Spider Pig, Spider Pig. Does whatever a Spider Pig does. Can he swing, on a web? No he can't, he's a pig. Look out, he is a Spider Pig. Chapter 14, y'all!
Okay…Chapter 14 is here with the answers to some of your questions. While this chapter will clear up the mystery surrounding Hikaru, it won't explain anything about the Mienai Segi. This chapter was simply too long so I'll put that part in the next one.
Now, as for this chapter – there's quite a bit of information here, plot twists (for some people) and revelations to go around – some good, some bad depending on your point of view. All I'm going to ask is that you read the entire thing – AUTHORS NOTES INCLUDED – before you PM me or leave a review. As the title says, there's a reason why things happen like they do. And there's a reason why I wrote this like I did. And I'll explain everything at the end so as not to spoil it for everyone.
I put a lot of effort and a TON of emotion into this chapter, because I wanted to convey some really strong feelings by every party that I referenced. Hopefully I've done just that and everyone appreciates the end result.
ZodiacBirdy: Yes, you guessed correctly. The symmetry reference for Anubis was a small homage towards Death The Kid from Soul Eater. Nice catch!
Weirdismyname: Thank you for the wonderfully supportive words. You'll probably enjoy this chapter more than anyone, so I hope that you like it and it gives you inspiration to update your own story soon (Beyond and Heiress' Purpose - check it out, everyone!)
Softwinds: Get better soon! Hope the creative juices start flowing again and you update The Ring That Binds.
So let's get this over with. And since Halloween is right around the corner, I thought I'd give you guys a two-for-one on the quote and disclaimer for this chapter. It's the same movie for those who don't get it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, and I have to say that it's nice to finally meet you, Masashi Kishimoto.
Masashi Kishimoto – So, we meet at last, whoever you are.
Disclaimer: Just so you know, there's a couple of things they don't teach you in Harvard Business School. One is how to cope with defeat, the other is how to handle a shotgun. I'm going to do both right now.
Masashi Kishimoto – Wait! If you kill me, you'll never know where the treasure is buried!
Disclaimer – Treasure? What treasure?
Masashi Kishimoto – Umm, the treasure of…Ima Weiner.
Disclaimer – I'm a weiner?
Masashi Kishimoto – Ha ha ha! That's still classic! (+1 if you get the reference.)
.
.
Chapter 14 – Tell Me Why
Naruto walked into the hospital and stopped at the front desk. The woman behind the counter had her back turned to him, so he cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Ahem! Excuse me, could you tell me what room Rock Lee is in?"
She turned around and said, "Oh! Hello, Naruto-san. Did you just say you're here to see Rock Lee?"
"Yes. Could you tell me what room he's in please?"
The woman picked up a clipboard and flipped through several pages. "Lee…Lee…Ah, here we are! He's in room 512. Go down the hallway and take the stairs to the fifth floor, then make a left and he'll be in the fourth room on the right."
Naruto nodded and said, "Thank you." He really didn't need directions around the hospital, since he'd been a frequent visitor here from the ages of three to twelve. He could probably walk the hallways blindfolded if he wanted to, but he appreciated the woman trying to be helpful towards him. It was certainly a refreshing change from the way he was treated in the past.
As Naruto walked down the hallway, his thoughts wandered over the events that had occurred today. Once he was near Konoha, he decided that before he talked to anyone else he wanted to hear what Hinata had to say about what he'd found out in Nadeshiko Village. Kurama had been correct in saying that he knew what happened, but didn't know why it happened – and until he knew that, he thought it would be best for Hikaru to stay as far away from the conversation as possible since the discussion could get rather heated between Hinata and him.
Deciding to pick him up at the academy, he brought him to Neji and asked him to watch him for the night because he wanted to spend some time with Hinata alone. Neji smiled and agreed, thinking it was because he hadn't seen Hinata in a week, and Hikaru thought it was because he planned on making good on his promise to tell Hinata that he loved her. Even though it hadn't been part of his original plan, in the heat of the moment he'd ended up doing so anyway and he felt better for it, and Hikaru had been right – it had made Hinata happy. What shocked him during the conversation was that somehow, Hinata had gotten the thought in her head that he still loved Sakura more than her.
Sakura. A scowl formed on his face as he thought of her. Over the last few months, he'd given quite a bit of thought to his life and the relationship he'd had with her. She was the first girl who didn't treat him like a pariah when she'd found out that the nine-tailed fox was sealed in him. She was his very first precious person, the one he protected without regard for his own life during every mission they had together as Team Seven. He remembered the way she'd smiled at him and how she always thanked him for keeping her safe.
But along with that came other memories – of how often she used him as her private punching bag whenever he tried to be friendly with her. About how she never really recognized him or his feelings until Sasuke had left the village the second time, and even then her heart had remained frozen and cold towards him, making him think that she'd merely been acting the entire year they'd been together. There had never really been warmth or a reciprocation of his love for her, and the more he'd thought about it, the more he realized that all he ever was to her was simply a friend, someone to help her achieve her own personal happiness, and in the end he'd fallen for it and given her what she wanted most in life – which wasn't him, and never had been. It had always been Sasuke.
He suddenly wondered if Sasuke knew what had happened between him and Sakura, or had she kept him in the dark just as Hinata had done to him with Hikaru? Knowing Sakura, it was the first choice and Sasuke was just as ignorant as he'd been merely a week ago, until he'd read the mission file.
As he reached the top of the stairs and rounded the corner, he was roused from his thoughts when he almost ran into Shizune as she was making her rounds.
"Oh! Naruto-kun, you startled me. Are you here to see your friends?"
Friends? He only knew of one person that should be here in the hospital, and that was Lee. He wondered who else might be here, since the only other injury he knew about was Akamaru, and he would be at the veterinary clinic with Hana. He decided to play along and said, "Of course. I'm going to see Lee first. The front desk told me he was in room 512, correct?"
"Yes, it's just down the hall on the right. Arekusu is in there with him but I'm sure he'd be very happy to see you as well."
"Thanks." The tone of his voice became low as he asked, "By the way, is Tsunade here in the hospital?"
Shizune gave him a startled look. He never calls Lady Tsunade that – it's always Baa-chan. And why the sudden change in his tone of voice? Is he angry with her about something?
"Umm…She's actually in surgery right now patching up one of the villagers who was severely wounded. Why?"
Wondering if Shizune had been in on the secret, he decided to gauge her reaction to a few statements. He stared directly into her eyes and said, "I just need to talk with her about a certain…mission involving pink flowers. Or perhaps you could help me. Do you know anything about the mission involving pink flowers?"
She gave him a confused look and said, "Uh, no…I really have no idea what that is. I wish I could help, but there were quite a few things Lady Tsunade made decisions about that I wasn't privy to, so whatever that is you should probably ask her about it directly."
Naruto watched her carefully as she made the statement, looking for any sign that she might be lying to him but didn't notice anything unusual. It appeared that Shizune wasn't involved in the cover up regarding Hikaru, and it made him feel better knowing that someone he always considered like a sister to him hadn't been part of the whole elaborate scheme.
"Thanks, Shizune nee-chan. Could you give Tsunade a message for me? Tell her that I'll be by here tomorrow to talk about Hikaru and the mission involving pink flowers. She'll know what it means."
Again with calling her Tsunade. He's definitely angry with her about something, and there's no doubt it has something to do with this pink flower mission he keeps mentioning. I wonder what it could be.
"S...Sure, Naruto-kun. I'll give her the message."
He nodded in thanks and continued to walk down the hall, leaving a puzzled Shizune standing in the hallway. Even though he wanted answers from Tsunade as well, he didn't want to get distracted from his real reason for coming here which was to check on the health of his friend.
He entered the room and saw Lee in bed while Arekusu sat next to him, holding his hand as they stared into each other's eyes. Naruto smiled at the scene and felt happy for his friend. It was nice that Lee had someone in his life that cared about him so much.
Lee tore his gaze away from his girlfriend and looked to see who it was.
"Naruto! It is good to see you, my friend. Did we save the village from Anubis and his followers?"
"Yeah, they're gone thanks to you and everyone else, and I took care of Anubis – he won't be bothering anyone ever again. I just wanted to come by and check on...URK!"
He was suddenly at a loss for words as Arekusu had crossed the distance between them and embraced Naruto in a hug. Tears fell from her eyes and her voice shook with emotion as she said, "Thank…Thank you, Naruto-san for saving Lee's life. I…I don't know what I would have done if…if…"
Embarrassed at the sudden display of emotion, Naruto awkwardly patted her back and said, "Umm…You're welcome, Arekusu. It's no big deal, really – Lee is my friend, and friends help each other out when they need it." He gave Lee a big thumbs up and said, "Isn't that right, bushy brows?"
Lee smiled and returned the gesture. "You are correct, Naruto! Yosh!"
Arekusu pulled away from Naruto and wiped the tears from her cheeks, laughing as she did so. "I'm…I'm sorry about hugging you like that, Naruto-san. I'm just very grateful for what you did."
"It's not a problem, really. And Naruto-san is way too formal – why don't you just call me Naruto? That's how my friends refer to me anyway."
Her eyes grew wide and she said, "F…Friend?"
"Of course! You're Lee's girlfriend and very special to him, and that makes you my friend as well." He cocked his head to the side and asked, "That is, if you'd like to be my friend?"
The Hero of the Leaf wanted to be her friend? It was almost incomprehensible. She bowed and said, "I…I would be most honored to be your friend, Naruto-sa…I mean, Naruto."
"Good! It's settled then." He turned back to Lee and asked, "So you're going to be okay?"
Lee nodded. "They are keeping me overnight for observation, just in case. However, I should be released first thing in the morning."
"Glad to hear it. By the way, I thought I remembered Shikamaru telling me during the battle that Hinata was bringing you here to the hospital. Do you have any idea where she is?"
"Certainly. She is down the hall visiting Sasuke and Sakura in her room."
He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Sakura's here? She shouldn't have been anywhere near this fight, so how did she end up in the hospital?"
"Lady Shizune informed us that sometime during the fight, Sakura experienced some lower abdominal pain and required medical attention. So Shikamaru ordered Sasuke to bring her to the hospital, so that they could run some tests to check on the health of her baby. She is in room 532 if you would like to say hello."
So that's what Shizune had been talking about when she asked if he was here to see his friends. While he would have preferred a better venue, everyone he wanted to talk with had conveniently found themselves in one spot.
He smiled and said, "I think I'll do that, Lee. I'll see you guys later. And make sure you take good care of him, Arekusu – bushy brows is one in a million."
As he left the room, he saw Arekusu reach out to hold Lee's hand as they once again stared into each other's eyes. He thought to himself, If there was ever a match made in heaven, it's those two. Hopefully Lee won't be as dense as I was before asking her to marry him.
He walked down the hall and rounded the corner to a small section of private rooms. While the hospital had rooms for a large number of contingencies, this group was special. Each one was three times larger than normal, built to be used by important dignitaries and royalty for when they came to Konoha for medical treatment. Not only did they have a sitting area with a couch and several chairs to be used for meetings and such, but they also had silencing seals in every room so that conversations couldn't be heard beyond a few feet of the entrance – which was purposely done so that the personal bodyguard of whoever was in the room could hear any calls for assistance or cries for help if need be.
I guess luck is on my side tonight, he thought. I can't think of a more perfect place to have this conversation right now.
He entered the room and saw Sakura resting comfortably in bed, hooked up to a fetal heart monitor to constantly check on the condition of the baby while Hinata sat in a chair next to the bed, hands folded neatly in her lap. Sasuke stood at the end of the bed with the same impassive look he always had, watching the vitals on the screen to make sure they remained within normal range.
Hinata saw him come in the room and jumped up to hug him. "Naruto-kun! I was worried about you, are you all right?"
He smiled and said, "I could say the same thing about you, Hinata. Shikamaru told me what happened to Lee during the fight. Are you sure you're okay?"
She blushed and nodded. "Lee saved my life. He's in the hospital down the hall; would you like to go see him?"
"I already did Hinata, thanks. He seems to be doing fine since I killed Anubis, and the corrupt chakra is being purged from his system. Arekusu is with him, and I'm positive that she'll help him make a speedy recovery."
"You…You killed Anubis? How?"
The expression on his face turned dark and he said, "Well, when I heard that you were almost killed by one of his followers, I decided to make good on my promise to turn him into nothing more than a bloody smear on the bottom of my boot. And before you ask Sasuke, the answer is yes – that's about all that's left of him. You'd probably need a mop to pick up the rest, and even then you wouldn't get much. He won't be bothering us again."
A slight smile graced the corners of Sasuke's mouth and he nodded in satisfaction at the statement. "Nice work. The only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't get to kill him myself."
Naruto returned his smile and said, "There's always next time." He kept the smile on his face as he looked at the last person in the room. He stared at her for a second before grabbing a chair and dragging it over to the foot of the bed, turning it around so he could lean against the backrest as he sat down.
"Hello, Sakura."
She gave him a blank stare and said, "Hello, Naruto."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, thanks for asking."
"You're welcome. Lee told me why Sasuke brought you to the hospital. How's the baby?"
"The baby is doing fine, I was just experiencing some round ligament pain. It's nothing serious."
"Good, good. Glad to hear it." The grin never left his face as he continued to stare at her.
After a few seconds, her eyes narrowed as she looked at him and said, "What? Why are you staring at me with that stupid smile on your face?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just enjoying the moment of you, me and Hinata being here, like we're one big happy family. That's all."
Upon hearing this, Hinata turned pale and sat back down in her seat but the effect on Sakura was just the opposite. A scowl appeared on her face and she said, "Shut the hell up Naruto."
"Oh, I don't think so – not this time. I have some questions that I want answered about Hikaru, and the two of you are going to tell me what I want to know."
"Tough shit. I'm not saying anything to you or anyone else about him. Now get out of my room."
"Not a chance, Sakura. And just so you know, I'm going to tell Sasuke the truth about Hikaru whether you answer my questions or not. So it would probably be in your best interest to do so."
Sasuke looked at Naruto and Sakura as they stared daggers at one another. After a moment of silence he asked, "What's he talking about, Sakura?"
"He's not talking about anything. Get him out of my room, right now."
Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "Sakura, you seem to be forgetting where I've been recently." And he reached into his vest, pulled out the mission file folder and handed it to Sasuke.
"Here you go, teme. The part you'll be interested in starts on page seventeen, but the pieces you'll REALLY want to see are on pages nineteen and twenty five."
Sakura looked at Naruto and asked, "What the hell did you just give to him?"
"It's the mission file from Nadeshiko Village. Lady Shizuka gave it to me after I completed the mission."
Sakura's eyes suddenly went wide and the fetal heart monitor began to beep faster. She held her hand out and in a firm tone of voice said, "Sasuke, give me that file."
He looked up from flipping through the pages of data and said, "What did you just say to me?"
The beeping on the monitor started to become erratic as she shouted at him, "I said give me that file right now, Sasuke! I don't want you reading it!"
The look on his face changed and he gave Sakura a cold, penetrating stare. The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as he activated his sharingan and said, "You know better than to threaten me, Sakura. Since you're dead set against me doing so, I'm going to read this file whether you like it or not. Now lie back in the bed and relax, otherwise you might harm the baby. And I'm positive you don't want that to happen."
She stared at him for a few seconds before leaning back in bed. As Sasuke walked over to sit down on the couch, she turned her gaze towards Naruto and said, "I won't forget this."
Naruto gave her the same cold stare Sasuke had given her. "And neither will I, Sakura. Now, since Sasuke needs some time to read the file I just gave him, I'll give you a few minutes to rest while I ask Hinata some questions first."
At the mention of her name, Hinata raised her head and looked at him. He could see the fear in her eyes as she said, "I…I understand, Naruto-kun and I'll do my best to answer your questions. I…I just hope that you'll still love me afterwards."
He sighed and said, "I promise that no matter what your answers are, I'll still love you Hinata-hime. But that doesn't mean I won't be angry with you about it."
She chewed her bottom lip and nodded in acceptance, realizing it was the best offer she was going to get under the circumstances.
"First question. Since I've returned to the village, you had ample opportunity to let me know I was Hikaru's father. Yet at every turn, the two of you became defensive and secretive regarding that fact. I want to know why you felt it necessary not to tell me."
***Sidestep***
"Excuse me, could you tell me what room Sakura Uchiha is in?"
The nurse looked up and said, "Certainly, sir. She's down the hall in the private section, room 532. It should be the last door on the right."
"Do you happen to know if Hinata Namikaze is in there with her?"
"I believe so, yes. She originally came in with Rock Lee, but when Arekusu arrived she went down to visit Sakura. I think that was about an hour ago."
Neji smiled at the nurse and said, "Thank you."
As he walked down the hallway towards room 532, Hikaru looked up at him and said, "Thanks for bringing me to the hospital to see mom, Uncle Neji. I just wanted to make sure she's okay."
"That's quite all right, Hikaru. If I knew my mother was in the hospital, I would have asked for the same thing. However, don't forget that your mother is a very strong and capable kunoichi. I'm sure she's fine."
Hikaru nodded at him. "That still doesn't mean I can't be worried about her."
Neji smiled at the boy. He may be loud and overly rambunctious at times, but he had a good heart and cared a great deal for his mother. Despite the secrecy surrounding who his father might be, he was proud to call Hikaru his nephew.
They had both rounded the corner and were just about to open the door when they heard a voice come from inside the room. Neji immediately recognized the person speaking as Naruto.
"First question. Since I've returned to the village, you had ample opportunity to let me know I was Hikaru's father. Yet at every turn, the two of you became defensive and secretive regarding that fact. I want to know why you felt it necessary not to tell me."
It took a moment for his brain to process the statement he just heard. It was an important piece of information, and the statement was said in such a way that suggested more would be revealed through the conversation that was to follow. In an instant, he quickly knelt in front of Hikaru and covered his mouth with his hand as he placed a finger over his own lips, giving Hikaru the signal to remain silent. After a few seconds, Hikaru nodded in understanding as Neji removed his hand from the boy's mouth and stood up.
It was very bad form to eavesdrop on a private conversation like this, but right now Neji didn't care. He knew that the conversation they were about to hear would finally reveal the truth regarding Hikaru, and there was no way either he or his nephew were going anywhere.
***End Sidestep***
"First question. Since I've returned to the village, you had ample opportunity to let me know I was Hikaru's father. Yet at every turn, the two of you became defensive and secretive regarding that fact. I want to know why you felt it necessary not to tell me."
Her eyes welled up with tears and Hinata blinked a few times in an attempt to clear them. She looked at Naruto and in a quiet voice said, "I was afraid."
He looked at her with a stunned expression and asked, "Did…Did I just hear you say you were afraid, Hinata?"
The tears continued to fall from her eyes as she nodded at him.
"Afraid of what, exactly?"
"Of you taking him away from me. All I could think about was you finding out he was your son, and hating me for keeping him from you all these years. Then you'd decide to take Hikaru and leave the village, and I'd never see him again."
"That excuse might have worked before we were married, but what about after? Do you think I'm such a callous, cold hearted person that I would take Hikaru and leave you behind in the village once I found out I was his father? Especially after everything I did for you? FOR US?"
After a few moments, she shook her head no.
"Then why, Hinata? What were you so afraid of that you couldn't tell me the truth AFTER we were married?"
She sniffed a few times and wiped some of the tears from her cheeks. "It…It wasn't just the fact that I was afraid of losing Hikaru. I…I was afraid of losing you too."
He looked at her and said, "You've got to be kidding me, Hinata. What could possibly make you think that you'd lose me like that?"
She looked at him with pleading eyes and said, "Because I thought you didn't love me. All...All I ever wanted was for you to love me like you loved Sakura all those years ago. I wished so many times that you would notice how I felt about you, and chase after me like you chased after her but that never happened – even after I confessed my love for you during the fight with Pain, almost at the cost of my own life."
"My dream since I was a little girl has always been to marry you, Naruto-kun. You were – and still are – my first and only love. I always thought how wonderful it would be to settle down and have a family with you as we grew old together. When you left the village, I thought that dream was lost to me forever but then Kami blessed me with Hikaru, and even though he could never replace what you mean to me, I was happy to have someone in my life that carried a little part of you."
"And…And then somehow you returned to the village in my most desperate hour and we were married. The dream I had thought was lost to me forever finally came true, and I had everything I ever wanted. And I was afraid that if you knew the truth, you'd hate me so much that you'd take Hikaru and find someone else to start a new life with – someone who would love you like I thought you loved Sakura. I…I was so scared of losing you both, Naruto-kun. Every scenario that I went through in my mind where I told you the truth ended with me being alone, and I…I didn't want to have my dream ripped away from me like that. I wouldn't want to live anymore if something like that happened."
The silence in the room was deafening, only broken by the occasional sobs from Hinata as she continued to cry, and the flipping of pages as Sasuke continued to read the mission file.
After a minute, Naruto frowned and said, "You know Hinata, when I originally read the mission file I told myself that there was no chance of you giving me a reasonable explanation for why you didn't tell me about Hikaru. After hearing what you just said, I want you to know that I understand why you were afraid, but I'm still very disappointed and angry for thinking I would ever do something so cruel to you, especially after what I went through with Sakura."
She raised her head and looked at him. Since there were no emotions coming at her through the seal, she knew that Naruto had shut the connection down on purpose. However, the hurt she had felt from him earlier was clearly reflected in his eyes.
"You're supposed to know me better than anyone, Hinata – and not just because you're my wife. When we were younger, you were the one who followed me around everywhere, even when the ANBU who were assigned to watch me didn't care if I lived or died. Are you telling me that after all these years, you saw or heard me do something that made you believe I was capable of hurting you that badly?"
She knew he was right and quickly shook her head no.
"Exactly. But even if you forget all that, it still doesn't explain why you never had anyone come looking for me. Do you have an answer for that?"
Hinata gave him a puzzled look and said, "What…What do you mean, Naruto-kun? We were told that no one knew where you had gone, and there was no way to find you."
His eyes went wide in shock at her statement. "Are you telling me that for the last eight years, you never had anyone come looking for me because you were told that no one knew where I was? And you BELIEVED them?"
She nodded her head yes. "Why? Are you saying that someone knew where to find you?"
He stared at her incredulously for a moment. "Hinata, let me ask you a question. If no one knew where to find me, then how is it possible that I just HAPPENED to show up in Konoha when you needed me most? Did you actually believe that it was merely an unbelievable coincidence?"
She felt a pit form in her stomach as she stared back at him, knowing what the answer must be.
"The day I returned to Konoha, I asked Kakashi-sensei how he knew where I was. He told me that after he became Hokage, one of the first things he did was send out a reconnaissance mission to find out that bit of information. He's known how to get in touch with me for the past two and a half years. Who told you that there was no way to find me?"
Hinata swallowed hard and said, "Lady Tsunade did, when Sakura and I first met with her."
"And you never asked her after that? You decided to just accept what she said as fact and let it go?"
"I…I don't know about Sakura, but I asked her two more times while she was still Hokage if there had been any news regarding your whereabouts. I received the same answer as before, and was told that you would be found when you wanted to be."
So Tsunade had never bothered to go looking for him. His anger towards her grew several levels as he said, "Then I'll be having a chat with Tsunade tomorrow. She'll be lucky not to end up in the room right next door after I'm done with her."
Naruto turned to Sakura and gave her a cold stare. "Okay, your turn to answer some questions for me."
"The answer is still the same as it was twenty minutes ago – tough shit. I'm not saying anything to you, and you're wasting your time asking me. You need to leave."
"Answer his questions, Sakura."
They all turned in the direction of the voice. Still reading the mission file, Sasuke stood up and walked over to stand next to Naruto.
Sakura looked at him and asked, "What did you just say to me?"
Sasuke closed the mission file and looked at her. "I told you to answer his questions – or else."
She snorted and said, "Or else what? You'll beat the answers out of me? Use your sharingan to torture me in your Tsukuyomi? There's no way you'd do that."
"I'm amazed that you'd think so little of me, Sakura. I would never stoop so low as to beat or torture you, however I would go so far as to find Ino Yamanaka and bring her here. I'm sure that after telling her what Naruto has found out in the last few days, she'll be more than happy to rip the information he wants to know from your head."
Sakura turned pale and said, "You…You would actually do that to me? Allow someone else to run rampant through my mind? I'm your wife, and I'm pregnant with your child!"
He placed his right hand on Naruto's shoulder and said, "I would do that for my friend, so that he can finally learn the truth about his son. And after reading the mission file, I'm interested in hearing your answers as well. It's your choice – we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but you WILL answer his questions. So what's it going to be?"
She stared hard at Sasuke for a few seconds before switching her gaze to Naruto. "Fine. I'll answer your questions. Happy?"
"I am for the moment. Your first question is the same one that I asked Hinata. I've been back in the village for five months, and at any point during that time you could have told me I was Hikaru's father. Why didn't you?"
"Because it wasn't my responsibility, that's why."
He gave her a hard stare and said, "That's bullshit Sakura, and you know it. If anything, it was more of your responsibility to tell me than it was for Hinata."
"That's not the way I see it."
Naruto pressed his lips together and asked, "When did you find out that you were pregnant with Hikaru?"
"About two weeks after you left the village."
"What happened when you found out?"
Sakura sighed and said, "I went to Lady Tsunade and told her that I was pregnant – I didn't need to tell her who the father was, since we both already knew that it was you. When she asked me if I planned on keeping the baby, I told her no – and I requested a one year mission away from the village, so that I could give birth and no one would ever know I was pregnant. The baby would be given to an orphanage, more than likely one in Suna to hopefully be adopted by a family there."
Naruto thought about his own childhood, and the horrible time he spent in the orphanage in Konoha wondering if anyone would ever want to adopt him and make him part of a real family. His anger began to rise at Sakura and her superficial attitude regarding Hikaru, but he decided to keep it in check for a bit – at least until he heard the rest of her explanation.
He turned to look at Hinata. "How did you end up finding out about all this and ending up with Hikaru?"
She looked at Naruto and said, "Lady Tsunade summoned me to her office and told me what Sakura had planned. She knew how much I cared for you, and asked if I would be interested in raising the baby as if it were my own. Even though I knew what it would mean to my status within the clan and my reputation throughout the village, I didn't hesitate and accepted the offer immediately."
He raised his eyebrows and said, "So you decided to take care of Hikaru, knowing full well what the cost would be? You were sacrificing your life, Hinata! Your reputation, your very happiness! Why would you do such a thing?"
Hinata gave him a small smile. "Because he's your son, Naruto-kun. I remember you telling me what life was like growing up in the orphanage, and I…I couldn't let that happen again. The thought of having some part of you in my life – even if it wasn't you personally – was all I'd ever need. The shame of being labeled as an unwed mother was nothing compared to the joy of having Hikaru as my son."
Naruto stared at Hinata, his eyes wide in shock. She had done all that, just for the sake of him and his son? Even back then, was her love for him so strong that she didn't even hesitate to accept the burden of caring for Hikaru? She knew she would be treated like a pariah for conceiving a child out of wedlock, and yet…
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. "Wait a minute, Hinata. Since Sakura was the one that gave birth to Hikaru, does that mean that…that…"
She knew what he was referring to. Her small smile grew a little bit and she said, "Yes, Naruto-kun. I was a virgin on our wedding night."
"But…But there was nothing! No blood at all! How…How is that even possible?"
"My hymen broke several years ago while I was on a mission. The only reason why it was painful for me that night was because I had been saving myself for you all that time. You were my first, as I'd always hoped you would be."
Stunned, Naruto stared at her in silence for a moment as he processed that bit of information. However, that lasted only a short while before his expression turned dark and he looked back at Sakura once again.
"Okay, second question. Was it your idea to keep the fact that Hikaru is my son a secret?"
Sakura nodded. "Actually, it was both mine and Lady Tsunade's but for different reasons. I didn't want anyone to ever know that I was pregnant, while Lady Tsunade didn't want anyone to know because she was afraid that if some of the villagers found out he was your son, they might harbor some hatred towards him and possibly hurt him. I agreed to let Hinata adopt Hikaru under two conditions – one, that under no circumstances would she ever reveal my name as his mother. And two, that the only person she could tell the truth about the identity of Hikaru's father to was you." Sakura shrugged and said, "I thought it was a safe bet that the information would stay hidden forever, since I never thought you would return to the village."
Naruto was already angry at Sakura, but after hearing this he was disgusted with her as well. After all these years, she still knew how to push his buttons and piss him off, and it galled him to see how little she actually cared.
"Okay, third question. Was your hate for me so strong that you were willing to give up our child to an orphanage, rather than do the responsible thing and raise him yourself?"
Sakura blinked a few times and said, "Naruto, I never hated you."
"That's not the way I remember it, Sakura." He looked at Hinata and then at Sasuke. "You know, I wonder if you ever told Sasuke about the last conversation we had before I left the village. I know I never told Hinata about it. Maybe it's about time the two of them knew exactly what you said to me."
***Flashback***
"Naruto, why are we at the top of the Hokage Monument?"
"Because Sakura-chan, I wanted this moment to be special."
"Why special?"
"Well, I…I know things haven't been great between us lately, and I'm sorry if I did something to upset you. But I wanted to show you how much you mean to me, and I couldn't think of a more perfect way than this."
Dropping to one knee, Naruto pulled out a small box and opened it. Inside was a small diamond ring, surrounded by a halo of miniature rubies.
"Sakura-chan, I love you with all my heart. Would you make me the happiest man in Konoha and agree to marry me?"
She didn't even hesitate to answer. "No."
Naruto froze in place, stunned that she would reject him so quickly. "No? You...You don't even want to think about it?"
"No, I don't. I'm not interested in marrying you, Naruto. Not now, not ever."
He snapped the box closed as tears filled his eyes. "But…But why, Sakura-chan? Don't you love me at all?"
"No I don't. You should know by now the name of the only person I love – and it's not you."
"I…I don't understand. Why did you agree to go out with me in the first place if you didn't love me?"
Sakura threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Because I was lonely, Naruto. And you were my friend, and you had this huge crush on me, so I thought if we dated and you realized that there would never be anything between us, you'd break up with me and finally let go of this fantasy you have of us being together. But like the stupid baka that you are, the message isn't getting through that thick skull of yours!"
"M…Message? What message is that?"
She gave him a cold, hard stare. "There's only one person who can fill the void in my heart – only one person I will ever truly love, and that's Sasuke-kun. You need to understand that and move on with your life. I will never be yours, and if there was ever anything beyond friendship between the two of us I can assure you that as of this moment, that feeling is dead."
***End Flashback***
Sasuke and Hinata were both staring at Sakura, shocked at what they just learned. Neither of them could believe that Sakura would say something so heartless to Naruto, no matter what the circumstances might be.
Naruto cocked an eyebrow and said, "I'm confused, Sakura - if that wasn't hate, then what was it? Pity? Spite? Or were you hoping to manipulate me into bringing Sasuke back to you once again? Because if I remember correctly, that's exactly what happened when I left the village."
Sakura wouldn't look at him, instead preferring to stare out of the window.
"Answer the question, Sakura. If you didn't hate me like you just said, then why were you willing to give up our child to an orphanage rather than raise him yourself?"
Her head suddenly whipped around and she shouted at him, "Because I didn't want anything that would be a constant reminder of YOU!"
Naruto stared at her and said, "Excuse me?"
"I said I didn't want anything that constantly reminded me of you. I wanted a clean break, no strings or attachments. When you left the village, for a few days afterwards I thought I could start over with my life. But then I learned I was pregnant, and everything came screeching to a halt. I didn't want a baby around day after day, reminding me of the mistake I made in dating you in the first place. So I decided to do the only logical thing I could, which was secretly give him to an orphanage in another village, where he could be adopted by some family and we could both have a fresh start."
Naruto shook his head. "I have to say Sakura, that wasn't the answer I was expecting. However, after hearing what you just said I'm glad you decided not to raise Hikaru. I don't think you're qualified in any sense of the word to be a mother to our son."
Sakura glared at him and said, "I really don't care what you think, Naruto. You'll never change the fact that I'm his mother, just as much as you're his father."
"No, you're not."
Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and saw Neji standing in the doorway. After a moment he stepped to the side to reveal Hikaru, his body shaking and his teeth clenched in anger as he stared at Sakura.
Sasuke didn't flinch. Naruto merely stood up from his seat. Hinata turned pale. And Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and said, "What did you just say to me?"
All eyes were on Hikaru as he slowly walked into the room with Neji trailing behind him. "I said, you're not my mother."
Hinata broke her gaze away from her son and looked at Neji. "Nii-san! How…How long were you outside the door? How much did you hear?"
"We heard pretty much everything. We've been outside the door since Naruto asked you the first question."
Sakura looked at Hikaru and said, "Well, if you've been out there for that long then you know I'm your mother. I'm the one who gave birth to you."
"Just because you gave birth to me, doesn't make you my mother." Hikaru pointed at her and asked, "Do you even know what a mother is?"
Silence was the only thing that answered him back as Sakura stared at him.
"A mother is someone who's gentle and kind. She takes care of me when I'm sick and tucks me in bed at night. She does her best to teach me right from wrong."
With each successive statement, his voice rose a little bit.
"A mother is someone who would do anything to keep me safe. She holds me when I'm scared and tells me it's going to be all right. She's proud of me no matter what, and loves me even when I make a mistake."
Hikaru was practically shouting now, as he spat his final words at Sakura.
"A mother is someone who loves me unconditionally. She always thinks of me before she thinks of herself, and places my needs above her own. And based on everything I just said, you're the furthest thing from a mother there is!"
Hikaru screamed at the top of his lungs, "I DON'T CARE WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER AND YOU NEVER WILL BE!"
The room was silent once again, broken only by the sound of Hikaru crying. He looked at Hinata and said, "You should have told me, mom. As far as I'm concerned, you never had a good reason to keep it secret. You should have found a way to let me know. You should have told me who my father was."
Hinata looked back at him; her lower lip quivering. He was right, and she knew it. She should have found a way to tell him a long time ago, but never did because of her irrational fears. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, but she couldn't find the courage to speak the words.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for Hinata to respond, however before that happened a timid voice broke the silence…
"Dad?"
They all watched Hikaru slowly reach out and take Naruto's hand in his own. Tears stained his cheeks and a slight smile adorned his face as he tried out the word once again, finally able to say it to the man he'd wanted to see for so long.
"Dad?"
Naruto felt his heart swell with pride and joy at hearing Hikaru say the word to him. He gently squeezed the small hand he was holding and said, "Yes, son?"
Still crying, Hikaru sniffed a few times and asked, "Can…Can we go somewhere and train? Right now? Just the two of us?"
Naruto smiled back at him and said, "Sure. I know just the place."
As they turned to leave, Hinata finally found the courage to speak. "Naruto-kun, where…"
He cut her off and said, "Don't say anything, Hinata. Whatever it is, I'm not interested in hearing it at the moment. Hikaru and I will be home later on tonight, but right now I'd like to spend some quality time with my son."
He looked back down at Hikaru and said, "After all, I have eight years of missed time to make up for." And without another word, Naruto and Hikaru disappeared in a yellow flash of light.
Everyone continued to stare at the spot Naruto and Hikaru had just disappeared from. After a few moments, Neji spoke up and said, "Well, I should be going. Tenten is waiting for me at home, and after seeing that display I think I've been remiss in my duties as a husband. I should let my wife know how much she means to me, and how much I love her."
Neji looked at Hinata and said, "Out of respect for you and what was said here tonight, I'll remain silent about this until tomorrow morning. However, after that I will be telling everyone the truth – starting with Tenten, Hanabi and Uncle. Hopefully you'll have worked things out with Naruto and Hikaru by then."
Hinata watched him walk out of the room, tears spilling from her eyes as she thought about what had happened. The truth had finally come out, Naruto and Hikaru knew everything and she couldn't hide behind her excuses anymore. But she also realized that she shouldn't have hid behind them in the first place.
As the tears continued to fall, she looked at Sakura and softly said, "How…How could you say those things to him, Sakura? I mean, I know I should have told them the truth. I never should have listened to you in the first place and I should have told them the truth from the very beginning. But you hurt Naruto-kun far worse than I did. And now he's never going to speak to me again, and it's all because of you."
Sakura scoffed and said, "I wouldn't worry about it, Hinata. After a few days, Naruto will brush this off like he always does and everything will be fine."
"Are you really so dense as to believe he'll just brush this off, Sakura? He's still carrying around the pain and heartache from the last time you said something so horrible to him. You were the one who ripped his heart out without remorse, causing him to leave the village. You could have tempered your words but instead you decided to be cold-hearted and cruel to him, because you didn't care about what happened to him or his feelings. You abandoned his son, because you were only interested in your own freedom and happiness. And worst of all, you made me promise to be silent about Hikaru, dragging me into your twisted web of lies and deceit. And I fell for it!"
The tears were flowing freely as she continued. "If it hadn't been for the fact that you wouldn't let me adopt Hikaru in the first place, I never would've agreed to your selfish conditions! And because of that and my own cowardice, I've hurt Naruto-kun so badly that I don't know if he'll ever forgive me. My husband and my son hate me, and it's all because I listened to you!" And she jumped up from her seat and ran out of the room sobbing uncontrollably, while Sasuke and Sakura stared at the door as it closed behind her.
After a moment, Sasuke glared at Sakura and said, "How could you do that to him, Sakura? How could you treat someone who's done so much for you that badly? How could you hurt him like that?"
Sakura looked at him and said, "I don't think you should be pointing fingers at anyone, Sasuke-kun. Out of everyone in the village, you're the one who's betrayed him the worst of all."
He frowned at her and said, "Yes, I've hurt and betrayed Naruto in the past and that's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. He's sacrificed more of himself than anyone else ever would have to bring me back to Konoha, but that's not what I'm talking about. I don't think you truly realize what he's done for us."
"We all know his list of accomplishments, Sasuke-kun. There's no need to go over them again."
"I'm not talking about that, Sakura. I'm talking about the story of what happened when Naruto came looking for me after the two of you broke up. I never told you because you never asked, but I think it's about time you knew what happened."
"I'm really not interested in hearing it."
"That's too bad, because I'm going to tell you anyway." He sat down in the seat that Naruto had vacated, crossing his arms in front of this chest and began to tell her the story.
"After Naruto left the village, it took him about two weeks to track me down. Once he found me, he said he wasn't there to fight me again and he only wanted to talk. I really wasn't interested in anything he had to say, so I told him to leave and never bother me again - but as usual, he ignored me and for another two weeks he followed me around, pleading his case to me about returning to Konoha – and to you. Without going into a great amount of detail, he only told me that the two of you had dated, and you both decided to break things off after realizing that I was the one you were meant to be with."
"When I mentioned to him that my status as a missing nin kept me from returning to Konoha, he said that the last thing he did before he left was to write a letter to each of the five Kage. He asked them all for a personal favor – that if I renounced my status as a missing nin and returned to the village, I would be given minimal prison time and then returned to active duty. And based on how great a debt everyone owed him, there was no way they could refuse his request."
"I asked him why he'd go to such great lengths to make sure I returned to Konoha – and to you. He told me that even though things didn't work out between the two of you, he still wanted you to be happy even if it wasn't with him. He also said that if his friendship with me ever meant anything at all, I'd honor his request and return to Konoha, so that the two of us could be together and hopefully rebuild my clan."
"When I finally agreed to his request, he wished me the best and hoped that you and I would be very happy together. When I asked him why he wasn't coming back with me, he said that with everything that had happened, he needed a vacation away from the village for a little while to clear his mind. He thanked me, we shook hands and then we both went our separate ways."
"After I came back, I learned that Tsunade and the other Kage made good on his request – I was given a six month prison sentence and then reinstated as a ninja of Konoha. You had already left for that year long mission, so when you returned I had served my time and you never bothered to ask me what had happened, since you were so happy that I was back. You know the events that unfolded between us after that."
"So if you think about it – our relationship, our marriage…" He pointed at her stomach. "…and that child you carry are a direct result of his efforts. And he didn't do it because of a sense of guilt or to repay any debt, he did it because he truly wanted you to be happy, despite the fact that you broke him in ways I can't even fathom. And frankly Sakura, if I had known back then what you'd done to him, I would have remained a missing nin and never returned to Konoha in the first place."
Sakura could only stare at him in disbelief. She'd thought Sasuke had come back to her all on his own, simply because he finally realized that he truly loved her. And now she found out that wasn't even close to being the truth – that Naruto had been the one to convince him that they should be together, and he had called in a huge favor to allow it to happen.
As Sasuke stood up and began to walk towards the door, Sakura broke from her train of thought and said, "Where are you going?"
"I think I've had enough surprises for one night. I'm going to find the dobe, and apologize to him for everything, because he deserves it. I'm not sure what I'll do after that, but I'm positive I won't be coming back here."
Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "So that's it, then? After everything we've been through, you're just going to leave me after learning the truth?"
Sasuke opened the door and gave her a cold, hard stare as he said, "No, Sakura – I'm not like you. No matter what, I won't abandon our child." And with that, he walked out of the room, letting it close behind him.
Left alone in her room, Sakura turned her head to once again to stare out the window.
"Where did I go wrong in all of this? Am I really that much to blame? How could I have possibly screwed things up so badly?"
But there was no one left to answer her questions. The only thing that answered her back was the steady beep of the fetal heart monitor, as it continued to keep an eye on the health of her baby.
.
.
About a half an hour later, Sasuke found Naruto and Hikaru at training ground twenty-six, engaging in a light taijutsu sparring session. Well, light for Naruto – Hikaru was working up a sweat trying to hit him, while Naruto was effortlessly blocking everything Hikaru threw at him. Sasuke suddenly had a flashback to when they were in the academy together, when he would often get the best of Naruto during their sparring matches because of the advanced training he'd been given as a child.
He shook his head, amazed at how much things had changed over the years. Their places were reversed, but one thing still remained the same – that Naruto always cared more for his family and friends than himself, and he would defend them even at the cost of his own life.
As he landed in the clearing, the two of them stopped and turned in his direction. Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting anyone out here so far from the village – especially Sasuke.
"Hey, teme – long time no see. What brings you out here?"
"Hey, dobe. You left the hospital before I had a chance to say anything to you. Can you spare a few minutes to talk?"
"Umm, sure I guess. But I'm actually kinda confused – what else did you need to talk to me about?"
Sasuke seemed to squirm a bit under his gaze, clearly struggling with his thoughts. But after a few seconds he said, "I…I know you might find this hard to believe, but I wanted to apologize to you – and to Hikaru. For everything that's happened."
Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing right now. In all the years he'd known Sasuke, he'd never known him to apologize to anyone – for anything. Slightly embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "It's okay, really. It was pretty obvious from the beginning that you had no idea what happened; none of us did. The blame for all of this lies with Sakura, Hinata and Tsunade."
Sasuke nodded. "That may be true, however largest part of the blame lies with Sakura. Even though it's only my opinion, I'm sure everyone else would agree with me that the way she treated you was far beyond unacceptable. While I won't speak for Sakura, I will say that I have no uncertainty regarding what you've done for me over the years. You've been my friend when no one else wanted to be, and you cared enough to put your reputation on the line to bring me back to Konoha. I never deserved anything you offered, and yet you did so without a second thought or asking for anything in return. And despite everything that's happened between us, I want you to know that your friendship and loyalty have always meant a great deal to me."
Then he surprised Naruto by bowing low and saying, "I'm very proud and humbled to call you my friend. And if you're willing to give me a chance, I…I would be honored to call you my brother."
Naruto was stunned speechless. Ever since they'd first been put together on Team Seven, Naruto had not only thought of Sasuke as his rival, but as the brother he'd never had. He had lots of friends, sure – and he cared for each one of them very much, in very different ways. But somehow, with Sasuke it was always different – he argued with him, fought both for and against him, and supported him when no one else would. And it was all because he felt a kinship with Sasuke that simply didn't exist with anyone else.
He'd always wanted a brother, and he knew that having one by blood was an impossible dream. However, having someone actually want to be his brother ranked a very close second.
Sasuke was choosing to have him as a brother. And he couldn't be happier about it.
Smiling, Naruto reached out and quickly pulled Sasuke into a hug. "Apology accepted, teme. And as far as calling me your brother, the honor is mine."
Sasuke became rigid as he gave Naruto a disapproving look and said, "You're hugging me, dobe. You know I hate that."
Laughing, Naruto smacked him on the back a few times before breaking the hug. "Right, sorry about that. I guess I just got caught up in the moment and forgot that you don't like human contact."
Sasuke actually cracked a small smile before his face became serious again. "Actually, I also was wondering if I could ask you a favor."
"Okay. What do you need?"
"I was wondering if I could spend the night at your house again. I just…don't want to go home or back to the hospital tonight."
He nodded in understanding. "No problem, teme. You know you're always welcome to stay with us whenever you need to. Hikaru and I won't be heading home for a few hours, but since you're here how about you stay and train with us?"
"Are you positive? You said that you wanted to spend some quality time with Hikaru, and I wouldn't want to be a third wheel."
"If you're that worried about it, why don't you just ask him yourself?"
Sasuke tilted his head as he thought about that. After a few seconds, he walked over to Hikaru and cleared his throat a few times.
"Hello, Hikaru. Just as I said to your father, I would like to apologize to you for everything that's happened. Would you accept my apology and allow me to train with the two of you for a bit?"
Hikaru stared at him for a moment before a mischievous grin broke out on his face. Crossing his arms in front of his chest he said, "Only if you let me call you Uncle Sasuke."
"Excuse me?"
"I said I'll accept your apology and let you train with us, but only if you let me call you Uncle Sasuke. Look, you just asked my dad to be your brother, right? So if my dad is your brother, then that makes you my uncle. And that's what I wanna call you. So how about it?"
Sasuke looked at Naruto and said, "Your son is very loud and outspoken. Is he always like this?"
Naruto nodded. "Most of the time, yes. I'm having a hard time breaking him of the habit."
Just like somebody else I know, Sasuke thought. He sighed and said, "Okay, Hikaru – I accept your terms. You can call me Uncle Sasuke if you like."
"All right!" Hikaru grabbed his hand and said, "C'mon, Uncle Sasuke – it'll be you and me against my dad. We're gonna kick his butt!"
Naruto laughed. "Is that right? You think you have a snowball's chance against a fire jutsu of that happening?"
"Absolutely! Everyone in the village knows that Uncle Sasuke is really strong, and besides that – it's two against one! We've got the advantage of numbers!"
"Then I guess I'll have to even things up." Naruto crossed his fingers in front of him and said, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" And one hundred shadow clones appeared behind him, ready for battle.
Hikaru smirked at him and said, "Oh, yeah? I can do that trick too, you know!" He crossed his fingers in front of him and said, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" And ten shadow clones appeared behind him, with the same smirk on their face.
Naruto immediately gave him a disapproving look and said, "Hikaru! I specifically said not to make more than two shadow clones at a time until I gave you permission to do so. Would you care to explain why I see ten shadow clones right now?"
"It's because I ignored you and did it anyway, dad."
"Hikaru, there's a very good reason why I told you not to do that. Making too many shadow clones when you don't have the chakra capacity for it can be dangerous."
"But I'm not even breaking a sweat – I bet I could do even more if I tried! Wanna see?"
"No, I don't!"
Sasuke watched the two of them continue to argue and silently laughed to himself.
Oh, yes. He's exactly like someone else I know.
.
.
As the three men approached the house, Naruto noticed that someone had erected an earth wall in front of the area destroyed by the Minions of Set when they had attacked earlier. More than likely it had been someone Kakashi had sent over to check on things, and Naruto made a mental note to thank him tomorrow for it.
As they walked through the front door, Sasuke looked at Naruto and said, "It's been a really rough day, so I'm going to take a shower and go to sleep. I'm assuming I'll use the same bedroom I always do?"
Naruto smiled and said, "Yeah, you know which one it is. And if you don't mind, do me a favor and stick around tomorrow morning. I need to talk with you about something important."
Sasuke nodded and walked up the stairs, leaving Naruto and Hikaru alone. It had truly been an exhausting day, not only mentally but physically as well – he'd forgotten how tiring a sparring session against Naruto could be. But now he started to wonder what was so important that Naruto needed him to stick around tomorrow morning to talk with him about it.
Naruto watched him go and then turned to look at Hikaru. "Okay, young man – you need to take a shower and go to bed as well."
Hikaru pouted and said, "Aww…Can't we stay up a little while longer and talk? The old lady told me about you, but I'd still like to ask you some things. There's a lot I still don't know."
Naruto smiled and said, "Under normal circumstances I'd be glad to. However, I'm pretty sure that your mom is waiting for me in the bedroom, and I think it's more important that I talk with her first."
Hikaru thought about that for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Okay, you're right. But can I say something before I go upstairs?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Look, I know you're mad at my mom – and I'm still a little mad at her too. But when we were out at the training ground and I was watching you and Uncle Sasuke spar against each other, I had some time to think about it. Even though mom should have said something to us, I think the good stuff she did kinda makes up for a lot of things. I mean, she kept me from being in an orphanage, right? And she raised me and did all those things for me that I said in the hospital room. And then there was that thing about you being her first whatever-it-is."
He actually blushed like Hinata used to when Hikaru said this to him.
"So all I'm saying is that I know my mom loves you, and you love my mom. I'm pretty sure she feels bad enough about all this as it is, and we both want her to be happy, not sad. So maybe you should be a little understanding and go easy on her. That's what I'm going to do."
Naruto blinked a few times as he stared at Hikaru. That made two times in the last week Naruto had been given very good advice by an eight year old kid. With the exception of the Nara household, that had to be some kind of record.
"All right, I promise to be understanding when I talk to your mom. Now go upstairs, get in the shower and then go to bed."
"Okay. Oh, and one more thing…" In an instant Hikaru hugged him and said, "I just want you to know that I'm really happy that you're my dad."
Naruto hugged him back and said, "Thanks. And I'm really glad that you're my son. Now quit stalling and get upstairs."
Hikaru nodded and bolted up the stairs, thinking this was probably the happiest day of his life so far. Starting tomorrow, he was going to make sure his classmates knew his father was the Hero of the Leaf. He grinned wickedly when he thought about how jealous everyone was going to be.
Naruto stayed at the bottom of the stairs and waited until he heard running water coming from Hikaru's bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he turned and opened the door to the master bedroom, wondering what awaited him inside.
Almost immediately, the sound of uncontrollable sobbing assaulted his ears. The light in the sitting area was on, and it partially illuminated the rest of the main area. Hinata was lying on the bed facing away from him, curled up in the fetal position and clutching a pillow. She was so engrossed in her misery that she hadn't even heard him come into the room.
He silently closed the door and walked up to the bed. Even though he needed a shower like everyone else, he couldn't just walk by her without saying something because that would give the impression that he didn't care how she was feeling. He actually cared very much, and he hated seeing her like this.
He sat down on the bed and gently reached out his hand to touch her shoulder. She flinched and turned her head to look at him. Naruto noticed immediately that her eyes were red and swollen, and her cheeks were stained with tears, which told him that she'd been crying non-stop for hours. More than likely she had started when he left the hospital.
"Na…Naruto-kun?"
He gave her a small smile and said, "Hey, Hinata-hime. I'm home."
She stared at him for a moment, her lower lip quivering as tears continued to fall from her eyes. Suddenly, she threw her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder, continuing to cry uncontrollably.
"Oh Naruto-kun, I'm…I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for keeping it a secret and not telling you, but I…I was just so scared. I was so scared of losing you both, and I…I…"
Naruto hugged her tightly and comfortingly stroked her back. "I know, Hinata. I know you're sorry for what you did."
"Please don't hate me, Naruto-kun. I love you so much, and I…I don't know what I would do if you hated me. Please…Please don't…"
"I don't hate you, Hinata. I promise. I could never hate you."
She continued to cry into his shoulder, still feeling the pain and guilt of keeping the secret of Hikaru from him. After a few minutes, he released his hold on her and tried to stand up, but Hinata stopped him.
"Naruto-kun, where…where are you going?"
Slightly embarrassed, he sheepishly looked at her and said, "Well, I was going to take a shower. After training for the last few hours, I think I need one before coming to bed."
"NO!" She shouted, locking her arms around his neck. "I mean, please don't go. Just…stay here with me for a little while."
"Hinata, I really think I should…"
She looked at him with pleading eyes and said, "Please don't leave me, Naruto-kun. Just stay with me for a little while. Please…"
Even though he really needed a shower, he could hear the desperation in her voice. Sighing, he leaned back on the bed and said, "Okay. I'll stay here with you for a little while."
Hinata clutched her arms around his chest and continued to cry into his shoulder, while Naruto held her tightly. It seemed that once again, Hikaru had been correct – Hinata was punishing herself far worse than Naruto had ever thought of doing. And Hikaru did make a good point when he said that Hinata had sacrificed quite a bit of her life, as well as her standing with the Hyūga clan just to adopt and raise him.
And then there was the fact that she had waited all these years for Naruto to be her first. He was completely blown away by that piece of information.
So if he really thought about it, between her clan and the village Hinata had been suffering for the past eight years. And like Hikaru said, maybe that was enough to even things out. Naruto also felt guilty that Hinata had been forced to assume such a heavy burden in order to take care of his son. It had taken an immense amount of courage to do so.
However, Sakura had never cared from the start about what would happen to Hinata, only that she remained free to live her own life without any responsibilities. She didn't have to worry about the stares of the villagers or the pointed fingers behind her back, and she didn't have to worry about being disinherited by her clan since she didn't belong to one.
She never had to worry about the consequences of her actions, Naruto thought. But maybe it's about time she should.
.
.
A/N: So now everyone knows the reasons why things happened like they did. And I wanted to explain a few things to my readers about why (since that's what the chapter was all about) I moved the story in this direction:
I was given several ideas that I could have used to try and guide the story to where Hinata was the natural mother. The best idea was one where Sakura and Hinata were sent on a seduction/information gathering mission for a year to find out about the Mienai Segi, and Hinata ends up sleeping with Naruto by chance and finds out later on that she's pregnant with his child. The idea of Hinata having sex (even if she did end up with Naruto) to help out the village didn't sit well with me. And I won't even tell you guys about the worst option - let's just say it was rejected from the second I saw it.
Any way you look at it, I really wasn't crazy about any of the ideas and they didn't seem to fit with what I had originally planned in the first place, which was to let everyone know that Hinata was Hikaru's mother no matter how she ended up with him, and that Sakura had been very cold and selfish from the beginning. The point I was trying to make is that you don't have to be related by blood to be a family.
Plus, there's going to be a minor plot element around adoption in my story. We already saw Tsunade adopt Naruto, Sasuke asked Naruto to be his brother, and Hinata adopted Hikaru. There's going to be at least one more adoption, or maybe two before long so just be prepared for it.
And I would like to give credit to mothers everywhere for what they do. It's a full-time job doing what you do every day of the year, and you should be celebrated for it. I appreciate everything my mother did for me growing up – and I pretty much listed them in the chapter. It isn't necessarily who you are, but rather what you do that makes you a mother (or a father, for that matter).
And in case everyone is wondering, the answer is yes – Naruto and Hinata WILL be having kids of their own, and it will happen soon. So please bear with me as the story fills out and moves forward. But I promise that it's going to happen. Believe it!
I also want to say that out of all the chapters I've done so far, this was probably my favorite (not necessarily most fun) to write. I really put a large amount of care and emotion into this thing, because I wanted my readers to really FEEL what I was trying to convey with the characters. Hopefully that came across, and everyone liked how it came out.
Credit where credit is due: Once again, I wanted to let everyone know that Arekusu is the OC of shock777 from DeviantArt. Full credit goes to her and you should check out her wonderful artwork if you get the chance.
Recommendation time! Okay, this one is long overdue but I want to give a huge recommendation to the story Our Ninja Way by Just Retribution. This is a great, heartwarming story that's heavy into the NaruHina with a bit of perverted fun thrown in. The best part is that it's centered around family, and what that means (which ties in nicely with my chapter). Naruto actually has extended family show up to help him train, Hinata faints quite a bit more than usual and for once, Hiashi isn't a complete asshole. Frankly, I'm addicted to reading it over and over again, so give it a look and if you like it, leave a review. I'm sure the author will appreciate it just like I do when people leave reviews for me.
Here's the link; just remove the spaces and you know what to replace the stars with:
www . fanfiction . *** / s / 7829534
So what's coming up? Well, in the next chapter we find out more about the Mienai Segi, Naruto has the big confrontation with Tsunade, people find out about Hikaru and what happened, and Naruto and Sasuke make a decision about something. What's that going to be? You'll need to stay tuned to find out!
So please do me that favor and leave the reviews – I wasn't kidding when I said they help me write. Hopefully we can break 610 reviews with this chapter, and I appreciate each and every one – whether you agree with what I'm doing or not. So keep it up let's see more of them!
That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.
.
Serious Sam