I'm going to explain a few things at the end but for now, enjoy! :)
Pale eyes with a hint of lavender stared at him. They seemed to sparkle under the sunlight that shone in through the huge windows in the room, showcasing its unique color with exquisiteness. His breathing stopped when he saw the reflection of her emotions, thoughts and soul being displayed in those snowy lavender orbs. The magnitude of this insight overwhelmed him. Then she turned from his gaze and just like that, it was gone.
He had forgotten how beautiful those eyes were.
He would have continued to stand like a love-struck fool if it wasn't for the booming voice that echoed his name.
"Naruto Uzumaki, you have been called forth to recount the events of your attack. Do you agree to answer all questions asked in truth?"
The blonde shinobi stood for moment before the grim elder, then answered in a clear voice.
"I do."
The older man gave a short nod of approval before turning his attention towards the Head.
"Very well, Hiashi Hyuga will hence forth carry on the questioning."
Blue eyes trailed after the notable man as he took his seat in the center. The lovely vision of Hinata, dressed in her regular jacket and pants gracefully took her seat to his right.
Naruto could feel his heart pounding in his ears.
It was only two weeks since he had seen her last, having left her with a kiss. He wanted to do nothing more than steal her away from this stuffy room and declare to her that act of affection meant more to him than words could express. The only way that it could come close is to come together as a couple.
But, he knew he could not.
For some reason he had been thrown into an important situation, one that needed to be addressed. Also a pronouncement of his love did not fit in well with what he was taught for the Hyuga Court Method.
The Hyuga Court Method?
Oh shit! He had just declared that he would be honest with his story and with Hinata being here…and her father!
Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!
"Uzumaki-san you had been assigned your first jounin assignment with fellow comrades Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame, correct?"
Swallowing a sizable knot in his throat, Naruto tried to quiet the panic that was quickly overtaking him.
"Hai."
The ramen-lover forced his self to look at the clan leader who was now sorting through some papers. He was in a bad, bad, bad situation right now, but he did not want to look like a coward.
"It's against the law to inform non-parties of the particulars of a mission, so I will not ask why you were in Lightening Country, but please do answer if you believe the assailant had anything to do with your mission."
"No sir."
Did he just address Hinata's father as sir? His 'I'm in trouble' instincts must be kicking in if he was resulting to formalities.
"Did you know the attacker? Perhaps, someone you knew before the mission."
"No."
"Then did you see him on the mission, before the attack?"
"Hai."
"Explain."
"I had sensed the man's presence two days before he attacked me at a tavern."
"Did you sense any ill intent towards you?"
"He had paid close attention to me and it did put me on alert."
"So when he attacked you that night you were expecting it?"
"Hai."
"What about the attack itself? Can you describe your fight with the man to us?"
Naruto narrated the attack before the council, leader and future heiress. He reported every blow, hit and tactic that he used against the man and vice versa. By the end of his story he felt like he could collapse from the stress he was feeling. He had recounted the attack and how he had sensed its coming; the only thing left was why there was an attack.
Oh dear Kami help him.
"I've been told that the man is under interrogation by Ibiki at the moment, but you and your teammates did your own questioning correct?"
"Correct."
"Did he say why he attacked you?"
Breathe, Naruto, breathe.
"Hai."
"And?"
The older male raised an eyebrow when Naruto did not elaborate. Naruto meanwhile was busy wondering if he should get into the fetal position now or after he told the man he wanted to date his daughter. There was no way he could lie, seen as how he was in a room full of human lie detectors.
Maybe, if he just cut corners a little bit he wouldn't have a retired shinobi go Gentle Fist on his ass.
"He had attacked me because he thought that I was close to the Hyugas."
There, that should work.
"How do you mean close?"
Damn it.
"Like, I had a certain relationship to the future heiress."
"Uzumaki-san, I do not like it when people are vague with me. Now tell me what you mean by relationship."
The blue-eye boy could not stop the shiver he felt when those hard eyes and demanding voice turned his way. He took a deep breath, knowing that he was taking a deathly plunge.
"He thought I was engaged to Hinata."
A stunned silence took the room. Apparently, even the wise elders did not think that was reason for the attack. Or perhaps they did, but didn't think that the boy would take the risk of telling that to the father. The father himself did not look happy.
Naruto was scared.
Dealing with an angry father was ten times worse than dealing with a strict leader.
"And why did he think that?"
Naruto clenched his jaw when he heard that over-protective father tinge in his voice. If he had been somewhere else he would have laughed at the thought of Hiashi being over-protective of either of his daughters, but now…
He was seriously contemplating that fetal position.
"Because he made an assumption based on a conversation I had with Shino."
Naruto waited for a question, but when he got a look telling him he better explain what that conversation was about, he shakily continued.
"W-we were talking about the Hyuga Court Method."
Kami take him now! He didn't care how. He didn't care if the gods made Orochimaru come up from his grave, seeking revenge for influencing Sasuke and not making him a cold-blooded machine that runs off of killing other people. He didn't care! Just save him from this!
"And why were you discussing the Hyuga Court Method?"
Naruto nearly cried when he realized that no interruption was coming his way. He was going to have to say it. He was going to have to make all those lessons from Shino go to waste and reveal his secret. He was going to have to tell the father before he told the woman what he felt.
That was probably that worst feeling out of them all.
But he was a shinobi and he had to do what he had to do.
"Because…"
He turned his attention to Hiashi's right. Looking into those beautiful eyes, he tried to convey his apology and seek understanding as well as solace.
"I want to date your daughter."
Hinata's world stopped.
Her dreams, her ambitions, what she lived for all of the sudden seemed trivial. Because the one thing that she had wished for, the one thing that she had wanted, the one thing she believed that would never happen, happened.
Naruto Uzumaki wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with her.
Was she dreaming? Was this an illusion?
One look into those honest stunning blue eyes and she knew that it was real.
It was real.
Oh my…
She had blushed when she heard the mistake of the attacker thinking that Naruto was her fiancé, but to know that it was because Naruto wanted to court her…she had to take a deep breath of air for her neglected lungs.
"You want to what?"
All things were put back into motion when she heard her father's fuming demand. Wait, her father was upset?
"Date your daughter, sir."
She had to stop the tears of joy. It was better than the first time she heard it!
"Uzumaki-san, are you aware of our history with the Cloud?"
Oh yes, Cloud. There was an important matter and she had to focus. But she couldn't help but smile a little when she saw those adorable features turn to relief when one of the council members addressed him.
"Hai."
"Then you must have come to the conclusion that your attack and our history are in some form connected."
Hinata nearly swooned when her beloved scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner.
"Well, I did wonder."
The elderly man nodded his head, in that all-knowing way. Then he fixed Naruto with a stern look.
"Uzumaki-san, due to these recent events it would be best to inform you that the Hyuga Clan is facing a threat."
Evident nerves in her best friend seemed to disappear and his blue eyes narrowed.
"Threat?"
"It has been investigated and we are sure of it. An important member of the Cloud Village has been forming an illegal group of shinobi. They have been created to gain one thing, the byakugan."
Those blue eyes grew deeper in color as the information set in. For some reason, a great sense of pride filled her. Maybe it was in knowing that he was angry at someone for threatening to hurt her family.
"This attack is very lucky for us Uzumaki-san. With it, we can present evidence to the Cloud Village and have the traitor removed from his seat of power. Now… have you been speaking the truth?"
Her love looked at the elder in steel determination.
"I have."
The elders seemed to be satisfied with this response, an insight that made Hinata proud. However, the voice of father had not lost its earlier edge.
"Even about dating my daughter?"
Naruto seem to be shaken by her father once again, but only she caught onto this for knowing him so well.
"I would not joke about that."
She could not stop the smile.
She knew it was against courtesy. Knew that it sent a bad image of her to the council, but she didn't care. She was happy, really happy.
The dream she had for so long was coming true. She didn't care that it happened in the middle of a debriefing or in front of the council, or that her father was angry. Nothing could change the fact that the man she had loved for so long was beginning to love her back.
It just made her smile more.
"What do you feel for this boy Hinata?"
That smile vanished.
"W-what?"
Her father stared down at her. Those eyes demanded an honest answer, one that she knew that he wouldn't wait around for.
"What are your feelings for Uzumaki-san?"
Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.
There was no way this was happening. Sure her Naruto did tell her father that he wanted to date her, but that did not mean that she had the courage to say that she loved him.
"Ano…"
She wanted the first time she said those three magical words to be somewhere romantic, beautiful and private! But she had the council watching her and her father demanding an answer.
"I…"
Confession.
Ino did say it was the toughest part…
Flashback
"But Ino-"
"No buts Hinata! You know you have to do this."
The indigo-haired beauty sighed into her creamy-colored phone. She knew her friend was right. That it was inevitable if she wanted to make Naruto her boyfriend. There was no other way to let him know about her feelings.
The final step.
"I know Ino, it's just…not easy for me."
"I know Hinata, it's hard for everyone. I mean it wasn't all that great when I first confessed to Chouji, it makes you vulnerable and things change. But it can be good, really good."
"What if it isn't? What if h-he doesn't feel the same way?"
Hinata felt her throat close up. She tried to repress the sob that crept up on her at such a dangerous thought.
"Then I'll be here for you, we all will."
Long dark hair flew as the girl nodded her head, despite the fact that her friend could not see her. She needed that reassurance.
"Thank you Ino."
"It's no problem Hinata, just make sure to tell him what you feel when you're ready."
Tell him what she felt when she was ready.
Was she ready?
She took in the sight of the man who stood before her.
His black pants contrasted his bright orange jacket to a loud degree, declaring two very different sides to him. The outfit hung off of his tall frame, almost a genetic way of saying how much he has improved over the years.
Strong muscles adored his limbs coated in bronze skin, making him almost glow like a perfect sculpture. The unkempt blonde mass of hair would flow carefree in the wind and combined with those striking, extremely expressive blue eyes it was hard not to mistake him as his father. The picture of her love was topped off with those fine whisker-like markings on his cheeks, the only hint to the demon within him.
"I love him."
The words flowed out of her effortlessly. Like the words had been second-nature to her. She didn't even realize they were out of her mouth until she had said them. Wide-eyed with exceedingly red cheeks, she turned to her father.
He seemed to be in shock with the way his body was so still. He probably never heard her say those words before and to say it to a man he barely knew must be quite the bolt from the blue. After a few frightening silent seconds, her father turned back towards Naruto which made her turn her attention as well.
She had never seen such a look of disbelief on his face before!
It looked as if someone had just told him that Ichiraku's was out of business. She tried to catch eye contact with the unresponsive boy, hoping she just didn't shock him to death. It brought great relief to see him finally blink and come out of his comatose state. When they finally looked into each other's souls, she could have died from happiness!
Never had she seen so much joy, gratitude and love in those eyes.
"So be it."
Both Naruto and Hinata caught Hiashi's words of tolerable approval, but neither looked away from each other.
Finally after all this time, they had each other.
Notice: Alright where to start...well as you can tell from the last line they are now a couple, which is why this is the offical last chapter. The Plan is based off of Ino's plan and as you read the final step was for Hinata to reveal what she felt for Naruto, which she did after she had a good idea of what Naruto felt for her. So as you can see, the plan has came to an end and as a result so does the story.
However, there are still some lose ends that need to be tied up. Like, is the threat gone? Will Neji still be Hinata's right hand man if the threat is gone? etc... So that's why I need an epilogue. I'm not sure if it will be posted before or after Christmas, but when I do post it I'm going to thank my long list of dedicated reviewers as well as anyone else that responded to this fic. Until then, Happy Holidays! :)
P.S. If there is anything you think I should address in final final chapter, please tell me.