Ch. 16: Aftermath

Danzo cursed his luck. The village was mildly damaged but everything had turned out well. Too well. Tsunade still had a firm hand on the village and its leadership. That needed to change or that weak leadership would cost them everything. She'd taken huge risks just letting Naruto fight Pain at all. Not to mention that secret mission she'd given Sasuke. He sneered. He'd never trust an Uchiha. Never. The fact that Tsunade did spoke volumes about her weak leadership. He reached up to touch his covered eye. Soon he'd have the last of the Uchiha dealt with. And given her hindrance to his plans, he should deal with the last of the Shimizu while he was at it.

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Naruto let out a frustrated growl. For the last week, he'd been busy with helping the village recover. He'd also used that time to think long and hard about his feelings. All of them. He wanted to have answers before talking with Hinata. He finally found some time for himself and made his way to the training grounds to work himself into a sweat. Maybe then he'd be able to clear his head and figure out how exactly he felt. Ever since she defended him, his feelings for Hinata had been a confused mess.

"Are you okay, Naruto?"

He looked behind him to see Miyuki behind him.

"You're training like you're battling a demon of some sort," she informed him with concern in her violet eyes.

"Just trying to clear my head." He wiped the sweat from his brow and sat on the ground. It was rare to see her away from Kakashi since Pain's attack. Not that Naruto blamed her considering that if Nagato hadn't brought them all back...He shuddered. He really didn't want to think about the alternative. Instead, he'd stick to just being grateful the worst didn't happen. Kakashi, Sakura, and everyone else were alive and well. That was what mattered.

Considering Miyuki, he wondered if she could help with his current emotional turmoil. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She walked over and offered him a water bottle as she sat across from him.

Taking it gratefully, he took a long swallow before speaking again. "How did you know you loved Kakashi-sensei?"

She gave him a knowing smile as she rested her elbows on her crossed legs. "I didn't at first. Back when we were in the anbu, I spent a lot of time trying to avoid feeling that for anyone. The key difference between Sasuke and you when it comes to expressing yourself. You never had it to lose before. Sasuke did. The same is true for me. I lost my entire clan and like Sasuke didn't want to feel loss like that again. Logic said the best way to do that was to have nothing to lose."

"That doesn't sound like it worked out."

She chuckled ruefully. "It didn't. I failed. It wasn't until I screwed things up so badly that I was certain I was unforgivable that I realized I loved him." Miyuki looked down thoughtfully. "Really, what I felt then pales in comparison to what I feel now, truth be told."

"Why do you say that?" Naruto leaned forward, trying to find the piece he was missing to figure himself out in her words.

Miyuki reached up to play with her braid. "Well, back then, I put him second. True he was second which isn't terrible, but love means putting them first. My hate came first. I couldn't do anything about it then. Maybe if he had more time before I found Kenta, things would have been different. Kakashi had only told me he was developing feelings for me days before that mission that changed everything between us." Regret showed in the slight frown on her expression and the long sigh that escaped her. "In short, then I was falling, not actually in love. These days, it's the real deal."

"But how can you tell?"

"Well, what would you give to keep that person happy, Naruto?"

"Everything."

"Even your own happiness?"

He froze. "What?"

"Back before Kakashi forgave me, I came to terms with the fact that what I felt for him would never be shared. I would be alone in those feelings. Even though it hurt. Even though it killed me inside. I stayed away from him, because that's what he wanted. He was happier if I stayed away." She tilted her head as she met his eyes. "Would you do that for her? Would you suffer the agony of staying away if that meant her happiness? Could you watch her be with someone else if that's what it took for her to smile, even though you would die inside?"

Naruto opened his mouth then shut it.

Miyuki's smile turned to a grin. "Are you willing to face Hinata's father?"

He winced. That would not be pleasant, he was sure. "That I would do. The rest…" He thought of Hinata's shy smile. The idea of her giving that to someone else made him clench his fists. But the idea of doing to something to take that smile away was even worse. "Yes. I would do whatever it took to keep her happy. Even if that happiness was someone or somewhere else."

"There you go," she said as she gestured handing him the answer with one hand.

Grinning, he leapt to his feet. "I need to go talk to her."

Miyuki smiled at she watched him run off. Finally, he'd figured it out. Standing, she decided she'd go find Kakashi instead of train. The talk with Naruto had her feeling sentimental. That and she hadn't seen him for a whole hour now. Memories of his blood and cold unmoving body filled her mind without Naruto's boisterous personality to distract her. Anxiously, she hurried away to reassure herself Kakashi was still okay.

Naruto tried to hurry, but he kept getting interrupted. Every few feet someone had something to say to him. It was taking all day just to get through the village to the Hyuga compound. He never thought he'd miss the days when no one talked to him unless he was in trouble. Letting out a growl, he said, "I swear the next person to talk to me is going to get it."

"That's not very nice."

He spun around with a retort ready when he saw it was Sakura and Sasuke. He allowed himself a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry."

Sasuke hadn't let Sakura out of his sight since Pain's assault nearly a week ago. Repairs on the village were still under way as there had been heavy damages. Gaara and his team returned to Suna yesterday, wishing they could help finish rebuilding. But, the Kazekage had already been away too long. Tsunade and Jiraiya were held up in the hokage's office a lot with reports. Well, Jiraiya was studying reports. Tsunade was preparing to remove the curse mark from Sasuke. She would be ready by tomorrow. In the meantime, Sasuke stuck to Sakura like glue. Naruto suspected his friend was having nightmares about Sakura's death. He wasn't too worried. Sakura could handle the Uchiha. With time, Sasuke would begin to relax again. As a side benefit of her death and revival, Sasuke had finally spoken out loud what almost everyone had already known. The relationship between the two was now solidified rather than halted in the limbo of uncertainty. This being Sasuke, they were as obvious about their relationship as Miyuki and Kakashi were, which was to say not at all.

"Why are you threatening everyone?" Sakura asked him, tilting her head slightly.

"Because he is trying to talk with Hinata and everyone keeps trying to talk to him," Sasuke supplied drily.

Naruto didn't know why he was surprised Sasuke knew what was going on. No one knew him better than Sasuke after all.

Sakura's eyes went wide then she gave him a knowing smile. Reaching out, she grabbed Naruto's shoulders. Turning him towards the Hyuga compound, she shoved him. "Then get moving, Naruto. It's rude to keep a girl waiting after all."

Grinning at her, he ran with a wave. He ran as fast as he could, which given his recent power boosts was pretty fast these days. Before he knew it, he was pounding on the door for the Hyuga. Lucky for him, Hinata answered the door and not her father. Though he felt the ominous aura of Hiashi Hyuga just inside. Though everything faded quickly from Naruto's awareness except Hinata within seconds of seeing her shy smile. A blush dusted over her cheeks as she greeted him quietly. It was hard to believe she'd faced down Pain just a week ago.

"Hey, Hinata," he returned her greeting with one of his big grins, though his eyes stayed on her. "I need to talk to you if you have time."

Nodding, Hinata stepped out and followed him as he led the way. Naruto knew he had to find someplace quiet. His new found popularity would cause problems otherwise. He found an area on the edge of the village that he knew was perfect. "This is it," he told her with a small smile, his eyes lost in memory. "This is the spot where you started to see me."

Hinata's eyes went wide. "You remember?"

"Not at first. But when you mentioned it, Kurama supplied the memory for me." Naruto turned to face her. His smile turned into one of his full grins. "He's got a better memory than I do. I'm glad he is on my side now because he helps with that sort of thing."

She reached up to twirl a bit of her hair around her fingers. Nerves danced over her. Just where was Naruto going with all of this exactly?

"Anyway, this means you saw me first," he continued with a soft smile. "Long before even Iruka-sensei."

Naruto's blue eyes were soft when she met them and she found herself unable to look away. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart couldn't decide if it was skipping beats or going to beat too fast.

"I was so busy competing with Sasuke that I missed it. That you were always watching me." He reached up and gently took her face in his hands. His calloused thumbs rubbed her very red cheeks. "All this time, Hinata. I never believed anyone could care about me the way you do. But, if you're willing, I'd like you to show me." His grin widened. "Though, you might have to be very patient with me. I can be very dumb sometimes and dense."

"Naruto, what are you saying?"

He hesitated. Unsure of how to phrase what was going on in his head and heart. Really, there was only one way to say it. "Hinata, I love you."

She felt her tears form and tried to stop them. Naruto looked like he was about to have a panic attack after seeing those tears. Unable to stop herself from crying, she did the only thing she could. Hinata threw her arms around him while whispering, "I love you, Naruto."

Caught off balance, he stumbled backwards under her weight and hit the ground on his ass. Despite that, he was grinning and had his arms around her. With Hinata's face buried in his chest, he allowed his smile to fade. His best friends were safe and happy. His senseis were all well and happy. The village had come to accept him at last. Things seemed to be going right for the first time in his life. He couldn't help but wonder when the other shoe would drop.