Moonlight Bliss
"Throughout life you will meet one person who is unlike any other. This person is one you could forever talk to. They understand you in a way that no one else does or even could. This person is your soul mate, your best friend. Don't ever let them go, for they're your guardian angel sent from heaven above."
Chapter 1
His golden, shoulder-length spiky hair gently blew across his handsome face in the cool evening wind. The sun had gone to bed and the full moon took its place with the accompaniment of millions of twinkling stars. For the first time in weeks, he was experiencing pure tranquility. He placed his hands behind his head and relaxed against the stone. At that moment, his special treasured crystal gem sparkled as it lay on his black and orange jacket. He smiled slightly, showing but a fraction of his pearly white teeth.
Dad, I'm gonna finally do it. Just a few more weeks until I've completely surpassed you.
Happy thoughts filled the young man's mind as he rested on his father's stone face, the Fourth Hokage's face.
His heartbeat quickened at the thought of danger. He looked up to see a large boulder hurling towards him.
"What the hell?" he murmured as his eyes widened. He raised his pinky in the direction of the boulder. In a second, a great mass of rotating blue chakra formed on the little pinky finger. The boulder clashed into the rasengan, dissolving as it made contact with the chakra. The rasengan faded after the boulder had completely dissolved. "Baa-chan! Why would you do that?" he complained, not even bothering to look up.
The blonde, big breasted lady in her late 50s smiled. Although she was old, her looks portrayed a lady in her 20s due to her jutsu.
He was able to destroy the boulder with just the raise of a pinky, she thought to herself, He truly has become strong... Maybe too strong... Now it won't be fun to hurt him anymore…
She chuckled. After hearing the sound of 'Baa-chan' ringing in her ears, an anger vein popped.
"Who the hell do you think you are calling baa-chan you knucklehead!" she yelled, waving her fist furiously in the air.
The blond quickly rose to his feet, looking up to the lady standing at the top of the mountain. "Baa-chan Tsunade!" he retaliated just as angry.
The woman jumped of the mountain with a large amount of chakra loaded into her fist as she closed in on him. Fear pumped through the man's blood and he tried to run. The chakra loaded fist connected with his cheek throwing him off the stone face and into the ground.
Tsunade placed her arms akimbo as she landed outside the crater gracefully. She smiled one of satisfaction, seeing she could still inflict some pain. "Naruto!" the Godaime yelled to the boy who was still twitching at the bottom of the crater, "We have been searching for you for hours! It is not the behavior of a becoming hokage to ditch meetings just because it is drop-dead boring! I may be handing you the title of Hokage soon but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you wa-!"
"All right! All right, Baa-chan!" Naruto interrupted. "Don't nag me. I'll go back to the meeting." The blond jumped out of the crater, rubbing his throbbing cheek.
Tsunade curled her fist, filling it with even more chakra. "Don't interrupt me or call me Baa-chan!"
Getting the danger instinct again, Naruto quickly apologized to the short tempered lady to avoid any more body damage.
After Tsunade calmed down, she spoke again, "The meeting ended an hour ago, baka. Go home and rest then come back to my office tomorrow at 8pm sharp." The Hokage spun on her red heel and stormed to her mansion.
Naruto sighed as he dusted his jumpsuit off. Women… such weird creatures…
"Oi! Dobe!"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "What, teme?" The blond passed by his rival/ best-friend and began walking towards the town, expecting him to follow.
And he did. The last Uchiha, dressed in his jōnin deep green vest over a long sleeved deep blue sweater, smacked Naruto upside the head.
Naruto growled and rubbed his head. That was the second assault he'd received in no more than 10 minutes! "Bastard," Naruto grumbled.
"Why did you leave the meeting?" Sasuke asked, obviously not caring for his friend's physical state, "I thought becoming Hokage was important to you."
"It is," Naruto said gruffly, still upset over the punch Tsunade gave him. He was quick to recover but it still hurt. "Those meetings are just so damn boring."
Sasuke gave a small smile- an action he had slowly begun to get used to ever since his return. "Becoming hokage isn't going to be an easy task, dobe."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Sasuke looked at his friend quizzically. "No rude remark, no senseless banter, no stupid grin? What have you done with the real Naruto?... Not that I mind but-"
Naruto playfully shoved Sasuke. "Ha, ha. Very funny."
The two remained quiet for a while as they walked by the trees.
"So where's Sakura-chan? I didn't see her today…"
Sasuke sighed. "She's sick so she spent the day at home, making me be her errand boy for the entire day-."
"And lemme guess," Naruto butted in, "She's also been bi-polar? Kind and caring the first second and then a scary beast the next? I even bet she got in a few punches, huh?"
Sasuke turned his face away. "She only landed one…"
"The ramen I'd throw away just to see Sakura-chan beat the crap out of you for being such an ass all the time!"
"Shut up."
After more walking, Sasuke departed from Naruto's side and headed home. Naruto bid his friend a farewell and continued on his trek to the probably silent town. It was almost midnight.
He was right. The town was silent. Shops had been closed, the lights in homes had been shut off and the streets were lonely.
He stopped walking in the middle of the road and looked up to the moonless sky, sighing. Was something bothering him? Sure he hadn't been as excited or perky as he usually was… maybe he was just depressed… a teensy weensy bit…
Naruto continued walking on, even after he passed by his apartment, his hands shoved into his pockets and his blond bangs covering his eyes as he continued kicking a rock. "Maybe… I'm just… lonely."
He had many friends across the entire ninja world, the villagers adored him and treated him like a prince and he really was grateful for them all… But they weren't that special someone. You know, someone you can call yours and in turn you'll only be theirs.
He was certain that absolutely everyone one of his friends had paired off with someone be it with another friend or a stranger. He was the only one left behind.
"Screw this," Naruto mumbled, "At least ramen will make me feel better."
And so he approached Ichiraku's Ramen, happy to see light coming from the windows meaning that they were still open despite the late hour. The old man and his daughter were probably waiting for his usual midnight visit to their restaurant.
Sliding the door open, Naruto entered the restaurant and sat on a stool. Teuchi and Ayame weren't at the counter like they usually were. Naruto frowned. He was just about to shout like he usually did, but then his nose picked up the extravagant smell that was… miso ramen.
He followed the smell by turning his head to the right. There was a girl sitting at the farthest end of the bar, her dark curtain of midnight-blue hair hiding her face and a bowl of untouched ramen before her. With one of her hands, her small, pale fingers were using the chopsticks to swirl the noodles around the bowl and the other hand resting in her lap, fingers clutching her fitting sky blue kimono, decorated with white flower patterns.
Why was someone at Ichiraku's this late? … Besides him of course. He had special ramen privileges. But what was more important was why she wasn't eating her ramen. Ramen wasn't meant to be stirred! Its mouthwatering noodles were meant to be slurped and the glazing soup was meant to be drunk with passion!
"Hey," his voice came out softer than he expected it to be, "Why aren't you eating your ramen?"
His voice seemed to startle the girl out of her daze. She placed strands of her waist-length midnight blue hair behind her ear and looked up to Naruto's questioning azure blue eyes. "N-Naruto-kun?" the girl whispered, sighing in relief.
"Hinata?" Naruto called, surprised. She always managed to wiggle under his sensing radar even though they'd grown closer than before after the war. She was a puzzle. "Why're you here so late?"
The said girl's face flushed a bright red. She turned her head back to her ramen bowl, hiding from his observing eyes. "Um, I wanted some ramen so I, uh, came here."
Naruto pointed to her untouched ramen. "But you haven't eaten anything."
Hinata sighed and stirred her ramen once again. "I guess I didn't want ramen... I don't really want to waste it, so would you like it?"
"Sure!" Naruto exclaimed, stretching to receive the bowl as Hinata slid it to him, "The old man isn't here anyways…" Naruto dug into the ramen, quickly blocking out the fact it was cold.
"Oh. Teuchi-san and Ayame-san went out for some supplies a few minutes ago. They said they'd be back in 10 minutes or so… Anyways, have a good night Naruto-kun."
The Hyuuga was about to leave but then Naruto called out to her. "Um, would you mind staying a bit? I don't really want to be alone…"
If only he noticed how that phrase made her heart flutter. Not in her nature to refuse, Hinata sat back down, resisting the urge to hide her face or twiddle her forefingers. Instead she forced herself to ask, "Are you ok, Naruto-kun? You seem a tad… depressed…"
Naruto stopped wolfing down the ramen and began to eat a slow pace. His eyes met her lavender pearls for a brief second before the both of them removed eye contact, both for different reasons. "I could ask you the same thing," said the blond.
"Well… I have a reason to be depressed," Hinata mumbled to herself, fidgeting with the blue butterfly barrette in her hair.
However, the innocent mumble did not go by Naruto's sharp ears. "And what's that?"
Hinata seemed surprised that he heard her. She took a deep breath and looked in another direction, as long as it wasn't his eyes. "My clan wants me to marry," she said softly.
Naruto nearly choked. "W-What?"
"They want me to marry," she said again, "It's not that bad though… They're not forcing me into a marriage with no choice… I'm just being forced to marry someone of my choice with no choice."
Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"They gave me a list," she sighed, "I have to choose someone from that list… and frankly, that list is absolutely mortifying."
"Mortifying?"
Hinata nodded. "There's a bunch of snobby sons of Daimyōs and rich families, my two teammates whom I only have family-like relations with, Neji-"
Naruto nearly sputtered his ramen all over the place. "Neji?"
"I know," Hinata moaned, "He's my cousin and he's already in a relationship with Tenten! And then the one that nearly had me in tears was when I came across Sasuke-kun's name-"
This time Naruto did sputter his ramen everywhere. "Teme! But he's with Sakura-chan!"
"And they don't care," Hinata sighed sadly, "And on the rest of the list, there are sons of the elders in my clan and other distant relatives."
"You don't love any of them, do you?"
Hinata shook her head. "The one I do love just happened to not be on the list… but I don't think I would have the courage to pick him anyways… and if I did he'd probably be oblivious about it and think I was joking..." She sighed.
"You're in love with someone? Who is it?"
Hinata blushed 10 shades of red. Her last sentence wasn't supposed to be said out loud. She twiddled her fingers and hid her face. "U-Um… well… uh… you never told me why you were mopey," Hinata quickly said, changing the subject.
Luckily, Naruto didn't seem to catch on. He finished his ramen and smiled at her. Hinata refused the urge to faint. "I was just lonely, I guess. But your company made me feel better so thanks!"
"N-No problem."
"As for the marriage thing," Naruto began, pointing his chopsticks up in the air. "You shouldn't give in to them. You should try to fight against it, you know. Or at least have them prolong it for a year or two, when you're actually ready for something like that."
Hinata smiled. "Thanks, Naruto-kun," She stood up and walked to the door, "I should be going home now. My clan won't like it if I'm out too late. H-Have a good night, Naruto-kun."
And with the small farewell, the Hyuuga heiress left the restaurant.
Naruto turned to the empty bowl of ramen. Hinata was really a sweet girl. She definitely didn't deserve to be forced into anything she didn't want.
He was about to go and look for Teuchi but his foot stumbled on something weird. He stooped down to pick up a blue butterfly barrette. "Hinata was wearing this, right?... I should go and give it to her…"
Assuring himself of his decision, Naruto darted off in the direction of the Hyuuga complex, taking the roofs to be quicker in movement. It wasn't long before he finally caught up with the girl.
Hinata's movement came to a slow stop as she stared in the direction of the bright stars. Her long hair blew in the wind as she gazed at the twinkling stars.
Naruto was about to call out to her but he didn't. He was just watching her. She looked so pretty.
"Is someone there?" Hinata asked.
Naruto would have answered her… but something told him not to or maybe… he just couldn't.
"You're not an enemy, are you? You're a friend." Naruto remained motionless as she spoke, not knowing why he did so. Hinata giggled, "Why are you here? Are you in need of something? Do you have a question to ask me? Friends should be able to talk about anything. Will you stay a coward hiding in the dark?"
Naruto remained silent. Why wasn't he saying anything? "I was once a coward… But then my favorite ninja taught me to not be afraid and to never give up," Hinata said softly. She yearned for a reply but none came. Naruto listened keenly. Maybe she would answer his question now. She seemed to avoid it back at Ichiraku's. "You follow me towards the complex but I must warn you to not go beyond there. The guards along with my father are very … over-protective."
She walked towards the complex gracefully. Naruto could only follow. His body wouldn't let him do anything else. She smiled when she realized her guest was still following her. "I like you," Hinata whispered, "You remind me of my persistent favorite ninja… Naruto." She blushed heavily when she said his name. She wasn't sure whether or not to poor her heart out to her mysterious guest but it didn't matter.
Naruto froze in shock. He was her favorite ninja? Sure he was awesome and everything but you'd think her favorite ninja would be the one she loves…
"To think he's going to be Hokage soon… fills my heart with joy," Hinata whispered. "It also saddens me that he'll probably marry a beautiful lady who cares about him almost as much as I do… But then again, if he's happy, I'm happy… but loving him all these years would have been in vain," her tone saddened.
Naruto's eyes bulged with surprise. She… loved him? All these years? Someone like her actually loved someone like him? He was the one she was talking about? He wasn't even in her league!
"I'm so selfish," she continued. "It's clear that he doesn't like me that way … but I keep on loving him and hurting myself. I guess I'll have to deal with it though and move on… and maybe the arranged marriage will help me do that… Although even I know that's impossible… I can't just switch of my emotions… even though sometimes I wish I could… It's dumb to confess to a stranger but at least I could tell one person. And there I am being selfish again. I'm using your secrecy to let out the pain in my heart without guilt… I apologize for wasting your time." Her speech ended with that very last sentence as she approached the Hyuuga complex. The guards escorted her through the gate and into the large complex.
Naruto sat atop the nearest roof to the Hyuuga complex trying to process what had just entered his mind. How did coming to give a girl her barrette back result in him receiving a love confession? And a confession from the Hyuuga heiress herself!
"Woah." Naruto whispered. There was so much running through his mind right now. He was so happy but so angry at himself. How could he not see it? Was she that good at hiding it or was he just, as she put it, oblivious?
But the most important question on his mind was only one thing… Do I love her back? Can I?
A/N: This is the rewritten version of A NaruHina Love Story: Moonlight Bliss which has unfortunately been deleted. This story is going to be much better than the first and if you've read the original version, it's nearly a guarantee that you'll like this story as there'll be new twists and turns along with many plot changes.