A\N: Well here it is, the last chapter of my first real story. Sorry I didn't update last week or last night(I went and saw the fourth Indiana Jones movie which I totally recommend). Anyways, I hope everyone likes this last chapter! Read on!

…………

There was really only one road out of the village of Konoha. Dusty, long, winding, altogether not a too happy road. Ninjas only traveled on that road if they had a mission. Naruto had been on it before but none of those times were pleasant.

One time he went to bring back Sasuke, and failed. The other time was when he left with Jiraiya for two years. Not the most fun experiences.

But now it was Hinata.

Naruto ran as fast as his legs could carry him. All he focused on was the next step he had to make. Time was quickly slipping away and Nanaka village was still far from sight.

He just didn't understand. How could she even consider giving into her father's demands? He dreaded thinking about the man she was marrying. Who knew what he was like?

He could be a jerk or really lame or worse, he could be…old…eww. Naruto quickened his pace at that thought.

Hinata was a very complex person, no less of a mystery to Naruto. But even he thought that Hinata would turn down the idea of marriage at her age. He figured all girls thought about it from time to time. What kind of man they would marry, their dream wedding, children, growing old together, and all that romantic stuff. But she was sixteen, didn't she want to live life a little?

What if I'm not there in time? What is she's married by the time I get there? Aww stop it Naruto, stop thinking that way, he thought as he pounded his fist to his head.

Failing this mission was not an option for Naruto. It was all the more worse when a friend was in trouble.

He tried to come up with a plan. This wasn't going to be as simple as throwing a kunai and shurikens at a few people. It was going to require a bit more diplomacy.

While seriously considering busting down the front door, Naruto felt a drop of water on his cheek. He was so busy focusing on the ground, he didn't notice the cloudy sky. A few more drops of rain clinked off Naruto's headband.

"Well it's just a little rain," But of course, just to his luck, it starting pouring a few seconds after his statement.

"Aww great!" Naruto tried to pull his collar over his head but it didn't give him much protection. He threw his hands into the air. "Come on, I'm having it hard enough!" he shouted to whatever deity ninjas turn to when they pray.

Naruto kept running, trying not to slip. His mind was racing as fast as his legs.

It never ceased to amaze him how his life had turned out. Ten years ago he never would have pictured this. He had people to turn to, friends, mentors. He still had painful memories of the jeers and the taunts he had received. But it seemed so long ago.

They had considered him a monster and it wasn't hard to figure out why. But Hinata didn't, despite a whole village full of people telling her to.

Most of the people he had come to know used to be the ones who taunted him. They were painfully associated with the place he called home. But his true friends never cursed him for being alive, they accepted him as one of their own.

Hinata likes you, the words still danced blissfully around in his head. Maybe Sakura was on to something. The blushes, the fainting, the shyness. It made a little more sense now.

Naruto had never been extremely conscious of Hinata. He made sure to talk to her, tell her that her techniques were looking good, and ask her how she was doing. They shared a bowl of ramen maybe once or twice.

Why didn't I notice, he thought desperately. I mean, Sakura knew. Although she is a girl. They know that stuff right? But, Neji didn't seem surprised. Geez I'm stupid!

He couldn't help but wondering, what would have happened if he knew? Would he share the same feelings? Would they talk about it? Would they date, fall in love…

Naruto was definitely angry when he heard the news. The injustice of it all, it was just like a movie. The cruel tyrant forces the obedient peasant to do his bidding just so she could be out of his hair. But it also struck a cord a little deeper in his heart.

Hinata worked so hard to be a ninja. She continued to push herself even when people told her she was weak. She reminded him of himself sometimes. No one thought she would amount to anything, not even her family. But she had come so far.

If Sakura hadn't told him, there was a chance that Naruto never would have known about the feelings Hinata had for him.

Is that why he was so angry when he found out? The chance to be with someone, slipping away? Naruto had wondered to himself many times if he would ever find someone. He wasn't exactly too popular with the ladies.

But someone did like him, someone of the female population too.

"Please don't let it be to late," he begged silently. His heart was pumping wildly now, his feet just as fast. He never noticed her feelings before. To him, it didn't seem like a possibility.

…………

She had to admit it was a lovely wedding. There were flowers everywhere. Various nobles from all over the Fire nation were there to attend. There were all kinds of elaborate food and classical musicians. The women were wearing their best clothes and they had managed to convince their husbands to wear theirs too.

But the groom was not her first choice.

Hinata sat in the back room of the mansion belonging to her fiancé. His parents ruled over the village of Nanaka. The lord and lady were very excited about their only son getting married. Too bad the same couldn't be said about the bride.

She was wearing a silken kimono embroidered with bright red and orange flowers and cranes. She was flipping her bracelet around her wrist when her sister came in.

"Hello Hinata," Hanabi said quietly as she entered the room. Hinata nodded, not taking her eyes off of her bracelet. Hanabi handed Hinata a bouquet with flowers identical to the ones on her kimono. Hinata didn't bother to look at them. "Are you nervous?"

Hinata wasn't sure how to answer that. Of course she was a little nervous, she was the focus of hundreds of people today. But she was more angry than anything.

Hinata glanced sadly at her sister. She was only eleven, she had her whole life ahead of her. And she had a future as a ninja.

"I am a little nervous Hanabi, thank you for being concerned," Hinata barely whispered. She slid the door to the room open. "But I'm sure you must be pleased."

"What do you mean?" Hanabi replied innocently.

"You'll be an heir after today," Hinata said coldly. "I won't be a member of this family. And you'll be on your way to being a ninja."

"That's not-" but she never finished. Hinata closed the door.

…………

She said that she was more angry than nervous, but now she wasn't so sure.

Two ladies, whom Hinata did not know, came in and dolled Hinata up with all so sorts of makeup and sprayed her with perfume. They twirled her hair up and stuck jeweled hair pins into her head. They tied the sash on her kimono extra tight and put a veil over her face. As soon they finished beautifying, Hinata was rushed out to the main hall where the ceremony was to take place.

Hundreds of eyes turned critically towards Hinata as she walked towards the front of the room. The mouths under those eyes had a lot to say.

"What a lovely girl, but I bet my niece would look even lovelier," one woman whispered to another.

"You'd think she would be looking much happier."

"She looks like she's about to cry."

"I heard she was a ninja."

"I can't believe the Hyuga clan would give up their heir."

The whispering was hardly whispering. Hinata could hear each and every cutting word as she made her way towards her groom.

It was actually the first time she had seen him. His name was Tomi. He worked under his father in the village. His face certainly wasn't ugly but he wasn't exactly handsome either. He gave her a quick smile but the rest of his face was completely devoid of emotion.

A sad comparison to Naruto's face, the confident mind of Hinata thought slyly.

She and Tomi stood before a low table and a priest. In the land of ninjas, there were several different types of wedding customs to bind a man and woman, but the one that was most prevalent was the tea ceremony.

The bride and groom would listen to a few lines from a priest about the journey they were about to take as one and then they would each drink a cup of tea as the final step to become man and wife.

Hinata and Tomi were kneeling down next to the little table when a clap of thunder rang in the distance. A few of the guests turned to an opening from the hall into a courtyard where rain had started to fall.

How ironic, Hinata thought sadly.

"Ahem," the priest muttered. Hinata and Tomi turned back to the priest who was at the moment pulling out a long scroll.

The priest started to read aloud from the scroll. He was almost inaudible, all he did was mumble. Hinata didn't pay much attention and from the look of Tomi's bored face, he didn't either.

The worst decision of your life, and then you're stuck listening to some old guy.

Not now.

Listen to him. He's going on about love and commitment and look at who you're marrying, a stranger. You think your new husband is gonna care about any of that?

Hinata eyes flickered towards Tomi and his miserable face. He did seem un-concerned, un-caring, even though his life was about to change forever.

Was he kind, gentle? Was he nice to women? He didn't have much of a choice about the marriage either, but was he regretting it as much as she was?

Maybe he has a Naruto out there somewhere, a girl Naruto hopefully.

That doesn't matter now.

Yes it does. You can get out of it. You haven't drunk the tea yet.

I will in a few more minutes.

You really want to go down like this? You're giving up your life for this guy who's never done anything for you. Wouldn't you rather die on a battlefield or on a mission with just a little sense of honor and dignity?

I'd rather not die at all.

This is pathetic. You can't just admit, even to yourself, that you do have a choice. Just stop this.

Why fight now? It doesn't matter, Naruto still has no idea how I feel.

That made the pain even worse. She would have liked to have told him, at some point.

You still have time! It's not like you're doing anything important. Ditch the wedding and go talk to him!

And what do I do if he doesn't feel the same way?

But what if he does? It's a fifty fifty chance. You'll never know, you don't want to take that to the grave.

"And now the tea ceremony." Hinata was so in tune with her struggling thoughts, she didn't notice the Priest was ready for the final step of the wedding. "Would the bride and groom take their cups."

The tea smelled delicious, warm steam was rising. Hinata and Tomi picked up the cups carefully.

"Once you drink this tea, your lives will be intertwined forever." The priest gestured to the two of them to drink.

Tomi raised the cups to his lips. He closed his eyes as he swallowed the tea. Hinata just stared into the swirling liquid. Her reflection surprised her. Her eyes were red and full to the brim with tears.

Naruto can go on with his life. He'll be a great ninja, maybe even hokage someday.

While Tomi's eyes were still closed, a tiny drop of water fell from Hinata's eyes into the cup.

She put her bottom lip next to the cup, ready to drink. She could almost taste it.

Hinata…Hinata.

It was funny, she thought she could hear Naruto's voice. It sounded just like him, but it was almost like it coming from her head. She just ignored it.

Hinata!

The voice was even louder that time. It was calling out to her. Hinata looked around the room, Tomi eyed her strangely. Hinata didn't see Naruto anywhere.

"Hinata!" A couple of people in the hall turned around. The yelling was coming from the courtyard. There was no mistaking Naruto's voice. Hinata put the cup back on the table. She got up and rushed over to the courtyard. Hiashi noticed and he rose up after her.

"What's going on?" someone asked.

"Hinata what are you doing?!" Hiashi asked, furiously. He marched angrily toward her. "You can't just stop the ceremony." But Hinata didn't listen, she raced out into the courtyard. It was a little hard for her to run with her long kimono billowing behind her.

"Hinata where are you!?" Naruto's voice was getting closer and closer.

"Naruto! I'm here!" she screamed out. The courtyard was huge and covered by all kinds of flowers and bushes. She could run around in there forever and probably wouldn't find him.

Hiashi and Tomi's parents came rushing into the courtyard right after her, the rain still pouring down. But much to their surprise, and Hinata's, the voice came stumbling out of a bush.

Naruto had managed to find the mansion after he asked a local farmer if he knew where a wedding might be. He told them there was a fancy wedding going on in the house up the next hill. When he came to the mansion, the servants in charge of the house wouldn't let him in because he wasn't an invited guest. So naturally, Naruto improvised.

He made a break for the house through the courtyard. He hoped his shouts would be noticed by Hinata, wherever she was. But it also attracted a few angry servants. Much to Naruto's luck, he was chased right into who he was looking for.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing onto Hinata's shoulders. "Thank goodness I found you."

"What is going on out here?!" Hiashi exclaimed. Before the butterflies in Hinata's stomach could allow her to answer, two servants grabbed Naruto by the back of shirt and pulled him away.

"No don't hurt him!" Hinata begged, growing a little red in the face at seeing Naruto again.

"Get this hooligan out of my home," Tomi's father commanded the two servants. Naruto struggled even more at that.

"Listen Hinata, I'm sorry I didn't get her sooner."

"Wait a second, I know him, you know him," Hinata said turning to her father. "Please just leave him alone."

"Hiashi, what is the meaning of this?" Tomi's mother asked Hiashi. "You promised us a wedding. Now let's not have any more distractions. Come on now Hinata, my son is waiting in there."

"Please Hinata listen to me! Don't do this," Naruto begged her. The servants were strong, too strong to fight without hurting them. Tsunade wouldn't appreciate Naruto getting in a fight outside of a mission.

"Hinata, I suggest you get in there and marry Tomi!" Her father shouted at her.

"Hey leave her alone!" Naruto shouted just as loud.

"Get out! Get him out now!" Tomi's father yelled to the servants.

"Look Hinata, you don't have to do this. You've made it this far, don't quit now."

"Hinata, get in there!" her father screamed.

"Throw that kid out!"

"Hinata, I know. I know how you feel. Neji and Sakura, they told me everything!"

"STOP!" She couldn't take it any more. The yelling, the orders, the shouts.

Why don't they just shut u-...wait what did Naruto say?

"Naruto, what-what are you talking about?"

"They told me Hinata. Your feelings you know, for me," Naruto replied, blushing furiously.

"What is he saying?" Hiashi demanded. "Hinata what are you?" Naruto pushed his way out of the guard's grasp and took Hinata's hands.

"It's ok now. Don't throw your heart away, please. Not for this."

"Hinata, stop! Stop this right now!"

She smiled at him and squeezed his hands tight.

"I know your father's had control of you your whole life, but now it's time to stop."

"Hinata listen to me!"

"It doesn't have to end this way," Naruto said, squeezing her hands back. "I care too much about you."

"Hinata!"

This was so much better than any of her dreams. Naruto just grinned at her, both of their faces were as red as roses.

"You wanna go?" Naruto asked gently.

"Yes. Let's go."

"Hinata! Hinata wait!"

Ninjas are so lucky. They can just disappear in a flash.

……….

It was hard to run through the rain, but even harder with a heavy kimono on.

Hinata had already gotten all the hairpins out and her hair unwoven, but she was having a little trouble with the sash.

"Here, I'll do it," Naruto said, although he had little idea how to untie a kimono sash.

"Thank you," Hinata replied, trying not to faint at the thought of Naruto's hands behind her.

They had stopped by an old broken down shed with an otherwise lovely window. They went inside to hide until the rain stopped. Hinata was at loss at what to say.

"W-why did you come?" Naruto's hands froze. He finished getting the sash undone and Hinata slipped the kimono off. All she was wearing was an undershirt and a pair of black pants.

"I wanted to stop you of course," Naruto said taking off his shirt, to let it dry of course. Hinata put her kimono on the ground, and Naruto followed suit with his shirt.

Hinata's eyes tried to stay away, but they were magnetized to his bare chest. Naruto couldn't help but think of how beautiful she looked, even with her makeup running down her face.

"What exactly did Sakura and Neji tell you?"

"Well," Naruto inched up to Hinata and reached out to take her hands. "They said that, you loved me."

Hinata's eyes went from his abs to his eyes in less than a second. It felt like her face was about to burn up in a flame.

"I just don't get it though. Why didn't you tell me?" Hinata lowered her head.

"I never thought that anyone, especially you would love me back."

"That's weird," Naruto said taking her hands into his, "I always felt that too."

She sighed quietly. Oh how she wished that moment had come long before. The two of them, letting all of their feelings out. She leaned in closer to Naruto, his hands were so warm. Naruto started to lean in as well. Their lips were as close to each other as Hinata's had been to that tea cup. She closed her eyes, she could feel his breath on her face.

Anything could happen once they left that shed, love, a relationship. There was always that possibility.

A\N: That's why I support Naruhina, there's always a chance that she will tell him and there's always a chance that he will accept. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorited this story. I've been having a really stressful past two weeks. It was finals time and all the last minute projects we had to do before took them(as if finals weren't stressful enough). If you leave a review, I hope it'll be a nice one and if you don't like the story, that's fine but the last thing I need right now is a flame or a put down on Naruhina.

Thanks again to all the readers out there :)