IT JUST HAPPENED…!
Author's note: Hello! It's been a while I've written a fanfiction but I badly wanted to write one on Naruto! I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
The Rokudaime Hokage raised his head pathetically to acknowledge the pile of paperwork on his table. He sighed. It had been his dream to become the Hokage that everyone looked up to but the paperwork, he had not accounted for at that young and tender age when he had etched the dream into his heart. Just a week had passed after he was handed over the position and he was already swimming in it. Well, it was to be expected but this was Naruto, for heaven's sake!
A soft chuckle caught his ears and he turned to his companion. "You need to finish this up if you plan on going out anywhere today, Hokage-sama!"
He recognized the tinge of sarcasm and he did not like it one bit.
"Shikamaru no teme!" he growled but promptly got back to his work. Shikamaru merely smirked. Hokage or not, to him, Naruto was still the big knuckleheaded ninja he considered a close friend.
Not even a minute had ticked by and Naruto's hand was already itching to let go of the pen he was holding. As he bent over his table continuing to read and sign the requests from different villages for their services, he prayed for anything, just about anything to serve as an excuse to run away from the paper work. It was already evening and he was hungry! Oh, a hot bowl of ramen and he'd been in heaven, he drooled! And just as he finished his little prayer, a door slammed open. Naruto's back snapped to an upright position.
"Sakura-chan! What brings you here?" he asked, unable to hold back his grin.
"Naruto, are you not done with your work yet? It is about time", she said impatiently, tapping her foot; her hands on her hips. He was the Hokage and she still called him by his name. To be honest, he liked it that way. His friends addressing him with the title made him feel distant from them. And so he had made sure to warn all his friends not to do so. Well, all but one! But he quickly threw that thought out of his head.
Naruto threw a 'She-says-it's-time' look at Shikamaru, trying his luck again! This time, he sighed and looked over quickly at a few papers and handed over the most important ones to Naruto to finish up. Naruto quickly grabbed them.
"Sakura-chan, just hold on, I'll be done in a few minutes. Why don't you sit over at the couch till then?" He pointed at the couch in his room. Sakura threw him a dirty look for making her wait for him but relented to his request and sat down. She had had a busy day.
The three of them walked on the streets of Konoha watching the people getting themselves ready to tuck themselves in for the night. To an ordinary man, they seemed a happy picture of three friends having a walk but the citizens of Konoha knew that wherever their Hokage went, the skilled group of ANBU was always nearby, ready to take down anything that seemed likely to attack their leader.
Naruto watched his people as he walked past them. Building up the town had been slow after Pein's attack but it had finally been complete. The citizens were happy and this made him, in turn happy. Those who recognized the Hokage under the night sky, bowed to him in respect. He acknowledged their presence with a smile on his face.
Sakura's voice brought him back from his reverie. "Even though I had known that you would someday become a Hokage, it still shocks me that you indeed have become one!" She chuckled.
"Why does that shock you, Sakura-chan?! I am, after all, the greatest ninja of this entire world, Uzumaki Naruto!" He enthusiastically struck out a 'Nice Guy' pose. Sakura and Shikamaru blankly stared at him for a few seconds before they burst out laughing.
"More like, the dumbest", Shikamaru smirked before started walking ahead. Sakura followed suit. Naruto chuckled at the joke himself. He ran and caught up with them and put his arms around both his friends' shoulders.
"So, where are we going exactly?" he asked excitedly. Sakura bonked him on his head.
"Baka, you became the Hokage and we still haven't celebrated it yet. All of us want to show you how proud we are you!" Sakura beamed at him.
"Chouji has arranged for all of us. The restaurant owners are quite the loyal ones towards the Akimichi Clan". Naruto nodded in agreement. Many a times, he'd gotten a free meal just because he had been with Chouji.
"We're here!" Shikamaru announced, beckoning the other two to follow him inside into the restaurant.
There were quite a number of people having their evening meal when the three entered but what caught their attention was the loud and boisterous group of young men and women, chatting away gaily. One of them, a woman with long blonde hair got up from her seat and waved happily at the three who were making their way towards them.
"Our Hokage is here!" She announced playfully. Naruto gave them a huge grin as the group whistled at his arrival. The announcement had been quite loud though and Naruto found himself sheepishly shaking hands with the other customers, receiving their heartfelt wishes on him being named the Hokage. That piece of news still hadn't turned stale, it seemed! When he joined them finally, Sakura and Shikamaru had already pushed themselves into the group and sat down.
Naruto couldn't help but grin on seeing everyone together. He noted that one certain kunoichi was missing but he chose not to mention. It bothered him though but he still chose to keep his mouth shut. Had he been faced with the same situation seven years ago or earlier, he'd have reacted differently. But such was not the case now! He had grown into a fine young man of 23 years of age. He had acquired wisdom and maturity from the war that was fought to protect him and Bee. The rest of the years of travelling and training with Kakashi sensei to become the Hokage had added to that.
He knew that wisdom and maturity was not what kept him from asking about her. It was pure cowardice. Even after so many years, he did not have the courage to meet her eyes. He did not know how he was supposed to act around her.
But he had known and respected the term 'courteousness' and had decided to thank her. She had been running an errand when he had met her. He remembered blushing madly when the words that came out of his mouth hadn't made any sense. Uttering a word of thanks to her for risking her life for him had been the most awkward moment of his life.
Many a times, after that incident, when he'd see her at a distance, he'd decide that today would be the day when he would finally be able to talk to her like he did with the others. A few steps later, he'd turn on his heels and walk away. Somehow, now, it had become a habit to run away from her. Not that she scared her- oh, she could never! She was a sweet girl, he knew that! But that was all the more reason for him to stay away until he knew what exactly he had to do. He didn't want to hurt the delicate creature. She was not weak. She had proved that by fighting against Pein, for him. He never forgot that day- those words she had told him! But there were times he had to encounter her on the account of the village's welfare- him being the Hokage in training and her being the prospective Hyuuga head. On such days, he would try his best to act like himself but end up, stuttering just like Hinata, to his horror. He would always berate himself. He was losing his cool in front of her, he was sure!
Luckily for Naruto, someone other than himself had noticed that she hadn't made her appearance.
Ino turned to Kiba and Shino and asked, "Where is Hinata? She does know that we're having a party for Naruto, right?"
"I don't think she can make it tonight."
"But, why can't she? We've been planning this for some time now. She could've made the necessary arrangements, right?"
Kiba shrugged and answered rudely, "Why don't you ask her dear cousin!?"
Kiba's angry eyes met the cool eyes of the Hyuuga. The rest of the group perked up at the sudden tension at their table. Carefully, hoping she was not adding fuel to the fire, Sakura asked, "What happened?"
Neji sighed tiredly, irked that the topic which had been the reason for the tension between him and Kiba for a few weeks now, had been brought up. "Hiashi-sama has decided that Hinata-sama is ready for marriage."
Author's note: Well, how did you find it so far? Interesting? Let me know, would you? I appreciate constructive criticism. I'm a willing learner! :)
By the way, if you have noticed, Naruto is not his usual loud self. I'm hoping that you, the readers will understand that Naruto would not always remain so. He has to turn mature at some point of time. He did go through a lot. Although, I agree that his old self will pop up once in a while. Hence, his character may seem a little different than the usual anime or manga.
Also, I haven't killed Neji off in this. I started writing this way before the author killed him off and I didn't want to change that part when I again started working on the story! Even though he might not be playing a very important role, I intend to keep him alive.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, do review!