Chapter Eleven: Picnic for Eight and Sisters Reunited
The sun rose over the horizon and it hit the village of Konoha, in all its glory. The sun was in the sky before Hinata was awake. Her body ached from the mission and she eased out of bed. She stood up and made her way to the kitchen and she opened the refrigerator, which was full of food. Naruto had been eating healthier recently and she smiled as she cast a glance back at her lover. He's really grown up. She thought to herself. Naruto was still deep asleep and she made herself a plate of bacon and eggs. As she ate, many thoughts ran through her mind. She thought of Naruto and her, and of their passionate night. She thought of how they had rescued Gaara and how close Naruto had become to everyone.
The day wore on and Naruto finally awoke around noon. Hinata smiled and she kissed him.
"You're finally awake. Its almost noon."
She said and Naruto sat up before speaking.
"Sorry I slept so late. I was exhausted from the mission."
Hinata sat on the edge of the bed and she shook her head and her long raven hair fell to her shoulders.
"We should go out and do something today."
Hinata said and Naruto rolled out of the bed, quickly made it up and he dressed.
"Well, we can always train, but that's not very much fun. I'm curious. What would you like to do today Hinata?"
Hinata also dressed and she moved close to him and she hugged him.
"I want to go to the lake with you and a few of our friends."
Naruto nodded and he dug his swimming trunks out of the drawer and he nodded.
"Who should we invite?"
Hinata put her finger to her lips and she thought for a moment before she spoke.
"Sakura, Lee, Neji and Tenten."
Naruto nodded and he hugged her.
"Sounds good to me Hinata. Shall we go my hime?"
Hinata blushed when Naruto called her hime.
"Naruto. Why did you call me hime?"
He looked away and he shrugged.
"Because you're heiress to one of the most powerful clans in the village, and because I think of you as my princess, since I'm going to be Hokage one day."
Hinata's blush faded and she moved to hug him from behind and he smiled.
"That's so sweet of you."
Naruto laid his hands over hers and he smiled.
"Glad you like it. Come on, let's get going. Today is already half over."
Hinata kissed his cheek and they walked out of the apartment, locking the door behind them. Once on the street, they were greeted by various people. Almost immediately they were spotted by Neji and Tenten. Neji nodded at them both and he approached, holding Tenten by the hand.
"You two look happy. Where are you headed off to?"
Hinata smiled and she nodded.
"We are happy. We were heading to the lake. Would you like to come with us?"
Tenten giggled and she nodded.
"We were just headed there ourselves, weren't we Neji?"
The older Hyuga nodded and a soft smile crossed his lips.
"We were actually going to meet Lee and Sakura there. They said they had an announcement to make."
The four of them nodded and started towards the village gates. They passed through the gates and then they turned into the forest. The lake was located just inside the forest, in a clearing where flowers of all kinds bloomed. It was originally found by Ino, and the news had spread to all of the other members of the Konoha Twelve. The four young Shinobi reached the lake several minutes after they had entered the forest and they smiled at what they seen. It was a truly beautiful sight, to see such a pristine lake in the middle of a forest clearing.
"Hey guys! Over here!"
Came the voice of Sakura. She was sitting on the edge of the lake next to Rock Lee, both of them hand in hand with their feet dipped into the cool water.
"So this was your announcement."
Muttered Neji. The two of them stood up and they smiled.
"Yeah. Sakura finally said yes to me. We are officially a couple now, just like you guys. I've never been happier."
Sakura smiled and they chuckled.
"I can't believe I never noticed how much of a great guy Lee is. I was always so hung up on Sasuke. But now, I can move on and be happy."
They all nodded and they say on the grass. By Sakura's feet was a basket and a blanket.
"I'm glad you could all come. We were going to have a picnic, but its no fun with only two people."
Naruto helped Lee and Neji roll out the blanket while the ladies unpacked the basket. A feast was laid out for the six of them. Naruto's eyes went wide and he looked at them all.
"There's more food here than I think Chouji could eat. Speaking of which, I haven't seen Ino or Chouji since we returned. I wish they could join us."
As if on command, Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi walked into the clearing, hand in hand.
"Chouji wanted to swim so here we are. Ooh! A picnic! Let's eat!"
Now there were ten of them. They sat and talked about various things while they ate, mainly about their respective missions and what they had been up to. Suddenly the conversation turned to focus on Naruto's three year absence. Hinata looked at her boyfriend and she nuzzled his shoulder.
"I'm curious too. Tell us about your training."
Naruto nodded and he smiled.
"Well, Jiraiya pretty much retrained me. We started from the basics and worked up from there. I have a better understanding of Genjutsu and how to spot it, but I'm nowhere near as good as Sakura. My taijutsu has improved, but I'm nowhere near as proficient as Lee. My ability to control Chakra has improved and I can now use the Rasengan one handed, without a shadow clone. Pretty much I've just improved on my weak points and made my strengths much better."
He finished talking and every was silent.
"Most of us here know you're strong Naruto. You managed to defeat me in the finals of the Chuunin exam. I think you've always been strong."
Neji said quietly. Three years ago Naruto had defeated Neji in the Chuunin exams, and Neji had taken the loss well. He had improved himself further and he secretly wanted a friendly rematch. Naruto smiled at his friends.
"Each of us is strong in one way or another. Strength doesn't only come from brute force. It comes from the heart."
Hinata nodded and so did everyone else.
"Naruto, you've really grown up. I know you better than most people. You're really grown up."
Sakura said and she smiled.
"Well, now that we've eaten, let's swim."
Said the eager Ino. Everyone had their swim suits on underneath their normal clothes and they hopped into the lake. Lee was floating on his back and Sakura belly flopped onto him. Neji chuckled and he picked Tenten up on his shoulders.
"Chicken fight battle royale!"
Each of the men picked their partners onto their shoulders and they all rushed at each other, trying to knock each other down. Ino went down first after Tenten pulled her leg. Sakura was down next as Hinata pushed her backwards. All that was left was Hinata and Tenten. Naruto and Neji circled each other. Hinata lunged by Neji sidestepped the blow and Tenten caught Hinata's arm and pulled her down. Tenten laughed and she thrust her arm into the air.
"Victory!"
Neji smiled and he tossed her into the air and caught her in his arms. They kissed and everyone laughed.
"That was a lot of fun."
Naruto said and they all swam for a while longer. They all climbed out of the water and dressed again, and Neji took Naruto aside.
"I've never seen my cousin this happy. Between you and I, Hiashi is furious that she's living with you. Keep her safe Naruto. I love her as much as you do. And if you see Hiashi, don't let him intimidate you. By law, Hinata is not his daughter anymore."
Said the elder Hyuga to the blond ninja. Naruto nodded and he smiled.
"I won't let her be unhappy or let her be harmed. And Hiashi can shove it."
Neji nodded and he smiled. Every went their separate ways and Naruto and Hinata returned to their apartment. Waiting for them was Kurenai Yuuhi.
"You guys look like you had fun. Naruto, Tsunade needs to talk to you and Hinata, right away."
Naruto nodded and the three of them entered the Hokage tower. Tsunade was talking with Shizune when they entered.
"Naruto, glad you came. I have some rather bad news for you."
Naruto gripped Hinata's hand, and he nodded, telling her to go on.
"Well, I'll make this simple. Kakashi is in the hospital."
Naruto was shocked and he balled his fist.
"Who's strong enough to hospitalized Kakashi?"
Tsunade looked at Hinata and then she looked away.
"Hiashi Hyuga sneak attacked Kakashi and several other Jounin while you were at the lake with your friends. Jiraiya stepped in and he fled. We have Shinobi pursuing him. Hiashi fled the village."
Hinata stepped forward after hearing this.
"Where's my sister?!"
Tsunade smiled thinly.
"She's with Asuma right now. We need you and Naruto to look after her until we can find someone to look after her. Right now your father is a missing-nin. He's to be captured and brought back for trial."
Hinata then broke down in tears and Naruto held her in his arms.
"We'll look after her. He did this because of me, didn't he Tsunade?"
Tsunade nodded and she sighed.
"Just take care of them both Naruto. They're going through a hard time."
Naruto nodded and Tsunade dismissed them.
"I'll have Asuma bring Hanabi by soon. Go home and wait for her."
Naruto nodded and they went back to their apartment. He laid with Hinata on the bed and he held her, stroking her long raven hair.
"Everything will be ok. I won't let you go until you're better."
Hinata buried her face in his chest and a knock came at the door.
"Naruto, its Asuma."
Naruto nodded and he opened the door. Hanabi was now 11, and she looked much like her sister. She was a strong girl and she carried a bag with her. Asuma tapped his forehead and laughed.
"Good luck Naruto. This is only temporary."
Naruto flashed his bug grin and he closed the door behind Hanabi. The younger Hyuga sat on the bed with her sister and she stroked Hinata's hair.
"Hanabi, I'm glad you're here."
Hinata said and she hugged her baby sister.
Hanabi hugged her back and she smiled.
"We're family. This is what we do."
Naruto leaned against the wall and he smiled.
"Yes. This is family."
Hanabi nodded she laid down and she fell asleep. Taking a cue, Hinata also fell asleep. The sun had set and Naruto rolled up next to Hinata and fell asleep. This was only their first day as a couple living together. As Naruto fell asleep, he wondered what the next day had in store for them all.
TO BE CONTINUED…