I Do Not Own Naruto

Chapter 43

Hinata walked to the restaurant, today she was meeting with Shino and Kiba, it was going to be an interesting. Kiba had said it was an emergency, but Hinata was just kind of excited to meet up with her friends. She hadn't had the time to really chat with them and felt a bit miffed that she didn't know what was going on in their lives. They were her teammates and her friends and she honestly didn't know what was going on in their lives at this moment.

She felt like a horrible friend for not even knowing the basics!

"Hello," she smiled as she walked into the restaurant.

"Hey Hinata! We weren't certain you'd make it!" Kiba grinned.

"I am glad you are here," Shino rasped as he looked up from his tea.

"I'm sorry, I've just been… busy," Hinata sighed wistfully. She'd been exhausted. Tenten had been released from the hospital earlier this week and Hinata had offered to help her with Hajime, and who knew a new born could be so exhausting!? Even if Hajime was a quiet baby compared to other babies; Mirai, and he didn't express the same intense curiosity in Mirai that Mirai had about him.

"You look exhausted!" Kiba observed, she just smiled as she slid into her seat, thankful that it was there so she didn't collapse; not that she would, but she was tired still.

"How have you been?" she asked as she placed a napkin in her lap as she picked up the menu.

"I have been arranged for a marriage," Shino sighed.

"Really dude!?"

"Yes, a prominent clan," he sounded indifferent to this but Hinata's heart ached for him. The Aburame Clan, though powerful, was never really a wanted clan and an arranged marriage did not sound plesant for him in her mind. Besides, Shino deserved someone who would see how wonderful he was, not someone picked for him because their personalities would work and it would form an alliance. Then again, she was going to be in the same boat here soon enough, so she would leave her opinions to herself.

"Is she at least hot?" Kiba asked.

"I do not know, I have never met her, she is of the refugees seeking shelter in Konoha," he shrugged.

"I don't like this, all the refugees as of late, former great shinobi families just coming here," Kiba huffed.

"What?" Hinata blinked, this was the first she was hearing of it.

"Yeah, the Shinobi Union is offering up `refuge to dozens of formerly neutral shinobi families who were desimated in the war when they joined our efforts," Kiba shrugged.

"Really?" Hinata blinked.

"Didn't you know, most the clans' elders have been raging in on the Hokage for this decision," Kiba said.

"I hadn't… I have been helping Tenten with Hajime," she whispered.

"Oh, wow, um… yeah, Konoha received about ten new families, they're integrating themselves into the village," Kiba informed her.

"And you're going to marry one?" Hinata asked Shino.

He nodded and she sighed.

"I wonder why this is happening now," she whispered.

"The world is coming into a new order," Shino stated. "With Naruto's heroic acts, and the forming of the Shinobi Union after the success of the Allied Shinobi Forces in the Fourth Great Shinobi War, the neutral clans have decided to acclimate into the society of shinobi again, bringing forth forgotten kekkei genkei, and wealth."

"Yeah, they're also coming up with all these new rules, I'm just waiting for Sakura or Naruto to hear that these clans want Sasuke either banished, killed, or married into one of them so they don't have to worry about another berserk Uchiha," Kiba snorted.

"Well, that's… that is a decision for the Shinobi Union now," Hinata whispered.

"True," Kiba shrugged.

"So how are things with Hajime?" Kiba asked.

"He's a very healthy and happy baby," Hinata smiled then.

"I bet," Kiba grinned.

"How are things with you and Ino?" Hianta asked then.

"Don't ask," Shino whispered to her but it was too late as she saw Kiba's wind up and then he was in on his frustrations' rant.

"I don't know! I mean the sex is great, and she's hot as hell, but she's just… she's obsessed with the ink freak! And I don't know what to do. Every time I try to talk to her about ending whatever she and the ink freak have she gets mad at me and shuts me down, every time, and she won't listen to reason. Hell, she's even starting to smell like him, and if I didn't happen to know he's out of the village on assignment then I would think she was sleeping with him!" Kiba raved.

"Sai and Ino were assigned to help one another after the war by Haruno Sakura," Hinata pointed out gently. She was willing to bet that a lot of Sakura's living arrangement assignments had forged deep bonds, and though she and Naruto weren't close they were still friends.

"I get that, I get it's just… she's MY girlfriend, and she doesn't get why it bothers me that she's covered in another guy's scent, head to toe," Kiba grouched.

"Perhaps you should try to talk to her?" Shino rasped.

"I will when you talk to whoever it is that you've been crushing on," Kiba smirked.

Hinata chuckled as her boys got into another argument, Kiba being loud and Shino cutting down his arguments in one sentence or less. It was cute, at least to her it was cute.

Ignoring their arguments she started looking over the menu again as her mind wandered. If what Kiba was saying and there were new prominent clans moving into Konoha then more than likely someone would demand an arranged marriage to Uzumaki Naruto, he was the world's hero after all. And that thought had her heart sinking, she was never going to get Naruto's attention if there were women being arranged to meet him. Perhaps she should give him up now.

But she loved him her heart whispered.

And she had Sakura's support so Hinata had a faint hope that perhaps she would be able to woe Naruto.


"Alright, now sit back, relax, and don't move," Tsunade ordered as he sat in the exam room. He shivered a bit at the chills coursing up his spine but he did as he was told.

Today was not the day he was getting his arm, but it was apparently the start. Tsunade slowly unwrapped his stump and he watched in a bit of horror as she prodded his sensitive flesh. Naruto hated his stump being exposed. It was weird and uncomfortable.

"This healed up well, Sakura did good work, nerve endings are intact and the bone is smooth," Tsunade commented and it was only then that Naruto felt her withdraw her chakra from his stump. "Any phantom pains or irritation?"

"Um…" he thought it over. "Sometimes, but only at night, and it stops when I stand in front of the mirror," he admitted. "And it's overly sensitive."

"That's normal," Tsunade assured him.

"I guess," he shrugged.

"What is it?"

"Why is Sakura avoiding me, I know she's the one who's supposed to be helping you with this project, and I've heard others say she works on them," Naruto admitted.

Tsunade sighed.

"She has started her children's home and her clinic, she's also a surgeon in my hospital, and she's a volunteer medic, she's an ANBU medic as well, she's busy Naruto," Tsunade explained and he frowned.

A part of him knew that Sakura was busy, she was always busy, always had something to do, always needed elsewhere, and it had never really bothered him before. But now it felt as if she were actively avoiding him and he couldn't stand it anymore. He wanted to talk to his best friend again and he wanted to sort things out with her.

"Is she avoiding me?" he asked.

"Why do you ask Naruto?" Tsunade arched her brow and he sighed.

"I did something stupid, and I get how stupid it was, but I just… I want to apologize to her and talk about it again," he admitted.

"Give her time Naruto, Sakura always comes back around for you," Tsunade pointed out.

He nodded.

"Today I will be infusing Hashirama's cells into the lower part of your stump to begin the bonding process for your prosthetic," Tsunade said calmly as she picked up a syringe and lifted it.

"I want you to pay attention for the side affects of nausea, throbbing pain in the stump, and infection. You will possibly be ill from this first injection, but hopefully, your body will accept the cells rather than eradicate them, if they are eradicated we will work with the bacteria rather than the virus and see if that should have a different results," Tsunade said as she picked up a cotton ball and soaked it in alcohol.

"Um… is this safe?"

"All of the test subjects have survived this part of the procedure so far," Tsunade said.

"Uh…" he started. "OW!"

"It's easier when you don't know it's coming," Tsunade smirked as she withdrew the needle. "You'll be back tomorrow, and for the next three days, if there's any troubles come in immediately. Ask for myself or Sakura, you will be taken care of promptly."

"Thanks granny," he grinned a bit as he picked up his shirt again.

"Naruto, everything between you and Sakura will work itself out, do not force her before she's ready."

"I just… I don't know what to do." He admitted the misery in his confession, but he couldn't stand Sakura avoiding him much longer. It had almost been a month and a half since their kiss and she was no where to be found. She wasn't even at her apartment when he went to check on her there!

He had used Sage mode to check; and none of his clones had luck finding her either. If he didn't happen to know from Kakashi that she wasn't on assignment he wouldn't even think her to be in the village.

"It'll work out Naruto, girls are complicated," Tsunade smirked and Naruto's eyes widened. Tsunade knew.

"How'd you…?"

"I've seen it for years Naruto, but now you're dealing with it and however this turns out I'm rooting for you. Sakura deserves a good guy in her life, and she needs you just as much as you need her. Just give her time, you think it over and she'll work it over and when you're ready you two should talk about it. But not before you're both ready," Tsunade shrugged.

"I don't think I'm the guy she'll want or love," he finally admitted. And hearing himself say that aloud was startling to him and his pride. He hadn't intended to ever admit that. Despite his talk with Hinata he hadn't ever intended to admit that.

"Perhaps, perhaps not, but no matter what you two have been to hell and back together and you need each other," Tsunade shrugged

"I just… I guess she's right, and I hurt her to try to prove her wrong, and I'm worried she'll never forgive me," Naruto admitted.

"She'll forgive you Naruto, you're her best friend," Tsunade shrugged.

"Tahnks," Naruto smiled weakly.

"Now get out of here, I have more patients to help today than just you and I believe Kakashi has an assignment for you," Tsunade dismissed.

He just smiled as he left the exam room and pulled on his jacket. Perhaps Sakura and he would be alright, he didn't know, but he was very scared that he had lost her. The kiss was the wedge between them, perhaps he should be the first to cave again and go apologize to her. After nearly a month and a half of her avoiding him, he wanted his best friend back, he missed her.

Grumbling he walked into the biting cold and winced, his eyes widened as he saw Sakura's pink form hurrying through the street and he jogged after her.


Uh... sorry for the long wait for updates. I'm kind of cursed in the luck department, I have to be, else there's a god out there of whom I've pissed off and he hates me. In my case I can never tell. Oh well, updates are regular again, this weekend I'll catch up all UtDI... Stories and go from there.

That's all for now folks.

Enjoy Until the Day I Love =)