Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

A/N: First let me apologize for taking this long to post an update, I struggled through parts of this chapter, trying to get them just right. This is the longest chapter yet and I still didn't get to where I hoped to at the end of chapter 6! I am posting this only partially beta'd, I haven't been getting a response from her the past few days so I am assuming that she's too busy with school and life and I really want to put the chapter up :) So if there are any glaring errors be kind, I do re-read my work but I still miss things.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the new chapter, without further ado …


Chapter 7 : Visitor in the Night

Hinata's nervousness vanished when Naruto pulled her into his arms, hearing the pain in his voice she knew that she made the right decision in going to his apartment. The look of tension, followed by relief, as he saw who was knocking on his door so late into the night washed over his face.

She could feel his tense muscles start to go slack as she lovingly cupped his head with one hand while gently rubbed his back with the other.

"Is everything alright Naruto? I heard you screaming when I was coming up the stairs." Hinata asked, her voice heavy with concern.

"Everything is okay Hinata ... Now that you are here." He answered, his voice still shaking from his nightmare.

Hinata let go of Naruto and lead him by the hand to the simple low table that functioned as served as his only piece of dining room furniture. Placing her hands on his shoulders she motioned for him to sit, leaving him to settle at the table she removed her bulky sweater, hanging it on the hook by his door. She then walked over to the corner of the room that he called his "kitchen" and turned on the kettle to make some tea.

Having turned the water on for tea she walked over to join Naruto at the table. Even in the dim moonlight coming in through the large window she could see that he was crying before she knocked on the door. Although it caused an ache in her chest to see Naruto suffering the emotional fallout of losing so many precious people, she had already silently swore to support and help him.

While the kettle was coming to a boil Naruto and Hinata sat in a uncomfortable, deafening, silence. Startled out of her thoughts by the whistle of the kettle, Hinata jumped up and went back to his kitchen to make the tea.

Lost in the thoughts that were racing through his head Naruto didn't hear the kettle whistling or Hinata searching through his cabinets for tea. "I can't believe she came here! Did she say that she heard me screaming? Holy crap! It's a good thing the clones and I cleaned this dump this morning!"

Having found the tea ... and the teapot, Hinata measured out some tea leaves into the teapot and poured the hot water over them. After a little more digging around she found the tea cups and a serving tray to carry everything back to the table.

Sitting down at the table again Hinata poured each of them a cup of tea.

Hinata wrapped her hands around her cup, her hands absorbing the warmth of the tea, she broke the silence. "Do you want to take about it?"

Naruto turned his head away, trying to hide his emotions from Hinata … and failing. He closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. Finding his calm again he turned back to Hinata.

Flashing her the smile he always used when he was trying to mask his true feelings, he said, "I-I'll be okay Hinata, don't worry about it." His breath hitching as his emotions tried to take over again.

Not fooled by his fake smile for one second Hinata played with her cup, staring at the tea as ripples played across it's surface. She didn't know what to say to him that would make him feel better, more than anything she wished that she could make his nightmares disappear.

"Hina," he whispered, "don't look so sad. I know that you want to make my nightmares go away, and I am thankful for that, but I can't talk about them. You were there and you saw how they died ... I just miss them so much ..."

Naruto grabbed at his chest as a pang shot through, causing tears of longing and frustration to sting his eyes. Unashamed to show Hinata how much he missed his sensei, Naruto let his tears spill over and run down his cheeks, falling from his chin onto his lap.

Without a moment of hesitation Hinata flew over to Naruto flinging her arms around his broad shoulders, bumping into the table causing the tea in the cups to slosh over the lip, pooling around the base. She pulled him closer to her, his head coming to rest against her ample chest. Hinata understood why he wouldn't want to talk about his nightmares, she was there when they all died, instead she would be there to comfort him when he needed someone to protect him from his personal demons.

Naruto sat sobbing against Hinata's chest until he was finally able to regain control of his emotions, while Hinata whispered soothing and encouraging words.

"Hina, just having you here is all I need." He mumbled, the subtle vibrations from his deep voice sending a shiver down Hinata's spine.

Hinata's eyes widened as the vibrations from his voice sent a wave of pleasure through her body; goosebumps now covering her flesh. She sat back on her heels releasing Naruto from her hold, cupping his face in her hands she forced him to look at her. "I told you before that I will always be here for you." She stated, her voice firm.

"I know, I remember you saying that. But Hinata … everyone that has told me that they were going to be there for me has never actually been there for me when what I needed had nothing to do with training to become stronger. That is all it has ever been for me, Ero-sennin, Kakashi-sensei, the Third, Iruka-sensei … I love them all and I miss them … and I know that they loved me too … but when it came time to call it a night they all went home and I had to come back here. Alone." Naruto said, spreading his arms out to indicate the small apartment.

Naruto's head shot up as he remembered something that Hinata told him at dinner. "Wait! Are you sure it's okay for you to be here right now, it's really late and you said that you have training with your father every morning until lunch."

A sheepish grin played across Hinata's face when she thought about her father's reaction when he found the note she left behind. She left her note pretty vague, but she didn't think that he would be too upset. Lady Tsunade gave everyone leave from most duties, so most of the Leaf shinobi were enjoying some well deserved time off.

"Oh, Naruto. It's so typical of you to worry about someone else when you should be worrying about yourself. It's okay, I left a note for Father before I left, I told him that I am taking a break from training for the next few days." She said answering his question.

Before Naruto could raise any argument she placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "Besides, it's not like I won't be training at all, we have a new technique to learn remember." The stubborn look on her face and the determination in her voice leaving no room for argument.

Seeing the determination in her beautiful lavender eyes he gave up on any arguments he might have had. He didn't really want to argue with her anyway, he was looking forward to spending more time with her and if he didn't have to wait until after her morning training sessions with her father the better.

Hinata moved back to her previously vacated spot and took a sip of her tea, setting down her cup she stifled a yawn. She wasn't lying to Naruto when she said that she couldn't sleep tonight and after a long emotional day exhaustion was catching up to her, and the herbal tea was only making her sleepier.

Her head growing heavy, Hinata rested her chin in her hand and placed her elbow on the table for support. Her eyelids growing heavy, she began to fall asleep, feeling herself falling Hinata caught herself before faceplanting the table. Feeling embarrassed she stole a quick glance at Naruto to see if he noticed that she was falling asleep. Still lost in his own thoughts, Naruto was completely unaware of Hinata's struggle to stay awake.

To prevent any possible embarrassment, Hinata chose to cross her arms on the table to lay her head down to rest, falling asleep almost as soon as her head touched her arms.

Coming out of his thoughts Naruto was going to ask her if she wanted to go to Tsunade's office with him later to check on the status of the Fourth's scroll."Hey Hina …" Naruto quietly started to ask. Seeing her fast asleep at the table he decided that it was a question best left until morning.

Naruto reached over and gently brushed Hinata's hair from her face, gently caressing her exposed cheek. "Aaaah, she's so cute when she is sleeping." He thought, gazing at her serene face. "She looks so peaceful."

Using the table as leverage, Naruto pushed himself up to stand. Stretching the kinks out of his tired body, he walked the few steps to stand behind Hinata. Kneeling down he slipped his arm under Hinata's knees, while sliding the other across her back and under her arm, easily picking her up.

Leaving the tea where it was, Naruto carried her over to his bed, using his foot to brush the blanket out of the way before gently laying her down. After he set her down in the bed, Naruto straightened the blanket and pulled it up over Hinata and tucked her in, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. He sat on the edge of the bed beside her and thought to himself, "Hehe, the first time I have a girl in my bed and she's dead asleep."

Lowering himself to the floor, Naruto sat beside his bed and watched Hinata sleep while he let his thoughts wander, already replanning what they would do the following day. It wasn't long before Hinata began thrashing in her sleep, her own nightmares tormenting her.

Worried Naruto placed a warm hand on her face, rubbing his thumb over her cheekbone, as a father might do to his child. It seemed to calm her a little but a tightness remained around her eyes as unseen images flashed beneath her eyelids. He could only guess all too well what she was probably seeing.

Trying his best to comfort her, Naruto slid into the bed beside Hinata. Laying on his side so that he was facing her, he carefully slid one arm under Hinata's shoulders and guided her as he slowly rolled to his back, so that her head came to rest on his shoulder. The last thing he remembered was the small sigh the escaped Hinata's lips before he felt the tension leave her body.

The bright morning sun was shining through the window straight into Naruto's eyes, waking him up. Stretching his arms above his head and letting out a big yawn Naruto froze, "Sleep …. wa-was I just sleeping? I don't remember going back to sleep after last night's nightmare." He thought to himself. Slowly the events from last night returned to his memory, Hinata knocking at his door, tea, crying, the softness of her chest, carrying her to his bed after she fell asleep, and finally slipping into bed next to her because she was having a nightmare.

It all made sense now, slowly rotating his head, he looked over at Hinata. Who was just beginning to wake up.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Naruto couldn't believe that for the for the first time since the end of the war he slept without being plagued by nightmares. He almost forgot what it felt like to wake up to the sunlight coming through his window.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Hinata yawned, momentarily forgetting that she went to Naruto's during the night.

As the room came into focus Hinata froze mid stretch. Feeling a presence beside her she slowly rolled her eyes to find Naruto's nervous face looking down at her.

"Good morning Hinata." He said, his face flushing, but giving a warm smile.

Her heart racing, she asked. "N-N-Naruto w-what am I doing in your bed?"

Naruto slid himself up so that his back was resting against the headboard of his bed, drawing his knees up to rest his elbows on he rubbed his face with the palms of his hands.

"I'm sorry Hinata, I didn't intend to share the same bed as you. You were ..."

Naruto had never felt so awkward in his life, or had such a hard time explaining anything to someone else.

"Hi-Hinata, I-I'm sorry. I wasn't … it wasn't my intention … I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by falling asleep next to you. You started to have a nightmare, and I couldn't sit there and do nothing but watch, so I -" He stammered, trying to explain to her that he only climbed in bed with her out of concern.

Hinata sat up rubbing the last of the sleep from her eyes, and twisted to face Naruto, the blankets sliding from her shoulders as she rose. "It's okay Naruto, I am sorry that I fell asleep on you. I came here to try and help you through the night but I guess I was just so tired that I fell asleep." she said, interrupting him.

She leaned a little closer to him and put her palm on his cheek before continuing, "Naru, I haven't slept that good for a long, long time. I remember having the nightmare, but then a warm light washed over the scene and it seemed to pause. Before I knew it the horror movie that was my dream vanished, replaced by a feeling of warmth … like a warm spring day after a long cold winter."

Biting her lower lip nervously, Hinata rose to her knees keeping her palm against his whiskered cheek, and slowly leaned toward Naruto. Heart racing, palms sweating she placed her other hand against the wall on the other side of Naruto's head. Taking a chance she lowered her face closer to his, finding his lips she closed her eyes and passionately kissed him. "You saved me again Naru." She whispered.

Before Hinata could pull away from him completely Naruto slipped his hand around the back of Hinata's head, weaving his fingers in the silky softness of her raven locks, pulling her head to his so that they foreheads were touching. "Hina, it's you who has saved me, and not for the first time either." He whispered back.

Naruto leaned into Hinata, he pressed his lips into hers, his hand still entwined in her hair, he shifted his body so that he could guide her down on his bed. Naruto continued leaning into Hinata, trailing kisses across her cheek and down her neck to the hollow around her collarbone, hovering over her now he gently nibbled at the base of her neck causing a moan of pleasure to escape her lips.

"Hey kid, are you going to mate with this beauty?" Kurama interjected.

"W-w-w-what! SHUT UP FUZZBALL!" Naruto responded to the Nine-Tails, his eyes snapping open. The whole scene came crashing down over Naruto as he realized that they were in his bed, Hinata's breasts were rubbing up against his chest, sending pleasure to cascade throughout his body. He could feel his fingers and toes tingling with excitement, more alarming was the tingling he was starting to feel below his waist.

Hovering over her, Naruto abruptly broke off their kissing session and gently but firmly, pushed Hinata away. "I-I-I need a shower!" He proclaimed, jumping up and bolting from the bed.

"Stay here I'll be back in a few minutes." He called over his shoulder as he rushed towards the bathroom.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The demon fox roared inside Naruto's head.

"Damn you Kurama! What the hell?! I was enjoying that!" Naruto chastised.

Kurama ignored the indignant boy, fully enjoying the panic he was causing for Naruto.

Hinata sat up on the bed in shocked confusion, "D-did I do something wrong?" she asked to the empty room, her insecurity showing through again.

She flung herself back on the bed, waiting for her heartbeat and breathing to return back to normal, coming to the realization that she was in need of a cold shower as well.

Hair still dripping from his quick shower, Naruto left the bathroom to find Hinata clearing off the table from the night before. Draping his towel around his neck he leaned against the door frame and watched her for a moment, amazed at how graceful she was even when she was cleaning.

Feeling his eyes on her, Hinata looked up and saw Naruto leaning against the frame, a tender loving smile playing across his features. For the first time she could remember Naruto looked relaxed and content.

Naruto snapped out of his daze when he noticed that Hinata stopped cleaning and was looking at him. His face flushing a bright red, he let out a nervous chuckle and started scratching at the back of his head. "Hahaha … Umm … I'm sorry for what happened over there," he said, nodding his head towards the bed, "I uhh … umm I-"

Colour rushing to her own face Hinata broke off his stammering, "Ano, I-I should be the one apologizing to you. I'm sorry Naru, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable … I-I'm sorry that I made you run away."

Naruto rushed over to Hinata and placed his hands on her shoulders, holding her at arms length he said, "Hina, I didn't run to the shower because of you. That damn fox couldn't keep his mouth shut!"

Naruto kissed the top of Hinata's head and pulled her in for a quick hug before helping to clear away the dishes. Bending down to pick up the serving tray laden with the dirty dishes he changed the subject and asked her, "So, last night I was thinking about what we could do today. I know that you already agreed to come visit Lee with me, but I was thinking that since you aren't going to be training with your dad that we could visit him this morning. Then we could go see Baa-chan about the jutsu scroll I asked for. What do you think?"

Hinata, who was now standing over by the sink getting a cloth to clean up the tea she spilled last night, thought for a moment before answering. "That sounds good Naruto, that should give us a lot of extra time to read the scroll and memorize the seals."

"But, uhhh, do you think we could eat some breakfast first? Do you have anything to eat here?" She asked, looking at the near bare shelves.

Naruto set the serving tray down and turned around to lean against the counter, stroking his chin he thought for a moment, trying to remember the last time he went to the market.

"I have instant ramen." He offered.

Hinata smacked her forehead, she couldn't believe her ears, "Ramen? Ramen!" She screamed in her head.

Grabbing him by the wrist she lead him to the door, "Naruto let's go out for breakfast, I can't eat ramen for a morning meal."

"What's wrong with ramen? It's delicious." Naruto protested.

Hinata leveled a glare at him, "There is no way I am eating ramen for breakfast."

Naruto held the door open for Hinata as they left the small restaurant, "Umm Naruto, before we go to the hospital I need to stop by my house for a change of clothes."

"Ok Hina, I'll walk you home and wait for you around the corner from the gate."

Arriving at the Hyuga estate, Naruto watched Hinata slip through the gate and head inside to quickly get changed before going to visit Lee. After she disappeared into the house Naruto made his way around the corner and leaned his butt against the wall, bending his right leg to place his foot on the wall for support. He closed his eyes and turned his face to the sky thinking about all his past encounters with Hinata, "Baka, how could I have missed all the signs? I could have avoided a lot of heartbreak if I wasn't so stupid and blind. She even spelled it out to me in front of Pain, but I thought she was talking about the Will of Fire and her love for all her comrades."

While Naruto was busy berating himself a slender figure silently leaned against the wall beside him, mimicking his posture. When Naruto sighed and dropped his head down to his chest his visitor spoke.

"I see that you're getting friendly with Hinata. I made a promise to someone that cared a great deal about her a long time ago, it was a promise to watch out for her, to make sure no one hurt her ... in any way. You're not going to break her heart are you?"

Startled, Naruto jumped away from the wall and readied himself in a defensive taijutsu stance.

When he saw who the speaker was, Naruto fell flat on his face before quickly hopping back up and pointing a finger.

"WHAT THE HELL TENTEN! YOU SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH!" Naruto screamed.

"I saw you two come into the village last night, holding hands, looking very chummy. I watched the two of you eat at Ichiraku's and I followed you when you walked her home. She watched you as you walked away, and stayed there for a long time after you disappeared around the corner. She really loves you Naruto, if you break her heart I will make sure that you will regret it for the rest of your life. I promised Neji before we were deployed, if anything were to happen to him that I would take over in protecting her." Tenten said, her voice filling with emotion when she thought about Neji, the man that she was supposed to marry after the war.

Naruto could only stare at Tenten as he watched her wipe away the tears that were threatening to spill over, he had no idea of the relationship between Neji and Tenten but it was obvious to him that over the years the two became very close.

"I promise you that I will never hurt Hinata. It took me a long time to see it but she is the most beautiful girl in the village. She is the only one that has never saw me for the demon that was sealed away inside me, she was the only one to try protect me in battle, she doesn't see me as the "Hero of the Shinobi World", she see's me as Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who had to endure years of hatred without knowing why, the boy who despite that promised to protect everyone. Yet she sees past all that and STILL loves me, she is rescuing me from myself … I can feel it in here." Naruto said, placing his right hand over his heart.

"Tenten, I have only come to admit this to myself … b-but I love Hinata too and if I'm going to be totally honest with myself I think I have for a long time, I just didn't want to admit it back then. Too many times my emotions were toyed with and those precious to me were used to try and hurt me. Hinata is strong but she is also gentle and pure, I didn't want to be the reason someone would try to hurt her to get to me."

Tenten threw her arms around Naruto, "Thank you Naruto, you do deserve Hinata. She is truly something special."

"... Oh and watch out for Kiba and Shino, I think they saw you guys last night too. I'm pretty sure I overheard Kiba ranting at the bar last night … something like 'I don't care if he's the damn saviour of the united shinobi force I'm going to kick his ass!' ... or something along those lines. He sounded pretty drunk." She warned him.

"Thanks Tenten, I'll keep an eye out for Kiba." He replied, returning her friendly hug.

Hiding just around the corner Hinata heard everything. She was just about to turn the corner when she heard a soft feminine voice start talking to Naruto, worried that someone was trying to make their move on Konoha's no. 1 bachelor she quickly took a step back and flattened herself against the fence, listening to the conversation. Hinata let out a sigh of relief when she realized that it was Tenten that came to talk to Naruto.

She knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation, but she couldn't help herself. Hinata felt her cheeks warm up when Tenten told Naruto that they were seen last night holding hands and sharing a meal, she felt tears sting her eyes when Tenten spoke of Neji nii-san. When she heard Naruto promise Tenten that he would never hurt her and hear him speak so highly of her, her eyes glazed over in shock. She knew that Naruto always believed in her, but to hear him say it to someone else ….

Hinata almost missed what Naruto said next, her brain threatening to shut down. But she did, "H-h-he said that he loved me." She thought, her knees giving way she slid down the fence until she was sitting on the ground. "I love Hinata too … love Hinata … love … Hinata …"

Naruto's words kept repeating in Hinata's mind, chasing themselves until she heard nothing else. She missed Tenten's warning about Kiba and Shino, she didn't notice when Naruto and Tenten were finished talking, so when Tenten came around the corner Hinata jumped in surprise when she sensed someone standing close by.

Snapping out of her daze Hinata slowly looked up to see who was standing before her; afraid that it was Naruto. Her eyes falling on Tenten she smiled weakly, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping.

Tenten just looked down at Hinata and warmly smiled, happy that Hinata finally got her wish. Throwing a wink down to the pale eyed girl, Tenten continued walking down the street thinking about what could have been if Neji was still alive.

Lee was sitting up in his bed staring out the window when he saw two familiar figures walking up steps leading to the main entrance of the hospital. Sakura was with him again, trying to cheer him up while also checking on his healing progress and vitals. So when he saw the two figures the way they were walking didn't immediately register, the taller of the two had his arm protectively draped across the shorter ones shoulders, and the shorter of the two was holding the dangling hand and had her arm wrapped around his waist, both of them chatting and laughing.

"S-Sakura-chan, LOOK!" Lee exclaimed, his arm shaking as he pointed out the window.

Sakura fell silent at Lee's sudden outburst. She snapped her head to look at Lee, concerned about the sudden change in his voice, his expression was now one of shock.

Following Lee's line of focus Sakura stood and walked over to the window to see what he was looking at that had him in such a state, when she saw them her jaw dropped open. Sakura's eyes widened for a moment before she fell forward, her forehead crashing into the window.

"Naruto and Hinata? He's touching her and she's still conscious! She isn't even blushing!" Sakura's thoughts were racing through her head. She wasn't upset about seeing Naruto move past his crush on her, she was happy that it was finally happening.

Sakura turned around to face Lee, leaning her back against the window. "Lee-kun, now we don't have to worry about hurting Naruto's feelings if we tell people about us."

"YOSH! You are right Sakura-chan, I have been so worried about Naruto. I think he has suffered the most since the end of the war."

"I know what you mean Lee-kun, he hasn't been staying in the village during the day, always leaving early in the morning and not coming back until after dark. I wanted to help him but I just didn't know how … but it looks like Hinata has found a way."

As they approached the hospital Naruto draped his arm over Hinata's shoulders. To his surprise Hinata didn't flinch or stiffen briefly when he touched her this time, instead she laced her fingers into his and wrapped her free arm around his waist. He looked slyly down at Hinata and said, "Ohh, not even a little blush this time? I'm wounded."

Hinata looked up to Naruto and replied, "Sorry Naru, I don't want any forced check-up's with Tsunade-sama."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at Hinata's retort and then started laughing, "Ouch Hina, your tongue wasn't this sharp earlier this morning!"

Hinata's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed briefly when Naruto made reference to their activities earlier that morning. Her embarrassment passed quickly and soon she was laughing with Naruto. "Naru, you're just beginning to learn how sharp this tongue can be!" She stated, throwing a wink at him.

This time it was Naruto's turn to briefly blush, caught off guard by Hinata's uncharacteristic behaviour.

Naruto and Hinata passed through the automatic doors of the main entrance and immediately headed to the stairs that would lead them to the floor that Lee was on, reaching the third floor landing they walked the short distance to Lee's room. Naruto knocked on the door, louder this time, making sure that he wouldn't be interrupting any private moments like he almost did last time.

"Come in Naruto-kun." Lee called.

Naruto looked over at Hinata, his eyebrow raised. "I guess he saw us coming in."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Naruto slid open the door to Lee's room stepping back to let Hinata enter first. Following closely behind her, Naruto turned his back to the room to close the door. Not realizing that Hinata stood frozen behind him, he bumped into her back when he turned around.

Hinata stood frozen on the spot, her mouth hanging open. There before her was Lee sitting in his bed, and right beside him Sakura was sitting half on and half off facing Lee, tenderly holding his hand.

Not surprised by the scene at all, Naruto took a half step back from Hinata, sliding a hand in his pocket and raising the other to give a small wave to the couple.

"Good morning Lee, good morning Sakura." Naruto greeted.

Naruto dropped his hand on Hinata's shoulder, stepping up beside her. He looked down to see that she was still frozen, staring at Lee and Sakura.

"Hmm, looks like it's my turn to shock them. I hope Hina doesn't get mad at me for this." Naruto thought to himself.

Taking his free hand out of his pocket Naruto gently grabbed Hinata's chin, turning her face to him, leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. "Hina, are you going to come in with me?"

"N-N-Naruto …" Hinata stammered, shooting a look at Lee and Sakura.

"Welcome back Hinata, I thought we lost you for a second there." He said, totally ignoring Hinata's glancing looks towards the two sitting on the bed.

His hand still on Hinata's shoulder, Naruto guided her further into the room; pulling out the lone chair, gesturing to her to take a seat.

Meanwhile Sakura and Lee sat there, not believing their eyes. Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot when, as if in slow motion, Naruto grasped Hinata's chin and kissed her. Slightly jealous because Lee had yet to try and kiss her, Sakura dropped her gaze to her knees.

Lee couldn't take his eyes off the pair. He stared, his mouth hanging agape, his eyes following Naruto's every movement. "B-bold Naruto-kun. I've been secretly seeing Sakura-chan for a week and I still haven't had the courage to do that." He thought.

After making sure Hinata was comfortable, Naruto turned to the pair on the bed. "So Lee, how's your recovery coming along?"

Lee shook his head, coming back to his senses. "YOSH! Sakura-chan tells me that I can go home in a couple of days. The Power of Youth flows through me!"

Naruto crossed his arm and raised an eyebrow, "Sakura … chan?"

Lee sat up a bit straighter, his face turning beet red before he dropped his gaze down to his lap. Caught up in his excitement about going home soon Lee let slip the affectionate honorific 'chan' when he referenced Sakura.

"Umm … Naruto, Lee and I have something that we would like to share with you." Sakura said, placing her free hand over the hand she was holding; sandwiching Lee's hand in between hers.

Naruto raised his hand to stop Sakura, "Sakura it's ok, I already know. I … uhh … accidently saw you and Lee embracing each other yesterday when I tried to visit Lee. You guys didn't hear me knock, I didn't expect anyone to be with him so I opened the door."

Scratching at the back of his head nervously Naruto closed his eyes and waited for one of Sakura's famous punches. When no punch came he slowly opened one eye, Sakura was still sitting on the bed beside Lee. Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto giggled. "Hehehe, I guess I have something that I want to share with you. I'm sure that you have already figured it out but Hinata and I are kinda dating now too."

"Hai, that … uhh … kiss kind of erased any doubt." Sakura confirmed.

"Hey Hinata-chan, lets go and leave these boys to talk."

Still overwhelmed, Hinata stammered out, "O-ok Sakura-chan"

Sakura got up and walked around the end of Lee's bed, grabbed Hinata by the hand and lead/dragged her out of the room. "We'll see you guys in a little bit." She called over her shoulder.

Lee and Naruto watched as the girls left, when they heard the door click closed Naruto turned to Lee. "So Bushy-Brow how are you holding up?"

"Physically I am healing fast, Sakura-chan has been a big help with that. Always making sure that I don't overexert myself and using healing jutsu's to encourage cell regeneration."

"That is great to hear Lee!" Naruto said, honestly happy for him. "But how are you doing otherwise?"

Lee stared at his blanket for a long while before answering Naruto. With tears lining his eyes Lee answered, "I am still having great difficulty with this hole in my heart that Guy-sensei left. Most night's I don't sleep, and when I do the nightmares wake me."

Naruto sighed, "Me too Lee, me too."

"But you have Sakura now, it's only been a couple of days but Hinata has been so much help. I've been a living ghost since returning to village, drifting through each day. Last night she came to my apartment, it felt so much better to have someone to talk too."

"Yeah, Sakura spends a lot of her time in here with me. I worry that she is neglecting her duties at the hospital, but she tells me not to worry about it, that she is getting all her work done. I do feel a lot better when she is here, but the nightmares are slowly tearing me apart. Guy-sensei was more than just a sensei to me, he was like a father."

Naruto smiled slyly, "Lee if I told you what helped keep my nightmares at bay would you promise not to tell Sakura? It might help you too."

Lee whipped his head up and looked sharply at Naruto, "I promise! I won't tell Sakura-chan anything."

With a little chuckle Naruto leaned in closer to Lee, "Last night Hinata stayed at my place, we ended up sharing my bed and when I held her in my arms I fell asleep and didn't wake up until the sun was in my eyes." He said in a conspiratorial whisper.

Lee gasped in surprise, "N-N-Naruto-kun I couldn't ask her that!" A look of absolute shock washed over his face. "You and Hinata didn't … didn't … di-"

"What!" Naruto waved his hands in front of his face, "No, no, no. She fell asleep at the table and I carried her to my bed, I climbed in when she started having a bad dream. I must have fallen asleep after she calmed down."

"I don't know Naruto."

"Well, it won't hurt to ask, I bet that she isn't sleeping very well either."

"You might be right, but that is a big step for our relationship. We've only been dating for a couple of weeks."

Naruto laughed, "Hahaha ... Lee, Hinata and I have only been dating for roughly 18 hours! Although I understand that she has had her eye on me a lot longer than that. But with her it just feels right, like this is how things are meant to be. You know what I mean?"

Lee chuckled, "You've got that right! Hinata-chan has been following you for as long as I can remember." Lee let out a small sigh, "Although it might be worth talking to Sakura-chan about spending our nights together, I have the same feeling with Sakura that you have with Hinata." Wistfully looking out the window, he added "It just feels right."

Both men turned to the door when they heard it start to slid open. They watched as the girls re-entered the room, both of them avoiding eye contact with their partners, their cheeks flushed.

Naruto briefly turned back to Lee, shooting him a wink, before striding over to Hinata.

Draping his arm across her shoulders again, Naruto said. "Come on Hina, I think it's about time we went to see if Baa-chan has what I asked for."

"Come in." Tsunade called when she heard a knock at her door.

"Baa-chan, did Shizune find the scroll?" Naruto bellowed as he was opening the door.

Tsunade place her pen down on the mission report she was just reading and leaned back in her chair, "Oh, so we are using the door now?"

"Hahahaha, well someone wouldn't let me use my usual entrance." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head.

Leaning forward Tsunade crossed her arms the desk, glaring at the young man.

"Good morning Lady Tsunade." Hinata said, stepping out from behind Naruto.

Tsunade sat in stunned silence, staring at the young couple. While it was no village secret that Hinata harboured feelings for Naruto, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to finally open his eyes to her affections.

"So Baa-chan, the scroll?"

Looking at Hinata, Tsunade now understood why learning the Hiraishin was so important to Naruto. It was the same reason Minato developed it, contrary to what most shinobi thought Minato didn't create Hiraishin no Jutsu to use in battle; although it did prove pivotal in many battles.

When Minato fell in love with Kushina he wanted a way to protect her, no matter how far away he was. Not many knew this, but the clip Kushina wore in her hair was given to her as a gift from Minato, on the underside was the special seal that would allow him to instantaneously transport to her if she was ever in trouble. All she had to do was place a finger on the clip to let her chakra flow into it, notifying Minato that she needed him.

Naruto's hopes at having the scroll today were crushed when Tsunade's face dropped, her eyes going soft and looking sad.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair again with a heavy sigh, "I've seen so many great Shinobi die, Minato-san if only you could see your son now. You would be proud, he wishes to use your jutsu for its original purpose."

In truth Shizune found the scroll an hour after Naruto asked for it, but Tsunade was worried about Naruto's reason for wanting it. She was aware that he was having a hard time coping with the great losses they all suffered, she was worried that he was traveling down a dark path. But seeing him stand there with Hinata, casually leaning on her shoulder, her fears and doubts were washed away.

Opening one of the drawers in her desk, Tsunade pulled out a thick scroll. "Shizune found it pretty fast yesterday, I had her copy the text from the original to this scroll. This one is yours to keep Naruto, but don't be careless with it there are secret Leaf techniques in there. Including the Hiraishin."

Tsunade flippantly tossed the scroll towards Naruto, who caught it with ease.

Naruto flashed Tsunade a familiar goofy grin, "Don't worry Baa-chan I will guard this with my life!"

"Come on Hinata, let's go get some ramen before we dive into this bad boy." Naruto said, waving the scroll in front of him.

Hinata rolled her eyes and sighed, giving a quick bow to Tsunade she turned and followed Naruto out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Tsunade couldn't help but giggle at Naruto … and Hinata's reaction to the thought of ramen for lunch. She was receiving a lot of pressure from the council about Naruto. Even after everything Naruto had accomplished, they still feared the Kyuubi. They were concerned that his current state of depression would allow the demon fox to take control of Naruto, causing more devastation to Konohagakure. She felt a weight lift off her shoulders, eager to tell those old bats that they had nothing to fear.

"Shizune" Tsunade called.

Poking her head through the door Shizune answered, "Hai, Lady Tsunade"

"Rearrange my schedule, I am going to take some personal time for the next few hours."

"Hai, Lady Tsunade"

Rising from her chair, Tsunade grabbed her green coat, the Kanji for gamble emblazoned on the back, and left her office. Heading to the Memorial Stone, she had a lot to tell her old teammate Jiraiya.

Naruto was waiting for Hinata outside of the Hokage's office, he watched as she closed the door behind her.

Hinata turned around after closing the door and let out a frustrated sigh, "Naruto, do we have to have ramen for lunch?"

"What's wrong with ramen? I eat it all the time."

"Naruto only you could eat that much ramen and not get a stomach ache. How about we stop by the market for some ingredients and I will cook us some lunch?"

Naruto slipped the scroll into a hidden pocket on his coat, pouting he agreed to skip the ramen for lunch, in favour of Hinata's suggestion. Knowing that she was going to make him eat vegetables, he shuddered at the thought.

Naruto sat at the table slowly unraveling the scroll while Hinata busied herself in his small kitchen. A small crease formed on Naruto's forehead, his eyebrows knit together as he read through a complicated explanation of how the Hiraishin no Jutsu worked.

Frustrated he lay back on the floor and yelled out, "GAHH, IT'S SO HARD!"

Hinata jumped at his outburst, "Naru, you'll get it. You learned Kage Bushin no Jutsu when you were 12, and even then you only had a short time to learn the hand seals before Iruka-sensei found you." She encouraged, turning back to the stove to stir the contents of the bubbling pot.

Naruto covered his eyes with his arm, mentally drawing the Hiraishin seal.

When he heard Hinata set a plate on the table he let his arm slid off his face, his hand hitting the floor above his head.

Sniffing the air he commented, "Mmmm, that smells really good Hinata."

Pushing himself back to a sitting position Naruto's eyes bulged when he saw the delicious meal waiting for him. "Woooah, Hina this looks delicious!"

Hinata returned to the table carrying her own plate of food, settling into a comfortable position she smiled at Naruto's compliment. "Thank you Naruto, it means a lot to me that you like my cooking."

Flashing her a grin, Naruto picked up his chopsticks, "Itadakimasu!"

Digging into his plate of food Naruto couldn't help but let a moan of pleasure escape his lips.

"Ohhh, this is good Hina!"

Smiling at his compliment she picked up her own chopsticks, "Itadakimasu."

Between mouthfuls Naruto said, "Hina, after lunch lets take the scroll to that spot in the forest and study it together. I can't wait for us to learn it, that way we can see each other whenever we want."

"Without having to sneak in, or out, of the Hyuga estate." He said, flashing her an exaggerated wink.

"Naru, I know you're excited to learn a new jutsu, but I think we should wait until tomorrow to go out in the forest. It's already getting to be late in the afternoon, if we go today we won't get a lot of time to study it."

Thinking, Hinata placed a finger on her lips. She knew that there was no way she could convince him against studying the scroll today, but she knew that if they went out to the forest they'd be wasting a lot daylight hours.

"Hmm, what if we stayed here to study the scroll after cleaning up the lunch dishes?" She asked.

"That way we can spend more time reading the scroll and practice writing the seals. Then tomorrow we can head out early and practice what we learn."

Naruto thought about what she was saying for a minute, "Hmm, I guess you're right Hina. We'll stay here to study and practicing writing seals today."


A/N : Thank you for reading and please, please, please review. And on that note I would love to send a special thanks YungHime and Ayrmed for consistently reviewing, your kind words provide me with encouragement to continue.

I know that I've never done this before but I have been reading some great stories, so I am going to start recommending them at the end of each chapter.

The first one I am going to recommend is from one of my consistent reviewers, Ayrmed. The story is called "Love's Never Easy" (story id: 9400626)