Sorry about not warning you beforehand about the cussing in the last chapter.
This is the last part of chapter one and there is a fair amount that will happen in these last six hours of this day. I hope you will enjoy.
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A few moments of waiting passed while he caught his breath and there was a light knock at the door. He opened it to reveal Hinata in her customary outfit her dark capris disappearing beneath the oversized jacket she always wore. "Hey there," he said enthusiastically sweeping her inside and giving her a great hug which lifted her feet off the floor as he kicked the door closed. He wanted to hold on to her and never let go. She wished she could return the embrace, but he had trapped her arms at her side. "It is good to see you too, Naruto-kun." She squeaked out as her lungs were being compressed.
Naruto immediately loosened his grip and set her back on the floor, but he hooked his arms around her neck burying his face in her shoulder. "Is there something wrong, Naru-kun?" She asked as she snaked her arms around him and wondered where this display of emotion was coming from. The blonde retreated a little and looked into her eyes, "Just making up for lost time." He whispered as he brushed a streak of long black hair from her face. She smiled at him knowing what he meant.
He felt something other than a pair of hands at his back and looked down over his shoulder to get a look at it. It looked like a present, but Hinata realized what he was looking at and what he was likely to do and jumped back as Naruto made a grab for the metallic green wrapped box. Naruto leaned forward to get a closer look, "What do we have here?" But Hinata immediately shifted it behind her back, "You'll have to wait to find out," She said teasingly.
Naruto turned away in a huff, crossing his arms over his chest and declaring rather loudly, "No fair!" Hinata giggled at his antics and stood on her toes so that she could give him a peck on the cheek, "Will that do for now?" Naruto opened his eyes and grinned slyly at her. "I suppose, but you'll have to take that jacket off." Hinata blushed furiously, "Naruto-kun!" The blonde liked seeing her figure and wasn't shy about that fact, but she didn't like to show even that much of herself to anyone but him. "O-okay, but I'm putting it back on once the others show up," She conceded as she went to his room where she left her jacket on his bed. Naruto called down the hall to her, "I know it's cool outside, but it's warm in here, I don't think that it would be too comfortable wearing that thing."
When she returned she was wearing a V-neck tee that clung to her body quite nicely. When Naruto saw he let out a low approving whistle and resolved that he needed to hide her jacket. Hinata, meanwhile, blushed lightly as she went into the kitchen. "Naruto-kun we need to get ready for the party," She called to her boyfriend who was savoring the image that was before him. Shaking his head, he managed to gain full control of himself and moved to help her; he was the one hosting the party after all.
They got large bowls out for the different chips and managed to find plates of varying sizes to hold the other snacks. Naruto had bought disposable cups and plates as he didn't have enough for thirteen people; he'd never really needed to until now. He had also gotten sodas for the party, which were already in the fridge, but he put a metal teapot on the stove, ready to boil once everyone arrived, in case they'd rather have tea.
There was thirty minutes of free time before everyone would show up so Naruto decided to freshen up. He took a shower while Hinata turned on the television to pass the time. When Naruto got out of the shower he went straight to his room, but when he opened the bathroom door Hinata looked up in time to see him clad only in a towel, which he held up as he walked down the hall to his room. She blushed at seeing so much of her boyfriend, though if she wanted to she could see even more, but merely resolved to herself that her decision was right.
She was building up the courage she would need later while Naruto got dressed and was so focused on that that Naruto easily snuck up behind her and threw his arms around her, startling the Hyuuga. She immediately recognized his familiar scent as she had noted it when they were close together, which was quite often, and relaxed in his embrace. "What were you thinking about, koibito?" Hinata blushed fit to put a sunset to shame. "N-nothing," She stuttered, making Naruto look at her in surprise, she almost never stuttered anymore so something was up, but he let it go as he sat down next to her to watch the news. He had missed the weather, but there were a few things of interest going on in the rest of the country. (1)
It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door and Naruto went to answer it while Hinata bolted for his bedroom. At the entrance to his apartment were his two teammates Sakura and Sasuke, both carrying presents for their friend, though Sasuke's wasn't really wrapped merely a lidded cardboard box held closed by string, while Sakura's was flamboyantly decorated, so much so it was hard to look directly at. "Hey guys, come on in," he looked at the Med Nin, "I'm surprised that you didn't just walk on in without bothering to knock like usual Sakura." Sakura narrowed her eyes, "What are you trying to say? I could take my present back home, I'm sure I could find someone who wants it." Naruto waved his hands to ward off her glare and her doubts. "Nothing," He said with a chuckle.
The former Team Seven heard some noise coming from Naruto's room and a frantic voice repeating, "Where is it?" over and over. Naruto grinned deviously to himself, "You guys make yourselves comfortable," and without further word, he jogged to his bedroom. When he got there he found his formerly neat and tidy room was now a mess of clothes tossed every which way. Hinata was looking through his closet at the time, and Naruto watched her make a further mess as he leaned on the door jamb. He was just glad she hadn't turned over his chest of drawers. He cleared his throat drawing her attention to him. "Where did you put it?"
Naruto feigned ignorance, "Put what?" Hinata went up to him pleading, "My jacket!" Naruto went with the truth, though it really wasn't as big a deal as he let on, "Oh that, I saw a stain on it and put it in the wash." Sure enough Hinata heard the washing machine running, and looked quite dejected. "Come on, it's a party you should be happy and having a good time. Let's go back to the living room. Sakura and Sasuke are here but you are better at hosting parties than I am." He said drawing her to him and out into the hall away from her near discovery, Hinata sighed. The blond squeezed her closer to him and whispered in her ear, "You are beautiful; you shouldn't be ashamed of how you look." She smiled up at him in appreciation of his words and they entered the living room and an awkward silence.
Sasuke and Sakura were sitting next to each other looking a little uncomfortable, Naruto noticed, and he went to the stereo to put some music on to lighten the tense atmosphere. "Hey guys, help yourselves to the food. By the way, I bought two movies; the choice is action or horror, you decide before the time comes what you want to watch." Sasuke saw Hinata head to the kitchen to prepare some tea and his eyes widened and jaw dropped a little in surprise. Sakura, completely oblivious to Sasuke's reaction to the Hyuuga, decided to get some snacks and tea; though they were friends and teammates, Sasuke wasn't much of a conversationalist.
Sasuke caught Naruto's gaze with his own and gave the blonde a sly smirk, "When it rains it pours, eh Naruto?" He asked, indicating Hinata and her well proportioned self; Naruto laughed bitterly not realizing what he was talking about. "You said it." His eyes were unfocused as he thought about all that had occurred this day, and all that had yet to occur. His dark haired friend raised an eyebrow at that sentence, "What is on your mind?" Naruto found himself in a bind trying to come up with a convincing lie on the fly, "Ano." There was a knock at the door and Naruto immediately went to answer it. (2)
"Coming," he yelled. 'You saved me whoever you are!' He thought as he opened the door revealing Shino and Kiba, one smiling, the other impassive as ever, and the ever faithful Akamaru was squatting on the ground between them panting with his tongue hanging out to the left. "Hey Naruto, don't listen to Shino when he tries to explain why we're late, it's a pack of lies," Kiba whispered conspiratorially to the blonde, Shino merely raised an eyebrow indicating that he had probably heard the exchange. "Nah, you guys aren't late. Come on in," Naruto said smiling, he attempted to close the door, but a foot barred the way. "You're just going to shut the door in our faces? How rude," He recognized Ino's loud voice and reopened the door, to reveal Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru and Temari. "Oh hey guys, I didn't know you were there, come in and make yourselves comfortable like you always do," he turned to Chouji, "I bought extra chips, so have at, Chouji."
The large man's eyes lit up with pleasure, "Thanks, Naruto!" He immediately went to the kitchen to acquire a bowl of chips all for himself. Naruto noticed he was carrying two packages, one significantly larger than the other. Shikamaru Temari sat down close together on one of the couches; they were already married for a year now. Naruto had been one of Shikamaru's groomsmen along with Kiba; Chouji naturally had been his best man. For now they just seemed to be getting the hang of living together, so there weren't any plans for a child as of yet. When asked about it, Shikamaru replied that just the thought of a child was troublesome, but then his eyes would become unfocused and a small smile would appear on his lips, so perhaps he just made a show, though he truly wanted children.
Ino sat next to Sakura and started a conversation with her and Hinata about their work at the hospital; Kiba and Chouji talked animatedly to Shikamaru who was listening to them and the whispers that Temari was placing in his ears; Shino and Sasuke seemed to be having a silence contest amidst all the chatter and background music.
Naruto was about to close the door again, when he heard someone running and then those footsteps disappearing as probably the same someone shouted, "Dynamic Entry!" and opened the door all the way and stepping to the side to allow a green blur to fly through the doorway. Lee seemed to have been trying to kick his door down. "You know, Lee, if you had broken my door you would have had to pay for it," Naruto said shaking his head with a bemused smile. "Well you know him, he's even more excitable than you," Tenten said as she stepped through the portal leading Neji by the hand. Neji nodded to Naruto with the barest hint of a smile, but a frown soon replaced it when he saw what Hinata was wearing. Naruto followed his gaze and sighed, as he saw Kiba wipe a trickle of blood from his nose, knowing the cause.
He decided that his joke had run its course and closed the door before walking up behind Hinata to whisper in her ear, "Maybe you should put one of my shirts on over that." Hinata looked at him with sincere gratitude, she hadn't thought of asking to do that, and went to his room to do as he suggested. Naruto meanwhile, went to get something to eat and sat down and watched his friends enjoy themselves. Hinata returned and sat in a chair next to him and Naruto knew he should make an announcement now that everyone was here. "Well everyone, you have a choice between a horror and action movie which will begin at 8:00 so let's vote, all for action?" He asked holding up the two DVD's. Most of the guys held up their hands, Chouji didn't but he may not have heard. Naruto like Shikamaru was going with what his significant other would choose.
"You couldn't have chosen something else, Naruto?" Sakura and Ino asked simultaneously. Naruto narrowed his eyes at them, "It's my birthday so the choice was mine to make. I chose to give you an option, now, all for horror?" Naruto asked, noting the hands that went up. Despite the number of guys being larger than girls, the vote swung in favor of horror so Naruto popped the DVD into the player. He turned around and found Sakura standing before him, "Go sit down Naruto, we have to get some things taken care of before the movie starts." He did as directed as she and Ino went to the kitchen, sitting at the end of the coffee table, he wondered what was up as he waited for something to happen.
The room went dark and from the kitchen approached Sakura and Ino bearing a cake with nineteen lit candles. Naruto let out an embarrassed laugh, "You guys didn't need to do all this," he said trying to dismiss the feelings welling up inside him. Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck, "We did this because we wanted to and because we know that you never had a birthday cake before." Naruto's eyes shone with such happiness and such unequivocal joy so much so that it masked the intense sadness that threatened to crush him then and there if the love and friendship he felt around him wasn't staving it off. He was a storm of conflicting emotions, but he only let the positive show.
"Alright Naruto-kun, make a wish," Hinata ordered warmly. 'Make a wish? Why bother? It won't come true.' Naruto thought as he stared at the brightly lit cake. He knew what he wished would happen, but also knew that he was the one who would have to make it happen. Then it occurred to him, something else he wanted that had a chance of happening. He inhaled sharply and blew out the candles, mentally wishing that all his precious people would be happy for the rest of their lives. The group of friends gave a small cheer before light was restored. "What did you wish for?" Hinata asked him. "It won't come true if I say," He teased, "Now, let's have some cake." Soon everyone was eating a piece of the delicious dessert.
Soon after Naruto had finished his piece Lee presented him with a large box, which landed heavily on his lap. "Geez, Lee, what is in here," Naruto asked with a groan. He knew before he even took the lid off that Lee had given him training weights, but he waited until he saw the several hundred pounds worth of weight to thank the taijutsu virtuoso. Lee struck the 'nice guy' pose saying, "You can never have enough weights." Naruto gave the box back so it could be set aside and rubbed his legs to get the feeling back in them. Tenten and Neji produced a much smaller and lighter gift, thankfully, which he opened to reveal a shiny new kunai. "You can never have enough weapons," Tenten said smiling at him. 'Always practical gifts from those two,' He thought as he tested its keen edge. "Thanks guys," he said setting the blade on the coffee table.
Next he was given two books, both of which he knew he would use, and a third he might just burn. Chouji had given him with a cookbook with a large section devoted to ramen, and he thanked the Akimichi heartily. Ino cheerfully presented him with a book on plant care, since his home was littered with plants that he delighted in taking care of. The third was a gift from both Shino and Kiba something they had compiled themselves, a "Survival Guide for Dummies." Naruto had a vein throbbing in his forehead, while everyone laughed, but realized that Shino had helped, so it wasn't a complete joke. Naruto joined in the laughter while punching Kiba in the arm, knowing who had come up with the title.
Then Shikamaru and Temari gave him a box which contained a shogi set. "I guess we'll have to play sometime, huh?" Naruto asked looking at the new husband, who merely shrugged in response. Temari however nudged the Nara hard in the ribs, "Of course you will. Come over sometime and get him to stop watching those clouds he's so fond of and do something more than just lie around and breathe. It seems the only time he really does anything is on missions and at night." Shikamaru blushed at his wife's words and muttered something under his breath while rolling his eyes. But Temari heard and rounded on him, "What was that?"
Sakura came up next with a small box that contained a med kit so he wouldn't be completely helpless if he was injured on a mission. Naruto noted darkly to himself that the present wouldn't get much use considering his regenerating abilities, but it touched him that she cared enough to put the gift together. Sasuke provided a wooden box with a number of scrolls inside. He inspected one to see it had a number of jutsus on it that he had yet to see, and suspected that Sasuke had developed them. He smiled at his best friend and rival, even if Sasuke did want to beat him, he wanted it to be as fair as possible. He thanked his two teammates before he turned to his girlfriend.
Hinata smiled at him and went to retrieve her gift, which she had left in the kitchen. She handed it to him as she sat next to him once again, "Happy Birthday, Naruto." He removed its careful wrapping and found a brown leather wallet with a green frog patch attached to its side. "This is Gama-Chan's replacement," Hinata said as Naruto took out his old money purse, "He's falling apart." There were stitches where the frog had busted at his seams and a few patches covering his body in different shades of green. Naruto solemnly transferred the money from the old to the new finally putting his ID in a spot designed specifically for that purpose. He held the now deflated frog and wondered what he should do with it now, perhaps a small ceremony where the frog would be burned to ash.
He thanked everyone again for their gifts and gave Hinata a swift peck on the cheek, causing her to flush with embarrassment from their audience. Getting up he pushed play on the DVD player and turned on the television before sitting down again in one of the couches, which had been rearranged to give everyone a better view, and drawing Hinata near and she leaned into him for the comfort of having him so close. The movie started off like nearly all horrors did, with calm normalcy, which quickly turned into chaotic terror. The girls got quite into it, while the guys watched with emotions ranging between boredom and indifference to suspenseful trepidation. Naruto on the other hand concentrated on enjoying his time with Hinata; he knew that soon enough he might never see her again.
Occasionally during the movie Hinata would bury her face in his chest out of fear for the characters in the movie and Naruto would tighten his hold on her. He saw Sakura was nestled up to Sasuke who was enjoying himself immensely, and Ino was looking quite jealous. When it ended everyone had differing opinions on the plot, characters, and presentation, most however were not too happy with it. But that may be because, as ninja, they see a lot of things that would cause normal people to lose bowel control. Naruto thought maybe he should have gotten a comedy, as they decided that mind numbing violence wouldn't have been much better, but he really wasn't in the mood to laugh.
He turned to the clock on the wall and noted that it was nearly ten at night, "Alright guys, it is time for you to go." Kiba looked at him surprised, "I thought you'd want this to go on until at least midnight. I mean, you're the party animal amongst us." Akamaru barked his agreement with his master. 'I don't think I could take two more hours of this,' he thought. "No, because I want to spend some time alone with Hinata as it is our anniversary," He said to get them moving. Kiba nudged him playfully in the ribs, "I see what you're getting at." He said low enough that Hinata did not hear, but Naruto's blush gave away the topic of their discussion. Everyone helped clean up and he thanked them all again for coming and for their presents, he even gave Chouji the rest of the chips as thanks.
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Naruto stood in his doorway until the last of his friends disappeared from sight before closing the door and turning to his girlfriend. "Now it is time for your anniversary gift," he declared as he went to his room to retrieve it. 'Soon it will be time for yours as well,' Hinata thought, remembering her course and hoping she'd have the courage to see it through without fainting. Naruto returned holding the present behind his back and he told her to close her eyes, she complied readily.
Naruto opened the box and went behind Hinata, who was seated on the couch, and put it in front of her his arms encircling her body. "Open your eyes," He ordered softly. Hinata did and was enthralled by the sight before her. A silver necklace with a circular pendant that had a masterful spiral engraving was lying on a bed of midnight blue velvet. She touched it lightly as though afraid to tarnish it and marveled at the engraving. 'Was this done by hand? It seems impossible,' Hinata's stunned reaction and ensuing silence had Naruto worried. "Umm, do you like it?" He asked. "Oh, yes! I love it Naru-kun!" She exclaimed, "Would you put it on for me?" She removed her silky ebon hair from her neck as he deftly placed his gift to her around her neck. She looked down at it as it sparkled from its position between her breasts. Naruto hopped over the back of the couch so he could see it properly.
It looked as though it belonged there, as it truly did, but he noticed that Hinata was trembling. "What is wrong, Hinata?" She looked up with him, her eyes filled with love for the man who firmly held her heart. Suddenly she jumped on top of him and held him in a breathtakingly deep, passionate kiss. Hinata felt drunk on the emotions running through her, which she thought a good thing for what she was about to do. In Naruto's mind he was thinking, 'I think she likes it. Well, Hinata, I'm glad I could make you happy one last time. I hope you will one day forgive me for what I'm about to do to you.'
Naruto continued to kiss Hinata, wanting this moment to last forever as his hands traced paths up and down her sides. He noticed that she was blushing while they kissed, which wasn't unlikely due to their compromising position, with her straddling his pelvis. The odd thing about her blush was that it was steadily getting worse as he noticed her hands began to travel south. As soon as they reached his waist and began to tug on his belt he grabbed her wrists and broke the kiss, "What are you doing, Hinata-chan?" If possible she became even redder as she was caught in the act, but she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "I want to share everything I am with you Naru-kun." She attempted to lift his shirt but was stopped again by his hands firmly grasping her wrists.
Hinata looked in his eyes with profound hurt behind her own, but she noticed, and was surprised to find, an identical emotion reflected in his eyes. "Hina-chan, don't do that," Naruto said breaking away from her gaze. She was stunned; he had often mentioned that she had a "killer bod" and that he wanted to know how it felt giving her a sly wink, which invariably made her blush. So, why now, did he refuse her? She began to sob as she jumped off of him and ran towards the door. Before she had gotten even halfway she ran into something she recognized as Naruto's chest, she attempted to go around him, but he hugged her tightly to him. "Why are you crying, Hina-chan?" he asked burying his face in her shoulder.
"You won't make love to me," she sobbed into his chest as she struggled against his embrace, "How do I know that you love me at all?" Hinata continued to fight to get free until she noticed moisture on her shoulder. 'Is Naruto crying?' "You should know, because of the fact that I won't," he said softly, sadly. "You are more precious to me than life itself. I don't want a mistake to ruin what we have." Hinata stopped struggling completely and wrapped her arms around her love, "It wouldn't be a mistake, not if we love each other." Naruto numbly shook his head, "If people found out, they'd say horrible things about you, and I won't let that happen."
Hinata began crying again, but not from sadness. Naruto would do anything to make sure she was happy, even if it was to hold off on something he clearly wanted. That he wanted it was an understatement, it was his innermost desire to share all the love that he had to give with her, but the situation wouldn't allow for it. He then made a request of her, "Will you sing for me, for my anniversary present, Hinata-chan?" She barely heard the whisper, but silently nodded as she chose a song to sing. She went with a lullaby that her mother had sung to her when she was little, and one that she had sung to Naruto sometimes to help him get to sleep, he loved this song. At first she was a little hoarse from her bout of crying, but soon her sweet, melodic voice filled Naruto's ear with soothing music. They stood in the middle of the apartment, holding one another, as the song quieted the turmoil in both their hearts.
As the final lingering notes echoed within the apartment, Naruto backed away enough to take Hinata's beautiful face in his hands and kiss her softly; this was his way of saying thank you. "I think it is time I took you home," he whispered as he went to the closet that held the washing machine and the clothes dryer. Luckily, he had put her jacket in the dryer before the movie started so it was free of moisture and still had some warmth lingering within it. He helped put the jacket on her before slipping his own on and opening the door for his girlfriend. They walked hand in hand in the nearly deserted streets of Konoha, towards the Hyuuga compound; both didn't really want to get there as it would mean they would have to part.
'So it would seem the rumors are true,' thought a dark shadow that had been keeping an eye on the couple before they had even left the apartment. She had been surprised at Hinata's forwardness, and had wondered if she should step in to prevent something from happening, but quickly ruled that out as this was a discreet mission. For some reason she felt proud that Naruto had acted like a gentleman and refused the Hyuuga's offer. 'Maybe he would make a good Hokage. He seems like a nice guy and there's no doubting his strength.' The ANBU member continued to stealthily tail the couple, more specifically the blonde.
Naruto put his arm around Hinata's waist just to be closer to her; they were nearing her home but he had noticed that they were being followed. The person was doing well to hide his chakra signature but he hadn't done anything to conceal his scent. He felt a little uncomfortable having an unknown audience, but as he and Hinata stopped before the gates to her home he forgot about it as he gave her what he knew to be their last kiss. It lasted for several sweet moments, and he breathed in her essence, savoring everything he could about his love. His heart ached as they broke apart and wished each other goodnight, "Sweet dreams, Hinata-chan." She went through the gate and turned around to give him a comforting smile. Naruto burned the image of her at that moment into his memory. That is how he would remember her, he resolved as she closed the gate and he began the long walk home.
As he had suspected, the shadow kept following him, 'I bet Tsunade got suspicious after my reaction to her news,' He growled at the unpleasant thoughts that sprang up from remembering her words, 'I can't say I blame her. I simply was not prepared for it.' He was getting closer to home when he began to think about how to deal with his watcher. It would be simpler to kill him and destroy the remains; but, as it was likely a Leaf Nin keeping tabs on him, that wasn't an option. However, he needed to keep him quiet for as long as possible so he could get away with his plan. Naruto remembered that the apartment next to his was vacant; he could hide this person there after he knocked them out. Naruto reached his apartment and took out his keys.
The ANBU member watched from a roof across the way as Naruto entered his apartment, she faintly heard the door close but the lights did not come on. She began to wonder what was up when she felt a light breeze, but she paid it no attention and kept her gaze on the dark apartment. Naruto, however, was standing behind her considering how he would incapacitate her. It would have to be quick, otherwise she might retreat and raise hell, and he would never get away with what he was planning. But he also didn't want to hurt her; she was a fellow Leaf ninja. 'You are lucky you are an ally,' he thought as he struck her where her neck met her right shoulder with the edge of his left hand. She slumped to the roof with a muffled grunt while Naruto stood impassively over her. He picked up the now limp ANBU and carried her over to his apartment complex. Picking the lock, he entered the bare apartment with his cargo; he put her in a closet before heading to his apartment.
Naruto had to make sure that woman stayed asleep for a good while and he had a certain herb growing in his room that, when ground up and added to water, would keep a person unconscious for at least a day if not more. He took a mortar and pestle from a cupboard to grind up the herb he had collected from his window side garden, and began to think about the time he had tested it out. After drinking the horrible concoction he didn't feel anything immediately, but shortly he began to feel woozy. He had attempted to make it to a couch at least, before he lost consciousness, but failed and ended up on the floor of his apartment where a worried Hinata had woke him up the next day. He hadn't thought about using it again until tonight.
Naruto added the crushed leaves to a cup of water and stirred the mixture with a finger as he went next door to his patient. He had to force feed the woman as she was still out, making her swallow by holding her nose closed. Naruto closed the door of the closet whispering, "I don't envy the headache you'll have when you wake up." He quickly left the apartment closing the door behind him and locking it again before heading to his own.
There he began to collect the presents his friends had given him and took them to his room. He spread out a large blank scroll and began to write seals onto it before locking the items away until he called for them again. This way he wouldn't be weighed down, most notably by Lee's weights, also it saved room in his backpack for his clothes. He began to stuff his pack with clothes which he rolled up tightly to save room alongside some blank scrolls. He eventually ran out of room and had a few shirts and shorts left over. He put those into his chest of drawers out of an unconscious need to leave the room the way Hinata had helped make it, before trashing it in a frantic search for her jacket. He put the pack on his back and went to his nightstand and unlocked the little drawer and pulled it open. He reached inside to pull out eleven envelopes each with a name upon it, only one remained unsealed.
Naruto went to his living room and looked around to make sure he hadn't missed anything; next he walked to the kitchen and placed the eleven notes on the counter, which could be viewed from the living room. He picked up the one addressed to Hinata as though wondering if what he had written would be enough. With a sigh of uncertainty he took out his keychain and removed the key to his apartment, which he put into the enveloped he held and prepared to seal it with a reluctant lick. But he paused and took out his wallet, which held several photographs of him and Hinata together. He looked over each one with a fond smile as he remembered when and where they were taken. He chose the one that Hinata had declared her favorite, one of him pushing her on the swing out in front of the academy both having the time of their lives, and wrote a message on the back before slipping it into the envelope.
Naruto sealed the envelope, finally satisfied with his words and placed it on the counter next to the others. He walked to the door and paused for the second time that day, hesitant about his choice. He forgot to suppress the fox's chakra as he argued with himself and was soon gasping from the pain. Could he never let up? Would he have to remain awake, suppressing the demon chakra until he blacked out from exhaustion? In the pain he found the arguments for going through with his plan had far more weight than those for staying. He now held no doubts as he strode through the doorway, closing it quietly behind him.
Naruto ran, he ran down the darkened streets of Konoha, keeping silent, keeping to the shadows and soon he was at the walls surrounding his home village. He stopped in a dark alley to watch the guards patrol the wall top. He studied their movements noting how long he would have when they turned around to patrol back the way they had come. He saw his opportunity arrive and he disappeared as he used all the speed he could muster to get up the wall and over it and into the forest before they turned again. He stopped again in the branches of a tree and studied the wall top again to judge if they had detected him. The guards did not look anxious nor had they raised the alarm, he was free and now his last mission could begin.
He looked to the distant Hokage mountain and whispered, "Goodbye Tsunade no baa-chan." He looked around the townscape and whispered, "Goodbye Konoha." He looked specifically at the Hyuuga mansion and whispered, "Goodbye, Hinata," before summoning two shadow clones and sending them off in differing directions to hide his true path from those who might follow. He began loping off east through the tree tops, guided by the stars that shone brightly in the sky above. 'Goodbye.'
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(1) Koibito: Japanese for "sweetheart" or "lover." In this case it is the former.
(2) Ano: This is how the Japanese stall for time as they think about what they need to say. At least I think it is. It seems to fit with what Hinata has said as she has summoned up the courage to speak to Naruto in the anime. Also I think I remember hearing my Japanese professor, Kumiko-sensei, mention something about it as well.
Well all of you had been wondering what he was going to do and now you have your answer. I have been posting these chapters daily, but you should know that I do not write several thousand words worth of this story per day. Sometimes I'm lucky to get a hundred. Then again sometimes my muse sings sweetly into my ear and I get a lot written. That said I have to type up chapter two and then edit it before I present it to you, my lovely readers.By the way, I am looking for someone to beta for me. I may be a little picky because I do not have the luxury of knowing who you are. Those who offer should have something I can reference in order to determine your skill level. As always reviews are appreciated.
