Hello!
"Naruto The Last" was incredible but one very influential part bothered me...Though Naruto's character development was well-paced and refreshingly natural, I hated how it all came to happen by a genjutsu. So, here's my take on Naruto and Hinata's patient love and how it would have began-minus the genjutsu.
Hello! All the follows, thank you. :) I wanted to clarify, the setting is the same in regards to Naruto and the gang being around 18 and the war having resolved a little more than two years ago. The only difference, as of now, is that Sasuke has returned from his soul-searching. Without further ado, enjoy and please review!
*Story Under Construction*
These were previously chapters one through four, now they're condensed into one.
Please Enjoy. :)
"Nani?!" The bewildered blond shinobi cried, skipping back a few feet and nearly slamming into the small apartment's paste colored walls. His stoic, raven-haired partner held back a tired groan, running a cool finger across his temple. The tip glowed a soft green before misting away into its natural cold pearl.
"I told you, Dobe. It just happened."
Naruto's brow twitched but he was far too gone with the foreignness of the situation. Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were to be married, officially husband and wife, by next month.
Naruto's taut nerves worked to unravel themselves as he struggled to form words. Of course, he was ecstatic for his two closest friends and oldest teammates. But, now out of nowhere…hadn't they all just been reunited? When did this happen? The blond gripped his head, spinning around in circles before shooting an accusatory finger at the man opposite to him. Said Ninja raised a dark brow, waiting.
Naruto paused, mouth coming open like a fish for air...Had he missed something!? Sasuke had apologized, sure, but how did that equal liking girls? He didn't think it was even possible for Sasuke to like girls...and liking Sakura-chan?!
"Spit it out, Baka. Think too hard and that thick head of yours will pop."
Naruto blinked. "Teme!" He spat. Seeing Sasuke's grin, his frown deepened. What did she see in him anyway?
The Uchiha, quickly growing bored of his best friend's familiar antics, stood up. Swiping some stray dirt off his pants, he looked up-eyes gleaming. Naruto shrunk back at the evil smile on his face. "Is it really so unbelievable?" Sasuke continued, chin raised. "She's not that heinous looking."
"I'LL KILL YOU!" A pair of angry blue eyes met jet black. He was so dead, Naruto thought. His eyes steeled as he gripped the collar of the Uchiha's shirt tighter. Poor Sakura-chan, she had been through a lot for him...If this was all some kind of crazy joke, he was gonna pay! Naruto stared hard into Sasuke's challenging smirk and was surprised when, eyes hardening, he looked away.
"It was only a joke, jeez." Naruto's eyes bugged again at his lax manner. Jokes? He sputtered. Now, he's telling jokes and getting married. The loose fabric of Sasuke's shirt slipped pathetically out of the blond's out-stretched hand as he sank to the floor in a disgruntled heap. The war had brought stranger happenings.
But still, Naruto couldn't shake the sincerity of the Uchiha's feelings. Sasuke and Sakura were going to get married.
Sasuke was going to have a family.
Family. That was what Naruto had allowed himself to think of that night in the dark moonlit apartment. The fall leaves crusted against the windowsill as another cool breeze brushed past. He stared out past the calm lights of Konoha.
Kaachan, touchan, his fingers bunched up his pockets. Sometimes, he wondered how they would have thought. How they would have felt, what they would have done. He had always hated returning after a long mission, knowing there was no one home. He felt his throat tighten as he swallowed down a dull, familiar ache.
It was dark.
Doesn't matter, he thought. Shaking his head, he kicked aside a stray ramen cup. Nothing to be done about it. Air gushed up his nostrils as he threw up an encouraging punch, holding it out toward the night air. His dream was to become Hokage, to make his parents proud, a dream that was becoming more and more real with each passing day. He smiled. He had family, he thought. The village was his family, to ask for anything more would have been selfish. With that, Uzumaki Naruto fell into a peaceful sleep, unaware of a pair of pale lavender eyes staring up at the very same night sky.
Naruto-kun, Hinata's thoughts echoed his name, as they often did, while she drifted down the busy morning streets of the Hidden Leaf Village. Was he feeling alright? From what she had seen of him in the brief chance encounters they had had, he seemed to be a bit down. His downcast expression flashed past her eyes. Almost wilted. Her heart sunk.
The winter was coming, that meant shorter days and longer nights. It must be hard, she thought, even for someone as warm and sunny as Naruto-kun. She ached at the thought, grasping for some kind of solution. There must be something she could do…Had he been eating properly? Just as she pondered this, one of her favorite smells caught her attention. She couldn't…could she? No…That's it! She thought. Smiling wide, she made a beeline for the closest shop.
"Naruto-niichan!" Konohamaru called, waving at the towering blond.
"Oh, ohayo, Konohamaru." Naruto stuck out an arm to give a friendly wave before tucking both hands back into his pockets.
"There's something I have to show you."
"This stuff belonged to Grandpa Hiruzen. I found it while cleaning up—HEY!" Naruto nearly dropped the aged trinket he had been holding gingerly in his hands. With wide eyes, his head whipped up to catch the chunin's disapproving stare. "Be careful with that." Konohamaru sniffed, "this stuff is very valuable."
"Sure." Naruto grinned, carefully putting aside the familiar-looking monkey toy. Of course it was.
Carrying suspicion in his eyes, Konohamaru went back to rummaging through another small pile of boxes. "Ah! Here it is. My grandfather must have kept it for her..."
Kaachan, Naruto's eyes deepened as they pooled around the soft material of the scarf. Arigato, the word echoed inside him with each step as he walked. Submerged, he was almost surprised to find himself at his team's old training grounds. Carefully folding the precious gift into the square of his stripped jacket, he grinned-gripping his heart through the fabric of his t-shirt. "Yoshi!"
A couple hours later, that was where Hinata had found him-a sweaty, proud, mess. Naruto-kun, she smiled. Of course he would be here, pushing himself harder and harder every day, refusing to give up. She gripped the bag of warm cinnamon buns tightly, taking a round of short shaky breaths. She could do this, she would do this, she thought. Her fingers prickled against the rough bark of the old oak as she watched the sun tickle his skin, illuminating the bright streaks of blond in his hair. Sakura's words floated up again.
Be brave, she thought.
"Caught you, Hinata-chan." In an instant, he had vanished from his sunny spot on the grass to the shaded spot right behind her back. She jumped, whipping around to face his bright smile. "What's up?"
Her cheeks burned as she stared up at him, wide-eyed and speechless. "O-o..." He cocked his head to the side, brows knitted together and lip jutted out, watching her piece it together. "O-Ohayo, Naruto-kun!" He smiled, enjoying the sound of her voice.
"Ohayo, Hinata-chan!" He beamed. She loved the way his eyes crinkled when he grinned. Momentarily dazed, she slowly smiled back up at him. She watched as his expression began to shift, taking in a couple sniffs. "Hey, what's in the bag?" He gestured toward the steaming treats, guarded tightly behind Hinata's crossed arms. She blushed harder, pressing gently against his chest, encouraging him to take a step backward.
"Have you eaten yet, Naruto-kun?" His stomach rumbled in response. Scratching the back of his head, he threw her a guilty grin.
A couple minutes later the two found themselves surrounded by fluffy cinnamon buns and gooey wrappers. The sun-baked grass felt lovely against Hinata's pale legs, daring her to stretch out a little further. She gave in blissfully, enjoying the sweet taste. Naruto sat cross-legged beside her, continuing to stuff his face with the delicious goodness. She smiled softly, eyes drinking up every bit of him. What a precious gift today had become. She made a silent promise to appreciate every bit of it.
"Hinata-chan," the hesitance in his voice shook her out of her stupor. Readjusting, she stared back at him.
"Hai?" He tugged at his short hair, frowning when the sticky icing traveled from his fingers. She would have smiled at his endearing clumsiness, if not so concerned by his abnormal demeanor.
"Have you...uh...Sasuke and Sakura-chan..."
"Are to be married?" She ventured, filling in the words.
"EXACTLY!" He cried, excitedly waving on her encouragement. She smiled, waiting patiently for him. Visibly, he deflated. "Uh..." His blue eyes deepened, staring past her.
Hinata dug through her head, worry fueling her search. What could have upset him? Did he still have feelings for Sakura-san? Her throat clenched but she buried it as she searched deeper.
Naruto-kun, she whispered his name inside her heart. She wanted him to be happy, so, so happy. In the end, it didn't matter if it wasn't with her. But for him to love Sakura-san...Helpless. She felt useless. How could she help that? Sakura-san was so...content, happy. She deserved nothing but encouragement and support and that's what Hinata planned to give her.
"Have you ever liked someone?" That stopped her. Choking mid-swallow, she fell into a flurry of coughs—becoming distracted once again as she felt his large, warm hand rubbing reassuring circles into her back.
Naruto, having seen her sudden struggle, only thought to do what he had seen Kurenai-sensei do for her small daughter, Mirai. So, he had no idea why all of the sudden Hinata's struggles multiplied ten-fold-her face turning redder than a tomato and coughs making her eyes water. His face pinched with worry. "Hinata-chan! Awh, man! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to freak you out, ugh, I should have warned ya…" Gaining back control of herself, she missed his cheeks slightly pink.
"I-it's alright, Naruto-kun! G-Gomen, I should have been more careful…" She frowned down at the abandoned wrapper next to her, as if trying to pass on the blame. Shoveling down the embarrassment of her choking episode, she took a hesitant breath—looking back up to face him. "What makes you a-ask such a question?"
"Oh," he frowned, his rough palm still gently pressed against her lower back. She actively worked to ignore that and the accompanying goosebumps which came with it. "I don't know," he trailed. But, he did. He did know.
He knew but he didn't understand the way Sasuke would talk only with Sakura-chan, sharing some kind of humorous inner dialogue. He knew but he didn't get the way Sasuke held her, subtly but always purposefully—making the most innocent of gestures inherently intimate. He knew but could never imitate the way Sasuke secretly smiled at her, awkward and quick but carrying some kind of mysterious feeling he couldn't quite keep up with. It was different, different from anything he had ever experienced. It felt a bit lonely, like it was out of place for him to be there.
"Naruto-kun...?" She said. He blinked, re-seeing her. Dark indigo hair shaped the pained face of the lavender-eyed kunoichi. He frowned, he didn't like seeing his friend hurt. "You don't have to...to feel alone."
He blanched. It was as if she had directly heard him. "Just watching them," she continued, "doesn't it make you feel hopeful?" Seeing his confused expression, she gave a shy smile. Her fingers itched to twiddle together as they always did when she happened to be especially nervous. "L-Love is...like fire. It spreads, warming everyone around it. So, there's never reason for you to feel alone."
He sat quietly, mulling over her words. Her voice grew more concentrated, yet somehow softer. "Naruto-kun, many, many people love you." He looked up at her, eyes burning lightly but in the good way-the way that meant you were happy.
A little while later, the stuffed and happily content blond shinobi found himself lazily gazing at one of his favorite people. He watched as she comically stared down one of the few remaining cinnamon buns. Yes, he definitely liked people like her. He nudged her, earning a surprised squeak. "So, the guy you like..."
"Hai, Naruto-kun?" Hinata sighed, he'd eventually wrestled it out of her, refusing to take no for an answer.
"Did he start out with 'Gomenasai' too?" Hinata's peeling laughter took him by surprise, tugging at the corners of his lips until they lifted upward.
That's it for now, what's to come? Please review! :D