AN: Not much has changed since two this morning. FLASHBACK CHAPTER. Plus a revelation.
Chapter 25: The Years Gone By
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Naruto Uzumaki, Gaara of the Desert, Jiraiya the great toad sage, and Matsuri the ex-slave girl ran through the woods as if the shinigami itself was on their heels.
In a way it was.
And they were doing everything they could do to slow it down and get away.
"Ryuusa Bakurya!"
And they were slowly gaining ground.
Slowly.
"Doton: Swamp of the Underworld!"
They had been on the run for hours now, only stopping long enough to use a jutsu or two.
Or three or four.
Naruto would create hundreds of clones and henge them to look like the entire team, then send them in all directions while some attacked their hunters. If one came within sight of the real party he would be eliminated by Gaara instantly so as not to allow anyone to report back. Jiraiya randomly placed swamps to trap careless followers.
At least fifty Kumo ninja were still following them, and they were still at least half a day from the border at their rate.
"They know they need to stop us, we know too much."
"Well, they can go screw each other for all I care! We aren't dead yet!"
Naruto formed a series of hand signs.
"Katon: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" The forest burst into flames, providing a wall of flame between them and the pursuers. They were getting tired, running for hours on end with continuous fighting at the same time. Gaara was the worst off, having to carry Matsuri on his cloud of sand if they were to run at top speed. Matsuri was quite sick of being nearly dropped by the sand whenever Gaara used a jutsu and his control on the cloud faltered for a moment.
But they kept running.
"Gaara-san!" Matsuri was barely suspended in the air at all, and Gaara barely managed to get below the low flying cloud before it completely collapsed to the ground like the sand it was. It was only then that Jiraiya and Naruto noticed how heavy he was breathing, how he was soaked in sweat.
As soon as they saw this they noticed that they, too, were breathing hard and sweating.
"Shit. Naruto, I'll stall them here, you guys need to go!"
"No, damn it! You'll end up fighting twenty jonin and getting fried! We need you around if we are going to survive outside of Konoha!"
"Naruto's right. I'll stay."
"Gaara-san!"
"Gaara, you aren't going to stay either… no… wait…"
The sounds of pursuit began to reach them.
"Naruto?"
"Ero-sennin, use that jutsu you used to make the cave! Now, here, down!"
"Doton: Earth Moving Jutsu!"
Jiraiya slammed his hands into the ground, creating a pit beneath the ninja that they immediately fell into.
"Naruto, this had better be a damn good idea…"
"Conceal your chakra!"
Gaara had barely any left, but he moved all he had left to his bodies core, calming and effectively hiding him. Jiraiya did the same. Naruto did a quick kage bunshin jutsu, used henge, and sent a fake team running the same direction they had been before. Then he did something no one was expecting. He created a large amount of shadow clones and had them crouch in the hole with the team, then he waited.
"Naruto? We aren't hidden in an open hole. All we've done is trap ourselves in a pit."
"Shh… Jiraiya, henge those two into me and get ready to go, you three are going directly west, no more south, as soon as I say go."
Jiraiya shrugged, figuring that either this worked or they fought. They might win with Naruto fully Kyuubi, even if it killed him, and if Jiraiya used his most powerful form… but there wasn't enough time for that.
And Gaara was out. He could barely run.
But that was the plan.
The plan that Naruto knew and no one else.
Naruto began to feel the people running around the hole, not even bothering to look down. No one even noticed until one of them jumped directly overhead.
"GO!" Instantly the hole that had been filled with Naruto's flooded out in all directions, brutally swiping with kunai and throwing shurikin like made, a wave of destruction that seemed to have no end due to the depth of the pit.
Because they had all thought the team to be father ahead, they had not been prepared.
Seven fell dead, three more were the only ones in range.
By then the real team was gone on a completely different heading.
And no one was the wiser.
That morning they were on the border of one of the smaller nations without a ninja village and Kumo.
They had escaped.
"Naruto, that was a pretty slick plan."
"No, it wasn't."
"Huh?" Jiraiya thought Naruto would like the credit for the plan that had gotten them free of Lightning Country and Kumo.
"There were so many problems with that plan. What if they had had one of the… things… with them? Byakugan would have had us right off and we would have merely slowed down. What if they hadn't bothered to look in the hole, only threw in an explosive tag. We had a better chance of all being dead from that plan then surviving. It was made in desperation and I was lucky it worked."
"Hai, it worked. And that, Naruto, is what matters right now. Next time remember this plan's holes and fix them. This time we survived because of your quick thinking."
"Well, we know someone has to be the brains of our group."
"I nominate Gaara-san!" Matsuri threw her fist in the air with a smile. Everyone just stared at her. She stared back in confusion.
"What?"
Gaara did something not many people would ever see. He smilled and shook his head.
"I reject the nomination. I would elect Jiraiya as leader of our group. Naruto, you are a great shinobi as we have seen tonight, but Jiraiya has experience."
"I agree with you, Gaara. Ero-sennin is leader. And sensei."
"Hm?"
"We're going to be stuck as missing ninja for a while, ero-sensei. I am not going to stop training, and my old sensei is halfway to Konoha by now. You taught me rasengan, so now we can work on Hiraishin. And you know some great Doton jutsu to teach Gaara. And Matsuri can train with us, maybe she has talent as a shinobi."
"I agree to be team leader and teach you some stuff, but I am not sensei material…"
"Whatever, sensei. You will be when we're done with you."
Matsuri seemed to be really excited.
"I get to train to be a ninja like Gaara-san?"
"Hai."
"Yosh! A… ano, Gaara-san…" In her excitement she had punched Gaara unexpectedly right on the jaw. Gaara, in combination with chakra exhaustion and the punch, was knocked unconscious.
"Gaara-san? Gaara-san! Gomen, Gaara-san!" Matsuri was instantly assisting him.
Naruto and Jiraiya just stared at each other.
This was going to be very interesting.
A very down to earth jinchuriki and an energetic girl.
Very interesting indeed.
Months passed for the small group of banished ninja. Jiraiya was secretly conversing with Tsunade in messages, and through them had found out that coming back would most definitely spark war. Tsunade had begged forgiveness while she begged them to stay away for a while. They couldn't return until Konoha was prepared for war. While Kumo wouldn't know that Konoha knew about their secret weapons, they also wouldn't know that Konoha would be secretly building its defenses and training their ninja in war. But Tsunade insisted, if they came back and were announced to be official Konoha ninja, Kumo would attack within a week.
So they wandered.
They team of four traveled the north of the continent, exploring Rock and the other northern nations. Naruto would always be forced to wander the country of stone under a henge, as he was beginning to resemble his father too much.
Once, he had used the Hiraishin jutsu one a missing ninja who they would turn in for a bounty. Three people had seen it and run off. When the team had attempted to get the money from the bounty, they were almost killed in an ambush. Iwa ninja really hated that jutsu and Naruto's yellow hair and blue eyes.
And as time went on, the resemblance only grew. He smile, rarer then it had once been, would make women swoon, but ninja would attack without warning.
So they grew stronger.
Naruto, after being given all the reading material Jiraiya had on seals, had woken up one day was a shout, causing the entire camp to wake up like they were under attack, not an uncommon occurrence for the missing ninja.
"I GET IT, ERO-SENNIN!"
"Get what, gaki?"
"I get the Hiraishin! I understand it now! I know my seal!"
"WHAT?"
"It was the… oh yeah… I got… yeah… It'll work!"
"Nani?"
Naruto fell into mumbles as he began to perfectly brush four seals onto a piece of paper. He then wrapped the paper around a kunai and then threw it with all his might. In a flash he was holding the kunai, still traveling with the kunai. Before landing he tossed the same kunai straight up, and in a flash he was holding it again, only twenty meters in the air. He finally threw it towards the ground, and before it hit he was feet from them, flipping, and then landing on his feet.
"I figured it out, sensei." Naruto then proceeded to create a design for his new, altered kunai.
It was time to quit borrowing from his dad. New seals means new style of kunai.
He would get them when he returned to Konoha.
Jiraiya was less then pleased. It had been the same with his father. Just mumbles about some revelation and then he had it. Jiraiya was slightly jealous.
Naruto had mastered the Hiraishin.
So he worked on new things. He worked on the rasengan, making it possible to quickly form in one hand. He worked on his other jutsu, expanding his repertoire of jutsu and increasing the strength of the jutsu he already knew. Everyone in the group admitted that he was becoming an excellent ninja. What they didn't say to his face was that he was slowly becoming one of the most powerful ninja around. Even Jiraiya knew he would be hard pressed to beat Naruto if Naruto was going all out.
But he was not the only one to improve.
Gaara, one the other hand, expanded his personal supply of sand to double that of his old gourd. Instead of expanding his old gourd, though, he merely learned how to more densely compact the sand until it was treading the line between sand and glass. It gave his new gourd an ethereal appearance, as it was nearly glass, so it looked like foggy crystal. The kanji on it were identical to his old one, and it was same in size and shape. But now, the instant battle came, the gourd would fall apart and become a large cloud of sand to be used in attack and defense.
He mastered some of the Doton techniques Jiraiya taught him, finding a few to be extremely helpful in his formation of sand.
And he also taught.
Matsuri, under the teaching of Jiraiya and the tutelage of Gaara, slowly blossomed as a capable ninja. Matsuri, they found out, had an affinity for genjutsu similar to Kurenai. She mastered the bunshin and henge with no trouble, and the substitution jutsu with just a little more. She was training in the basics, and because of that she managed to do things none of them thought of.
Who would have though she could henge into a common citizen to enter a village without ninja and get food instead of starving?
Jiraiya hadn't thought of it.
Naruto had been too busy.
Gaara didn't do much of anything during the day besides train himself and Matsuri, so he was too tired to think most of the time.
Matsuri had the most common sense out of any of them.
Naruto figured that was why she finally did what Jiraiya and Naruto had been betting on.
She kissed Gaara.
Instantly, she had a slave at her bidding.
Gaara had never felt love, so he told her about the Shukaku, and he had to admit he had been missing out. She had kissed him again and told him she didn't care.
They were nearly inseparable after that kiss. Matsuri would always have a kunai guarding Gaara's back and Gaara would always had a few cubic meters of sand to protect her with.
One and a half years into their banishment they found a disturbing fact. It was one day when they were in a small coastal village in rock when they saw the same ship Matsuri had once been on in the harbor. After a quick investigation the had determined exactly where… or more directly, to whom the monsters had been going.
Iwa was receiving the monsters. Kumo probably received half and Iwa received the other half. Naruto was confident that the monsters would stop being exported as soon as the last one reached maturity in their tubes. While there, Naruto took the time to look up the captain of the slave ship. It turned out he was a minor, C ranked criminal charged with kidnapping and murder. Naruto personally cashed in on the bounty.
Or he would have, but it had specified 'live capture'.
Naruto had given him a chance, but he resisted. After all, he had given the bastard two seconds to drop his weapon, a table knife. When he had only stared at Naruto confused he ended up with a kunai in his throat.
Naruto's only regret was that the man never knew why he died.
Two years after they had been banished they returned to Kumo, becoming spies once again. They supplied information to Tsunade every so often about the war preparations in Kumo. Troop counts and buildups, supply routes, and everything that would be important in a war.
Until they had reported that Kumo was making final preparations.
Then they had been called home.
Naruto sat on his seat next to the fire pit in their adobe house, next to him sat Hinata, half asleep but still desiring to here more. Gaara and Matsuri were out, already knowing the story, and leaning against each other in sleep. Gaara's sand unconsciously held them upright in their seats while they slept.
Jiraiya had gone out to send a last report to Tsunade via toad.
It was only team eight again.
"So… Shino."
"I believe you."
"Arigato."
"I am just glad you're back, Naruto."
"Same here, finally my first genin team gets back together."
"I am glad Naruto-kun finally gets to return home…" Hinata blushed. She was thinking about home and exactly what it would mean in about six months… Technically she was supposed to tell Naruto about the betrothal a year before, but this was the soonest time she was able…
But could she do it?
She wouldn't know till she tried.
"Naruto-kun… I…"
"Oh, Hinata-chan! You guys should tell me what's been going on in Konoha, it's only fair."
"Alright…"
She could put it off for a little longer…
In three years not much had changed in Konoha, only people really.
Naruto learned from Hinata and his team that almost everyone he knew had done something memorable in the last three years. Shikamaru had advanced to jonin status, despite his promise to never try for jonin, and had begun to date Temari. Naruto swore that he would tell that to Gaara in the morning, but felt there would likely be no problem with it. After all, Shikamaru had been there in Lightning with them to the end.
Ino Yamanaka had retired as a ninja, surprising everyone, when her mother fell ill and was no longer able to run the flower shop. Ino told everyone that she had never really liked all the fighting and flowers were so much easier to handle then blood. Secretly Hinata agreed with her.
Choji had bulked up in Naruto's absence and reached chunin status. He had lost most of his fat in an incident with Akamichi food pills, but survived to build his body off of muscle. He was heralded as one of the most powerful up and coming ninja due to his strength rivaling Tsunade and his speed that was, while not amazing, impressive for a man of his size.
Sakura Haruno had finally started to do something with her ninja career, and was training under Tsunade as a medic ninja, though she also picked up her massive strength.
Sasuke Uchiha, one of the people Naruto wanted to fight when he returned, had a steady girlfriend. She was strict with him, but he was the same with her. They both seemed to cancel each other out with orders because each was used to getting their way. When they figured out they both couldn't get their way, they actually realized that life wasn't all about them. Ten-ten, the weapon's mistress of Konoha, had Sasuke on a leash. He liked it that way. He, also, led her along like a fisherman leads a fish. She knew and didn't care. They were perfect for each other.
Kiba and his dog had become the greatest tracking pair in Konoha, and had generally left Hinata alone, surprisingly, after the first time he had mentioned a date and she had gone off on him for his insensitivity.
Rock Lee was the same as always, he literally hadn't changed at all. He was chasing after Sakura's heart still, and she still didn't understand that Sasuke was out of her reach while she had a man throwing himself at her, many times literally.
Neji Hyuga, the person Naruto had had to forgive on Hinata-chan's orders, was actually loosening up a little. When Hinata had told him her plans for the clan, he had agreed to support her. Anything to remove his damn seal on his forehead. He had also begun to believe Hiashi's story about Hizashi, which made him even nicer to Hinata and her sister. He had improved in attitude so much he was now their personal guardian at home and he took his job very seriously.
Hinata had also beaten him in a sparing match, Shino had added in.
Hinata couldn't help but be caught in a crushing hug from Naruto at that news.
They continued when she had regained her breath.
Shino was now, officially, clan heir apparent and was being trained to take over on his seventeenth birthday. He had done something no other Aburame had ever been able to do, which was combine his mind with the hive mind, giving him direct control of his insects. Now he wouldn't need to give them orders, they were him and he was them. Their thoughts were his and his were theirs. Having his insects do complex aerial moves was as simple as moving his arm now, and instantaneous.
He had become an espionage expert because of that ability, and a jonin.
Naruto smiled at his friend, no jealously in his face or smile at all. It wasn't even in his heart.
He wasn't jealous at all. Just proud.
Kurenai, who was still awake, tried to get Hinata to stop when she mentioned her, but it came out that she had gone on some unofficial dates with Kakashi. Naruto just nodded at that, it wasn't that embarrassing. She seemed to think so as his sensei's cheeks imitated Hinata's after a kiss.
Naruto was surprised and happy to find out that his favorite teacher and friend, Iruka Umino, was engaged to Anko, the crazy lady from the genin tests. Naruto was going to enjoy egging his teacher on for all it was worth. Hinata, though, suggested he do it only out of ear shot of Anko. The last person mentioning his 'luck at getting a tiger for a wife' was put in the hospital for weeks by Anko.
Tsunade was the same as always, except her drinking problem had increased. Hinata had become close friends with her, and they had often had lunch or tea to discuss life and missions.
Hinata felt like Tsunade was her link to Naruto.
Tsunade had felt the same way about Hinata.
Neither of them would ever tell him that.
The ramen bar had stayed open, much to Naruto's joy.
He promised Hinata a bowl as soon as he saw his bachan and otou-san… and Iruka… and Kakashi… and Shikamaru… and Sasuke…
"It sounds like I'll never get to eat ramen with you, Naruto-kun…"
"Hm… you're right. Alright, first comes bachan, then ramen. Then the rest. You're more important then those other guys."
"Don't say that… Naruto-kun…"
"Hinata-chan?"
"Hm?"
"I like your hair."
Both of them blushed and looked away for a second.
"Arigato… Naruto-kun…"
Both sat in silence for about two minutes before Kurenai gave a yawn and went off to bed.
"Don't stay up too late, Jiraiya has watch, so don't do anything that your otou-san wouldn't approve of."
"Sensei!"
"I'm just saying…"
She left to sleep, and Shino followed, leaving Hinata and Naruto as the only conscious people in the room.
They both had the same idea at the same time.
"Naruto-kun?"
"Hinata-chan?"
"There's something I need to tell you…"
"Really? I have something to tell you, too."
"You can go first, Naruto-kun."
"No, you first, I insist."
"Demo… Naruto-kun, yours is probably more important…"
"I think yours is more important, Hinata-chan."
They both just stared at each other for a while, not knowing how to say what was needed or how the other would react to the information.
Lucky for them the Hyuga are very good at deception, or it might have actually mattered.
"Hinata-chan, you go first."
"A… all right… Naruto-kun?"
"Hai?"
"I… there… we're… I think… Naruto-kun?"
"Hm?" Naruto was actually about to laugh at Hinata's tries to get whatever it was out. She was so flustered it was funny!
He didn't laugh, though at what she said next.
"Naruto-kun, I… think that I've… that I've liked you for a long time…" She turned away and blushed so much he could see it on the back of her neck. Naruto didn't know what to say.
"Is… is that what you wanted to tell me?"
"Hai."
Please let him return my feelings! Please, oh please help me not pass out, Kami-sama!"
"And… I… I was wondering if you… felt the… same… way…"
"Hinata-chan… I…" Naruto was tongue tied for once in his life. Wasn't that what he was going to say? How did she beat him to it? Why did she beat him to it?
"Hinata-chan, I… before you say you like me, there is something you should know…"
"… what is it?"
"The day before your third birthday Hiashi told me something about… us…"
"What… did he say?"
"You… and me… are betrothed. To be married on your next birthday before you take the tests to see if you will be heiress."
Hinata gasped, and Naruto didn't understand the true reason why. He turned to face the other way to hide his hurt feelings. He though her gasp was her being objecting to the idea. His heart split in two.
"Yeah, crazy huh? You see, at first I didn't really care, I mean I was only three and everything… and when we became ninja and fought together and worked together… I grew to kinda… like the idea."
Hinata, who was behind him, gave a small sob. He knew it wouldn't work out! Even when it had seemed so likely that she liked him… she wouldn't want to marry him.
"But, I mean… I won't hold you to it, or anything… technically the contract was broken when I became a missing ninja."
"But… but…"
"Hinata-chan, I… I really like you… but I won't force you to marry me…"
"Naruto-kun, I… but… you don't understand! I was told we were betrothed when I turned three, also! I wanted it! Kami-sama, how I wanted you to love me like I loved you! Don't force me to not marry you! Unless… unless you really don't want to…"
Naruto had spun around and instantly had Hinata in his arms.
"You knew?"
"Hai."
"And you still loved me? Even though you were going to be forced to marry me?"
"You were my best friend, Naruto-kun, from day one. When we joined the academy I had a crush on you. When we went through the forest of death and the chunin exams, I thought I loved you. But it wasn't until you left that I realized that there was a piece of my soul missing with you, like nothing I could do would fill it until you came back. I prayed daily that you would come home and that you would at least accept me, even with apathy! I just didn't want you to hate me. I thought you would hate me for forcing you to be my husband."
"Hey, it wasn't you. That was otou-san and my real dad who did that. And you can bet I don't blame them for anything. In fact, I think I'll thank otou-san as soon as we get home."
"So… you'll… agree?"
"Hinata, on your sixteenth birthday you will show those Hyuga counsel members exactly who is heiress, and I want to beside you while you do it."
"And when you stand up one day and accept your Hokage hat and robes, I want to be there, standing beside you as well."
"You know, for a forced marriage, I don't feel very forced."
"I'm glad."
"Hinata Hyuga, would you agree to marry me? Even if we weren't betrothed?"
"I though you would never ask me, of course I will."
Hinata, with a smile the size of Naruto's regular smile, leaned up to Naruto and kissed him. This time, though, they didn't stop until Gaara woke up around four in the morning. He calmly tapped Naruto on the shoulder, told him to get a room, and then went to wash in the nearby river.
Naruto gave one last quick kiss to Hinata before they each went to try to get a few hours of sleep.
He loves me back!
She loves me back!
I'm engaged!
Hinata passed out, but she was a second too late. Naruto had beaten her to the punch. He was out cold and Hinata was unconscious on top of him. They both had goofy smiles on their faces, and when they woke up, no one was able to get out of them exactly why. Jiraiya had his suspicions, but Kurenai denounced them as completely idiotic and perverted, and if he ever mentioned the words again in her presence she would send Anko after him.
Jiraiya took the lead of the group and was silent the entire way to Konoha.
AN: Continued fluff while war builds. I'm glad they finally got together, aren't you? I mean, they had to, but still... Hinata actually brought up the subject.