Troubles and Triumphs

A NaruHina FanFic

Background/Summary: Following the invasion of Pein, the reconstruction of Konoha begins. Naruto is ordered by Shizune (who is put in charge of the hospital while Tsunade remains in a coma) to spend a day or two in the hospital to regain his energy and to see if there were any adverse effects of transforming into the Kyūbi completely. A certain Hyuga kunoichi learns of this and goes to visit him in the hospital. How will Naruto react to Hinata's confession? This is where the story begins.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in the manga or anime! They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto! If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic!

Key:

"Speech"

"Kyūbi and other large beings"

Thought

"Normal Speech Emphasis on a word Normal Speech"

A/N: This is my first ever fanfic, please go easy on me. I'll accept any friendly advice you're willing to give to help make this story better. Thanks in advance!

WARNING: THIS FANFIC IS RATED M FOR A REASON! THERE WILL BE BLOOD, GUTS, SEXUAL CONTENT, ETC. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Ch 1: Naruto's Dilemma

"What? Why do I gotta stay in the hospital Shizune nee-san? I'm fine!" Naruto adamantly protested Shizune's order to remain in the hospital for the night. Naruto never liked the hospital. He thought they were depressing, creepy, and boring.

"Because, you expended a lot of energy trying to stop Pein. Not to mention you completely transformed into the Kyūbi! We have to know if there are going to be any side effects to that." Shizune said with some authority, but then quickly shifted her tone. "Besides…Tsunade-sama would want you to take it easy for a day or so."

"Oh…" Naruto lowered his head in sadness. "Alright, I will stay."

"Great. I'll have the room prepared for you. Here's the room number." She handed him a piece of paper with the number "1701" written on it. "There's a few others that will be staying at the hospital that won't be able to leave there beds for a few days, please be sure to visit them while you're there." Shizune tried to sound upbeat to not worry Naruto. She knew that Tsunade might never wake up, only time would tell.

"Alright, I can do that. I'll be there in a half hour." Naruto began to run towards his house when he lost his balance and fell over. "Uh… maybe I do need to take a rest. How long will it take to get back to normal?" Naruto tried to laugh it off.

"At least a day for you. The Kyūbi should help to restore your energy faster than most." Shizune couldn't help but laugh at Naruto.

"Ok…" Naruto thought about his father resealing the Kyūbi. He hoped that the seal would hold; he didn't want to lose control again and risk hurting or killing any of his friends. "I'll be at the hospital soon."

"Ok," Shizune said responded. "Kakashi-san will be at the hospital resting for a few days anyway so whenever you're ready to talk we'll be there."

"Great, thanks. See you later!" Naruto said as he once again took off for his temporary home.

The village was all but destroyed when he was in Kyūbi mode. Most of his belongings were destroyed when his apartment was destroyed during the invasion. But his iPod, a few pictures, and a few ninja outfits managed to somehow survive the destruction.

As he ran, he saw construction workers, engeneers, and fellow shinobi working hard to rebuild the village. Yamato had taken upon himself to build temporary shelters for every ninja in the village, also managing to completely rebuild the hospital in just under an hour, meaning all the injured ninja and civilians now had a more appropriate place to recover.

When he arrived at his temporary home, Naruto grabbed his iPod so he could keep himself entertained while in the hospital. He stopped to look at all the pictures in his temporary home. He had pictures of his team when they were younger, him and Iruka, him at Ichiraku's after eating a record amount of bowls of ramen, and a group picture of the Konoha 12 with all the sensei's.

He took a closer look at that picture. Kakashi was standing behind Sasuke with Naruto on Sasuke's right and Sakura on Sasuke's left. He noticed how happy everyone on Team 7 looked happy, even the usually stone-faced Sasuke was smiling slightly. Then Naruto noticed who was standing to his right and his heart skipped a beat.

Hinata stood with her arms in front of her chest with a shy smile and a slight blush on her face. She was looking at the camera, but from the picture Naruto knew of whom she was thinking about: him.

Hinata… how did this happen? When did you start liking me? Let alone LOVING me? No other girl ever gave me the time of day. I mean, yeah they all think of me as a friend now. But back then, they all hated me cause I messed with Sasuke all the time. Why you? And why me for that matter? Naruto thought to himself as he stared at the photograph. He didn't understand it.

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it for the moment. "No time to think now, I gotta get to the hospital before some ANBU come looking for me."

He ran most of the way back to the hospital. On the way he surveyed the damage his fight with Pein had caused. It was extensive to say the least. Most of the village was completely destroyed. Everything that wasn't, was damaged to the point of being unsalvageable. Yamato was helping as best he could to help rebuild buildings, using his Kekkei Genkai to produce enough wood rebuild the hospital and set up temporary shelters. Chunin and Jonin around the village were doing their best to help with the wounded and help with the repairs.

Naruto skidded to a stop. In front of him was the Hyūga estate. It was on the way to the hospital, but he thought that maybe he did it subconsciously. He had seen Hinata after the defeat of Pein and she seemed fine. But he never got the chance to talk to her to make sure she was healed because the whole village was celebrating Naruto's victory.

Even if she hadn't confessed, I would still be really concerned. She is a good friend after all. After I get out of the Hospital I'll go see her to make sure she isn't hurt or anything…

Just then a thought occurred to Naruto. ARGH! WHAT IF SHE BRINGS UP THE CONFESSION? WHAT THE HELL WOULD I SAY TO HER? I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT HER LIKE THAT! SHIT!

On the outside, Naruto was visibly upset. His hands were on his head and he was squirming dramatically, somehow moving from one spot to another without moving his legs. He stopped when someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Can I help you with something young man?" a man's voice came from behind Naruto. He turned to see whoever it was. He was shocked to see Hiashi Hyūga standing in front of him.

"Hyūga-sama! N-no I was just on my way to the hospital and I stopped here 'cause I remembered I never talked to Hinata about her condition. And then I remembered something I'd forgotten back at my house and it made me a little mad." Naruto told the head of the Hyūga clan, laughing nervously.

Hiashi had to chuckle at Naruto. "Naruto, you do realize my Byakugan can tell when you're being untruthful, right? Now, why don't you tell me the truth?" Hiashi teased Naruto lightly.

"Heheh… Um…" Naruto was having a hard time. "Well, I guess I should start with the beginning..." He took a deep breath and began speaking quickly.

"I never really talked to Hinata very much until the Chunin exams, even though she never teased me like everyone else, but she was always so shy and acted all weird around me and I could never figure out why then she cheered for me and helped me to get past my preliminary match against her teammate Kiba."

He took a deep breath and continued, "After Neji hurt her so bad I had to get revenge for her, but I wasn't really sure if I could but on the day of the finals I went past the training grounds and she was there. I was feeling really down and she cheered me up right away by telling me I wasn't a failure like I though and that she believed in me and that's when I learned that she wasn't weird, but a really nice person who was really shy."

He paused again to take a breath. "And since that time, I've really enjoyed hanging out with her and everything, but I never gave it any thought why she was so shy around everyone, especially me. But during my fight with Pein, I was injured and pinned to the ground and Hinata tried to save me but before she went on the offensive, she…"

"She told you how she felt about you, didn't she? She told you she loved you, correct?" Hiashi asked bluntly, but with a knowing smirk. He was proud of her daughter for finally getting the courage to confess to the blonde ninja.

It was widely known amongst the Hyūga clan that the young heiress loved the number one hyperactive ninja. However, it had only recently come to the clan head's attention. At first he wasn't sure how to react to the idea that his daughter was in love with the boy that a vast majority of the village's non-shinobi community hated. However after remembering who the young shinobi's father was, he fully accepted the idea.

Naruto was shocked that Hiashi knew already. "…Yeah…I was really shocked. No one has ever said that kind of thing to me before. I've never even thought about Hinata like that. She's a great friend and all… but I guess I never really got to know her enough to think about her like that, ya know?"

"Yes, I understand." Hiashi paused for a moment before continuing. "And what do you plan to say when replying to my daughter's confession? Or are you not planning on replying?"

Naruto stared at Hiashi for a moment before answering. "… I suppose I have to. I wouldn't be much of a man if I didn't, would I? But the problem is… I have no idea what to say to her."

"Oh?" Hiashi asked curiously. He was worried at first that Naruto was uninterested in his daughter, but was now unsure of what to think.

"I don't know how I feel about all this. All my life the only girl I ever liked was Sakura-chan. But she only loves Sasuke, and I don't think that's ever going to change… no matter how hard I try. I gave up on her three years ago to be honest. And even though I don't know as much as I should about Hinata, I know I want to get to know her more and I know I can't lose her." Naruto paused, waiting to see what Hinata's father would say.

"Go on. You have my attention Naruto. I'm listening and I will offer the best advice I can for both you and my daughter." Hiashi smiled slightly.

"Thank you. When Pein hurt her so badly, my heart broke, which is why I went all Kyūbi on him. That can only mean she's special to me… but is it as a friend or is it more? That's what I don't know…" Naruto finished with a sad, confused look on his face.

"Hm…" Hiashi thought for a moment. "I see your dilemma young man. However, I think you know the solution already." Though I can see you're too dense to realize.
Naruto had his signature confused look on his face. "Really?"

"Yes. The solution is: get to know her more. Talk to my daughter; spend more time with her. There's no harm in that. If you get to know her, I would venture to guess you will know the answer to your dilemma sooner than you think. Unless you find my daughter's appearance unattractive?" Hiashi glared slightly (though not entirely seriously) at Naruto.

"Of course she's attractive sir! I swear! I've always thought that at least!" Naruto panicked slightly. But he was not lying; he really did think that, he just didn't realize it until now.

Hiashi chuckled at Naruto again. "Relax Naruto. That was a joke. Although, I am glad you find my daughter attractive."

"Oh, yeah…" Naruto laughed nervously. He's scary! Better watch myself or he could kill me.

"I'd tell my daughter you are here to talk to her, but I should give you time to think first. Besides, Hinata is out helping with the rebuilding of our village. I will tell her when she returns home to visit you in the hospital." Hiashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Good luck Naruto. Think deeply."

"Thank you sir." Naruto smiled at the clan head. Maybe he isn't so bad afterall.

Hiashi squeezed a little harder before continuing with his best impersination of the infamous 'Yamato Glare'. "And if you hurt my daughter or try to do anything immoral to her, I will not hesitate kill you where you stand."

"RIGHT! THANK YOU HYUGA-SAMA, SIR! I B-BETTER GET GOING! BYE!" Naruto yelled back to Hiashi as he ran away, terrified for his life. I WAS WRONG!

Hiashi could only laugh as Naruto ran in fear. After a few moments, he looked to the sky with a sad smile on his face.

Are you watching, Minato? Your son has become a powerful ninja, a great friend, a hero of Konoha, and a fine young man. If I am lucky, he and Hinata will wed one day. Wouldn't that be something old friend? Hiashi looked to the sky and smiled before turning to walk into the Hyūga estate to help his family with the rebuilding process.

End CH 1

A/N: Well, my first chapter of my very first fanfic. What do you think so far? I have more of the story done, but I'm currently editing it and I'm going to wait until I get some reviews for the first chapter to see what I need to fix or add to make the story better. So please, feel free to give me any ideas that would help to make my style of writing better. I appreciate any friendly advice you can give. Until next time.

CBM-1701