Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Yeah, hard to believe huh? But no, I own nothing like Naruto. Perhaps that's why I don't make any money off this. Yeah, I'm a poor ass bastard. Ah well, such is life...

A/N: Alright, I'm sure you weren't expecting this! To make up for my long absence, I'm releasing not one, but two chapters at the same time! I hope this'll somewhat make up for my laziness. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

A slight note, Ossan means "Old man" in Japanese, Naruto is using this instead of Tsubaki's name, much like he does with Ichiraku.

Special Thanks to my beta, who's skills have made my works all that much more readable. Give a shout out to Narai Moroha in your reviews, he deserves it.

Chapter 9: Departures and Thank Yous

As the sun rose over the horizon, a faint ray of sunlight made its way through the window, landing on a certain Hyuuga heiress's face. She gave a stir, her body shuddering, as if to try to hold on to sleep. However the sunlight had its way, and a few moments later Hinata Hyuuga slowly opened her eyes.

Looking around, Hinata lifted her head a fraction, closing and reopening her eyes to do away with some of the blurriness. Groggily, she lifted her head up more to wake herself up.

It was then she registered the warmth on her hand.

Looking over Hinata turned to her hand, only to feel her face grow red hot. She stared on, eyes wide at the site before her.

Naruto was asleep, curled up into a ball beside her bed, his hands clasped around her right hand. He was still sleeping peacefully, a small smile fixed on his face.

"N...Naruto-kun?"

Hinata whispered his name as loud as she could manage, but even a dog would have had to strained to hear the words. She gave an audible gulp, lying back down in the bed. When she was calm enough, Hinata glanced back at Naruto.

He was still wearing the clothing from when the two of them had gotten attacked, and now it looked even dirtier, like he had just stood out in the rain again. There was mud caked on his zori, and his jacket was covered with what looked like dried blood. The appearance he took on made it apparent that he had stayed with her the whole night.

But his hands...his hands that were holding on to her were spotless, clean, soft, and...warm. At first his touch had scared her, but now it was relaxing. She had always wanted to feel the warmth of his hands against hers...

"N-Naruto-kun...stayed with me? Oh, Naruto-kun..."

Then again, Naruto had stayed with her all night, but where had they stayed? Hinata looked around to realize that this bed was not hers, nor was the room. Just where was she?

The ever rising sun now fully peaked over the window sill, what remained dark in the room was now bathed in sunlight, including Naruto. His body gave a stir, and slowly, Naruto lifted his head to look groggily up at Hinata.

"Hina...ta?"

Naruto sat up fully, rubbing his eyes rather slowly. When he pulled his fists away and opened his eyes, he once again gazed upon the awakened form of Hinata.

Then a great smile erupted onto his face, and Naruto wrapped his arms around her in a powerful glomp.

"Hinata!! Hinata, you're alive!! You're alive!! Thank God...thank God you're okay!!"

Hinata couldn't respond, all her willpower was being massed to her brain to stop herself from fainting on the spot. When she realized that if he held onto her one more second, she would pass out, Naruto let go, smiling brightly at Hinata.

"Heh, sorry about that, it's just..."

Naruto hesitated for a second, shifting his gaze, before his eyes returned to staring into Hinata's.

"I'm really glad...that I didn't lose you, Hinata."

While Hinata was no longer in danger of fainting, Naruto's last statement sent her through a loop, leaving her at a loss for words.

"Ano...uh...N-Na...uh..."

"Thanks for not going back on your word."

Hinata looked up, blushing at the expression on his face.

"W-What?"

Naruto tiled his head slightly, his smile widening.

"You promised to see this mission through, and you've yet to go back on those words. So I'm glad...thanks for living, Hinata."

Hinata was stunned. He was thanking her for being alive? How could she-?

"T-Thank you...Naruto-kun..."

Naruto kept his head tilted, losing his smile. Now he was just confused.

"Huh? Why are you thanking me?"

Hinata looked down, tapping her fingers together in an old habit she had thought she lost.

"W-Well...without you...I...I most likely wouldn't have...woken up."

"Wha—...Hinata, what are you—?"

"Ah, good morning. Glad to see you conscious."

Hinata tore her gaze away from the floor, looking up to find the source of the voice. What stood before her was a much older man, bald head and long, silver-gray beard. His face was calm, his expression delighted.

"...Um...W-Who are—?"

Naruto smiled, pointing at Tsubaki with one hand while putting the other on Hinata's shoulder. Her blush, having finally faded, only flared up once more.

"This is Tsubaki-ossan, the guy who helped us after that battle. He took us back to this house and healed us both, It's safe to assume we'd both be dead now without him."

Hinata looked over at Naruto, a bit thrown. Battle?

Yes...there was a battle wasn't there? She remembered fighting that one women, she had been winning against her too, she was about to finish her when out of the corner of her eye she had seen...

"Ahh! The locket, wh-where's the locket!?"

Naruto jumped back a few paces, scared half to death by Hinata's sudden outburst.

"H-Hinata, don't worry. It's still in your hand..."

"Huh? M-my hand?"

Looking down, Hinata saw that her right hand was clutched into a fist, and when she uncurled her hand she found the metal locket, lying safely in her hand.

Hinata blew out a relieved sigh, holding the locked just above her chest. It was safe...

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Did you grab the stuff from our tent when you rescued us?"

Hinata snapped back to the present, looking up. Naruto had just inquired about something to to Tsubaki.

"Ah, yes I did manage to collect a few things from the ruins. Both your packs were unharmed, and a small wooden box containing a journal was saved as well. There were various weapons that were lying in the remains, I grabbed those as well."

Naruto smiled, putting his hands behind his head.

"Alright! Thanks ossan!"

Tsubaki waved a hand of dismissal.

"Yes, yes, it was no trouble at all..."

Tsubaki looked over Hinata once, raising an eyebrow.

"She seems fine, but I'm worried about the speed of her recovery. Naruto, I'm going to have to examine your friend, so please go take a bath while you wait. I'll be finished up by the time you're done."

Naruto gave a nod, waving one last time to Hinata before running out of the room. Tsubaki nodded, turning once more.

"So, I take it your name's Hinata? That boy's screamed it enough for me to pick up..."

Hinata gave an unsure nod.

"Y-Yes..."

"Alright, now if you could please, stand up for me."

Hinata nodded, moving her body to stand. As she moved onto her bent knees, she felt a sharp pain move up her body, causing her to grunt as she raised herself up to her feet.

"Yes...you're still rather weak. That's not surprising."

Walking up to Hinata, Tsubaki began to look over her, checking wounds that had until the night before been left deep into her skin.

"I apologize for this, but I must look you over. The speed of your recovery is mind boggling, it was a miracle you survived at the least, it should have taken weeks to heal. Yet in a single night..."

Satisfied, Tsubaki stood up fully, putting his hand to his chin.

"Do you by any chance have an idea as to how you've recovered so fast?"

Hinata let a small gasp escape her, and she turned her head, thinking hard. She really didn't know herself.

Then again, there was that dream. Hinata did recall having a strange dream, a fox, it had spoken to her, told her that it would heal her, and told her that Naruto-kun had been the one too...

"Um...well...there...no, I'm not sure..."

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow, as if skeptical, but then broke into a gentle smile, nodding his head.

"Very well. It seems I have to have a talk with Naruto once he is finished with his bath. Now, about your condition..."

Tsubaki put a hand to her stomach, closing his eyes for a second.

"You seem okay, okay enough to stand at least. You'll be able to move about, preform normal tasks, however your skills as a shinobi will be seriously weakened for a good week or so. I'm sorry to say that you'll only be a liability to Naruto, at least for a while."

Before Hinata could respond, Tsubaki dropped his hand, moving to leave the room.

"But don't fret. That boy's very kind, he won't hold it against you that you will not be able to fight. He cares too much for you to let such a simple thing disturb him..."

Hinata looked away. Naruto, care for her?

Tsubaki smiled at the timid Hyuuga. He had to fight back a laugh, this girl was such an easy read. Naruto had to REALLY thick...

XxXxX

Naruto gave a satisfied sigh, stepping out of the bath. He hadn't had a proper bath in days, it was nice to get all the mud, grime...and blood, off his person.

Changing into a new set of clothing he had found in his bag, Naruto slid open the door to the bath, stepping out into the hallway with a bright smile on his face. Naruto walked up to his room, sliding the door open to find Hinata sitting on the bed, cheeks still slightly red. Naruto walked over, concerned.

"Hey Hinata, did Ossan say you were ok?"

Hinata gave a start, looking up at Naruto nervously.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun. I'm fine..well, a-almost..."

Naruto frowned, bending down so that he was eye level with Hinata.

"Almost? What do you mean by that? Do you still have a fever, cause you look kinda warm..."

Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's forehead, closing his eyes for a sec. If they had been open Naruto would have been greeted with the sight of an even redder Hinata.

"Well...you don't have a fever. Strange, your face looked a little red..."

"Uh...Um..y-yeah..."

Naruto removed his hand, standing up to lean against the wall.

"Anyway, You should use the bath now that I'm out, we need to get moving, since we're already behind schedule."

Hinata gave a shaky nod, moving to stand only to cry out in pain. Naruto was on her in an instant, using his arm to support her.

"Hinata!! Hinata, what's wrong!?"

Hinata shook her head, moving away from Naruto's arm.

"N-No...it's nothing...I c-can walk and...and stand b-but..."

Naruto relaxed his shoulders, letting out a held in breath.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just ask Ossan about it, now go relax."

Hinata gave another small nod, walking slowly from the room. Naruto followed her to the door, and when he was about to leave to find Tsubaki, he turned the corner towards the door.

"Whoa, Ossan! Sorry about that, didn't see you there..."

Tsubaki gave a small laugh.

"Ah, not a problem. But Naruto, do you have a minute? I'd like to talk with you."

At Naruto's nod, Tsubaki turned, motioning Naruto to follow him. He led them to a tea room, taking up position at one side of the table. Naruto sat opposite from him, nodding to Tsubaki as he did so.

"So what was it you needed?"

Tsubaki hesitated for a second, looking out the window.

"The rain's stopped..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He was being ignored.

"Um...Ossan?"

Tsubaki snapped back to reality, turning to Naruto.

"Ah yes, forgive me, that was quite rude. Now, what I wanted to talk to you about is Hyuuga Hinata's recovery."

Naruto shrugged.

"What about it?"

"It was extraordinarily fast, especially for a Hyuuga, who normally have low chakra reserves. There's no way that she could have recovered from such injuries in less than a span of a few weeks. At first, I was clueless, but then..."

Tsubaki paused to pick up the kettle next to him, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Then I examined her, and found traces of the Kyuubi's chakra within her chakra system."

Naruto nodded once, crossing his arms.

"Yeah that might have happened. You see last night Hinata was about to die, so I gave her some of the Kyuubi's chakra. It really worked didn't it? I just wanted it to keep her alive at the bare minimum, yet it totally healed her!"

Tsubaki slammed his hand down on the table, causing Naruto to jump.

"Do you have any idea what kind of danger you put that girl in!?! Do you have ANY idea as to what could have transpired if her body had rejected the chakra?! Her fate would have been worse than death!!"

Naruto flinched back on instinct. He hadn't expected Tsubaki to yell.

"Well yeah, but her body didn't reject the chakra..so it was all ok..."

"That is hardly the point!! You should not have acted so rashly. If she could have been saved simply by mean of a chakra transplant, don't you think I would have done it to start with!? chakra transplants are extremely dangerous! An ounce too much chakra, the patient undergoes a horrible fate, and too little causes the patient to die anyway!!"

Naruto put his hands behind his head, looking on with some interest.

"So? I knew that it was risky, but the fox told me how much to put in, and at what time, once it knew what I was attempting. Sorry, but I thought that a ten thousand year-old fox might know what it's doing..."

Tsubaki clenched his fist.

"And how did you know that the Kyuubi wasn't simply lying!? It is a vicious demon that only lives to kill, it could have simply been luring you into killing her!!!"

Naruto shrugged.

"Well...the Kyuubi has this strange code that it abides by to maintain it's pride. The Kyuubi has, to this date, never lied to me, so I guess I...trusted it."

The Kyuubi stirred within Naruto.

"Hmph...dumb kit..."

"You trusted it...you trusted a demon...I see. Then you really are more like Arashi than I thought."

Naruto gave a start. That was right, in all the commotion of last night, Naruto had forgotten all about that. About how Yondaime was his...

Tsubaki gave a long, drawn out sigh, leaning backwards and supporting himself with his hands.

"Yes...he would trust anybody. No matter what...he would never become suspicious, never turn his back on somebody in need. No, not a soul in the world..."

Naruto sustained his silence, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah...I had forgotten all that business...Arashi...my father..."

"I see, so you really are Uzumaki...it all makes sense. Of course, you're so similar to your father but...if I had known her, I would bet my hide that you would remind me of her too.

Naruto let out a sigh. He wasn't ready for this. This had meant to be a simple mission, but it was all getting so complicated.

"Hey...Ossan, can you...tell me...about him? Yondaime and...and my mother? I...don't know much about either of them..."

Tsubaki smiled warmly, leaning forward once again.

"Good times. Not the war, but the time afterwards. Love sprung up everywhere you looked, and the new generation came just as fast. Some call it the effects of peace..but I digress. I didn't know much about Suzu, just the stories that he told me...ah, but."

Tsubaki stood up, walking to a nearby jewelry box.

"He once showed me a photo of her. She was beautiful. Slender, sun-tanned form, cascading golden-blond hair tied back, yet still managed to reach down below her waist. And her eyes, yes, those blue, deep eyes. She could mesmerize Arashi for hours with them. I think Naruto, that you may have gotten those eyes of your's from her...ah!"

Withdrawing a dusty photo from the box, Tsubaki walked over slowly, placing the photo in his hand.

"This was taken a year or two before your birth. Both your father and mother are in the picture, as you can see."

Naruto took the picture from Tsubaki, looking it over.

The picture was dusty, the corners bent slightly. After wiping away some of the dust, Naruto could identify the two people in the photo. One was a carbon copy of himself, save the brown eyes, a spitting image of Yondaime's monument. He was holding a beautiful women in his arms, and Naruto turned to look at her next.

Flash

Rain...

Flash

Locket...

Flash

Pain...

Flash

The girl...

Flash

The man...

Flash

Hinata...

Naruto shook his head, panting slightly. For a second, the images flashing into his head..why had they-?

"Yes, beautiful aren't they? He could go on for hours about that girl..."

Naruto let the arm that held the picture fall to his side, his eyes staring off into nothing.

"I know that my Father died a hero but...how did my mother?"

Tsubaki sighed, looking mournfully over at Naruto.

"I honestly do not know, but I could take a guess. Suzu was so perfect, and yet her body was weak. She often collapsed, bruised easily, and when she began to bleed, she wouldn't stop until she was treated with Jutsu. Even if it was only a scratch..."

Tsubaki took a sip of tea, sighing.

"If anything, I would guess she died in childbirth. That seems the most logical."

Naruto clenched his fists. Yet another person who was lost, all because of him...

"Naruto?"

"No...it's nothing, forget it...me and Hinata...we should go. We need to get to Amerasu as soon as we can..."

Tsubaki looked as though he was going to say something, but chose not to. Instead he walked back to the wooden box, placing his hand on it lightly.

"Naruto...do you believe in destiny?"

Naruto looked up at Tsubaki, his face puzzled. Who was he, Neji?

"No...not at all."

Tsubaki didn't speak, just continued to tap the box lightly.

"Really...because I think it was your destiny to find me. It was your destiny to learn of your parents, and it was you destiny to uncover your past. I believe in destiny Naruto, a good hundred years of life have made me believe. I believe it's your destiny to find answers, and it is my destiny to give you all the answers I can."

From within the box, Tsubaki withdrew a small object. He threw it to Naruto, who caught it with one hand. Moving his arm downward, Naruto stared at the object.

"A...locket?"

It was indeed a locket. It looked similar to the one Hinata had, except his was charred black by a long lost flame.

"That was in your father's last letter to me. A locket he had since he was a child. When he met with Suzu, he was amazed to find that she also had one just like it..."

Tsubaki gave a small laugh, turning back to Naruto.

"That locket has a legend behind it. It is said that two of those exist in the world. They each choose one person, and only that person can wear the locket. You see these lockets are said to be special. The two who wear these lockets will have their destinies intertwined for all their lives."

"This is for you, Naruto. I don't know if it'll be of any help, but I think that you were destined to have it.

Naruto clenched his hand around the locket, squeezing it tightly.

He would protect the possession of his father. That was all that mattered to him...

XxXxX

"All dead? I see...then that means we'll have to step up our game."

"Um...what do you suggest?"

"Assassination. I'm tired of these direct battles. Kill them from the shadows, before they even have a chance to retaliate."

"Yes, as you wish."

"We must finish them...if he comes back before the town is ours...we're screwed. Now get to work! Set up an assassination, use our best men! I don't even want the bodies left to find. Finish and burn them. Got it!?"

"Y-Yes, dono!"

"My my..we're in trouble if we don't get results soon...we better kill these bastards, and fast..."

XxXxX

"Thanks a lot Ossan! If it weren't for you...I don't think Hinata or I would be here."

Hinata nodded. "Yes...T-Thank you for the help..."

Tsubaki gave a laugh.

"No trouble, always good to have company. Now, please come by again sometime, I'd love to here your own stories, and I'd love to see the son of my best friend back once again."

Naruto gave a start, but eased back into a calm smile.

"Yeah...I'll come back. I promise."

"A deal then. So, you'll want to head to the west, a mile or so, and you'll see the village."

Naruto gave a nod, waving one last time to Tsubaki as he and Hinata departed the house.

"See ya later, Ossan!!"

Once Tsubaki was out of sight, Naruto turned to Hinata, a bright smile on his face.

"Well then, let's go!"

Hinata smiled giving a nod.

"Y-Yes!"

Naruto gave a nod, turning back to the road ahead of him.

"Alright then, let's go!"

He and Hinata set off at a quick pace, Naruto's hand gravitating to his chest. There was the necklace, given to him by Tsunade. And, also around his neck, a charred black locket. He felt the locket through his shirt, and gave a smile.

This mission wasn't over yet...

Part One: The Legacy, End

A/N: So, that's that for this chapter! So, I know that last part made it sound like the fic was over, but it isn't. You see this fic is broken up into three parts, "The Legacy", "Town of the Full Moon", and "Love's Forte." These three parts consist of Hinata's Confidence.

So, as stated in the latest Manga chapter SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER!!! Naruto really is Yondaime's son. Also, it is revealed that Yondaime's name is Namikaze Minato, and Naruto's mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina. However, I've already given them names, and so these names will stay in this fic. Also, let me just gloat for one second.

HA!! HE WAS NARUTO'S FATHER!! STICK THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT YOU DISBELIVERS!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Ok...I'm done. Sorry, but I've wanted to know for so long, and now I know that Naruto is Yondaime's son, I'm a little overjoyed.

Ok, so once again, sorry for not updating in so long. I promise to do a better job with the updating. Well, see you in chapter 10!