From Her Ashes

Chapter 3: Thanks, Ino

I've made some changes in the way the Kages are introduced, so don't skip over them :D

Jiraiya's Introduction: I've been hearing a lot of nonsense about how romance isn't important in a story like Naruto's. That's one thing I don't like about Kishimoto. All he cares about is readership so he writes flashy fights and jutsus, but neglects the all-important character development. For example, the Hinata confession, how can any writer not address this right away and expects to keep to Naruto's character? He's my godson and I know him better than anyone. He is someone who will go the distance for his friends, and if a friend (Hinata) willingly sacrificed herself to save him, the least he can do is to thank her and take her out to ramen. He certainly is not the type to place his newly appointment or this Kage Summit above the bonds he has with his friends. Another thing I don't like is writers making Naruto more mature than he is. Sure, he'll have his moments of maturity, and given his new role as Rokudaime, he should. But, in the end, he's still a 15/16-year-old baka.

XXXXXX

As night rolls into morning, Naruto is asleep in his tent on top of the Hokage Monument. Today is the day he leaves for the Kage Summit, but he still has things he wants to resolve beforehand, and none more important than addressing his fragile startup relationship with Hinata. Because it has been on his mind all night, he is dreaming about his first date he had with Hinata a few days ago, the one where they ate together at Ichiraku's:

"Oi, Naruto, or should I call you Hokage-sama now?" teased the old ramen chef.

"Urgh! Not you too!" Naruto played along. He knew the ramen chef was teasing him for fun.

Ayame called out from the back, "Is that Naruto?" She quickly ran out to greet him with her usual kind smile. "Wow! He has a cute girlfriend too!" She then teasingly pouted. "I'm offended that you didn't mention this sooner!"

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and offered his bright smile. "Actually it just happened. Hinata-chan's the reason I'm alive, and for that matter the reason we won. The least I can do is to take her out to lunch."

Hinata, who was already blushing from all the complementary cheers from the villagers as they walked here, blushed even redder from hearing their conversation. "Ano. I didn't do that much."

"Nonsense! You're the talk of the town, second to your boyfriend here," Ayame cheerfully informed. "Everyone, especially the Kunoichi, all thought that was a very brave and romantic thing to do." She smiled at Hinata and then pointed at Naruto. "If he was still clueless after your confession, me and all the kunoichi in Konoha planned to tattoo what you've said on his forehead, so that he won't forget."

Hinata smiled as she watched the three of them interact. She could tell that Teuchi and Ayame were few of the people that cared for Naruto, and Naruto, them.

It was at that moment, and much to her embarrassment, her stomach joined in.

"What do you know, another ramen lover. Looks like she's a keeper," complements the chuckling old chef as he prepared all the materials for Naruto's anticipated big order. "So, what will it be for you and your lady?"

Naruto ordered three Naruto Specials, while Hinata ordered a bowl of miso ramen. Both sat there enjoying each other's company.

Then, out of nowhere, Sakura appeared in the seat on Naruto's other side.

What! Why? She's not supposed to be here! Naruto shouts as he momentarily pauses the dream, wondering why this part is different than what really happened that day.

You really are stupid. It's your dream. Why are you asking me for? Kyuubi growls, equally peeved about the interruption. The bijuu then bares his teeth in a very unsuccessful attempt to smile. I'm curious to see where your mind is taking us. Why don't you let it run and see, huh?

In his mindscape, Naruto shrugs and unpauses the dream, equally curious.

"What are you doing here, Sakura?" Naruto asked. Her presence really soured the mood. Teuchi and Ayame looked on with guarded faces.

They knew that Naruto had the biggest childhood crush on Sakura. They had seen him ask her out and her reject him, often accompanied by verbal and physical assaults. They hadn't seen them together much after Naruto returned from his training with Jiraiya, so it seemed that Naruto had grown out of his crush, or at least didn't try to kiss the ground she walked on in front of the ramen father and daughter.

And now, they weren't sure how things were going to play out and silently asked themselves, 'Does Naruto still have feelings for Sakura?'

On the other hand, Hinata's mood seemed to be most affected by the sudden appearance of Naruto's former crush, due mostly to her insecurities. Her relationship with Naruto was still new, and she still hadn't fully accepted why Naruto would or did pick her over Sakura, who, according to Hinata, was much stronger and prettier. One minute, she was in jubilee, and the next, she felt her innards were being ripped from her.

"I've finally come to my senses. I don't want Sasuke anymore. I want you, Naruto ... -kun." Sakura answered Naruto's question. She reached out for his hands, grabbed them and playfully locked their fingers togethers as she marveled at how nicely their hands fit together.

What is she doing!? Naruto snaps at the image of himself as he watches the dream play out in front of him.

Stop interrupting the show, boy! I'm sure it'll be answered soon enough. An irritated Kyuubi wills the dream to continue.

It was a few seconds of silence - very, very brief. It shouldn't even count, but Naruto couldn't deny that he enjoyed Sakura's soft skin caressing his callous hands.

As quickly as the sensation traveled to his brain, as quickly as guilt hit his heart, he pulled his hands away. "I can't. I got Hinata-chan now." Naruto looked away to find Hinata. "Hinata-chan?"

Hinata - the docile kindred soul that couldn't hurt a fly - was shedding tears. Seeing her like this shattered Naruto's heart into pieces.

"Hinata-chan, I'm sorry." Naruto cried out to her as he tried to hold her hands and pull her into his embrace, but her image faded as soon as he touched her.

"What!? What's going on?" Naruto panicked. He turned to Teuchi and Ayame and saw their faces morphed into Neji's.

"Urgh! Neji?" Naruto was officially freaked out. What began as a nice dream turned out to be a nightmare that meshed what happened yesterday in a most surreal way.

"Naruto, do you see what you've done to Hinata-sama?" The two Nejis said with one voice as both tightened their apron strings and eased into the Jyuuken stance. "Stand and face your punishment."

Naruto looked around for Hinata, but found Sakura instead.

"Naruto-kun, you don't have to take this," his pink-haired teammate offered, "You can just come to me, and I can make all your pains go away."

"But what about Hinata-chan?" Naruto asks.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Sakura shook her head. "It's just me or her. You have to choose."

"I'm sorry, too, Sakura," Naruto lowered his head and looked away. "I've already chosen. It's Hinata."

At that very moment, everything faded. The two Nejis/Teuchi/Ayame who were in the midst of landing a Jyuuken strike against him, gone. The Ichiraku ramen stand and the bowls of delicious steamy ramen, gone. Sakura, gone.

Everything turned blank. Naruto looked around and found nothing but white emptiness. He frantically shouted into the emptiness above him with all that remained of his existence, "Hinata-chan! I don't want to lose you!"

Suddenly the person Naruto wanted to see the most materialized before him.

Naruto didn't want to take anymore chances. He quickly pulled her in and enveloped her tightly in his arms. Slowly and reluctantly, her hands found their way to his back, but once there, she returned his embrace with equal passion. They remain blissfully entwined in silence for who knew how long. Nothing more needed to be said between them.

What now?! Naruto and Kyuubi echo each other's sentiments as their shaking surrounding interrupted the dreamland.

Urgh! Whoever waking me up better have a good reason, or I'm shoving a rasengan up a new one. With that said, Naruto finds himself waking up to the morning in the most pleasant way imaginable.

"Naruto-kun," a sweet voice seductively whispers in the young man's ear, stiring him from his sleep. He's too content savoring the nocturnal bless to recognize why the voice is so familiar.

"Naruto-kun." This time a different voice, equally sweet, whispers hotly into his other ear. A satisfied smile forms on his face.

"Princess Yukie?" Naruto sleepily asks with his eyes still closed. He's getting more awake now. "Stop. It tickles."

"Naruto-kun." It's the first female this time.

"Hinata-chan?" A pause, and then a fully awake Naruto sits up, shouting the person that's been on his mind, "Hinata-chan!"

What he sees is beyond any of his expectations.

His visual sensory greets his brain with the most angelic image: Hinata sitting in front of him, completely nude. She has a rosy blush on each cheek. The rest of her flawless body is ivory white. She's leaning forward on her slender arms that meet at her hands to conveniently cover her private. Hugging her from behind is an equally nude Princess Yukie, with her chest tightly pressed against Hinata's back. Her snow white elegant arms snake around Hinata's body, and her hands barely cup Hinata's well-developed chest. Yukie's face comes around to lean into Hinata's, both smiling and winking coyly at him.

"Anything we can do for you this morning, Naruto-sama?"

That's just too much for Naruto to handle. His head leans back as jetstreams of blood shoot forth from his nostrils, lifting him up into the air and landing 5 feet away.

'Princess Yuki' and 'Hinata' both pump their fists celebratorily and dispell into a cloud of smoke. Jumping into the air above the dispersing smoke is an elated Konohamaru.

"I did it! I beat boss with his own technique! This is gotta to the most awesome Kage killer jutsu, ever!"

After recovering from a replication of his first original jutsu, the Oiroke, Naruto stands a little lightheaded from the massive nosebleed and yells at his number one fan, "What the hell was that, Konohamaru?" He then pumps his fist and says, "That was totally awesome!"

"Boss, I knew you would approve!"

Naruto meets his smiling face and turns a bit serious. "I've heard you've used the Rasengan against Pein." He walks to him and ruffles his hair. "Thanks for taking care of things while I was gone. I'll show you how to make a bigger one when I get back from the Summit."

"Thanks, Boss!"

As Naruto turns to leave, he looks back at the young boy and states, "Oh, yeah, from now on, don't call me 'Boss.' Call me 'nii-san.'"

Konohamaru widens his eyes, then softens them as his face lights up in a smile mirroring Naruto's.

XXXXXX

"What the hell was that all about?"

After Konohamaru left to train with his team and Jounin sensei, Naruto is left with the leisure and the solitude to ponder aloud his dream, or, was it a nightmare?

"In my dream, Sakura was returning my affection? Why would she do that knowing that I'm with Hinata now? ... Nah, Sakura liking me? Fat chance!"

Naruto laughs at the absurdity of the obvious. Surely there has to be another way of looking at things.

"I'll never understand women... I wish Baa-chan is awake for me to ask... She was always helpful before."

The blond jerks his head upward after coming to something equally obvious.

"That's it! I'll go see how she is doing, and if she isn't awake yet, I'll ask Shizune!"

Naruto flexes his muscles as he descends from the top the Hokage Monument to the rest of the village. Sleeping on the top of his father's sculpted head the past few days has, in some unexplained way, helped him feel closer to him. Now he understands why he gravitated toward this spot when younger.

As he observes the rebuilding work of the village and how everyone works together in unity by putting away old differences, Naruto comes to a new understanding of what the Sandaime affectionately called, "Will of Fire." Although they recently lost everything, they smile because they've found something of even greater value - each other. Many are rushing to do as much work as daylight affords them. Those that notices him walking by waves at the man largely responsible for their progress. Naruto's Kage Bunshins are crowd favorites because many hands do make the load light.

Thinking about clones, Naruto makes two hundred more, sending them to work.

The original closes his distance to Tsunade's tent.

Soon, the newly appointed Kage arrives at Tsunade's medical tent.

The tent is heavily guarded by the four ROOT-nins Kakashi that has posted around the perimeters is where Naruto finds Tsunade and her attendant. So far the ROOT agents have proved to be royal and invaluable additions to the ninja force.

Once he enters, Naruto breathes a sigh of relief not finding a certain pink-haired member of Team 7.

"Shizune! How's Tsunade-baabaa?"

"Naruto, stop calling Tsunade-sama that!" She giggles anyway, knowing this is the same old easygoing Naruto after all. She sobers when answering, "Her vitals perked up slightly after your last visit a few days ago, and we were finally successful in getting her chakra level back to her normal self." She pauses and leads Naruto to her bedside. "As you can see, her ageless jutsu has self-activated and she's back to looking younger again. But, as with any coma patient, even when she is back to perfect health, it's hard to tell when she will wake up. Unfortunately, the longer she's asleep, the less likely she'll wake up."

At first happy that she's in perfect health, but now sad that she's not waking up, Naruto's cheerful demeanor plummets. "So, it's just a sit-and-wait, huh? I hate sit-and-wait. Isn't there anything we can do to speed this up?"

Shizune shakes her head and offers, "She might be in a coma, but she still is aware of her surroundings. Until she wakes up, I'll be by her bedside keeping her company. So far, I've toldher about the goings-on in Konoha and read to her her personal journal and even some of her own medical jutsu scrolls, hoping that somethiing will bring her back from the land of unconsciousness. Beyond that, there's nothing more we can do."

"Boy, I wish Ero-sennin was still around. I bet he can think of something."

"Perhaps. They were close after all. In fact, she took his death pretty hard," Shizune states. She then opens up to a page toward the last entries in Tsunade's journal. "Look at this."

Naruto reads where Shizune's finger is pointing:

I had a bad feeling when Jiraiya-kun - "Jiraiya-kun?" Naruto repeats in surprise, to which Shizune nods. He continues reading - when Jiraiya-kun left for Ame. Like the typical him, he said something gallant and foolish when he left - about doing something important for the next generation. Yet, his confident smile made me think of Dan, and my heart skipped a beat, like the way it used to when it had remembered how to love. I wanted to grab him and give him something to remember me by... a reason to come back safely... to me.

Shizune flips a few more pages to another entry where Naruto picks up the reading:

It hurts. I knew it would the moment I opened my heart to love again. It hurts because Jiraiya-kun, the baka object of my affection, didn't even know he had me to come back to ... that I would give him a chance the next time he ask for one. It hurts when Naruto barged in today and yelled at me for not sending anyone to avenge your death. Seeing the anger and the pain in his eyes only made it hurt that much more because it was then that I realized how much I wished he had known about my feelings. Now, he would never know.

Naruto had a hard time reading the last few sentences. It was hard to see clearly when his eyelids were filled with pain and sorrow.

He raises his hand to clear the tears as he says, "I didn't know she was hurting so much. My harsh words made it worse for her that day." He hands the journal back to Shizune and sits on the bed edge as he endearingly holds Tsunade's right hand in his. "I'm sorry Baa-chan. I wish I can take back those words. Please wake up soon."

After a moment, Shizune puts a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm sure she has already forgiven you. So, what was it that you need?"

"Oh, I have something to ask you..."

After discussing his dream with Shizune, Naruto asks, "So what does it mean?"

"Sounds to me like you experienced something disturbing yesterday, at least subconsciously," the dark-haired medic explains using her professional tone, "and while you were sleeping, your mind worked out the details and communicated them through a dream."

Naruto considers what happened yesterday and relates the events to Shizune.

"So you were hugging Sakura, your old flame, in front of Hinata? and you expect her not to be jealous?" Shizune asks while shaking her head, not believing how clueless Naruto is with girls.

"Jealous? So, that's why she left after she saw me hugging Sakura?"

Shizune sighs and nods.

"So all I have to do is explain it to her and everything will be okay?" Naruto hopefully asks.

"Not only that," Shizune explains, "you'll also need to reassure her that you are over Sakura. You are over her, right?"

"Huh? Well, I still feelings for her," Naruto, seeing Shizune's angry look, holds up his hands and quickly adds, "but only as a friend. Honest. I mean during my three years training trip with Ero-Sennin, I realized that Sasuke would always be her first choice, and I didn't want to play the third wheel anymore."

"It's about time, if you ask me," Shizune concurs.

"Yeah, especially now that I know how Hinata feels about me..." Naruto relates. "I mean, I don't know her as well as I do Sakura, but I just can't ignore her feelings like that, especially since I know how painful not having your feelings returned can feel. Plus, she did risk her life for me."

Shizune's face darkens and yells at him incredulously, "So you're only going out with her because you feel sorry for her?!! and for some stupid heroics she did?!!"

"Now that you put it that way, I sound like a bad person," Naruto forces a nervous smile. He explains, "Like I said, I don't really know her that well. When we were young, I always thought her weird because she fainted too much or ran a temperature when around me. You don't really expect me to love her back without getting to know her first, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. You can't rush or force love." Shizune sees his point and agrees, even though the romantic girly-girl inside of her wants to see them fall in love, get married, make babies, and live happily-ever-after.

"Yeah, as if I don't already have enough on my plate." Naruto runs his hand through his hair, exasperated.

"You're right. As a newly-installed Hokage with an entire village to rebuild, you have quite a lot on your plate ... and in a hour, you'll be leaving for the Kage Summit in Iron Country..." Shizune rattles off some of the things off the top of her mind.

"Oh no! That doesn't give me much time to see Ino..." Naruto runs out of the tent, letting his words trail off.

"Ino?" Shizune now more worried. "Don't tell me ... he's got another girl?"

XXXXXX

"Hurry up, Kankurou!" Temari yells at her brother. Today is the day they accompany her younger brother Gaara to the Kage Summit.

"Oh, shut it, Temari!" Kankurou yells back. "I still got to prepare my puppets, which requires the utmost degree of finesse and attention to details. Go put more make-up on, or something."

Just when Temari is about to retort, Gaara says, "With the two of you bantering like this, it's no wonder I turned out the way I did before Naruto beat some sense into me. You know, I can go back to behaving like I still have Ichibi in me if you think it'll make you go faster and quieter. I won't mind. Honestly."

"..." The two older siblings look at each other and quickly decline, "No, that's quite all right, Gaara. We don't want that."

Soon, the three Sand siblings assemble in the front gate being sent off by the entire village.

Temari smiles as she looks at all those who've gathered there wishing Gaara a safe trip. It's been a few years since Gaara made his fate-changing acquaintance with Naruto that transformed Gaara into who he is today, and Gaara has never looked back. And now, to think that the whole village worry about his safety, ... that's something else, all right.

"Be careful, Gaara!" Matsuri nearly runs to him if it isn't for the big gathering.

"That's nice of you to worry about my brother, Matsuri," Temari teases with a wink, causing her to blush.

Ebizou, one of the village advisers, admonishes, "Don't joke about things like that. I'm leaving the Kazekage's protection to you."

"Don't worry," Kankurou says with a laugh, "It's not like Gaara needs a bodyguard..."

Gaara waves back at everone. "We got to get going. Thank you for coming to see us off." He then turns to his siblings. "I wonder who'll be representing Konoha?"

"Good question," his brother muses along. "They sent a messenger hawk for aid, and then sent one a few days later to cancel saying everything's okay now."

"Maybe we'll see someone we know," the fan mistress hopes.

"A certain pineapple head, perhaps?" the puppet master teases.

"You know guys," Gaara sighs, "my offer to revert back to my old self still stands."

"..."

Needless to say, the rest of the trip finds those two on their top behavior.

XXXXXX

Gathered Rock ninja bid farewell to the Tsuchikage, and ask Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi to watch after him.

"This is crazy! They still expect me at my age to travel and carry this big heavy thing?!" cries out a stumpy old man possibly in his eighties. His face is ridden with warts.

"That's right Old Man," Kurotsuchi suggests jokingly, "you should just step down and let me take over."

"Fat chance!" Tsuchikage rebukes, "You youngsters don't know anything about manners or politics. And who says I can't carry this thing by myself?"

"No one," the huge Akatsuchi smiles as he replies.

As the aged Kage tries to get under the heavy luggage, his eyes closes forcefully as he cries out in pain, "KUZO, my hips!"

Akatsuchi lifts the elder and his luggage, despite much complaints from his commander, and they set out.

One of the ninja watching their departure says, "Our Tsuchikage-sama is really old."

"Hey, I heard that, Son!" Tsuchikage shouts, "Just wait until I get back. What is your name again? My memory isn't what it used to be."

The rest of the village sweatdrops.

XXXXXX

In Mist, the gathered ninja big farewell to the Mizukage and her attendants Ao and Choujuurou.

"Take care of the Mizukage. Make sure nothing goes wrong!" One of the Jounin bids his goodbye.

"I know," Ao says, slightly exasperated by the formality of things.

Wordlessly, an old feable man hands Mizukage her hat.

"Thank you," says a stunning beauty with straight lengthy hair that stretches to her ankles. Her banes siletting her mesmerizing face sways when she turns to address the village, "I swear on my name as Mizukage, I will fulfill my duty to the best of my ability."

Another Jounin in the midst of the crowd calls out, "Choujuro, as one Seven Swordsmen, you must protect Mizukage-sama."

"I-I think I'll be fine… probably," the goggle- and earmuff-wearing young man with twin swords tied to his back responds nervously.

"Have faith in yourself, Choujuro," Mizukage assuringly soothes, "as one of the Seven, you're strong. That's why you were chosen to guard me, ok?"

"Yeah... I'll try... I'll do my best... I hope...." Choujuro stumbles more than usual under the Mizukage's enchanting smile. His blush betrays his secret crush for her.

"Whatever, you kids today… Why can't you just say 'Yes, ma'am!'? We don't need you spouting on about, 'I'll do my best!' Be a man, already, Choujuro!" Ao the other attendant lectures. He has a patch covering his left eye.

"Stop your manhood lecture," the Jounin standing next to the aged village elder shouts out. "Be on your way, already, or you'll be late."

The Mizukage silently fumes. 'Need a man? manhood? late?' Even though she's still a knock-off beauty not yet past the prime age for marriage, she doesn't appreciate being reminded of her lack of success in the romance department.

"I was just giving the kid some advice," retorts Ao, a decade or two older than Choujuro. "It's not like ..."

The female kage walks past him and whispers seductively with a smile, "Shut up! or I'll kill you."

Ao swallows the rest of his words and silently flanked his Kage, wondering what had gotten in her head of their leader.

As they travel to Iron Country, Mizukage can't help but ponder on her single status. She doesn't do this often, but with the way people constantly allude to her failure to secure a man, she is left with a heavy emptiness within her heart that needs to be explored.

'Why can't I find someone? Is there something wrong with me? or are my standards too high.' Certainly being constantly enslaved to meetings and doing the bane of all Kages' existence - mountain loads of paperwork - significantly cuts down her availabilities for a social life. Nevermind the fact that her strength and her title as village's strongest are already intimidating enough.

She adjusts her hat to shield her face from the chilling wind. Perhaps she'll meet someone who can put up with all that on this trip.

XXXXXX

In Cloud, the Raikage asks for word on the Samui team sent to Konoha. His secretary says they are on their way to meet him in Iron Country. He and his attendants Shii and Darui make ready to leave. Eager to head out, Raikage bursts through the window, shattering its glass into countless pieces.

Shi comments to Darui, "He's got to be the costliest Kage we had in this village."

Darui looks at the visage of the departing leader and says, "Got to be. No doubt."

He then walks toward the window and readies himself to follow Raikage's path of crashed windows and crumbled walls.

Shi grabs Darui's shoulder and protests, "Shouldn't we take the stairs? you know, safer and cheaper?"

Darui shakes his head and grins. "Nah, this way is much quicker and more fun. Besides the path has already been created and the damages are already on his tab to be paid. Nothing will come out of our pockets." With that said, he leaps out of the window.

"Why the hell not?" Shi looks on and shrugs. "We'll be the first group to get there for sure!"

XXXXXX

"Represent us well, Naruto-sama!" Koharu says as she places the Hokage hat embroidered with the Fire kanji on top of Naruto. The hat completes his regal look of a white robe with red flames sewn onto its fringes. It is a robe specially made for him. The Yondaime had the exact same one, but his had been buried with his body. The same village tailor who made the Yondaime's also made the one Naruto is wearing now. He could think none more appropriate than Naruto to wear this robe once again.

"I swear on the honor of the Namikaze name that I will not let Konoha down."

The village, in fact the entire village, come to see him and his two attendants off. The cheers and encouraging remarks remind him of the reception he received after he defeated Pein. Despite all that, the person he wants to see the most isn't there.

Sakura, on the other hand, is standing right in front of him.

"Naruto-kun, have a safe trip," Sakura says as she moves in to hug him.

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto holds her by her shoulders, distancing her away from an actual embrace.

Sakura looks puzzled and disappointed. 'I wonder what happened.'

'I hope Hinata doesn't misunderstand again,' Naruto says to himself as he releases his hands from Sakura's shoulders. He can sense Hinata's chakra signature in the crowd, but she's hiding from him and it's hard for him to pinpoint her exact location. He sighs. 'Hopefully Ino's suggestion works.'

Shikaku places his hands on the shoulders of one of the attendants and says, "Take care of yourself, Shika-kun."

The platinum-blonde standing next to the older Nara says to Shikamaru, "Shika! Protect Naruto at all cost."

"Troublesome woman!" The young Nara sighs. "That's not why Naruto picked me as one of his attendants."

"Troublesome this ... troublesome that ... Is that all you know how to say?!" Ino yells at her teammate. Her throbbing vein on her forehead is clearly visible.

"Looks like this whole trip will be very troublesome indeed," Shikamaru looks longingly at the clouds in the sky, wondering when the next leisurely cloud-watching moment will be.

Just when Ino is about to unleash her rage against Shikamaru, Naruto asks her, "So were you able to find it, Ino?"

"Oh," Ino says after turning her attention to the fellow blond and smiling, "I was. Don't worry. You can count on me."

"It's time for us to leave, Naruto-sama," a stoic voice says. His father is away on a mission, so he isn't there to send him off.

"Yes, you're right, Shino," Naruto replies. He gave up trying to stop Shino from using the honorifics. "Let's go!"

The crowd continues to wave at their departing hero until the trio are no longer visible. Then, one by one, they return to their rebuilding work, and soon Hinata becomes one of the only two standing there. She has her Byakugan activated.

"You know, he was looking for you to say good-bye," Ino says to her.

"I know, but I don't want to complicate things for him," Hinata replies.

"Here." Ino hands Hinata a bouquet of flowers she has been holding. "Naruto wanted to give this to you himself, but it looks like I'll be the one doing it."

Hinata carefully places the bouquet on her arms like she is holding an infant. Being a flower connoisseur herself, she can easily tell they are the rarest of the lilacs not native to Konoha. "These must have been hard to find."

"You have no idea," Ino says as she turns to leave. "Oh, Naruto wants me to tell you that he's sorry and that he's over Sakura."

Hinata looks on, surprised. She then smiles. "Thanks, Ino."

XXXXXX

A/N: I'll be taking a week off from updating. I have a ton of research to do, and I haven't even started! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoy writing it. No Readers' Corner this week. If you haven't already, you can comment about last week's topic. As for now, I need to get my brain in gear for scholastic writing. Yay, fun.

Thank you for your reviews, and please, leave me some more! :D