"H-hello N-Naruto." Hinata inwardly cursed her stutter, wishing she could just speak normally. "I-I'm gl-glad you're o-okay."
Naruto stopped in front of her, and the moment his eyes met hers, he felt a strange feeling in his stomach and chest, before being overwhelmed by anger. He grabbed her upper arms, and looked her deep in the eyes.
"Don't ever, ever do something like that again!" He hissed, his rage threatening to boil over.
Hinata felt a crushing sadness as he said those words. She was certain that he hated her for what she had done, and that was what he was angry about. She cursed herself for being so weak, and for doing something stupid like saying she loved him. Tears began to fall as she realized that he would never return her feelings.
As Hinata began to cry, all of Naruto's anger simply melted away. He had no idea that she would react this strongly, and he couldn't help himself. All he wanted to do was comfort her, and explain why he had been so mad. He pulled her close to him, throwing his arms around her neck, much to her surprise.
Hinata's tears instantly stopped as Naruto hugged her. She wondered why he had changed his mind so suddenly, and why he was embracing her. The last thought caused a blush to spread on her cheeks, which instantly stopped as she felt a wetness on her shoulder.
"Naruto? What's wrong?" she asked, concern taking over.
"I'm so sorry Hinata," He mumbled into her ear. "I wasn't strong enough to protect you, and you nearly died saving me. And now I made you cry." He said guiltly.
"It's okay Naruto," she said soothingly. "I understand."
"No, you don't," Naruto responded softly, still holding her tightly. "I was angry at you because of what you said. When you said that you loved me, I was so happy. Even though we were in the middle of a fight, I was happy. You are the first person to ever say that, and then I thought you were taken away from me."
"I'm so sorry I hurt you Naruto." Hinata's eyes misted over. She hadn't meant to cause him any pain, but she had, and she needed to fix it. "But I said I wouldn't let him hurt you, and that-"
"I remember Hinata," Naruto assured her, pulling out of the hug. "I heard you."
Naruto grinned at her, and Hinata felt her heart melt. His grin always had that effect on her, and she smiled back, happy that they could still be friends.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto asked, his expression serious.
Hinata went to nod, but she noticed something over Naruto's shoulder. Ino was grinning at her, making motions to urge her on. Hinata looked around quickly, noticing all of their friends gathered around. Her face turned scarlet, and with a small "Eep!" she promptly fainted.
00000
The sun was setting over the remains of the Leaf Village as the villagers bustled about setting up a temporary camp. Naurto simply watched from the top of the wall, still too tired from earlier to help. He lay back down, staring up at the sky as he returned his thoughts to Hinata.
*Flashback*
After Hinata had passed out, Naruto had caught her before she hit the ground. He wanted to make sure she was ok, but Sakura, Tenten, and Ino had whisked her away so they could have some "girl talk." As he watched them walk away, he turned to the guys of their group.
Each one of the males had had a different reaction to his moment with Hinata, ranging from disinterested to outright terrifying.
"All this emotional stuff is such a drag." Shikamaru drawled. His arm was still slung around Choji, who was helping the Nara heir walk due to his broken leg. "Come on Choji, let's go find our dad's."
As the twosome walked off, Lee bounded up to Naruto. "Naruto, you and Hinata simply glow with the fire of YOUTH!" he exclaimed, accenting his statement with a thumbs up. "I regret that I must go now! Guy-sensei and I must do our punishment for failing to aid you!" With that, the bowl-cut ninja ran off to find his older clone.
Naruto grinned at the green ninja's enthusiasm before turning to confront a terrifying sight. Neji, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru glared at him as if he had just insulted their mothers.
"Uh hey guys, what is it?" Naruto asked nervously, fidgeting under their intense gaze.
"You made Hinata cry," Shino stated, a hard edge to his monotone voice.
"Um yeah, I didn't really mean to. I just kinda-" Naruto tried to explain himself, but was silenced by Neji activating his Byakugan.
"Tell me the truth. I will be able to know if you are lying." Neji said calmly. "Was it your intention to make Lady Hinata cry?"
"N-No! Of course not! I-I was just…" Naruto stuttered out, slowly becoming more and more terrified, before being silenced by Neji's hand.
"Very well. I know that you are telling the truth. However," Neji said, dropping his voice and leaning in closely along with Shino and Kiba, "if you make Lady Hinata cry again, we will be forced to kill you." Neji said matter-of-factly, his demeanor all the more terrifying because of it.
Naruto gulped and nodded as Akamaru and Kiba punctuated his sentence with deep growls. The three of them left, with Neji going after Hinata, and Kiba and Shino off in search of their families.
Naruto let out a shaky breath. Despite the fact that he knew he could easily take the three of them in a fight, they still terrified him. Shrugging it off, Naruto went off to find Tsunade or Kakashi to ask what they wanted.
Finding out that Tsunade was in a coma, Naruto was saddened at first, but upon hearing that she would be fine if she woke up, he became convinced that she would be okay in time. Asking Kakashi what he should be doing, he was given the week off. Naruto had protested at first, but when Kakashi had calmly informed him that he could give him some D-rank missions, he immediately shut his mouth and thanked him for the week off.
*End Flashback*
Naruto sighed again as he thought of Hinata. After she had confessed, all of her weird behavior in the past suddenly clicked into place. The way she had always blushed and stuttered around him, the way she fainted when he got close. Even all the times she had cooked for him suddenly made sense to the young shinobi.
Every time he thought back to those moments, her infatuation with him had never been more obvious. Agonizing guilt gripped him as he recalled how he had ignored her and always chased after Sakura. This new information helped him look at her in a new light. Hinata was the kindest, most generous, and forgiving person he knew. He also thought, surprised with himself, that she was really cute. She had also developed really well, especially around her chest.
Naruto smacked his head on the wall, trying to dispel the perverted thoughts. He felt dirty even thinking something like that about Hinata, which was odd. He never had a problem with his pervy thoughts about Sakura, but Hinata was just so innocent looking. Try as he might, Naruto was still unable to get the thoughts out of his head, turning scarlet as he remembered her breast pressing against him during their hug.
Sighing in defeat at his perverted mind, Naruto got up and stretched, jumping off the wall into the trees to try and take his mind off of things. But no matter what he did, his thoughts always returned to Hinata. Admitting defeat, he landed on the next tree then turned back to the camp, intending to look for her.
Naruto walked towards the medical tents, figuring she was still recovering from her injuries. He spotted her midnight-blue hair at the entrance to one of the tents. A nurse was speaking with her, before making her sign something on her clipboard. A sly grin crossed his face, and he snuck up on her as she exited the tent.
"I GOT YOU!" he shouted as he grabbed her from behind. Unfortunately for him, Hinata is a trained fighter, and her instincts kicked in. Slipping out of his grip, she smashed Naruto's nose with her palm, knocking him onto his butt.
"Naruto!" Hinata shouted, embarrassed by her actions and concerned for him. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" she said as she knelt down beside him.
"Nah its fine Hinata." He grinned as he looked at her. "I guess I kinda deserved that for making you cry earlier."
"It's okay Naruto, I know you didn't mean to." Hinata said softly as she applied medical ninjutsu to his nose. Naruto blushed slightly at the contact, and when she was finished he looked up at her, staring into her lavender eyes.
"Uh, yeah, right…" he stammered, looking away as his blush darkened. Hinata bulshed at the same time, and they both stood up and stared at the ground awkwardly. Naruto broke the silence after a full minute. "Um…Hinata…I was wondering…if you wanted to talk about… you know, what you said?" He queried hopefully, wondering if she was mad at him for the way he had shouted.
"Umm…I don't know…" Hinata said softly, afraid of what his response might be. Even though he had been so concerned about her, her immediate thought was that he was going to reject.
Naruto's face fell. "Oh," he said dejectedly, thinking her hesitation meant that she didn't want to see him. He assumed that she didn't want to see him because of he had been angry at her for trying to save him, and for making her cry. "I guess I'll see you around then." He said, turning to walk away.
Hinata's eyes widen as he turned to walk away. "No wait!" she shouted, grabbing his hand. Naruto looked back at her in surprise, then slowly smiled at her. "She's just nervous." he realized as a blush spread across her face.
"Right then, let's go!" he shouted as he gripped her hand back and led her off into the forest. They continued walking, Hinata's face turning an even deeper shade of red as Naruto continued to hold her hand.
The pair walked for several minutes until Naruto found a tree he liked. Then, grabbing Hinata by the waist, he jumped up into the tree. She let out a small squeak and became as red as a cherry at the contact. Naruto let go once they were on the branch, and even though she was relieved that she could get rid of her blush, a part of her missed the contact.
Naruto sat down, dangling his legs over the side, and he gestured for Hinata to do the same. She sat down slowly, only a few inches away from him, a comfortable silence coming over them as they sat there for a few moments. Hinata, unable to deal with all her thoughts on what he might be thinking, spoke first.
"Um Naruto, what did you want to talk about?" she said as she looked at his face.
"I just wanted to talk to you about what you said with Pain, and what happened after." He said, a blush starting to creep into his face. "She looks really cute," he thought as she looked into his eyes with her own.
Hinata's blush refused to go away as she looked into his eyes. "O-Okay, what d-do you want to talk about it for?" she managed to get out, inwardly cursing her stutter.
Naruto's blush faded as he looked at her seriously. "Hinata, I want to know if you meant what you said." He said, not looking anywhere but her eyes.
Hinata was slightly hurt that he would ask her that, but then she remembered his childhood. He never had anyone to love him. The only thing he received from others was contempt and hatred. Her gaze softened, and she managed to speak without a stutter. "I meant it Naruto, every single word." She said softly.
Naruto returned her gaze, and an indescribable joy filled his heart. No one had ever told him that they loved him, and he was happy that someone did love him. At the same time, though, he tried to figure out his own feelings for her. He didn't know what love actually was, so he didn't know if he just cared for her as a friend, or as something more. "Thanks Hinata, but…" he trailed off, unsure what to say next.
"It's okay Naruto, I understand if you don't love me back. I just wanted you to know." She said. Hinata meant every word of it, she really did. She just wanted him to be happy, although a small part of her ached at the thought of not being with him.
Naruto frowned at her words. "Hinata, I don't know what love is. Because, well, you know…" she nodded her understanding, so he didn't finish the sentence. "I'm not sure what I feel for you, Hinata. But I want to find out. So, uh, I was wondering if you, umm, might want to, ya know, talk to each other more?" he asked, his expression hopeful.
Hinata smiled at him, and her blush disappeared completely. "I would like that Naruto." She said, grabbing his hand in hers.
Naruto grinned at her, his eyes lighting up. "That sounds great Hinata. How about we go get some ramen right now? Old man Teuchi set up a tent where he still cooks." At the thought of ramen, his mouth started to water. Hinata giggled before nodding, and the two of them dropped off the tree branch before walking back to the tents in the gathering darkness, hands still intertwined.
00000
Nearby, three girls sat together and "awwwed" at the two walking back to camp. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten were hiding in the bushes right under the tree branch where Hinata and Naruto had been sitting.
"That was so cute wasn't it?" Tenten gushed, glad that she had seen the two of them walking into the forest. As soon as she had spotted the duo, she had dragged Sakura and Ino with her to spy on them.
"It really was!" Ino declared. "I never knew Naruto could be so deep."
"That's because you're too shallow to see it, Ino-pig." Sakura said in Naruto's defense. "Just because he acts like an idiot most of the time doesn't mean he's shallow like you."
"WHAT WAS THAT BILLBOARD BROW?" Ino yelled in Sakura's face.
"YOU HEARD ME PIG!" Sakura shouted right back.
Tenten just sighed at their bickering, before she knocked them both on the head. As they held their heads in between their hands, she grabbed them both by the collars and started dragging them back to camp. Ignoring their continuing argument, she thought about how great it was for Hinata, and that she had finally confessed. She and Naruto looked so cute together, and she definitely wanted to keep an eye on them.
00000
A/N: So let me know what you guys think! I'll take any kind of review, be it good or bad. However, please be constructive. If I could be doing something better, let me know. Also I won't really be focusing on the other pairs as much, after all it is a NaruHina fanfic. Most of the story will focus on Naruto and Hinata. There will be some action though, I don't want to make this story too boring. Next chapter will be up very soon, because I have no social life :D
