Mizu: Not much happens in this chapter. It is really meant to be a filler chapter as well as introducing something that I'm trying out. In this chapter, it's Konohamaru's perspective over Hinata's death instead of the overview from an author's point of view as well as Naruto's own memories of it. Sorry if it seems repetitive, but as I was writing this originally, it just flowed so easily. Whenever I would reread through what I had, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I dead, the ending would have been SOOOO different!
Chapter Four: Healing
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"Naru-oji~!" Mikoto called out about a week later as she tackled him to the ground with a hug.
"Oof!" Naruto sounded as he collided with the ground, "M-Mikoto-chan?"
"Well this is new Nii-san," an adult Konohamaru snickered, "I thought the Uchiha hated you."
"I could never hate my Oji-chan~!" Mikoto beamed.
"Ch-Chan?" Naruto blinked, "…somehow, that reminds me how I gave everyone inappropriate and sometimes insulting nicknames…"
"Naru-oji! I need some help!" Mikoto whined.
"Help with what?" Naruto asked as he managed to get back onto his feet.
"Daiki just got his sharingan," Mikoto said, pouting a little.
"Really?" Konohamaru blinked before whistling a bit, "He hasn't even graduated right?"
"Right…" Mikoto whimpered.
"That is extremely odd to activate the sharigan before becoming a ninja…" Naruto thought aloud, "Definitely will have to keep an eye on him…"
"Why?" Mikoto blinked.
Naruto sighed, "Because every time one of your family activates their kekkei genkei so young, for some reason it leads to something troublesome happening."
"Oh…"
"But never mind that. What did you need help with?" Naruto asked, smiling once more as he ushered the girl down the street with them.
"Right! I was hoping that you could train me and get my sharingan to activate," Mikoto stated.
Naruto stopped walking and just stared at the girl, "What?"
"I haven't been able to activate my eyes yet and I'm afraid that I may never," Mikoto explained.
Naruto sighed while Konohamaru chuckled humorlessly, "Heh. It seems that that bastard never thought that it could happen to one of his own…"
"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked.
"Mikoto-chan…Just because you are an Uchiha does not mean that you will get the Sharigan," Naruto said causing Mikoto's face to pale, "In all actuality only about maybe 35% to 40% of your family ever did…That's why your family was so large back before the massacre…"
"S-So I might never get it?" Mikoto whimpered.
"…it…it is a possibility," Naruto nodded slowly, "But you are still young. Most that did activate their eyes didn't do so until their late teens."
"I…see…" Mikoto said sadly.
Naruto smiled sadly at the girl before putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her one of his signature foxy grins, "But, if you'd like, I'll still help train you and see what I can do to get those stubborn eyes to reveal themselves."
"Thank you oji-chan…" Mikoto smiled softly.
"Now why don't you run off and enjoy some downtime with your teammates. I'm sure Shikamaru would like it if you all visited him in the hospital," Naruto snickered, thinking how the lazy shadow wielder had literally screamed like a little girl when he saw the murderous rage in Temari's brothers' eyes.
"Right," Mikoto nodded before running off.
"With her joining all of us, you'll have at least one student from each of the main clans now," Konohamaru stated offhand.
"Yeah but I literally went to their parents and their clan heads when I took them on to train to make sure that no one would have any objections," Naruto said, once again starting to walk down the street, "I can't do that here…Sasuke won't allow it and if he finds out that she's training under me, he won't stay quiet…"
"I don't see why you don't just throw them in jail…" Konohamaru grumbled, "Sure those two are strong but no matter what mission they go on, you always get a complaint about them from their teams…"
"Sakura is the third best medic in all of Konoha, just behind Shizune nee-san and baa-san. No matter what, we have to do whatever we can to keep her loyal. You don't really want another Kabuto out there, do you?" Naruto stated, "As for Sasuke, he may be a total ass but he is a strong ass. Not even you can deny that. There are a lot of up and coming smaller villages that want to try their luck with the five hidden villages. Having as many strong shinobi as we do is a natural deterrent for this kind of behavior because if they do try anything against our forces, they risk losing everything in the blink of an eye."
"I know that…I just don't like it," Konohamaru huffed. He had never liked the red-eyed prick since even before he left the village the first time. He despised the man ever since his Naruto nii-san started coming home with battle wounds thanks to that damn promise. But he didn't start to hate the man until he saw his nii-san lose the one bit of happiness that he finally had managed to latch onto. Before that day, while he did not like the Uchiha, he still respected his strength and Naruto's brotherly bond with him. He never said anything bad about him and tried his best to be friendly so not to upset Naruto. That all changed the day they returned with the destroyed Uzumaki family.
He, like almost every other available ninja in the village, had been rushing around Hi no Kuni the entire time the family had been missing. To him, this was more than a mission. It was going to be a massacre. Nobody messed with his nii-san and if they were lucky enough to escape Naruto's wrath, they wouldn't escape him. On the day that Hinata died, Konohamaru was racing through the trees alone. The rest of his team had to return to the village in exhaustion, no longer able to fight off enemies should they run into any. Moegi and Udon had begged Konohamaru to come with them but he refused. He wasn't going to stop until somebody found his nii-san's family. So alone he sped through the trees, popping a soldier pill into his mouth ever few hours to keep going.
He was on his last pill when he spotted a messenger hawk flying towards him. Jumping up to intercept it, he quickly pulled out the message attached to its leg. He was breathing heavy, hands shaking as he opened it. He knew it was his own village's hawk and if it was flying out in this area that must have meant that it was sent to find him and all others nearby to tell them to return to the village because someone had found the Uzumaki's. Filled with relief, he read the message.
Return immediately…
Such a short message but Konohamaru didn't think anything of it. Smiling, he popped his last pill and raced back to the village. He was exhausted and normally shouldn't have been able to even move but he didn't care. His nii-san was going to be back soon and he wanted to be there to welcome him back with a bright smile and tell him that Hinata had a hell of a time without him. If he knew what would happen the next day, maybe he wouldn't have been so happy…
Konohamaru arrived late that evening and literally collapsed into Moegi and Udon's arms. Just before he passed out, he made them promise that they would wake him up the second they heard that the Uzumaki's were in sight of the gates. They just smiled slightly at their friend and agreed. With a relieved smile etched onto his face, the grandson of the third Hokage finally allowed himself to fall unconscious from exhaustion.
True to their word, his two friends forced him to wake the next day the second they heard that the retrieval group was about at the gates. Not even stopping to change out of his dirty clothing, Konohamaru raced to the entrance to the village. With many others, he anxiously awaited the arrival of his adopted family. There was an air of excitement and joy around everyone who stood in front of the gates. It filled Konohamaru with pride. It was all for his dear nii-san. Everyone loved the blonde and they were all looking forward to him running down the streets after his child in a couple of years. They had all forgotten about how he was the Kyuubi's host. It no longer mattered. He was simply Uzumaki Naruto, husband of the Uzumaki Hinata, formerly Hyuuga Hinata, and the future Hokage.
That excitement soon turned to horror though when they finally were able to see the figures in the distance clearly. Screams began to ring out as they entered the gates as they saw the state of the Uzumaki family. Konohamaru paled to the point that he rivaled even Sai in color. Then Konohamaru noticed it. Tsunade herself was carrying the injured and unconscious body of Naruto. Hiashi carried his daughter's so carefully as if he was terrified that the slightest bump would because her to shatter into a million pieces. Neiji held in his arms the precious bundle of joy that they were all so looking forward to meeting. Only one of the Uzumaki's still breathed. Only one had survived…
"H-Hokage-sama!" Konohamaru had cried out, "P-Please…P-please say it isn't true…N-not to n-nii-san."
Tsunade just hung her head and continued through the village towards the hospital while the rest of the ninja that had arrived with her turned and headed to the morgue. Tears ran down his cheeks as he himself collapsed to the ground. Why? Why did it have to happen to nii-san? Naruto deserved to be happy. He deserved so much more than he would ever get in this village... So why nii-san? Why couldn't he just that one thing? Why did he have to suffer so much…?
Konohamaru never left Naruto's side the entire week that he was unconscious. He refused to. When the blonde's old teammates walked in, he noticed how both looked sad but Sasuke looked tired more than anything. Like he hadn't slept in days, which, he had thought, wouldn't have been all that surprising. After them came both Neiji and Hiashi with pained expressions. He had learned from Hanabi, when they were together in the academy, that Hiashi had been extremely strict with her older sister almost to the point that he broke her. But after she had made chunin, he suddenly started to act like the father he should have been. No one knew why but they didn't really care. His feelings and new, kinder, actions were genuine so why look a gift horse in the mouth. Though, Konohamaru had a good idea that Naruto was somehow involved in changing the man. He didn't know how he would have been but he was sure that he just was.
The two Hyuuga looked so grim as they stared at their blonde relative. Sorrow and pain swirled in their mighty eyes but so did anger. For a while, Konohamaru wondered what could have caused that kind of anger but shrugged it off. They were probably pissed at whoever it was that stole Hinata from them all. Heck, he knew he was. It wasn't until Hinata's old team came in before the Hyuuga left that he finally realized who they directed their anger at. Every single one of them felt the same pain but their rage was clear on their faces.
"…Do you think that Naruto will rip that bastard apart once he wakes up?" Kiba growled as he stared at the blonde.
"I hope so," Kurenai spat out, venom stinging all that heard, "I don't care what the council says. After what he did, he deserves it."
"Who?" Konohamaru asked, confused.
"Uchiha," Shino growled, shocking the youngest in the room. He had never heard an Aburame express such emotion.
"What about him?" Konohamaru questioned.
"He's the reason that Hinata's gone," Neiji managed to get out, voice laced with anger, as his hands clenched and unclenched, "He's the one that killed her…"
"WHAT!?" Konohamaru shouted, "Why would he-"
"Because he's an arrogant bastard that wouldn't listen to Naruto's orders and tried to take on the enemy despite them basically holding all of us captive!" Kiba snarled, "If he had just listened and stood down, Hinata might have survived…If he had only done that…maybe Naruto wouldn't have had to watch his kid be killed in front of him…"
"…wh-what happened?" Konohamaru asked weakly.
"We found Hinata…" Neiji said, voice almost dead as his face darkened, "Naruto ordered Lee and Gai-sensei to make sure there were no others hidden ready to jump us. Kiba, Uchiha, and I were to go where Hinata was and rescue her while Naruto distracted all the enemies. Uchiha didn't do this. He began to fight some of the enemies instead of coming with us to serve as back-up…"
Neiji paused to take a shuttering breath, "When we arrived at Hinata's side, she was already in labor with all of her chakra sealed off. Neither of us were sure what to do when we were caught by surprise, one that wouldn't have happened if the bastard had come with us…Then, the man who had knocked us out delivered Hinata's child before leaving with it to threaten Naruto with. This allowed Naruto to be beaten within an inch of his life, despite having the Kyuubi on his side…That's when the man demanded him to stop Uchiha, who was still fighting…Naruto begged him to stop, to just stop so that he could save his son…Kiba and I had awoken during this and were staring at the scene. I-I've never heard him sound so scared…s-so weak and powerless…"
"What happened next?" Konohamaru asked, not actually wanting to know.
Neiji's eyes narrowed into a death glare as he looked out the window, "Uchiha didn't stop. Instead, he turned and attacked the leader that held Naruto's son…The man made good on his word and right before Naruto…h-he killed his son right before him then tossed his corpse down in front of him." Neiji paused, closing his eyes as he tried to fight off tears, "Th-The pain and horror that filled his eyes as he watched was something I had never seen before…nor do I ever want to see again…"
"Wh-What about Hinata?" Konohamaru whispered.
"Uchiha was the first to snap out of the shock that filled us all," Kiba said, continuing for Neiji, "He attacked the man again with his Chidori…the man just smirked at him before substituting himself with Hinata…"
"N-no way…" Konohamaru gasped, "S-Sasuke killed H-Hinata…?"
Kiba just nodded, growling again, "Yes and the bastard didn't even try to catch her as she fell to the ground. Naruto managed to pull her into his arms, probably no longer caring if someone attacked him…He held her as she died, kid. He was so drained and weak that he could barely manage to make the clone that brought their dead child over and laid him in her arms. He had to watch him her slip away…I don't think there was a single heart among us, excluding Uchiha's, that didn't shatter when we heard him scream to the heavens…"
"D-Did he lose himself to his pain?" Konohamaru asked.
"If you're asking, did he become a mindless killing machine controlled by the Kyuubi's chakra then no," Tsunade's voice sounded from the doorway where she and Shizune stood, "But he did lose himself to it…I never thought I'd ever see the day when something would come along and break the kid…Jiraiya would have murdered Sasuke on the spot…"
"The only reason why we didn't was because Naruto would never have forgiven us…" Neiji growled before it died down as his expression soften as he turned his attention back to the unconscious blonde, "I can't get these questions out of my mind, Hokage-sama…I keep asking myself why I didn't strike Uchiha down where he stood as soon as we finished killing our enemies. Why didn't I take revenge on him for killing my cousin? It would have been so simple. He was weak and a simple juken strike to his heart would have ended it all…so why couldn't I do it? If not for me, if not for Hinata, then why not for Naruto? He didn't deserve his happiness to be ripped away like this…"
"Would you have been able to live with Naruto never forgiving you for doing so?" Tsunade questioned.
"Yes," Neiji said without hesitation, "I could because then he wouldn't have to face his wife's killer every single day."
Tsunade just smiled at the Hyuuga, "Glad that we both agree…"
"…I also keep asking myself one other thing…" Neiji whispered, "I keep asking myself if it is really fair to Naruto to…to let him live on in such pain…I keep asking why we saved him. When he awakens, his entire world will be shattered. His world, the very one that he fought and nearly died for on many occasion, will be damaged to the point that he might completely break. What favor would we be doing him then? Wouldn't it be better to have him pass on now and rejoin his family than to allow him to wake and live in agony for the rest of his days?"
Silence filled the room after that. They all had to agree that they all thought along the same lines as Neiji. While some were closer to Naruto than others, they all knew what the blonde's life had been, and without Hinata, he would probably fall back into the darkness that threatened to consume him all those years ago. Could they really live with themselves for letting that to happen to him?
"What's going to happen to Sasuke now?" Konohamaru asked, voice dropping, "We can't just let him get away with it."
"He won't," Hiashi finally spoke up, unshed tears shining in his eyes, "I swear by it…"
With that, the Hyuuga clan leader strode out of the room soon followed by everyone else minus Tsunade and Konohamaru.
"As much as I would love to have Sasuke executed for this, the council won't stand for it. No matter the offence, such a punishment of a clan head must be approved by the entire council otherwise it doesn't go through…" Tsunade sighed as she walked up beside Naruto, "I just wish that this world would let you be…Haven't you suffered enough?"
Konohamaru said nothing, mind on other things. If the council didn't pass judgment on Sasuke, he and everyone else that loved Naruto would most likely ban together and seek it themselves. He was just like Neiji. If it meant allowing his nii-san a little peace of mind in never having to seeing his love's murderer then so be it. He would survive if his brother never forgave him.
Despite the fact that all of the ninja in the council wanted nothing more than to throw Sasuke into prison for his actions or even executed, the rest of the council wouldn't hear of it and they were soon locked in a stalemate. The only thing that stopped it was when word reached them that Naruto had awoken. It was Konohamaru himself who had been there when the blonde rejoined the living. What he saw almost made him wish that he hadn't been.
His brother's once powerful, bright with life sapphire blue eyes were dull and as cold as ice. He didn't even look at Konohamaru. He simply opened his eyes, looked around and seemed to realize that it all hadn't been just a dream. Tears flowed out of those dead eyes before he closed them out as if to shut out reality. Pitiful, heartbreaking sobs sounded from the man whom he had always idolized. Konohamaru couldn't take seeing him as such a state. He raced out of the hospital and literally kicked down the door to the council meeting. He had tears in his own eyes as he ran up and started pulling on Tsunade's arm.
"N-Nii-san woke up and is breaking! Y-You have to do something!" Konohamaru pleaded. He didn't care what she did if it helped nii-san. He no longer cared about getting revenge on the Uchiha. His brother was more important.
Konohamaru shook thoughts of the past out of his mind as he and Naruto reached the Hokage's tower. They had both agreed that should anything ever happen to Naruto, Konohamaru would be his unofficial successor. Naruto had already prepared and had a scroll that said so sealed to the desk in his office that only he or Konohamaru could retrieve. It was because of this agreement that kept Konohamaru attached to his hip for most days. He shadowed him under the guise of trying to learn more about the job. They both knew it was truly to keep an eye on Naruto's wellbeing but neither spoke of it.
Konohamaru refused to actively pursue the title of Hokage and take it away from Naruto. He knew that that was the only thing that sometimes kept his nii-san going. As soon as he was no longer Hokage, everyone knew that Naruto would soon pass on. That idea scared many people. It terrified Konohamaru. He didn't want to lose his nii-san. But, just the same…he often wondered how much longer he would allow him to live in pain before he himself cracked and finally allowed him relieve…
"Wrong," Naruto sighed for the hundredth time as he watched Mikoto fail once again at a fire technique he had selected just for her.
"Then show me how to do it!" Mikoto snapped, stomping her feet.
"Then how would you learn?" Naruto questioned, raising an eyebrow, "Even if I showed you a hundred times, it won't help you. I can't make you feel what you need to perform this jutsu. Figure it out yourself."
"That's no help!" Mikoto whined, "Can't you at least telling me what I'm doing wrong?"
"If you can't figure that out, then you won't move on," Naruto shook his head.
"Why are you being so mean!?" Mikoto snapped.
Another one of Naruto's pupils, a Hyuuga older than her by just a couple of months, that was closely related to both Neiji and Hinata named Tatsuha laughed as he entered the training field, "Naruto-sensei isn't being mean. This is just how he teaches us jutsu. To be completely honest, it is an extremely productive way to do so."
"How is not telling me how to do a jutsu productive!" Mikoto snapped.
"Because it doesn't force one to think like their sensei on how something should be," Tatsuha said, "This way, we discover our own way how to do things. It comes in handy when you advance enough that sensei allows you to start creating your own jutsu. You should truly know how your chakra works by then if nobody tells you how it should feel."
"I'll get to create my own jutsu~?" Mikoto asked excited.
"Only when I deem you to be ready," Naruto nodded, "And that won't be until you master the jutsu I pick out for you and most of your family's jutsu."
"Alright~!" Mikoto cheered before getting back to work on the fire jutsu.
"She's not at all like her parents now is she?" Tatsuha asked as he came to stand by Naruto, "If anything, I would think she was your child…"
"Tatsuha-kun…how is your training in Gentle Fist coming?" Naruto asked.
Tatsuha sighed, shaking his head, "I still can't get past that road block I've hit…I fear I may never truly advance…"
"What do you think the problem is?" Naruto asked, eyes locked on Mikoto, "Is it something with your eyes or is it something with how your body moves?"
"The latter of the two," Tatsuha stated, "I'm extremely flexible for a boy and the stiff nature of Gentle Fist feels as if I'm going against what my body feels as right…"
Naruto chuckled slightly, "So you just need a form of Gentle Fist that was created for a flexible user?"
"Yes but I have already asked Hiashi-sama and no such form exists…" Tatsuha said solemnly.
"You haven't asked the right person," Naruto stated before whistling, "Mikoto-chan! Why don't you take a break?"
"Okay~!" the girl beamed.
"What do you mean by me not asking the right person?" Tatsuha asked as Naruto shed his Sage cloak and Jounin vest.
"I may not be as flexible as you but…" Naruto said as he quickly walked past Mikoto to stand in the middle of the training field, "I still know a few tricks that will help you. Mikoto-chan?"
"Yes Naru-oji?" Mikoto blinked.
"If I ever find out that you are copying this technique, you will be punished severely," Naruto warned as he slid into a somewhat modified Gentle Fist stance.
"W-Wait? You know the Gentle Fist style?" Tatsuha gaped.
"Some and before you ask, no I cannot use it without the Byakugan…I only learned it so that I could help Hinata and our children with training…" Naruto said sadly, "I have given my word to Hiashi in front of the entire Hyuuga clan that I will never use this style in battle and I will only use it before the clan in attempts to help teach the young users."
"T-Then what about me?" Mikoto whimpered.
"So long as Tatsuha gives his approval of you being here and you swear to never speak a word of this again to anyone as well as to never attempt this, you're fine," Naruto laughed slightly.
Tatsuha smiled at Mikoto, "If Naruto-sensei trusts you to be here then so do I."
"Now then, I do not have anywhere near the amount of chakra control to utilize this as well as I should but I should be able to show you enough for you to recreate the technique," Naruto stated as he slowly brought up a hand before it came back down in a slicing motion. He repeated this motion over and over, slowly picking up speed before his hands became nothing more than blurs to the naked eye. As they moved, thin, sharp lines of chakra started to surround the Hokage from all angles. With his eyebrows furrowed, it was obvious that whatever this technique was required much of his concentration.
"This…This is called Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms," Naruto said slowly before taking a step forward without stopping the motion, "And using this technique as a base and combine it with someone with great flexibility, it becomes not only a defensive move but an offensive one as well."
With slow, careful steps, Naruto showed just a few motions that would have had fatal consequences should an enemy have been before him. Then, he just stopped. The blonde was panting slightly and a small bit of sweat clung to his forehead. The two teens just stared at their Hokage.
"Before you ask…Doing any type of Gentle Fist leaves me like this," Naruto panted, "It is a style that goes against what I've learned for taijutsu and feels very unnatural for me. That particular technique ever more so. It requires such an insane amount of chakra control, which is something I still do not have. It also requires a level of flexibility that my body just cannot reach."
"…I-If you don't mind me asking, why is it that you know of such a technique when Hiashi-sama does not?" Tatsuha asked.
"Because Hiashi-sama gave him permission for him to be the only person to teach it to others," Neiji suddenly said as he walked out onto the field.
"Why?" Tatsuha asked, very confused.
Naruto was silent for a moment before smiling sadly at the young Hyuuga, "Because this technique was created by my wife Hinata…"
"B-By H-Hinata-sama!?" Tatsuha and Mikoto gasped.
Naruto nodded, looking up to the sky, "She…She faced the same problems as you Tatsuha. Her body was naturally more flexible than most other Hyuuga's that it made it hard for her to advance in the art of Gentle Fist. So she created her own techniques to compensate…She was truly a genius in the way she figured out what she needed to do…"
"Naru-oji…" Mikoto whimpered at the feeling of pain and sorrow that rolled off the man.
Naruto sighed heavily before slipping on his false happiness mask, "Anyway, I guess that since you're here that means you picked up what I wanted Neiji?"
Neiji just nodded before walking up to Mikoto, holding out a small piece of paper, "Here"
"What is it?" Mikoto asked skeptically.
"It's a special type of paper that will tell us what affinity you have," Naruto explained.
"But I already know my affinity," Mikoto protested slightly, "All Uchiha have a fire affinity."
"Just…humor me," Naruto grinned, something in his eyes twinkling mischievously.
Mikoto sighed before taking the paper from Neiji, "Now what?"
"Channel a small amount of chakra into it," Naruto stated.
The young Uchiha did as she was told and was surprised by the result.
"Thought so," Naruto smirked as he watched the paper suddenly turn damp, "That's why you're having such a hard time with the fire techniques."
"Wh-What?" Mikoto blinked in surprise at the wet paper.
"You're a water affinity, my dear," Naruto chuckled a tad, "Which means teaching you anymore fire techniques will be almost pointless."
"I-I don't understand…father said that the Uchiha family has always been fire affinities…" Mikoto whispered.
Naruto just placed a hand on the confused girl's shoulder, "There are always a couple exceptions my dear. Now, why don't we go pick you out some easy water style jutsu to try."
"…I guess this is why my Fireball jutsu was never very strong or good, huh?" Mikoto weakly laughed, "And here I thought that it was my fault that I couldn't do it…"
"I'm surprised that you're father never thought to test your affinity," Tatsuha pointed out.
"I'm not," Neiji snorted, "He's too proud to ever think that his children will be any different than himself. He forgets that Sakura has a dual affinity for water and earth and that his own children could follow after her instead of him."
"Now, now Neiji, it isn't entirely their fault. After all, from what we know neither of my parents had an affinity for wind but yet I do. It's all about the luck of the draw," Naruto snickered to himself.
Neiji blinked at the blonde before shaking his head with a slight smile, "I think I should warn you that Hiashi-sama is bound and determined to get you to stop your ramen diet."
"Damn…he found out…" Naruto grumbled.
"Found out what?" Mikoto asked.
"For the past several days, Hiashi-sama has been trying to get Naruto to come to dinner but he keeps turning him down only to go to Ichiraku," Neiji stated.
"It's not that I don't appreciate the offers…" Naruto murmured to himself, "It's just…I feel as if I'm becoming a burden on the clan."
"Nonsense," Neiji scoffed, hitting the Hokage upside his head, "If you truly were, you'd hear about it from the elder council. It's actually been them that keep insisting to have you over more. Hiashi-sama knows that you prefer your space but they can be very persuasive."
Naruto laughed slightly, "It doesn't help that Hiashi is to step down soon…"
"True," Neiji nodded, "The elders want to stay on your good side because in all rights, it would have been either Hinata or yourself that would have become the head of the clan…"
Naruto smiled at the older Hyuuga, "I know but Hanabi will make a fine clan head and she will have Konohamaru to help her along the way."
"It's just surprising that the clan allowed that man to enter as easily as they did," Neiji chuckled to himself.
"Oh, I don't know about that. It isn't that surprising," Naruto smirked, "After all, Konohamaru had declared his love for our young heiress long ago and has been nothing but faithful. That and with him being the last of the Sarutobi clan, a clan that has not a bloodline but a summoning contract, it is not that surprising that the elders saw no problem with allowing Konohamaru to marry Hanabi. That is so long as he takes your family name."
Neiji just stared at the blonde for a moment before pointing at him accusingly, "That's why you asked to be present at the last family council meeting! It wasn't just because of the final steps to unsealing the family! It was to ask them to finally agree to their marriage!"
"So what if I did?" Naruto laughed before a sad smile appeared, "He's like a younger brother to me, Neiji. I just want protect him and make sure he's happy…"
"…you bowed before them, didn't you?" Neiji whispered, stunned.
"Bowing to others is not that hard," Naruto said simply, "I can throw my pride away whenever I need to."
"You? Throw away your pride?" Neiji repeated, obviously very shocked to hear this.
"I may come off as a very proud man Neiji but pride is not a trait that is needed to be Hokage. If anything it is rather detrimental to have," Naruto said before turning his attention back to the youths, "You both would do well to remember that."
"Hai Naruto-sensei," Tatsuha bowed silently.
"Will do, Naru-oji~!" Mikoto beamed, for some reason feeling very proud to be able to call him as such.
"Speaking of which," Neiji said as he pulled Naruto off to the side, "I was hoping to ask if Haruko and Hikaru could stay with you tonight…"
"Of course they can but…" Naruto started to beam before pausing, "What about Hana?"
Neiji just shook his head and smiled, "She asked us earlier this week if she could go spend the night at her new friend's house."
"That's good," Naruto smiled, "I was afraid that the kids would have a hard time looking past her shy exterior just like…"
"Just like Hinata," Neiji finished, noticing how the blonde trailed off.
"Yeah," Naruto nodded weakly, giving his best smile, "I'm glad she's making friends Neiji…I really am."
Neiji just smiled at the blonde, patting his shoulder, "Well, I better go tell Tenten to go get ready for our date."
"You guys gonna try to make me an uncle again?" Naruto joked as Neiji started to walk off.
"Sh-Shut up!" Neiji flushed.
Mikoto and Tatsuha laughed at the scene presented before they turned their attention to the Hokage. They could both see the pain that filled him at remembering his love but…for the first time ever, they could see him able to stand it and show the beginning signs of a healing heart.
Mizu: Aww~! Naruto is getting better~!
Naruto: I have a horrible feeling about this...You're never this nice in your writings unless you're about to do something horrible...
Mizu: Why, Naru~? What on earth would make you think that?
Naruto:...I'm just going to prepare to be pissed at you next chapter...
Mizu: Spoilsport...Anyway, remember that I love all reviews and suggestions~! I do have to warn you guys that I might drop off the map again after the next chapter or two. It isn't so much that I don't know what to write passed what I have written (I have literally PAGES of this story planned out scattered about) as it is that the words are just refusing to come to me in a way that I'm satisfied. Plus college (...I have a professor I really don't like but I will persevere!) and life, I don't know when I'll be able to work on this story. Hopefully soon though. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter~! Ciao for now~!