Chapter 10

Naruto woke up very early to find Hinata in his arms and figured that they must have moved closer together while they were in their sleep. He smiled and gave her a light kiss on the forehead and thought long and hard about his decisions thus far. First was his decision to leave his beloved village of Konoha and its ramen to warm his belly, his friends to confide in, and the familiar-ness of everything there. He had to admit though, he didn't miss any of it one bit. He hadn't regretted a single decision he had made, even his descent into the hellish depths of the canyon. It was worth it all for the person in his arms.

He smirked at himself, recalling his views on being with someone at the age of sixteen, how he had said it was pointless and how it could and would fall away so easily. This was different though, it went without saying. His feelings for Hinata were not shallow, nor did they suddenly leap on him. These feelings were deep-seated and had grown over the time he knew her. They were more than just a crush. This was love; he had no doubt in his mind about it. Others may claim that it does not exist or that it is impossible to feel it at his age, but their words were crushed by what he felt.

He laughed in spite of himself. Ninja are not supposed to use silly words like "feelings." They were supposed to be strong in will and untouchable by emotion. He ran this through his head until Hinata woke up and looked up at him with her large white eyes. "Mmm…" she mumbled, stretching, "Good morning." She smiled her signature smile, the tiny one that hardly was there at all but added a feeling of content on her face. She couldn't believe that everything that had happened… happened. It was all so unreal, so impossible. She lay naked and warm next to the one she loved who was conveniently missing a shirt.

Suddenly, she blushed harder than she ever had before. She was naked in bed… with Naruto… She freaked out and hid under the covers, trying to hide her face. It was so scary. Now that she finally had the one she loved, she was shyer than ever when she really ran it through her head. She quickly grabbed some clothes on the side of the bed and began dressing herself beneath the sheets. What was she thinking?

Naruto was baffled by her sudden shyness. "Hinata," he said curiously, "Why are you freaking out all of a sudden? Is something wrong?"

A tiny voice came from under the covers. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to do that! I don't know what I was thinking…"

Naruto was a bit confused. "I don't see why you're so worried, you didn't do anything wrong."

Hinata peeked out from underneath the covers just enough to reveal her white, worried eyes. "R-really?" she stuttered, "You mean it?"

The young traveler just smiled. "Of course you haven't done anything wrong." He slipped lower into the covers and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, and that's all that matters."

The young Hyuuga's eyes went from surprise to embarrassment very quickly, but then to hide her full-face blush she slid back under the covers to finish getting dressed. Naruto also turned to the other side of the bed, grabbed his things and went into the bathroom. "I'll be right back, okay Hinata?" he said just before he went in.

Hinata, now on her stomach, pulled up the covers on the side to reveal her face. "Okay," she said, then went back to changing. Naruto smiled back and walked into the bathroom to get his day clothes on. Hinata was very scared of all the changes that had happened recently, and everything was just beginning to hit her. She had turned her whole life in another direction by leaving the village and all she knew. She wouldn't see her cousin Neji anymore, or her home, or her friends… Suddenly, unable to hold it back, she began to cry.

Immediately when Naruto heard the sobbing he came rushing, half-naked, out of the bathroom. "Hinata!" he exclaimed, kneeling down beside her, "What's wrong?"

She sniffled a little bit and wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm just thinking about how we may never see anyone we knew again. It's all left behind…"

Naruto felt a little pang of sadness as he recalled his old friends in the village as well… Kakashi, Sakura, and… Iruka… the man that made him feel accepted when he was alone, and even now when he felt wanted by someone else, he was still like a father, his family. Suddenly, Naruto's head jerked up. "Hinata…" he said suddenly, "We have to go now!"

Hinata was surprised, but sprang into action, getting all of her stuff ready. "Wait, what's wrong?" she asked hurriedly. In his panic she forgot about the village and got going as fast as she could.

"Just come on!" he yelled, "We may not have much time!"

After all of their stuff was back in their small packs they set out on the road again, the paved path beneath them whizzing by, and the wind blowing in their faces. Hinata's question still remained unanswered. "What is going on?!" she demanded out of him.

"Hinata," he said, "The first time I went out for Sasuke when I was twelve, Jiraya stopped us before we could leave. He said that if we ran away on something that was not mission-related, then we would be considered 'Missing Ninja,' and we would be hunted by the ANBU. Think about it for a second."

Hinata's face went pale with realization. "So that means…" Her voice trailed off before she started again. "With all of that commotion back there, you are sure to have been mentioned, and ANBU will come here like bloodhounds on a scent."

"I believe that they have been tracking our scent already," he said. "It is most likely that they have been following us ever since we left the village and are just waiting for the correct moment to strike." He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "How to lose them…" he said out loud, "How to lose them, how to lose them…"

He did this for several minutes until finally he came up with an idea. "Hinata," he said, "When I give the signal, take my hand and don't let go. Ready?"

Hinata nodded.

"Good." He placed his fingers in the strange cross seal. "Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled, and 100-someodd shadow replications appeared around the pair. Then about half of them placed their hands into seals. "Henge!" they yelled, and they turned into replications of Hinata. Each took the hand of a Naruto clone and ran off in different directions through the forest.

Suddenly, three ANBU members in their classic face masks leaped down from the trees and began throwing their daggers in random directions. The clones had them so confused, however, that many of their kunai ended up in the trunks of trees or hopelessly lost in the forest. All of the clones used this time to speed as fast as they could away from that spot. The pursuing ninja were befuddled, and decided that the only things that they could do were chase after them through the woods.

After they had gotten a good distance away they stopped. "Naruto," she whispered, even though she was convinced that they had lost the pursuers, "Why don't we just stop running? The more we run the more trouble we get in, and we can't evade them forever. Let's just stop. It's pointless, and it would be a struggle every day to get away."

Naruto was caught off-guard by her proposal. "Hinata…" he said quietly, "I know that you don't like being chased by the ANBU. I don't like it either. Hell, life would be so much easier if we just gave in right now; we could grow old and still be remembered as ninja. But for me…" He looked up at her, his eyebrows furrowed into a look of determination like the one he had on when he first left the village of Konoha.

"For me, this is more than just running away. This is about finding what I really am, and this is one of the best ways to become Hokage, to learn about the outside world. If I just give up now, I would be giving up on everything I believe in, all of my hopes, my dreams," he softened his look at Hinata, "And you. I want to be Hokage; that has never changed in me. But now, if I gave up on my journey, I wouldn't just be losing all of the chances I have at attaining that title, I would be giving up the chance to be the best person I could be for you."

Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes for a few moments, drinking in his emotion and letting it flow through her veins, through her subconscious. He gave up his entire old life to become a better person… for her. Everything he had said was too overwhelming, and she fell into his arms weeping. "Naruto…" she sobbed, "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

Naruto only stroked her hair and smiled. "It's okay, it's okay."

Slowly, the Hyuuga heiress righted herself and wiped the tears from her eyes. The old her had fallen away, the unconfident scared girl of her childhood that was always nervous to make bold decisions. Now, if even just by a little bit, she felt stronger than she ever had before. She returned Naruto's soft gaze with the one that he had worn through this whole thing, the one that said she was set in what she wanted to do. "We have to hurry then," she said, and Naruto responded with a nod.

They flew through the trees, covering their tracks with a new Jutsu that Hinata had learned. Finally, after another hour or so of running, they came to a small clearing with one huge tree in the center. Hinata scanned the area with her Byakugan and found that one of the trees was hollowed, and the entrance was hidden just beneath the soil. She pointed this out and they dug through the earth until they found the small hole. When they entered they saw that it was very roomy, with enough space for at least ten people lying flat out on the ground. Then, after they had gotten all of their stuff through, they covered the entrance back up.

The tree was very dimly lighted from small holes that had been made in the trunk, but disguised enough from the outside for it to be impossible to tell that they were there. Naruto collapsed onto the ground, lying spread eagle, his arms and legs flung out to the sides. Hinata sat down next to him and gazed at his tired body. She reached for the neck of his jacket and grabbed the zipper, pulling it down so his jacket lay open. She then, with a little bit of assistance from Naruto, was able to get it off. Blushing, she propped him up and lifted his shirt off.

Naruto looked at her inquisitively. "What are you doing?" he asked, a slight blush appearing on his face.

"I'm just helping you get comfortable," she said with her little smile stretching across her mouth and her cheeks powdered red.

"Oh," replied Naruto, "In that case…" He sat up on his legs and slowly took Hinata's white jacket off.

"What are you doing?" she asked, putting a slight emphasis on the word 'you.'

"You looked a little bit warm, so I thought I might help you cool off."

Suddenly, Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and gave him a long, deep kiss. Then, slowly and suddenly at the same time, she slipped her tongue into his mouth and ran her hands over his warm back. He responded by wrapping his arms around her and aggressively moving his tongue in between her lips. Soon they were on their sides, kissing each other passionately.

Hinata was beginning to need a breath of fresh air, so she slowly pulled back from his face. Naruto, however, wasn't about to finish. He reached down and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, slowly pulling it up over her head. He ran his fingers along her smooth stomach and pressed his lips against hers once more.

"This was the day," she thought, "The day that I left behind everything I had to live the dream that few even dare to touch. It was all so sudden, just over the course of a few weeks. Back in Konoha I was only what my father wanted me to be. Now, however, I can be anything I want, do anything I want. I'm… free. I'm free to be with him."

Naruto looked at Hinata for a moment. "Hey Hinata," he said, "Are you okay?"

Hinata gave him a long, deep kiss, her tongue moving around his lips. "I'm better than I've ever been in my life," she whispered in his ear before she began nibbling on it.

By the time they were finished all of their clothes were scattered around the hollowed tree. Hinata, however enthusiastic she had been, had decided along with Naruto that sex was just too much now, especially without protection. At the young age of sixteen, she was not ready for motherhood, and didn't want to risk it. However, they could have a very good time without doing any of that and that night they had taken full advantage of it.

Naruto had fallen asleep before Hinata, leaving Hinata in thought. She was amazed at how much she had changed in between the time she left and where she was now. She was free of her family's expectations, and even more than that she had the confidence to confront her life head-on. If she ever did go back, she would be a much better person already.

However, she thought, she was in no hurry as long as she had Naruto. He was the world to her, and the fact that he felt the same way about her made her feel like she could take on the world and all it could throw at her. Her moves had all been bold, and she didn't regret any of them.