A/N: Hello again and welcome back to another update of 'Snow Angels'. It has been a very busy month for me, so I am relieved to have this chapter completed.

Anyways, her you go. Naruto and Hinata are finally about to see each other after so much has occurred while they were apart.

Naruto reaches the main entrance of the Leaf Village and picks up his pace once he catches sight of Hinata standing off to the side from the main gate, a basket at her feet. Her face lights up as their eyes meet and she can see her own excitement being reflect back by his great big smile. "I have missed you so much Hinata-tenshi." Naruto says as he comes to a stop, but before she can say anything, Naruto wraps his hands around her waist, lifts her off her feet and places a gentle kiss upon her lips.

Hinata says nothing, she is too busy enjoying the sensation that no memory genjutsu can ever hope to capture. Instead she closes her eyes and runs her fingers through his spiky golden hair while kissing him in return. Slowly his grip loosens and she slides back towards the ground, till her toes are almost touching, as his arms cross around her back, wrapping her in a warm embrace.

Naruto finishes lowering her to the ground once their greeting is complete, a minute or so later, but who's counting. Well, actually the gate guards, who are elbowing each other and smirking at the public display of affection from two of the village's most notable citizens, are noticing the extended duration of the kiss.

As her feet reconnect with the ground Hinata steps back to take a good look at Naruto. 'He looks so tired, and a little thin, the mission must have been more difficult than Hanabi let on. She was unusually quiet when she came to my room earlier. I guess I should have been more attentive and asked how things went.' Hinata places a concerned hand upon his cheek and feels a flush of happiness as he gives her a big smile that vanquishes most of the fatigue from his face. 'Maybe I should wait to tell him about my promotion, and my encounter with Sakura till later. I don't want to say something that would upset him when all I want is for him to be happy.'

Naruto just looks at her, wondering how she can get prettier every time they are apart. "Thank you for inviting me on a picnic, Hinata. I haven't done a picnic since that one we sort of did years ago on that mission with Kiba. I remember that the rice ball you made to look like my face was delicious."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata blushes a little as she remembers something else that happened on that mission. 'After taking a bite you said that I would make somebody a good wife someday. I am ready to assume that job as soon as you ask.' She bites her lip and looks at him, her heart filled with hope that another one of her dreams may soon come true.

Naruto's stomach gives out a noticeable growl and he blushes a little as he rubs his abdomen to silence any further outbursts. "Sorry about that, I have only had a light snack since I woke up this morning." The truth is that he has barely eaten, or slept much the last few days as he tried to make plans for what needs to be done when he reached the Leaf Village. He has been too nervous about this very moment to think of anything else, but the wonderful smells wafting up from the basket and the warm smile on Hinata's face are banishing the nerves in his stomach, for the moment at least. 'Is it wrong of me to selfishly want to enjoy what may be my last date with Hinata?'

Hinata happily blushes, thrilled that he likes her idea of a picnic alone. "I am so glad to hear you say that Naruto-kun. I hope that you didn't mind meeting me here rather than at my home. When I told Hanabi-chan that I was hoping to have a picnic with you, she suggested that we go someplace where we could be truly alone, and even offered to personally deliver the message to have you meet me here, wasn't that nice?"

Hinata wanted so much to sign the letter 'with love', but she has decided to continue waiting for him to say those words next. She doesn't want him to say the words out of obligation just because she had just said them to him. After everything that has happened recently with Sakura, she needs to know that when he finally does tell her that he loves her, that those words will be said with his entire heart. She just needs to continue being patient while waiting for him to take their relationship to the next level. 'Just a little while longer, hopefully.'

Naruto closes his eyes, to try and hide his irritation at the mention of Hanabi's name after the trick she just pulled, and laughs dryly. "That Hanabi can really be something." He picks up the basket and holds out his hand to Hinata. "So tell me, do you have a specific spot in mind for our picnic?"

Hinata places her hand in his and takes the lead. "Yes, I thought we would go to one of the nearby meadows that has a stream running along one side." She can see by the look in his eye that he knows the spot she has in mind. 'Of course he would know where I am talking about, it is one of his favorite places to go and quietly think. It is where I would sometimes watch him from a distance, and wish I had the courage to go over and sit quietly beside him as we watched the butterflies dance among the flowers.'

Upon reaching their location, Naruto helps Hinata spread out the blanket and just sits patiently trying not to openly salivate as she lays out the food she has prepared. They both take their time eating their meal and enjoying idle chitchat for similar reasons. Naruto knows what he has to tell Hinata will be a long and difficult story, but he is determined that he will bare his soul to her today, for better or worse.

Hinata needs to somehow find the words to tell him about her two recent meetings, near collisions really, with Sakura. If deep down Naruto does want to break his promise to talk with Sakura, and forgive her for what was said, Hinata is sure that she will see the truth in his eyes. If he finds out later that she had withheld this information, and he does want to mend that broken bond, it could possibly harm their relationship, especially if Sakura was to go through with her threat. "Naruto-kun, I need to tell you something, I…"

Naruto sits up straight, nearly spitting out the tea he is sipping on, and feels a surge of fear go through his body. "Uh… Hinata-tenshi, there is something that I need to talk about as well, c-c-could I go first?"

Hinata is relieved that she can put off talking about Sakura, and possibly upsetting Naruto, who already seems very tired and on edge about something. Hinata quickly nods in agreement and folds her hands into her lap to wait patiently for Naruto to start talking. "Yes, please go ahead Naruto-kun."

He takes a deep breath while trying to figure out where is the best place to start and finally decides that it would be best to just start at the beginning. 'At least once I am done talking, Hinata will know the real reason I had that fight with Rock Lee and left the village for a while, and why I don't associate with my old teammates anymore. She has probably been wondering all this time about why I left the village and acted like an idiot, I owe her that truth, and I really should have told her a while ago.'

He looks deeply in her eyes hoping that today won't be the last time that she looks at him with that special smile. "You know the night I had that big fight with Rock Lee and then left the village afterwards? Well, earlier in the night something happened, I had a fight with..." He pauses for a moment trying to decide how best to move forward.

"Her." Hinata interjects hoping to alleviate some of the tension she can see rapidly building in Naruto's body. She tries not to let her excitement show that their relationship has reached a point to where he feels comfortable sharing what had happened, and that she may be the first person that he has opened up to about that night. This one simple gesture on his part makes her feel that their relationship is about to make a dramatic leap forward. 'I know that I should not be excited that he is going to talk about something so painful, but I can't help myself.' She clasps her hands together to keep them still, as she gives him an encouraging smile.

Seeing Hinata's encouraging smile drains away most of the tension that he is feeling, so that he can get back on track with his story. 'She always seems to know just what to do, or say to me when I am having trouble.' Naruto smiles gratefully at Hinata. "Yeah, thanks Hinata, you see..." He goes on to tell her about seeing his old teammate crying, stopping her at the prison, and everything that occurred right up to the moment he went to his apartment to get away. The whole time he is talking Naruto is so caught up in telling Hinata the story, that he doesn't even notice Hinata's complete lack of surprise at what she is being told.

Hinata does notice that instead of saying the word 'love' like he had tried to say that night to Sakura, he instead says 'how much I cared about her and Sasuke'. This gives her some insight on why he hasn't used that word when speaking to her; it is because he may be afraid to say the word that caused him so much pain. Her heart breaks a little as she realizes the depth of the feelings he must have had for Sakura for him to shy away from using the word love in any context ever again.

She places a hand on his arm to get his attention before he starts talking about the fight with Rock Lee. "Please let me interrupt, I need to make a confession Naruto-kun. I was... I was hiding in the bushes nearby when you had your fight with her, I'm sorry." She puts her head down in shame as she confesses spying on him during such a painful moment in his life. "I didn't mean to spy on you that night. I was… walking down the street when I saw you running with such concern on your face. I was afraid that something bad had happened and you might need my help. Please forgive me Naruto-kun, I..." She looks up as she feels him place his other hand on top of hers and squeeze reassuringly.

Naruto smirks for a moment as he looks into her eyes. "I should have known that you would have been there, you always seem to be there for me when I am in real trouble. I am not mad at you tenshi, but I am sorry that you have had to carry the burden of this knowledge for so long." He listens as she tells her part of the story and he rubs the corner of her eyes guiltily when she talks about being temporarily blinded, and how scared she was for him when she finally caught up and saw him fighting with Kakashi.

Naruto leans over and kisses Hinata gently on the cheek. "It was seeing the pain and fear in your eyes that stopped me that night. Seeing you made me pause, and look around to see that I was harming the people of the village far more than I was hurting myself. That was when I decided that it would be best if I were to go away and figure things out, before I hurt anyone else in the village." He pulls Hinata into an embrace and lets her presence give him the strength to go on with his tale. "I apologized to the Hokage today for how I acted when she came to talk to me in the prison. I acted like some child throwing a tantrum till she let me leave the village. To be honest I didn't really give her a choice, and there was something that I needed to do that I couldn't accomplish while stuck in a cell." He lets out a dry chuckle. "There is also the fact that I wanted to pay for the damage I had done to the village, and for that I needed money."

Hinata touches her fingers together nervously. "I had wondered where you were, and if you were okay, till the Hokage had come before the council to announce that she had sent you away to Mount Myōbokuzan for a little while.

She told us that you had asked her to apologize to the council for your behavior, and that you volunteered to do any available missions till you had repaid for all of the damage you had done." She smiles when she sees the affirmation on his face that the repayment had been his suggestion and not an order from the Hokage. "Rock Lee came before the council a few days later, once he was released from the hospital, and the news that you had left became public. He offered to do the same, and to pay the victims, not just for their lost property, but for any lost income as well until the businesses were rebuilt. Might Guy and Tenten had come with him, and offered to help as well."

Hinata blushes and looks down at her twitching fingers. "I-I-I offered to… help also." She glances over to see him looking at her with a grateful smile on his face. "I-I-I mean… if I helped… then you wouldn't… have to…"

Naruto takes her fiddling hands into his own. "YOU… didn't want me gone so long, is that what you are trying to say?" When she looks up in embarrassment he knows that his guess was on target. "Thank you, tenshi. I appreciate that you offered to help, especially back then, right in front of the entire council. I know that must have been really scary for you to do."

At first all Hinata can do is nod, but she takes a breath to steady herself so she can talk confidently again. "Yes, father was not happy that I interrupted the council meeting to add my offer of help along with the others. He felt that if I were to help pay for the damages, then I would be saying that I was partially responsible for what happened."

"The Hokage just smiled at me and thanked us all for our generous offer to help repair the damage that was done during the fight. She then pulled out a scroll, and said that just before you left the village you had absolved Rock Lee from any guilt in the event and said that the fault was to be entirely on your shoulders." Hinata smiles and squeezes his hand when Naruto nods in agreement to what the Hokage had said. "She put forth a resolution that the money for the repairs would be loaned to you, with interest added of course, so that the repairs could be done immediately. It was seconded and passed with very little resistance."

"When Rock Lee insisted that he should do something to help repay for his part in the damage done, the Hokage reminded him that all of the wreckage still needed to be cleared away so the repairs could be started. He gave a happy yell and declared that if he didn't have all of the wreckage cleared by sundown that he would do five hundred one-armed push-ups with one arm, and then the other, as punishment." Hinata pulls her hands free and covers her mouth as she starts laughing. "It took him nearly a week with Guy's help to clear all of the wreckage, because they were exhausting themselves doing all of the punishment exercises halfway through each night, and sleeping halfway through the next day."

She looks at him cautiously and places one of her hands and top of Narutos. "You said that you had things to accomplish instead of being in a cell, besides paying for the repairs." She gives him a look of curiosity, but she turns her head slightly to the side to show that she would understand if it was something that he would rather not discuss.

Even if he had not planned on telling Hinata nearly everything about that night, and the events afterwards, that innocent look of curiosity would have had him spilling his guts of anything she desired to know. "Yeah, there was one thing that I had to do quickly back then, before it was too late, and if the Hokage had not let me leave that very next morning I would have busted out of the prison."

Naruto nods confidently at her look of shock. "I know that would have potentially gotten me labeled as a rogue shinobi, but I didn't care and I would do it all over again knowing what I know now." Naruto sighs as he leans back into a comfortable sitting position. "To me the outcome was worth whatever price I would pay for breaking out." He gives her hand a loving squeeze and takes a deep breath.

"First off, I sort of lied to the Hokage. I told her that I was going to Mount Myōbokuzan to try and sort things out, which was a half-truth." Naruto looks down at his crossed legs and shakes his head. "The truth is, I picked Mount Myōbokuzan as my destination because I could go there alone, since I am the only living person in the village with a contract with the toads. From there I could do what I wanted without the Hokage tracking my every move. From Mount Myōbokuzan I sent a messenger toad to the Fourth Raikage, asking him to meet with me privately."

Hinata's eyes go wide in realization. "You went and asked him to change his mind about Sasuke?"

"Yes, but before I could say anything when I arrived, he told me that I was wasting my breath if I was there to ask for him to change his mind about Sasuke. I got so mad that I challenged him to a fight to decide Sasuke's fate." Naruto nods unhappily when Hinata covers her mouth in shock. "Now that I have spent time with you and Shikamaru going over what is considered proper protocol I understand just how big of an idiot I was acting that day." He gives a sheepish shrug. "When has doing something obviously stupid ever stopped me when my mind was made up to get something accomplished."

'OH I THINK THE PART WHERE YOU TOLD THE FOURTH RAIKAGE THAT THE ONLY WAY YOU WERE GOING TO LOSE THE MATCH IS IF YOU WERE DEAD, WAS OBVIOUSLY STUPID. YOU ESSENTIALLY CHALLANGED AN ALLIED LEADER TO A DEATH MATCH.' Kurama's comment caught Naruto so off guard that he was unable to hide his reaction, and winched a little.

"You have that look on your face when Kurama is talking to you, Naruto-kun." She reaches up and lays a cool hand on his flushed face. "What did he say?"

Naruto sighs, knowing that he came here to tell Hinata the truth, but he hadn't expected to tell her that he had been feeling… a little suicidal when he went to talk with the Fourth Raikage. He can't even look her in the eyes as he admits to her one of the parts he was thinking of leaving out of the story. "I told the Fourth Raikage that the only way he was going to win the fight was if he killed me, I…" He looks up into her now tear filled eyes, and can see that she has already guessed what he was trying to avoid saying, something that he just can't bring himself to admit aloud to Hinata.

Hinata clasps her hands over her mouth in disbelief at what she was seeing in Naruto's eyes. 'He went there to save Sasuke even if it cost him his life, just like Sakura had asked him to do. To sacrifice his life in exchange… for Sasuke… for her.' The conversation she had with Sakura recently comes back to Hinata's mind, as well as those doubts on whether Naruto still harbors feelings for Sakura.

Naruto becomes concerned as he sees the return of Hinata's self-doubt as she looks down at her feet while touching her fingertips slowly together. He grabs at the first thought that comes to his mind to try and get her to think about something else. "Kurama got really mad at me for making that challenge without consulting him first, and didn't talk to me for a long time, or even directly loan me any of his chakra." Naruto's heart skips a beat in elation as she looks up at him curiously. "Actually, he didn't even talk to me again until the day I was shopping for your gift."

'DAMN RIGHT I WAS UPSET.' Kurama growls so loud, Naruto has a hard time believing that Hinata cannot hear the kyubi's voice echoing through his body. 'THE FACT THAT YOU WERE WILLING TO SACRAFICE BOTH OF OUR LIVES TO SAVE THE UCHIHA DOG TO MAKE HIS MANIPULATIVE PINK-HAIRED BITCH HAPPY, WAS RIDICULOUS. YOU WERE DETERMINED TO MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF OVER THAT FEMALE, SO YOU DESERVED BEING CUTOFF AND HAVING TO DEAL WITH YOUR HANGOVERS ON YOUR OWN.'

Naruto cannot help but winch at the memory of how hard it was to have to heal naturally after growing up his entire life recovering from every injury so quickly. His eyes refocus and he realizes that Hinata has been staring at him while Kurama was yelling, so he laughs a little and scratches the back of his head. "Kurama was just reminding me that I can be a real idiot sometimes." He tries to laugh again but tension in the air makes the laughter sound flat and hollow. He looks over at Hinata, a little distance has formed between them, and for the first time he is at a loss for words.

The memory of Sakura threatening to punish her for denying a simple request for help, sends a chill through Hinata. 'What if he does still have feelings for Sakura? What if deep down he does want to fix things between them, and when they do she tell him that I was rude to her… he might…' The same questions that have been plaguing her mind over-and-over for days, causing her torment to increase with each iteration, are pushing Hinata's fragile psyche nearly to the point of breaking.

Naruto watches as Hinata hugs herself tightly and looks as if she could burst into tears at any moment. "I saw… HER." His heart aches when she looks up at him with a panic filled expression. 'Damn, that was the wrong thing to say.'

"When… when did you see her?" She has to know if somehow Sakura had been able to finally confront Naruto today before they met for their picnic, and he has been waiting this whole time for her to admit the truth. Maybe that is why he has suddenly decided to talk about all of this now, to explain why he hasn't said that he loves her yet, and to curse her for getting in the way of his reconciliation with Sakura.

Naruto silently curses himself as he can see in Hinata's eyes that her panic has only gotten worse. "I saw her the night of the New Year's Eve Festival. She was sitting on a park bench, crying."

'That must have been after I blocked her during the festival, when she tried to talk to Naruto-kun.' Hinata looks deeply in his eyes hoping to see the answer to those nagging questions. "And…"

Naruto's upper lip curls back in a sneer and he shrugs. "Nothing happened, when she saw me she got up and started walking towards me, and I walked away. That is the whole story. You know what she asked me to promise, and dammit after she admitted lying to me for all that time I am going to keep that promise." Naruto winces for a moment, as if he just felt something painful. "I just don't want to talk with her again, Hinata."

Hinata wants to throw her arms around Naruto and cry for joy, happy that all of her fears seem to have been for nothing, but she has to be sure. "What if she really wants to apologize for what happened?"

'That is so like Hinata to try and be the peacemaker. I wish I could be that selfless and caring about people.' Naruto raises his eyebrows and shakes his head. "If she does, then most likely she needs something from me again. How can I ever truly trust anything she would say to me again after what she admitted to me that night?"

Naruto reaches out and takes both of Hinata's hands in his own. "Please don't worry that I could treat you like that Hinata, okay? I spend time with you, not because the Hokage assigned us to work together, but because I really like how I feel when you are around. For the first time in a while, probably my whole life if I stop to think about it, I can honestly say that I like the person that I am right now. Just having you nearby makes me want to be the very best Uzumaki Naruto that I can possibly become."

Naruto reaches up and brushes away the tears that are now running down her cheeks. "If for some reason she ever asks you to talk to me about doing her a favor, just tell her no, okay? I am very happy with my life now, and I don't want her kind of drama in my life right now."

Hinata presses her cheek into his palm as she nods. "I should tell you that she did try to talk with you earlier in the night of the New Year's Eve Festival. It was when you were helping Udon, and she tried to approach you while you were distracted with the game." She looks up at him in shame. "I stepped in front of her… and sort of… threatened her… a little." Hinata's lower lip protrudes out in a please don't be mad at me look.

Naruto looks at Hinata in total shock. "You threatened her in front of everyone?" When Hinata nods shyly all he can do is chuckle. "That's amazing, tenshi. I am not really sure what I would have done if I suddenly looked up and there she was looking down at me, I would most likely have said or done something that I would have regretted later."

"Sasuke did say something to her after I stopped her from getting any closer, and then she ran off… crying." Hinata's eyes go wide as she remembers what they were talking about just before things got weird. "That's right, Sasuke. I had been wondering all this time if you were somehow involved with Sasuke not being executed. I never heard anything else about the execution order after that night, and then you left the village the next day. So the Fourth Raikage backed off when you threatened to fight him for Sasuke's life?"

Naruto scratches the back of his head and laughs. "No, that old guy is as stubborn as I am, and was not about to back down from a challenge from some arrogant kid, even if I am some sort of war hero. That old man's pride is bigger than his whole body." His signature smile returns as he tells Hinata about his near fight with the Fourth Raikage. "We were both about to go at it, right there in some sort of secret conference room. The buildup of chakra pressure in the room was so intense that it was almost like being deep underwater, but fortunately Darui was there to calm both of us down enough to where we could talk without using our fists."

Naruto's grin shifts into a smirk as he lets out a sigh of relief. "I was really happy to hear that Darui has been chosen to be the Fourth Raikage's successor when the old man finally steps down. He is a good guy and will be a great leader for his village one day."

Naruto shakes his head to get his thoughts back on track. "I asked the Raikage to give Sasuke a chance to make up for everything that he did after he left the Leaf Village. That after his entire clan was killed by his own brother; his heart became filled with anger and the need for revenge. If people were to ever get past the endless cycles of hatred, mistrust and revenge; that some sort of precedent needed to be made. It was fear of my clan that got the Uzumaki name nearly wiped from existence, and where would we all be if that had happened?" He gives Hinata a cocky smile.

"It turns out that the Hidden Cloud Village was partially responsible for what happened to my clan, at least that is what the Raikage admitted to while we were talking. So as an apology to try and make some amends for what his village had done to my clan, the Raikage said that he would do as I asked and accept the Hokage's offer in exchange for Sasuke's life." Naruto gives a shrug as if it was all really that simple.

Naruto rubs his temples in remembrance of pain. "After some discussion about the Hokage's concessions, and way too much sake to seal the deal, the Fourth Raikage agreed to reverse his execution vote. Instead, Sasuke is under probation for five years after his release from prison, but he is not to be told that he is under probation. Also, all information about the fact that he was originally to be executed was to be stricken from the records and all parties were to be sworn to secrecy, just in case Sasuke would not take the news gracefully." He looks over at Hinata guiltily. "To be honest I was the one who made that rule."

Hinata nervously looks Naruto in the eyes, afraid that he might get upset with her being so nosey. "So, what were the Hokage's concessions to the other villages, in exchange for Sasuke's life?" She looks away shyly, just in case. "I mean, if it is okay for me to know, but if it is a secret I'll understand if…"

Naruto lifts up Hinata's chin to look into his smiling face. "Since you are attending council meetings with your dad you probably already know about the deal. What most people don't know is that it was done in exchange for Sasuke's life. At the conclusion of the war, only the Leaf Village and the Cloud Village had a bijū within their borders, and both of them had a jinchūriki fully bonded with them as well. As part of that Kage conference, where Sasuke's fate was also being discussed, the subject of having a balance of power was broached. The Tsuchikage and the Mizukage asked for the return of the bijū that were taken by the Akatsuki, because their daimyo mistrusted the imbalance. So, Lady Tsunade offered them a deal."

Naruto gives Hinata a big smile as her eyes go wide with understanding. "The Hokage said that she would ask me to talk with the bijū, and see if they would be willing to reside within the borders of nations they had recently lived inside before they were captured and sealed inside that damn statue. Also she would have me ask if any of the bijū would be willing to join with a jinchūriki again, but it would have to be completely voluntary. She knew that I would accept nothing less than a willing partnership between the two, and if the bijū were not willing then I would fight for them to remain free." Naruto places his palms down on his thighs in a gesture of immobility. "The final part of her offer was that each nation would host two bijū each and would be responsible for their protection. The Fire Nation would only host Kurama, since I am already partially bonded to each of the other bijū anyways. Plus, it would only put a single bijū within close reach of Sasuke if he did go rogue again."

Naruto then lets out a laugh about how well Tsunade knows him sometimes. "The Hokage knows that I would agree to just about anything to save a friend's life. I pretty much proved that after years of trying to get strong enough to save his ass the first time. Her original offer was rejected when the Hokage attached Sasuke's life to the agreement. There was still so much fear and anger after the war, and the Uchiha name is negatively associated with the war, rightfully or not."

"So when I got the Raikage to change his mind, he explained to me what Tsunade had proposed at the conference. So, I called out to all of the bijū through our bond and asked if they were willing to be part of the bargain. At first they were not happy that they were being used to save the life of an Uchiha, but I asked them to give him another chance." He looks at Hinata with a sad smile. "I reminded them that for the most part, they and their jinchūriki had been treated unfairly because of the stuff that they were forced to do as pawns, and in a way Sasuke had been manipulated for a large portion of his own life."

"After a little debate amongst themselves they said that they were okay with living in the old nations they had just recently occupied. I think some of them had been cooped up for so long that they just didn't know what to do with their new freedom, and this offer gave them something to do. The big issue was that only two of them were willing, at first, to become bonded again with a jinchūriki, but after a little discussion Son Goku said that he would at least be willing to meet with a candidate, but they had better find a candidate with proper manners, or the deal was off."

"Once the bijū agreed to be part of the deal, the Fourth Raikage sent a message to the other villages stating that on further reflection he had decided to take up the Hokage's offer, and would change his vote to allow Sasuke to live." Naruto laughs dryly for a moment and then lets out a long sigh. "That is when I asked the Raikage to not mention that I had come to talk with him privately, or that I had anything to do with his change of position. I explained that I was supposed to be somewhere else on a vacation, of sorts." His smile fades a little as he looks away. "To be honest I just didn't want her to know, because I did it to save my friend's life, not to do her anymore favors."

To try and change the subject away from Sakura, Naruto grabs another purple mochi and pops it into his mouth. "Man, these things are great. Anyways, I used more messenger toads, which used the reverse summoning technique, once the Kages agreed to meet and talk. It was the fastest way to get to each other nations, and make sure it was a unanimous vote to let Sasuke live."

"They all also agreed not to tell the Hokage that I was there meeting with them privately. Now that I think about it, I really don't think that Lady Tsunade was really fooled by the Raikage's sudden change of heart, or the other Kages. I think she has just been nice and let me think that I got away with this little personal errand, and is probably waiting till the right moment to knock me up the side of my head for trying to pull a fast one." Naruto looks down and decides that he might as well go ahead and tell the Hokage about his errand when he has to tell her about those girls.

Hinata leans forward and places her hands on the side of his face before kissing him softly.

As she leans back smiling Naruto can't help but ask, "What was that for, Hinata? Not that you ever have to have a reason to kiss me, it just seemed kind of sudden."

Hinata brushes his whisker marks with her thumbs. "Because you are the sweetest person that I have ever known, Naruto-kun. Not only did you do everything you could to save your friend, but you also made sure that all of the bijū were completely okay with their part of the agreement. It's the fact that you care so much that makes you so special." She leans forward, and this time they kiss each other. 'It is that caring soul of yours that attracted me to you, and is part of the reason that I love you so much, Naruto-kun.'

As they kiss all Naruto can do, at first, is think about how lucky he is to finally have someone like Hinata in his life. Unfortunately, as he reflects on her words he is reminded of the real reason that he needed to talk with Hinata today. 'Man, why did I have to be such an idiot for so long. If I had only put aside my fears years ago, I would not have gone out there and acted like an idiot, because I would have had somebody I trusted there to keep me straight. Now, I got to somehow find a way to tell my girlfriend that I got drunk and raped a bunch of fangirls with my shadow clones.'

'YOU NEVER RAPED ANYONE, KIT.' Kurama's voice speaks in such matter-of-fact tones that his words are like being hit upside the head with a giant paw.

Without realizing what he was doing Naruto suddenly pulls away from Hinata and speaks out loud. "Wait, but those girls said that I got them drunk and I… we… you know."

Hinata is totally confused, not only by Naruto roughly pulling away, but by what he just said. "What are you and Kurama talking about, Naruto-kun?"

Kurama chuckles at the obvious slip Naruto has made, and knows things might just get more interesting that he had planned. 'YES, I AM SAYING THOSE FEMALES ARE LYING, MOSTLY. YOU DID GET THEM DRUNK, MOST OF THEM SO DRUNK THEY WENT UNCONCIOUS OR AT LEAST DRUNK ENOUGH THAT THEY COULD NOT POSSIBLY REMEMBER MOST OF THAT NIGHT. LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT ONE THING, YOU NEVER MATED WITH ANY OF THEM. HELL, YOU BARELY EVEN LET THEM KISS YOU ON THE CHEEK WITHOUT TRYING TO PULL AWAY IN DISGUST, THOUGH ONE OF THEM WAS PRETTY PERSISTENT AND GOT A LITTLE MORE THAN A CHEEK.' Kurama's voice breaks into a rumble of laughter. 'WHAT THOSE FEAMLE'S CLAIMED WAS EITHER WISHFUL THINKING ON THEIR PART, OR A REAL ATTEMPT TO TRY AND TRAP YOU WITH A LIE.'

Naruto reaches up and instinctively covers his mouth in disgust. "Wait, I blocked all of that out, so how do you know what really happened?"

'YOU SEEM TO FORGET THAT WE ARE COMPLETELY BONDED NOW, WHILE YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE MEMORIES OF YOUR SHADOW CLONES UNTIL THEY ARE DISSAPATED. I AM CONNECTED DIRECTLY TO MY CHAKRA AND I KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING, AS IT HAPPENS.' Kurama replies in an irritatingly smug voice. 'EVEN WHEN I AM NOT LENDING YOU LARGE AMOUNTS OF MY CHAKRA, SMALL AMOUNTS OF IT IS IN ALMOST EVERY JUTSU THAT YOU DO, IT HAS BEEN THAT WAY FOR A LONG TIME. WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ALWAYS HEAL SO QUICKLY, KIT? IT WAS BECAUSE MY CHAKRA WAS THERE KEEPING YOU ALIVE AND HEALTHY.'

Naruto's nose crinkles up in in confusion. "Wait, I thought that you were not loaning me any chakra during that time."

'I LIED.' Kurama grunts as if this fact should not a real surprise. 'IT IS MY CHAKRA AND I DO WITH IT AS I WISH.'

"You sneaky, mangy…" Naruto cannot suppress his sudden surge of anger at Kurama. He stands up and begins pacing around the clearing in agitation. "So! I have been sick with worry all this damn time about how I was going be able to tell Hinata about all those girls, and you sat in there saying nothing?"

"Not to mention the fact that Hanabi has barely spoken to me in days because she believes that I am some sort of sick pervert." Naruto reaches up and pulls at his hair in frustration. "The whole trip back home I kept waiting for her to slap me in the face again, or worse. All because of what those girls said. Why didn't you at least try and stop me from doing that stuff?"

Hinata's thoughts are now a whirlwind of confusion and anxiety. 'What does he mean that Hanabi-chan is mad at him, and who are those girls he is talking about? Did he… do something… while they were on the mission? Was he… lonely… after what had nearly happened between us in his apartment just before he left? Did he meet some pretty fangirl, or maybe one of his old ones… and…' Hinata places her hands over her heart to try and soothe the building panic she is feeling in her chest. 'I shouldn't have teased him and let him leave on the mission with unfulfilled… needs?'

Her legs lose all their strength and she sinks to her knees while trying to hold back the tears. 'No, I just… just need to wait before I think the worst. Naruto-kun would never do something like that to me, it is just not his way. I must remember that till he is done talking with Kurama, and then he will tell me the truth.'

Naruto can sense Kurama shrugging somewhere deep inside his body before the Nine-Tailed Fox decides to reply. 'WHY SHOULD I HAVE, YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO ASK ME ABOUT HOW BIG OF A FOOL YOU WERE MAKING OF YOURSELF BACK THEN, DID YOU KIT?'

Kurama waits as Naruto stomps comically about the clearing shaking his fist furiously for a few moments before continuing. 'YOU WERE WISE TO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY OF THOSE… FEMALE'S… OFFERS.' He says the word females in complete disgust. 'THEY WERE ALL WEAK AND UNWORTHY OF BECOMING YOUR VIXEN. THEY ACTUALLY REEKED OF WEAKNESS, AND DESPIRATION FOR A PROPER MATE. THEY WOULD HAVE BORE YOU INFERIOR OFFSPRING, KIT.'

Naruto's arms go wide in a gesture of frustration. "Why the hell do you care about me having kids with all those girls, you damn nosey furball?"

'What? What did he just say?' Hinata's hands begin to tremble as they slide down and clutch at her stomach. 'Is that why Hanabi is mad about those girls? It isn't that he… cheated, but she found out that… he… has…?' The image of a child with golden blond hair and perfect blue eyes being clutched to a woman's breast comes unbidden to Hinata's mind. As the nightmarish vision continues, it begins to pan back and Hinata can now see Naruto looking down lovingly at the child while he strokes the mother's… pink hair.

Naruto spits on the ground in anger. "That's it, I have had enough. I am coming inside and I am going kick your..."

"Uzumaki Naruto, I demand that you explain yourself this instant!" The last image of that horrible vision was too much for Hinata to wait patiently anymore. She has to know exactly what he is talking about or she might just physically burst. Burst into what she is not sure, probably tears, but quite possibly something more extreme depending on his answer.

Naruto's head snaps around quickly, and he looks about the clearing to see who had just spoken his name with such demanding authority. As he looks back around one more time, his gaze finally focuses on Hinata's eyes and he feels a chill run through his body. 'Dang, she looks really mad about something. I thought the way she smiled coldly at those girls she caught flirting with me was scary, but that was nothing to Hinata's mad face.'

Just as Naruto is about to speak Kurama interjects, 'KIT, YOU DO REALIZE THAT YOU WHERE SPEAKING TO ME OUT LOUD?'

With a surge of panic running through his body Naruto turns his head to look to the side as he tries to remember the last few minutes. "Oh, crap. I was yelling about those girls out loud. Hinata…" Naruto turns to see Hinata looking at him, her body visibly trembling.

'I won't cry. I won't cry.' Hinata feels her throat closing up as she tries to suppress the heart wrenching sound trying to force its way out. She has to avert her gaze to try and regain her composure, because she is having trouble being angry when she looks into his perfect blue eyes. 'Oh kami, I'm going to cry.'

Naruto reaches out to Hinata. "Tenshi, let me…"

Hinata's head turns towards Naruto, her byakugan activated glare freezing him in place. "Don't you tenshi me, Naruto." She had denied the rumors all this time that he had been with other women, telling herself lately that it didn't matter because they are now together. But, hearing him talk about children with at least one of these women was too much for her to handle. "You… you have…?" She just can't say that word out loud. 'I really need to hit something right now.'

The glade begins to spin as Hinata tries to keep that terrible mental image from returning, and her anger turns towards its usual source of blame. 'I should not project my anger at him, it's all my fault in the end. I knew he was hurting after his confrontation with Sakura, and needed to be comforted. I should have sought him out, begged the Hokage to assign me to be one of his teammates for a mission, anything that would have allowed me to be there to comfort my Naruto-kun. Instead I hesitated, like I have always done when Naruto is involved, even after I swore that I was going to stop. That stupid weakness of mine nearly made me wait till he was dead, and instead it has cost me the honor of being the mother of his first born.' Her hands desperately clutch at her stomach. 'If I had gone to him and been the one to lend him comfort, then maybe that child would have been… mine.'

Naruto starts waving his hands back and forth. "No, no, no. Kurama was just saying that I was lucky that I did not have kids with those girls who accused me of raping them when they were unconscious, that's all."

'YOU ARE SUCH AND IDIOT SOMETIMES.' Kurama's voice comes out in a gasp of disbelief.

As the realization of what he just said begins to coalesce in his mind, Naruto's attention refocuses on Hinata who is now staring at him in complete devastation.

"You, r-r-ra…" Hinata is having trouble coming to grips that the person she loves could be capable of such a heinous act, and has admitted to this with such a nonchalant attitude. Without even thinking she raises up her hand to strike him down, but her hand is held in check by his still innocent looking blue eyes. Deep down a part of her wonders how those pure blue eyes can conceal something so anti-Naruto? Unable to lash out while looking into his eyes, she closes her own and lets the darkness swallow her up. The numbing embrace of oblivion a much preferable place than where she is now.

Naruto watches Hinata, seeing exactly what he had been afraid of for days, her eyes wide in shock at his stupidity. As his brain frantically tries to find the words to undo the terrible damage he has just done, he see Hinata's eyes clothes and her body buckle from the shock.

A/N: As I was preparing to release this chapter I received word that we have lost a member of our community. Ayrmed, the writer of 'Love's Never Easy' passed away recently and her son posted an update on her story letting her readers know. She was the very first person to review this story and was always very kind with her comments.

I know that her story is not complete and may never be completed now, but if you can find the time the story is worth reading and sharing with others.