Author's Notes. This chapter's a little bit sad. But don't worry the story is still Naruhina, it just might take a while to get there.

Disclaimer: At the moment, I'm planning a heist to steal the rights to Naruto, but as of yet, I've got no idea how to go about it. So, I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 2

A Promise Made… and Broken

It was Kiba and Shino that took him to Hinata's bedside. As Naruto entered the tent, Kurenai looked up from where she was sitting, right next to the Hyuuga heir. Hinata's eyes were closed, sweat beaded her forehead and her breathing was heavy and laboured. Kurenai's eyes were now completely red, both the pupil and the white, evidence of her weeping. She smiled at Naruto, her eyes watery. Naruto immediately crossed the room to her side, seating himself next to Kurenai, as close as he could be to Hinata.

"How is she?" Naruto asked. Things were not looking good. Naruto cursed himself for a dozen different kinds of fools for not realizing that this would have happened earlier. Nagato's jutsu was designed to raise the dead. So, since Hinata had not been dead when the jutsu came into effect, she had remained in here mortally injured state, since she was still alive, if barely. But the way that things were going, that could soon change.

Despite Tsunade's best efforts and Katsuya's help, there were still so many wounded men and women and not nearly enough medic nin to treat them all. Almost none of the medic nin had actually died, since they had stayed as far away from the battlefield as possible, in order to be able to treat the wounded. Reaching out, he gently touched her forehead as he spoke.

"Don't worry Hinata, I'm here. I'm here for you and here I'll stay." At his touch and words, Hinata drew in a great, shuddering breath, after which her breathing seemed to get easier. Naruto removed his hand from her and she moaned almost painfully. He replaced his hand. Hinata was running a fever. This time, he was sure of it. "Why is she not being treated? Where are the medic nins?" Naruto said, his voice soft so as not to wake her.

Kurenai shook her head. "They are completely swamped. Almost ninety percent of medic nin are suffering from chakra exhaustion."

"Where's Baa-chan?" Naruto said angrily.

"In a coma," Kiba answered.

"She used far too much chakra in the battle, through Katsuya. She went above and beyond anything that has been seen of the Kages of this day. By rights, she should be dead."

"She would be if I hadn't been able to forcibly insert some chakra back into her chakra coils." A person stepped inside the tent.

"Shizune-san!" Naruto said with a sigh of relief. Hurriedly, Shizune entered the room, Sakura trailing close behind.

"Help her, please," Kurenai begged.

"No need to ask." Shizune quickly moved into the room. Sakura gave her the situation.

"Hinata-chan was stabbed by one of Pain's chakra rods, which punctured a lung and grazed her heart. I was able to repair the damage done to her heart, but that's not the worst part."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his breath tightening in his throat.

"What happened to you when Pain pinned you to the ground with those rods?" Sakura asked.

"I couldn't move. He used the chakra receivers to send his own chakra into me, paralysing me." Sakura nodded grimly.

"I thought as much. Remember Naruto, Pain wanted you alive. He wanted Hinata dead. Do you really think that that was the only type of chakra he could send into a person through those things?" Everyone in the room stiffened.

"Your words lead me to the conclusion that Pain used a harmful chakra to do further damage to Hinata's system when he first wounded her," Shino said, his words logical, but his voice raw.

Sakura nodded, sadly. "Yes and no at the same time. The chakra did as you suggested, Shino, but it is still there. Nagato injected his chakra into Hinata, it's now running through her system, flowing through her own chakra coils and slowly eating away at whatever it comes into contact with. If she had more chakra within her at the time, then she may have been able to overwhelm it, but it's acting to prevent her own chakra production and it does the damage at the same time. At the rate that she is going, Hinata will be dead in four days."

"That's not going to happen," Naruto's voice was filled with an unshakeable certainty. "Shizune-san, can you save her?"

"I'll do my best Naruto."

"No. You won't." The cold, unfeeling voice came from the tent flap, emotionless and cruel, it nevertheless was tinged with the unmistakable air of command.

"Danzo," Shizune hissed. "What do you mean, I won't?" The crippled, bandaged man stepped into the light, revealing him to be wearing a very familiar set of robes. "Simple. Konoha has suffered a mighty blow the village has been destroyed. Our enemies will soon be aware of this fact. Our defences are wiped out, and the terrain is different, which means we no longer have the home field advantage. And Tsunade-sama is out of action. How long before another village hears of this and decides that now is the perfect time to strike? The only thing we have as a deterrent for battle is the number of shinobi that we have ready to fight."

"What does this have to do with you forbidding our teammate medical care?" Kiba asked, loudly. Standing beside him, Akamaru growled.

Danzo looked at him, contempt visible in his single eye. "Numbers. Shizune has enough chakra to heal over a dozen ninja to perfect health. If she attempts to heal the Hyuuga, then she will not be able to heal another. This does not benefit the village. Make no mistake about it this is an order. Any other action will be taken treason."

Naruto wanted to howl, to rage, to rip the man in front of apart. And yet, somehow, there was something stopping him, something that seemed to be influencing him. The same thing that was influencing every person in the room to do exactly as Danzo wanted.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Shizune spat the reply out, as if she were trying to rid the taste of ashes that came with the words.

Danzo nodded his head, satisfied. "Team 8, what's left of you." Shino and Kiba tensed at his words. "You are to undertake border control. Anyone entering our borders is to be treated as a threat and eliminated. This village and its surrounding area is in lockdown. Naruto-san will accompany you to provide the power needed to take out any threats that you face."

Naruto felt the suggestion, deep within him to do what the Hokage had ordered. But to do that would mean to leave Hinata and that was something that he could not do. He had promised. "No… I won't"

Danzo and his two guards turned to face Naruto, who was still staring at Hinata. "Did you just deny the Hokage's wishes?" asked one of the guards threateningly.

"It would be wise to change your answer," the other guard said.

"No. She was the only one that was there for me when I needed help. Now, I will stay with her when she needs mine. Believe it," Naruto's tone was final and brooked no argument.

"What do you mean?"

"He means, cousin, that he disinclines to acquiesces your request, he refuses, by no means, of course not, not on your life, under no circumstances, never, no already." An angry buzzing could be heard from Shino as he spoke. The masked guard cocked his head at Shino. "I do not understand your reaction, Shino. Hokage-sama's commands are perfectly logical." Shino inclined his head, conceding the point. "That may be so, however at this point of time, logic is not the only thing that I am taking into account."

Torune shook his head. "You are allowing emotions to cloud your judgment Shino. Let them go."

"Like hell!" Kiba yelled.

"These emotions make you weak. Make you care. We are ninja, nothing more than tools, weapons serving our master."

"We are ninja, but we are also human. We are people with loved ones, with family and friends, people who are precious to us. It is those precious people who make our lives worth living and by protecting those precious people, we can become truly strong." Both Fu and Torune snorted at this. Naruto ignored them. "I said that I would stay with her and I never go back on my word."

Danzo cleared his throat and spoke once more. "Nevertheless, the fact remains that you are a ninja and as such, you will obey an order from the Hokage. Are we clear?"

Danzo stared intimidatingly at Naruto, whose blue eyes showed no tinge of fear. "Perfectly," Naruto said. He slowly took of his hiate and tossed it at Danzo. "I resign. I am no longer a ninja and as such, you cannot order me to leave her side."

Shock was evident in the stance of everyone present. "Naruto, what about your dream?" Sakura said. "You'll never be Hokage if you are no longer a ninja."

"My dream was to become Hokage so that everyone would accept me. That happened today. Besides, there are more important things. I gave my word that I would stay with Hinata-chan. I never go back on my word. That is my nindo."

"Fool," Fu said. "You can't have a nindo if you aren't a ninja."

"I've never been the type of person that you think is a ninja, but I will still live by my nindo, that is who I am."

"I will not allow it," Danzo stated. "I refuse to accept your resignation."

"The only way that you can refuse a ninja their resignation is to give them a choice between continued service and execution," Shizune said. Danzo stiffened slightly, mentally cursing the fact that this mere boy had been able to resist the subtle influence of Shisui's eye.

"Fine," Danzo said, tossing Naruto back his hiate. "Due to your service to the leaf village in defeating Pain, you are given a period of leave in order to rest and recuperate. I will find another to accompany Team 8. But know this. Until further notice, you are to be confined to the village. If you leave, you will be treated as a missing-nin." He turned to face the others. "Meet at the front gate in 3 hours." After speaking, he swept out of the room.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama. But why did you not just lock the insolent whelp in prison for a few weeks for refusing your orders?" Fu asked. Danzo walked a little further, his cane thumping on the ground every second step.

"Popularity," Danzo spat the words out with contempt. "Despite everything that I have done for this village, I am still relatively unknown. Naruto is the village hero at the moment. In truth, he has more support than I do at the moment. Would you believe that the young fool was actually nominated as Hokage? If I took any action against him now, almost the entire village would be up in protest. No… we watch, we wait, we bide our time. Besides, this is probably for the best. With more members of the Akatsuki still hunting him and that ridiculous ambition of his to go out and find Sasuke Uchiha, this is probably for the best. The Kyuubi will remain in the village, as a ninja, but only half a ninja. Naruto Uzumaki will one day wish to be a full ninja once more. When that day comes, I will seize the chance to make him the ultimate weapon. My ultimate weapon."

Naruto stroked Hinata's hand, relieved beyond measure that he still had the comforting weight of his hiate on his forehead. "I'm sorry Naruto," Shizune said, placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder before leaving tent. "It's not your fault," Naruto said quietly. As Shizune left the tent, Naruto turned his gaze to his best friend and crush. "Sakura… is their anything that you can do?" Kiba turned his hopeful eyes towards her, Shino as well. "Alright," she sighed. "But don't get your hopes up. I'm almost tapped out of chakra and something of this scale should be attempted by Tsunade-sama, not me."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, hope in his voice once more. "You're just as good as Baa-chan. Just do your best."

Sakura looked towards the ground, eyes downcast. "I'm not you know. Tsunade-sama is still much better than me when it comes to medical jutsu. But I am one of the best," she said hurriedly as Naruto's face fell. "Don't worry Naruto, she'll be fine. That's my promise of a lifetime. I'll get started right away. I just need you to go and get me some of my special soldier pills." After waiting just long enough to hear her directions, Naruto dashed off to find her those pills as Sakura cracked her neck and got to work. He felt so relieved, full of confidence in his friend.

Five days later saw Naruto weaving towards the Hokage faces, drunker than Tsunade had ever been. Naruto's confidence… had been misplaced. Despite all their efforts, all the hard work and time that had been poured into the cause, Sakura had failed on her promise of a lifetime.

Those first three days, had probably been the worst days of Naruto's life. He had never left her side, staying in her room during both day and night. His mind had been churning the whole time, never able to rest. He had not slept, he had not eaten, even when Sai had come and offered him some Ichiraku ramen. He had stayed seated, still as a statue as he had watched Hinata get weaker and weaker, hoping against hope that she would wake, that Sakura would be able to make some progress. Hoping for a miracle.

The miracle never came. The best that Sakura had been able to do was make sure that Hinata was conscious to say her… goodbyes. Tears ran down Naruto's face as he recalled her final moments. Hinata had died surrounded by her friends. Her father had broken down before her, apologizing over and over again for how he had treated her throughout her life. Hinata had forgiven him. With a small smile on her face, she told him that it was alright, that it didn't matter because no matter what had happened, she had still loved him. Hiashi had started weeping silent tears as he stared down at the young women on the bed.

"So much like your mother," he had whispered. Hinata had a few kind words to say to everyone, the Rookies, her cousin and his team, Kurenai and her sister Hanabi. She made Hanabi swear to her that when she became clan head, she would outlaw the Cage Bird Seal. And then, finally, it had been his turn to… to say goodbye. "You were the first one Hinata-chan. The first one to ever say that you loved me," Naruto whispered to the night sky. How Naruto wished that he'd been able to tell her that to her face. He had been the last one. The last one to speak to her before she slipped away. He had had so much to say, but in the end, he had not been able to say more than three words.

Flashback

Naruto came to Hinata's bedside and stared wordlessly at Hinata's face. So pale, that face. He had never seen it that pale. Always when he saw it, it had been red and flushed. Reaching out his hand, he gently stroked her cheek, laying the palm of his hand against the side of her face. Though incredibly weak, Hinata still had the strength to place her hand on top of his own. Ah, there it was, a little of the colour that so often graced her cheeks, but none of the usual heat. She was cold, so very cold.

All of the words that usually came so easily to him simply died in his throat, replaced by a lump that threatened to choke him. Neither of them spoke, instead, they just stared into each other's eyes, lost in the moment, lost in what might have been. And then, the moment was over as Hinata's breaths started to come in gasps and she closed her eyes. "Hinata," Naruto had choked out. She opened her eyes once more and squeezed his hand softly. "Goodbye Naruto-kun. I t-tru-ly did lo-, l-lo," she struggled so hard to get the words out, fighting not shyness, but the cold embrace of death. "I… l-lo-loved… you." A smile graced her beautiful features. Odd, Naruto had never thought of her as beautiful before. Now, as she smiled at her success, staring at him with all the truth and love that filled her lavender eyes, with his hand touching her face, he realized that in all his life he had never seen anything so lovely. Nor would he again. "Hinata-hime," he said, his voice cracking in the middle of the words. Her smile had widened as she stared at him, her breast rising and falling as she breathed in and out. Rising and falling, rising and falling, rising and falling, ris-…

Tears started slipping soundlessly down Naruto's face as he watched the light slowly leave her eyes. Hinata Hyuuga gave one final, soft sigh as she slipped away from this world, from his world. But her hand never lost its grip on Naruto's. With the tears still running down his face, Naruto leaned forward and gathered her up to his chest, before he kissed her gently on the forehead.

Trembling, he reached forward with the hand that was not clutched in hers and gently closed her eyes, hiding those lavender, pearl like orbs. Tilting his head back, Naruto roared to the heavens, his grief made known to the entire village as his voice rose to the sky. His grief at losing one who had been precious to him. Perhaps more precious than he had ever known.

Flashback end

Naruto was crying once more as he cast his mind back to that day. He could hear the whispers of those around him. Not whispers of hate, not anymore. They were worried about him. Kakashi, Sakura, Shizune, the Konohamaru Corps and even Iruka had tried to comfort him. He would not be comforted. It was his fault, all his fault that Hinata was dead.

"Old man Hokage… dead, Sasuke deserted me for power, Jiraiya… dead. Baa-chan's in a coma, Shizune says that there's a strong chance that she'll never come out of it. And now Hinata," he choked, the words dying in his throat.

He looked up once more to see all the anxious faces of both the villagers and the shinobi looking at him. Faces that just a few short years ago, scratch that, a few short months ago had been filled with hate. He laughed bitterly, not caring that his emotions were for once available for all to see.

"Funny isn't it," he muttered under his breath. "Used to be that all I ever wanted was to be accepted. Now I've achieved everything I have ever dreamed of. And I can't help but wish that things were back the way they were."

Author's Notes. Second Chapter already, I'm on a roll. Anyway, read and review and if any of you felt a little bit emotional while reading I'd appreciate it if you would tell me.