Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters in this fan fiction. I probably wouldn't be writing this if I did. :P
"Speech"
Thoughts
"Memories/Flashbacks"
To Live Again
Let's Begin Living
"Naruto. Naruto! Na-ru-to!" The sound of a grown woman's voice resonated through Naruto's head.
Squinting from the bright noon sun, Naruto looked over to the woman next to his bed; his beautiful, lavender-eyed, dark-haired beauty. "What's up, Hinata?"
"Breakfast is ready, silly! Come and eat up!"
"I'll be there in just a second, Sweetie." As she left, he lay back down and stared at the sunny room that he shared with his wife. It was a modest room, having only a king size bed, a dresser, and one shelf cluttered with all the books and scrolls the two had ever owned. On the dresser was a picture frame of him and Hinata in their wedding kimonos.
Naruto sat back up and stretched in every direction possible before standing up and following the sweet smell of French toast.
"Yuzu! Don't eat yet. Daddy is coming to eat in just a moment."Hinata scolded her daughter in that hushed voice of hers. Naruto stopped just outside the kitchen doorway to absorb the scene. Yuzu, his daughter, was the spitting image of her beautiful mother, but held an excited personality like her father's. She was pouting, wanting to dive into the delicious meal lain out before her.
"Dig in," Naruto shouted as he took his seat at the dining table. His two beautiful women laughed as he shoved half a piece of toast in his mouth. He swallowed and joined in their laughter before they all began to eat again and talked about nothing of great meaning.
The sound of thunder woke Naruto and he sat upright, heart threatening to jump out of his chest. The pain seared his eyes as he fought off the usual tears that wanted to fall nearly every night since the incident. He looked at the all too familiar room that he lay in. The walls seemed darker, like the life was sucked from them. Half of the books and scrolls on the shelf were now on the floor, scattered and torn. The lone dresser had been rummaged through and clothes were hanging out of the drawers. Any picture frames that were on the dresser before were now strewn about the room.
Naruto shook his head and stared at the floor sadly. You've got to stop doing this. It's been three months. They're… gone, now. They're gone... A lone tear fell and he quickly wiped it away with his sleeve before standing up and sluggishly getting dressed.
He had been sent out on a vacation that he really didn't plan on returning from. For now, he wandered, only occasionally stopping by his old home in Konoha. In the few weeks that he hadn't been here, the place hadn't changed much. The place still looked like it had been ransacked, as nobody had been allowed in to fix it up. The only thing that was different is that dust was starting to settle and form on the overturned furniture and tables.
Just as he finished putting on his clothes, a knocking came on the door. Who even knows I'm here? A few seconds later and he found out.
A long-haired, blue-eyed blonde stood in front of him. After three months of not seeing the kunoichi, it took him a few seconds to recognize who it was. "I-Ino?"
Ino looked at Naruto a little angrily. "Yes, Naruto, I'm Ino. Now, do you mind telling me why you haven't been back in town to talk to any of us?" She crossed her arms in front of her and stared at him with determination to get an answer.
He rubbed his unshaven chin for a second before stepping aside and letting her into the wrecked house. She took a step in, hesitating for only a second to take in what was in front of her. She hadn't been in the house since Hinata had been alive. Shooting Naruto's back a worried glance, she finished her journey inside and followed him to the kitchen.
He handed her a mug of coffee that he had set to brew that morning and took a sip out of his own mug. It was warm and slid down his throat smoothly, and he smiled sadly as he thought of the warmth he could no longer receive from this house.
Ino put her mug down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, I know how upset you must still be. She was just like a sister to me, and little Yuzu was practically my niece." She stopped for a second, wondering if she should continue. "But you can't ignore everybody who cares for you. You can't ignore your dreams to become Hokage! The city needs you. We need you."
Naruto paused to think about what the blonde had said. I… Can I do it? Can I return to the life that I had cared so much to hold? He moves over to the dining table and takes a seat. "Ino… I don't think I can do it… I can't even wake up with determination to live. How can you ask me to protect the lives of others when I can't even," He paused. "I couldn't even protect my own family…"
Before the last word was even out of his mouth, Ino had her arms wrapped around the man, who was heaving slightly and trying not to cry. "Naruto, it wasn't your fault. You were away for an important meeting. Nobody thought that your family would be targeted. You can't continue to blame yourself. Hinata… She wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."
At hearing his deceased wife's name, he finally started crying, turning himself around so he could smother his cries on the kunoichi's shoulder.
After about ten minutes of crying, he finally pulls away. Ino smiles understandingly at him and starts to wipe his tear-stained face when he grabbed her hand. "Ino… I'll talk to the Hokage and try to pick up some of my duties again, but I can't guarantee that I'll stay."
Ino nodded. "It's all that we need right now, Naruto. Because heaven forbid that Tsunade-sama choose somebody else as her successor."
Naruto smiled and finally let go of her hand, just realizing that he had grabbed it in the first place. "Oh Lord, we wouldn't want that." They both started to laugh at the thought of having somebody like Guy Might as Hokage. Oh… The destruction… When they finally stopped laughing, Naruto walked Ino to the door. "I'll shave, shower, and meet her later today. Can you set up the meeting for me?"
Ino shook her head and smiled. "No, I think Tsunade-sama would be more surprised if you showed up out of the blue. She thinks about you a lot, you know. You're practically her grandson."
Naruto smiled, remember the memories he shared with the old woman. "Wait, didn't Baa-sama send you to kick my butt into gear?"
"No, she has been sighing a lot lately and staring off into space. As soon as I realized you were back in town, I knew that to get you both together was what you both needed." On her way out the door, she said one last thing. "You should see her at lunch time. She's always on the roof of the Hokage building." With that said, she stepped out into the light rain and headed off to wherever she was headed.
Baa-sama… I can't believe it's been three months since I've seen her. Boy, she's really gonna beat me for not visiting her. He chuckled and looked at the clock. Ten am. Two hours to clean up and see her. He bounds off to the bathroom, excited and slightly motivated to see the grandmother-like friend of his.
Tsunade was sitting on the roof of the Hokage building, her lunch on the bench. She was standing near the edge of the roof, peering over the railing and seeing the city spread out before her. Despite the beautiful scene, she sighed, and returned to her lunch, which consisted of several daifuku, mochi filled with anko. After taking her first bite, she feels the presence of another person.
"Tsk, tsk, Baa-sama! I haven't seen you in three months and you're still eating those? You'd think that at your age, you'd try eating a bit healthier."
Tsunade froze, staring at the blonde young man in front of her, almost not believing her eyes. "Naruto?" She stands up, cautious that she might ruin the mirage she believes to be seeing.
"Yes, Baa-sama?" Naruto asked curtly, bracing himself for what he thought was to come.
Despite his worry that she would beat him, he wasn't very surpised when a crying Tsunade ran into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Stupid boy," she said, her cries muffled by his shirt. "Why didn't you at least come visit me? I was worried that you wouldn't ever come back…" Her hands gripped the back of his shirt as she refused to let him go.
Pushing her back lightly so as not to upset her, he speaks. "Baa-sama, I'm not going anywhere just yet. I agreed with Ino to stay and help out for as long as I can."
Tsunade smiled at the kindness of Ino. After Sakura had settled down with Sasuke and their child two years ago, Ino had stepped up to study under the Hokage, wide-eyed and ready to take on the challenges ahead of her. "Ino has been so good to me since you had left. She was just as worried about you as I was."
Naruto laughed slightly, making Tsunade smile back, happy to hear his laugh again. "Are you busy today? I was hoping that I could maybe treat you to some lunch that isn't filled with anko or made with mochi."
"No, no. Today has been a slow day and the paperwork that I have can be finished up later. Where to?"
"I have a certain place that I'm sure will be happy to see me again too."
Teuchi greeted his customers as usual, only giving them a slight glance over his shoulder. "Welcome!" Realizing who had just stepped in, he turned around with a big smile on his face. "Naruto! Is that really you?"
Naruto placed his hand behind his head and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Teuchi-san. I see Ichiraku hasn't changed much."
"Not at all! We just added a few new things to the menu while you were gone. Try it, on the house!" In his joy of seeing the man again, he almost forgot about the Hokage. "Hokage-sama! Of course, your food is on the house, as well!" He bowed.
Naruto laughed. "I'll try everything new you have, then!" With another bow, Teuchi is off into the kitchen to conjure up some food.
Just as the two blondes sit down, another person enters the store, smelling slightly like wet dog. He turned around to see a brown-haired shinobi with a look of surprise that equally matched his.
"Naruto! Man, I haven't seen you in forever! How've you been?" Kiba asked excitedly, patting Naruto's shoulder and taking a seat next to him.
Naruto filled the two in about his travels and the places he had seen up until the previous night: the poor conditions in the Village of Rain, the growing populations in smaller countries, and the large number of festivities in the larger countries. "All in all, it wasn't too bad. A bit lonely, travelling alone, but most places had very hospitable people." He finishes off the last bit of his fifth ramen bowl, chugging the broth.
"Dude, that's great, being able to see all those places. I can't even get enough free time from missions to visit my dad anymore," Kiba slightly hinted at Tsunade, which she brusquely ignores by finishing her first bowl of ramen.
"It was. If you ever get the time off, I recommend it." He stood up, realizing that they had been eating lunch for a good two hours. "Wow… It's already three o'clock?"
Tsunade stands up immediately. "Crud! I still have all that paperwork to do! Shizune's going to pester me about this when I get back…" She shakes her head and hugs Naruto. "I'm sorry. I wish I could stay, but I think it's about time I head back to work. I'll see you at work tomorrow morning?"
Naruto nods and hugs Tsunade back. "I'll be there."
As she departed, the two guys decided to start walking home as well, enjoying the warm summer rays. "You're going back to work already?"
"Yeah. Ino talked me into returning to training to be Hokage. She sure can be pushy, but I'm kind of glad she did it. I haven't seen anybody I know in three months."
Kiba nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. One time, she forced me to go on a mission that I wasn't completely sure I could do, but when I returned, I felt much better, and stronger. She has her ways." He laughed and stopped walking as they approached his house. "Well, it was really nice to see you again. We should hang out again, with Shino, Choji, Lee, and Shikamaru, next time. Maybe even Neji, if he's free."
"Yeah, that'd be great." They shook hands and Naruto headed for home.
As soon as he stepped in the door, Naruto felt motivated and decided to clean up the house, throwing out broken and torn furniture and old food. Feeling compelled to be organized, he alphabetized his books and files, and folded all of his clothes. When he reached Hinata's dresser, he paused. Opening the drawer, he looked at the messy clothes.
He started the shake a little and shut the drawer, deciding now wasn't the best time to throw those out. I can't. Not yet… When all is done, his house had half of the furniture that it held before and his mattress was laying on the ground with new sheets and blankets, and no base to keep it off the ground.
Sitting on the bed, he leaned back, worn out. Wow… I didn't think I could do that much in one day… Well, I ought to go to bed before it gets too late. He covered himself with the blanket and passed out, the warm sun rays heating up the room as the sun set and let night claim it's time.
Chapter one! What do you think of it? Please review Your comments will motivate me to write more.
