Note: Okay, this officially marks this sequel as having more chapters than Awakenings. Yay! It's been fun! More coming up! Thanks for reading! Oh, and check out my profile page forlinks to a Naruhina AMV I found and to a new music video from my fav band Random Ninjas! Rawk on Narutards!
All The Difference 11
Naruto walked with Hinata up the winding path to the large doors of the Hyuuga training grounds. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Of course! This is going to be training for both of us!"
He gave her the thumbs up, and she gave him an uncertain smile. Hinata felt so torn. This training would help her becoming stronger, especially against Itachi's psychological torture attack, which would make Naruto happy and not as worried. But to test the technique on her Naruto…she shook her head and drew her arms in closer to her body. Naruto stopped and turned towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him.
"Hinata," he said, seeing the worry clearly expressed on her face and through her body language, "daijobu desu (it's all right). I'll be fine. This will make me stronger, too."
Hinata didn't look reassured. He put up his hand and pointed his pinky finger at her.
"Aishiteru (I love you), remember?" he said with a bright smile.
Hinata smiled. She raised her hand and hooked her little pink finger around his in a symbolic gesture of promise.
"Aishiteru," she returned in her soft voice, an equally bright smile on her face.
He released her pinky and slid his hand brushing across her cheek and behind her head, pulling her face towards his. He kissed her forehead, then looked into her eyes.
"Everything will be all right," he said in tenderly. Hinata's heart pounded and her face burned with fever. She suddenly felt shy, as if they had just met and she was being swept away by him.
"Sa, let's go," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door of the training grounds.
Pushing the large doors opened, Naruto was surprised to find Neji and Tenten inside along with Hiashi.
"Hey! What are you guys doing here?"
"They're here to train as well," Hiashi answered for them. "I've been training both Hinata and Neji together on the same technique. Tenten has agreed to train with Neji."
"Cool!" Naruto said as he held out his fist to Tenten and Neji who knocked their fists against his, the growing morning light illuminating their smiling faces.
"All right, let us begin."
At the sound of Hiashi's voice, the four young nins lined up and looked attentively at their sensei.
"Hinata and Neji have been training on this technique with me for the last two weeks. We are actually at the final stage of the training, which is why I have asked the two of you," he looked at Naruto and Tenten, "to assist. This technique is known as the Genwaku Hyuuga (Blinding In The Sun) and has been passed down for generations in the Hyuuga family. Although the name indicates that this technique only attacks sight, this technique can cause a full disruption of all the senses, in effect cutting off a person from the external world. It uses the Hyuuga byakuugan capability to see and attack the nervous system that sends the signals of the senses to the brain with surgical precision. In effect, it is a high level genjutsu attack, similar to the Uchiha clan's technique. The reason it is named as an attack on sight is because the ability to attack sight and sight alone, especial with only temporary consequences, requires the highest level of chakra control. An uncontrolled version of the attack will cut off a person's senses completely and even permanently, a devastating consequence for the victim. That is why I have asked you, Tenten, and you, Naruto, to participate in this exercise. Although I am sure that Neji and Hinata would not want to hurt anyone, the stakes are much higher for them because they will be mastering this technique on someone very dear to them. This situation is best for optimal results."
Hiashi-sama paused for a moment, then added, "I myself mastered this technique with my wife as the target."
The four young ninja's eyes grew wide with astonishment and awe.
"I believe that Neji and Hinata having enough chakra control to master this technique today. However, only their performance can say for sure whether or not they are at a high enough chakra control level. If successful, the blindness will only last a day or two at the most. Face your target."
Neji took his place and looked at Tenten. Hinata stepped in front of Naruto and slowly raised her timid eyes up to look into the bright blue eyes of her beloved, eyes that matched the color of the beautiful bright sky above him, limitless and full of hope and life. Both Neji and Hinata began with an expression of earnest, their souls shaking inside at the potential amount of damage they could do to the person that stood in front of them, a person that meant the world to them.
Simultaneously, Naruto and Tenten burst out into smiles, raising their hands up in front of them and giving their respective partners a thumbs up sign.
"Ganbatte (Go for it)!" they both said.
Both Neji and Hinata smiled, their trembling souls solidifying into resolve. They would not waste the risk Tenten and Naruto were willing to take for their sake.
The two Hyuuga youths took deep breaths, evening out their breathing into a steady rhythm, then hyper-activated their byakuugan. The looked straight into the eyes of their targets. The sounds of birds fluttering and chirping reached them from the trees, the clear sky hung above them with the occasional white, fluffy cloud floating by. Hiashi stood to the side, watching the entire scene intently
"Genwaku Hyuuga!"
The heads of both Naruto and Tenten flung backwards, as if they had been struck in the forehead by a fist. Then both of their hands came instinctively up to their faces, as if they were recovering from the shock of a physical strike to the head. Hinata and Neji were immediately upon them.
"Are you all right?" Neji's concerned voice trembled slightly.
"Can you hear me?" Hinata's soft voice asked, barely a whisper.
Naruto and Tenten were shaking their heads as if trying to shake off dizziness. Then they looked up and blinked. They turned left to right and looked as if they were searching for something while all the while blinking constantly. Their eyes were still the same bright colors of brown and blue.
Neji grabbed Tenten's hand, and Hinata touched Naruto's face.
"Can you feel this?" they both said full of worry.
"I'm all right," Naruto finally said.
"Yeah, me, too," Tenten added.
"I can hear you fine," Naruto said.
"I can feel your hand on mine," Tenten replied.
"I just can't see anything," both Naruto and Tenten said simultaneously.
Hinata and Neji let out a breath of relief that they had been holding in since the end of the execution of the Genwaku Hyuuga.
"Excellent. Hinata, Neji, you have now mastered the Genwaku Hyuuga," Hiashi said.
"WOOOO!" Naruto yelled with a punch in the air.
"Congratulations!" Tenten said smiling.
Both Hinata and Neji laughed with relief, breathing hard with a few drops of sweat coming down their foreheads as if they had just run a 100 yard dash.
"Now," Hiashi interrupted the celebrations, "It's time for Tenten and Naruto to train."
Hinata and Neji nodded. They lead Tenten and Naruto into the forest area of the training grounds and jumped up into the trees. For the rest of the morning, Naruto and Tenten dodged kunai in their sightless condition.
Sasuke walked up the road that leads to the building where the Hokage's office was housed. It was mid morning, and he had seen something in the mirror that he resolved to get rid of today. In his reflection, he had seen the ominous presence of Orochimaru's cursed mark on the back of his left shoulder next to his neckline. As long as he had that, he was branded with Konoha's destruction, a price too high to pay, even if it meant avenging his clan's destruction with the death of his brother. He would rid himself of this cursed seal, even if it meant he would lose the power of its demonic release, a defining power that gave him the ability to kill his own powerful brother. He looked up at the people around him. They no longer floated past him like apparitions from another dimension. They laughed and moved with life, breathing the same peaceful air he breathed, smiling under the same sun he basked in.
He planned to ask the 5th Hokage to remove the cursed seal. If anyone could do it, it would be her. His hand reached up to open the front door to the building when it suddenly opened by itself. Skipping back to avoid being struck in the face by the opening door, Sasuke watched as Sakura burst out into the daylight.
"Sasuke-kun! What are you doing here?"
"Ah, Sakura, I was…I was just going to ask the 5th for a favor."
"Oh, she's in the middle of an emergency surgery. I was supposed to train with her this morning, but now I'll be training by myself. What did you need from her?"
"I…uh…I wanted to ask her if she would be able to remove this bruise from my back."
Sasuke expected Sakura's face to fall into worry as it always did when the cursed seal Orochimaru had put on him came up. She had been there when it happened after all. Instead, Sakura burst out into a full smile the way rays of sunshine burst through dark clouds after a heavy rain.
"I'm sure the 5th can help you with that! I've been asking her all kinds of questions about it, and she sure seems to know all about it! She and Orochimaru were on the same team after all. Did you know that? Sannin, right? It was her, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya. The 3rd was their teacher…"
"Uh…Sakura," Sasuke cut off her burst of energetic loquaciousness, "since you've asked her about it and she's busy right now…would you mind taking a look at it?"
Sakura was a bit startled.
"Ano (um), sure, if you don't mind. I mean, I probably wouldn't be able to remove it or anything. I'm not that advanced yet, but I can probably find out something about it and how it's affecting your body…"
Sakura reached out to pull back the high collar of Sasuke's blue shirt. Sasuke's hand came up and grabbed hers.
"Um, not here."
"Oh, okay, where then?" she blinked.
He looked from left to right.
"Follow me," he said and turned, letting go of her hand.
"Okay…"
"There's a place I've been meaning to visit for awhile. It's probably the best place where we can get some privacy."
"Okay…"
In her head, Sakura was busily reviewing over what Tsunade had taught her and all the books she had poured over in the medical library during Sasuke's absence, trying to learn everything she could about the cursed seal. She searched her mind, looking for information applicable to the task at hand.
Sakura looked around at the decrepit, abandoned buildings in the ghost town that used to be the heart of the bustling, thriving Uchiha clan life. The symbol of the red fan marked the walls, the doorways, and deteriorating cloth.
How horrible…Sakura thought quietly to herself.
"Nobody will bother us here. It's a ghost town now, as you can see," Sasuke said.
Sasuke kept walking up the main street, and Sakura followed. Sakura's eyes took in everything she could, and they fell on one of the Uchiha clan red fan symbols on a wall. It was one of a series of the symbol that formed a line across one of the low walls. This one, though was cracked, as if someone had deliberately embedded a sharp object right into its center in an act of malice.
"My brother, Itachi, did that," Sasuke said as he followed her gaze and saw the broken symbol, and then he added, "…and this was my house."
Sakura turned to look upon a medium sized home, rather larger than her own, that was done with very traditional architecture. The once bright roof tiles were faded and cracked and the thick paper that covered the windows was ripped and decaying.
Sasuke walked on. Sakura stood for awhile staring at the home, a sadness wrenching at her heart. She turned to look at Sasuke's back as he walked on, not even giving a second glance back at the place where he was once lived as a happy child. Her eyes softened sadly. She would never be able to look at him the same way again. She remembered what he had said to her long ago when they were fresh out of the academy, about how the pain of being alone was far worse than a scolding from a parent. The full impact of his words struck her now as she walked in the streets of his destroyed family and looked upon the broken remains of his home. She felt that for once, she could truly catch a glimpse of his pain. The image of the cool guy in school that all the girls liked, the famous Uchiha boy that everyone went to see at the Chuunin exams, melted away like a mirage in the distance, and what she saw in the place of all those shallow images was a growing young man who painfully carried the burdens of an unspeakable childhood trauma…alone.
She glanced down at the ground, looking away from him as if she felt she was intruding upon his solitude and grief, inwardly deriding herself for even thinking she could ever comprehend what he had gone through. Then she followed him.
They arrive at the end of the main road which led up into a forest covered hill. On the hillside, she realized, were graves. In the center, there was a small building. Sasuke and Sakura walked up to the entrance. Sakura stepped a bit forward into the room. Inside, the light came in from a series of slits at the top of all four walls in the room. In the center of the room was a picture of the large red fan. Around the room, she saw rows and rows of names etched in black letters into wood, names of the deceased Uchiha clan members. She bit her lower lip when she noticed that a large number of the names had the same date of death.
Sasuke sat down on the steps that led up into the memorial.
"I'm ready."
Sakura turned at the sound of his voice and watched as he pulled his shirt over his head, taking it off and offering her a full view of the cursed seal that had plagued her nightmares for the past two and a half years.
Two and a half years…that means we only have 6 months…until…
She willed away her fears and replaced it with resolve.
We'll get rid of this long before Orochimaru comes for him.
With that, she walked up to Sasuke and put her hands hovering over the cursed seal, one hand over the other.
"I'm beginning."
"Ah," Sasuke acknowledged.
With her chakra and medical nin skills, she examined the ominous bruise. After awhile, she found herself shifting the focus of her examination away from the bruise. Then she gasped and stopped.
"What is it?" He turned to look at her shocked face.
"It's not localized."
Sasuke gave her a questioning look and shook his head slightly to indicate that he didn't know what she meant.
"I had thought that the bruise would be the only place where I would find any abnormalities. But…but it's all over your body," she said with a pained look on her face.
"I remember seeing it activate and spreading across your body, but then it would retreat and go back to this spot when you went back to normal. So I thought it would just be in one place. But, your whole body, possibly ever cell in your body, is affected, changed somehow, and when the seal is release, it must activate those changes to manifest more intensely…"
"So…desu ne...(I…see…)" Sasuke said slowly. He was dismayed at the news, but at the same time not too surprised.
This won't be easy to remove…it might not be removable at all…
Sakura felt that a look of horror was creeping across her face so she quickly wiped it away. She laughed nervously, trying to sound cheerful.
"Daijobu (It's okay)! I'm sure Tsunade-sama will be able to get rid of it for you! She's the best medical ninja in the world! We're really lucky to have her here. Chouji and Neji wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for her and Shizune-sama…"
"Chouji and Neji's lives wouldn't have been at risk if I hadn't left…"
For a moment, they were both silent.
"Ah…" Sakura said with a falling tone.
Sasuke held his hands palms up. He looked down at the lines that marked them.
"It was too high a price to pay…what was I thinking…I didn't want to be Itachi's puppet, but I only became someone else's…in the end I really just royally screwed up everything."
"No," Sakura answered without hesitation.
Sasuke turned to look at her. She was crouched behind him, her turquoise eyes glimmered, large and friendly, a sad smile gracing her face.
"You came back…"
Sasuke felt absorbed into her eyes, as if he could swim in their sparkling depths and cleanse himself of all his sins.
"…and that's going to make all the difference."
Sasuke looked away from her at the ground, feeling ashamed.
"You'll see," Sakura added as plopped herself down next to him.
They sat there for awhile in silence in the shade of the forest trees surrounded by the graves of the Uchiha clan members. A few streams of sunlight stole their way through the thick foliage and played upon the last member of that once great and still legendary clan. He sat there looking up at the few sparkling spots that allowed the blue sky to peak through the darkness, with eyes that he knew were poisoned with Orochimaru's blood. He felt his own body wasn't even his anymore.
"I remember you said you had two ambitions in life," Sakura broke the silence, "One was to kill you brother, and the other was to revive your clan."
Sasuke sat silent. What could he revive with a poisoned body? What good was the Uchiha legacy if it's only going to be used for Orochimaru's twisted ambitions?
"Why don't you start by rebuilding this place. We can start with your house."
Sasuke still didn't respond.
Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.
"Come on, let's go. I wanna look inside and see what we can do. And for goodness sakes put on your shirt. You'll catch a cold like that," Sakura scolded.
They trotted back down the main road with Sakura dragging a reluctant Sasuke by the hand. When they reached his old home, Sakura let go of his hand and pulled open the door without hesitation, yanking it to slide over all the rust and dust that had built up over the years of neglect.
She went inside followed by a quiet Sasuke.
"Is this where your mom cooked all of her delicious food?"
She opened every window available to let in air and light on the old, dusty kitchen. She opened the old refrigerator.
"WHEW! What a smell! I'm sure your mom would never let it get like this."
Sasuke still stood silent. His eyes took in the site of the kitchen. It was unrecognizable to him.
"You know, sometimes I try to remember her face and I have a hard time remembering what it looks like exactly. I guess it's hard to keep an old memory alive…"
Sasuke could hardly separate his real memories from the bloody nightmare his brother had implanted into his mind. Sometimes, that memory, the scenes of everyone he cared about being murdered, seemed more real to him that his own memories. He tried to remember his mother the way he saw her every day, not the vision of her being slaughtered by his brother.
Sakura looked at him as he looked wistfully at the kitchen sink, as if he could see a ghost of his mother's form standing there preparing a meal.
Sakura's eyes softened.
"Sasuke-kun," she ventured, "Tsunade-sama taught me some techniques for psychological healing. It's what I used to heal Hinata when she was attacked by Itachi. I…I can help you remember her face if you want."
Sasuke looked at her with disbelieving eyes. Medical ninjas were quite amazing.
"The only thing is, I'd be able to see it, too, so if you don't mind…"
There was a silence where Sasuke looked like his was busy processing what she had said. Sakura held her breath.
"No, I don't mind. I'd like to give it a try," Sasuke replied finally with a sad smile.
"It helps that we're here. There's a lot here that will prime your mind for the memory."
"How much can I remember?"
"Depends on how much you want to remember."
"What do I do?"
"Where are you usually when you come in?"
"I used to walk in through here when I come home."
"Okay, that's a good starting point then."
Sakura walked across the kitchen to him. She held up her right hand and placed her two fingers, index and middle, against each other, and then the tips of these two fingers up to the middle of his face, slightly above the space right between his eyes. A blue chakra glow began to emanate from that spot.
Sasuke noticed Sakura closing her eyes. He decided to follow suit and closed his own eyes. He stood there for awhile with his eyes closed, waiting for something to happen. Finally, out of curiosity, he opened them and gasped when he realized he was looking on the kitchen of his childhood, exactly the way he remembered it. It was clean, tidy, and the sounds and smells of cooking filled the air. He heard the clanking of dishes and the turning off of running water. He turned to look at the back of his mother's form, turned away from him and busy with cooking, as if she'd never stopped doing so all this time.
"Sasuke-kun! Okaerinasai (Welcome home)!"
"Ta…tadaima (I'm home)," Sasuke replied, trying to overcome his shock. It was as his mother had come back to life.
"You're just in time for an afternoon snack. Are you hungry?"
"Hai…Okaasan (Mother)," his lips felt rusty as they formed the word he hadn't uttered in so long.
He went and took a seat at the table the way he always did. He looked up at his mother just in time to see her turn around revealing a full view of her smiling, warm, and loving face. She looked down at her son adoringly and placed a plate of gyoza (fried dumplings) and a cup of hot green tea down in front of him. He stared transfixed on her visage. Before she could retrieve her hands, he grabbed one of them. His jaw dropped a bit when he realized he could touch her.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
She put a hand up to his forehead to feel his temperature, then brushed aside some of the hair from his face as she cupped his cheek.
"You feel all right."
She pulled away and went back to busying herself with her cooking. Sasuke just stared at her, barely able to contain himself.
Suddenly, his father walked into the room.
"Oh, Sasuke, you're home all ready?"
Sasuke's father took his seat at the table. Sasuke looked at him in total disbelief. Then his mother sat down at the table, too, with a tray of gyoza and tea. They started to eat.
"What's wrong Sasuke? Why aren't you eating?" his father asked in a commanding voice.
Silently, Sasuke picked up his chopsticks, grabbed one of the dumplings between them, and took a bite. It tasted just like he remembered. He sat there and ate with his parents, as if nothing had ever happened. As the meal was finished, his eyes watered and their images and the kitchen began to blur from the tears forming pools in his eyes. He blinked, letting the tears stream down his face. When his eyes opened and his vision cleared, he was staring again at the dirty, dusty, unused kitchen again. It didn't look as foreign to him as it had when he had first stepped inside just a few moments ago.
Then he saw Sakura's pink hair, her large turquoise eyes were watery. She smiled sadly.
"You really do look a lot like her…" she said as a few tears streamed down her cheeks.
"A…arigato Sakura-chan," Sasuke said, wiping his wet face with his wrist, "that was… unbelievable."
They stepped out into the sunlight. Sasuke stood for a moment in front of his old home and stared at the wall in front of him with the cracked Uchiha clan symbol. At that moment, he resolved to fix that wall and repaint the symbol.
"Sa, why don't we make a list of materials we need and go to the store," Sakura said cheerfully.
"Ah," Sasuke replied as Sakura pulled out a pad of paper and pen.
Unlike years past, the clinking of chopsticks against the porcelain wasn't the only sound in the Hyuuga mansion dining room. Mixed in with those peaceful regularities were lively conversations coupled with the occasional outburst of laughter. Sitting on pillows atop grass tatami matting was quite a crowd. Along with Hinata's immediate family, Neji and Tenten sat at one end and Naruto sat at her side. Naruto's and Tenten's movements were of fairly regular speed, but it was obvious that each time they reached with their chopsticks for a new piece of salmon or were about to put food in their mouths, they were in a rather heightened state of concentration. Often they weren't quite looking directly at the person they were speaking to. Hinata and Neji had to restrain themselves from personally taking over the task of feeding their respective partners. This, after all, was part of Naruto and Tenten's training.
"You mean Hiashi-sensei taught you the Hidden Kunai, too?" Naruto said, a bit indignant.
"Yes," Neji answered simply.
"So, um…how long did it take you to master it?" Naruto probed.
"Oh, about a week," Neji said in a matter-of-fact manner.
Naruto's face fell.
"How about you?"
Naruto regained his composure.
"Oh, ano, it took me over a month, but you know, I was training with Jiraiya learning some of his sannin skills. You know how it goes…"
"Oh, yes, and what techniques did you learn?" Neji asked genuinely interested.
"Well, it's sort of a secret. I'll show you at the next Chuunin exams," Naruto said, toothy smile in place, a thumbs up shooting up in front of him.
"Yeah, I heard about that, the Chuunin exams are finally going to happen! I'm so excited!" Tenten said.
"I'm SOOOOO tired of being a genin!" Naruto said with emphasis, and then wondered out loud, "Why were they postponed for so long again?"
Hiashi answered his question.
"Because the attack at the last Chuunin exam weakened Konoha. Having another Chuunin exam opens up the borders and uses up our military resources. This leaves Konoha more vulnerable than usual to enemy attacks. That's probably why Orochimaru decided to attack at the last Chuunin exam."
The young genin nodded their heads in understanding.
Naruto burst into a smile.
"So that must mean Konoha is getting pretty strong again, ne?"
Hiashi smiled significantly at Naruto and gave each of the young nins at the table a meaningful look.
"Yes, indeed it has."
"OH YEAH! We're going to show all the other villages how cool we are!" Naruto said with a fire blazing in his eyes.
The other genins smiled in agreement and began animated discussions of who they think might make the rank of Chuunin this time.
"Neji," Hiashi's dignified voice rose above the flow of conversations in the room. Everyone markedly quieted down at this.
"Yes?"
"I've been meaning to ask you to consider moving into the main house."
For one of the few times in Neji's life, he was caught completely off guard. He hadn't seen this one coming in a thousand years.
"Demo (but)…I'm part of the branch family…I can't…"
"I've all ready talked to the branch and the main family. They've agreed to this on one condition."
"What?" Neji had to ask. The suspense was killing him.
"That I teach you everything I know."
Neji's jaw dropped. Everyone at the table was silent. Apparently, this had been Hiashi's little secret and was news to all of them.
"Well? Do you accept the conditions?" Hiashi pressed.
Neji looked like he was about to choke and was finally able to say, "Y-yes. Yes I do."
Tenten put her hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Hinata gave him a warm, congratulatory smile.
"It's settled then. I'll send for your things. You'll move in tonight."
Neji started to smile, disbelief still playing on his features.
"Thank you, Hiashi-sama."
"All right! You'd better watch out Neji! I'm not going to lose to a Hyuuga heir! Not to you, or you, or you!" Naruto, in his blindness was pointing wildly at the wrong people. First his finger was pointed towards Tenten, then to Hiashi sensei, and then Hinata's mother. Of course they all knew he had meant for Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi.
Naruto sat back into his seat crossing his arms with a self-satisfied look on his face while the rest of the dinner party tried to stifle their laughter.
"Tenten, Naruto, why don't you spend the night here until your vision returns," Hiashi said.
"Oh, Hyuuga-sama, I couldn't, it's okay," Tenten began to decline.
"I've all ready contacted your parents. They've agreed to it."
Finding that refusal wasn't an option, Tenten acquiesced with a polite nod, "Arigato."
"Naruto?" Hiashi's question was answered with a groan.
"I think I ate too much."
"Naruto? Would you like to stay the night until your vision returns?"
"Huh? Nani (what)?...Oh, yeah! That would be fun!"
"It's all settled then."
Hiashi stood up and the rest of them followed.
"Hinata, why don't you show our guests to their rooms."
"Hai, Otousan (Father)," Hinata complied.
As the genin peers filed down the hall after Hinata and the other family members were taking off in their respective directions, Naruto laid a hand on Neji's shoulder. Neji turned to look at Naruto, wondering what it was that he wanted.
"Ne, Hinata, I forgot where the bathroom was. Where is it? I need to pee!"
In the next moment, Neji's face looked like it was about to burst as he tried to hold back his laughter. Everyone else had frozen in their tracks as well, having heard Naruto's quiet request and turned to see that he was talking to the wrong person.
Neji couldn't hold it anymore; he burst out laughing inciting the rest of the party to do the same. Even Hinata's bell-like laughter could be heard in the cacophony. Naruto's hand came off of Neji's shoulder when he realized his mistake. He placed that hand behind his head and laughed embarrassed.
"Naruto! You can dodge kunai when you're blind but you can't recognize your own girlfriend?" Neji jeered as he laughed, wiping tears that had formed at the edges of his eyes.
"Ah hahahahaha," Naruto gave another embarrassed laugh, "I thought Hinata seemed to have gotten a little taller, hahahahahaha." This brought about a fresh burst of laughter from everyone. Even Hiashi chuckled with an amused smile.
"Oyasuminasai (goodnight)," they all took turns saying goodnight.
As the genin followed Hinata up some wooden steps and to the sleeping quarters, Neji held a hand up to his side. It had been a while since he had laughed like that.
They arrived at a long and wide hallway full of sliding wooden framed doors covered partially with thick paper. Hinata directed them to their rooms.
"This room is for you, Tenten-san. This one over here is your permanent room, Neji-oniisan. Naruto, yours is over here. If you need anything, I'm in that room over there. I'm right next to you, Tenten, to your right when you come out of your room."
"Arigato, Hinata-san."
Tenten and Neji went into their respective rooms.
Hinata took Naruto's hand and lead him over to his room.
"Naruto, if you need anything, my room is right across the hall from yours."
Naruto stood in front of his door in silence.
"Is there something wrong?" Hinata asked.
"Ano (um)…," he put a hand on his chin, "I thought I was going to stay with you in your room."
Naruto couldn't see it, but Hinata's face suddenly turned a deep shade of red. She leaned in to close to his ear with a hand up by her mouth and whispered,
"Ano (um)…I don't think my parents would be comfortable with that…"
"Eh?" Naruto said, clueless as always, "Oh, okay then."
He gave Hinata a hug and said, "Oyasumi."
"Oyasumi," she replied, her face still red.
Naruto went into his room and slid the door closed.
After feeling around the room and changing into some pajamas he found laid out for him on his bed, Naruto lay awake in bed, the blue light of a starry night falling through the window and reflecting off of his blinded eyes.
I still say you should have killed those two Akatsuki people. You'll probably have to fight them again later. Would've saved you the trouble.
"Not like that."
I could've taken them out in a cinch, you know, if you would have let me.
"I know, but I don't ever want to enjoy killing."
Why? In the end it's still killing. What difference does it make?
"All the difference."
You're not making any sense to me.
"It's not something I can explain, I guess. You'll just have to see for yourself."
What? What's the difference that it's going to make?
"I don't know. I just know, it's the way I want to live my life, and it'll make all the difference in how my life will play out."
Why don't you just not kill at all then?
"It's not as easy as that, I guess. If someone's going to threaten to kill or hurt someone, and I have the power to stop that, I can't just stand by and watch. Like I would have killed that Gaara if it meant saving Sakura."
Yeah, I still don't understand why you didn't just put that guy out of his misery.
"Because it's a misery I understand. And because Sakura was safe in the end without me having to kill Gaara. And it paid off didn't it? Gaara saved my friend, Fuzzy Eyebrows. If I had killed Gaara, then Fuzzy Eyebrows might not be alive today."
I still don't understand. Power is power. You can't do anything in this world without power, and you don't get power from being sentimental.
"Ahhh, but maybe there's different kinds of power."
The Kyubi turned over in its cage.
Note: Hahaha, Naruto cracks me up. Hope this was worth the wait, and please look forward to the next one! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Random Note: I sort of hesitated on watching the fillers at first, but they're pretty good ). I especially like all the Naruhina of course! Hahaha However, the fillers are rather lacking on the action sequence animations though…one of the major reasons why I like the Naruto anime so much. Wonder if they're on low budget right now…o O I wish they would animate some of the scenes from my fanfic, too, hahaha…
