: thought :

: a figment of idea within the mind


"It's funny..."

"This is a very nice village" Hinata complimented as she practically skipped as she stared at the structures in awe, "It feels like a whole different world... The new modern designs are amazing..."

"Good eye!" Kiba laughed, whistling at the neon lights being prepared to light up, "Crazy to think about it too!"

"Hey!" A man enthusiastically called out to them, wearing a new fashion of business attire as he walked, "Nice job out there! We didn't think we'd ever find that master key ever again and all this new tech would be lost cause!"

"Our pleasure. Why?" Shino started as he adjusted his goggles, a small smile proudly forming on his face, "It is our duty as ninjas to help people. And we are all happy to help push the boundaries and create a beautiful future ahead for the next generation"

Akamaru barked, happily agreeing.

The man laughed and nodded, "Yes. Thank you, again! Our newly advanced village is in debt of Konoha!"

He smiled and bowed before taking his leave.

The four of them happily smiled at each other proudly.

"Alright! Now we can tour around here!" Kiba cheered before running ahead of the rest of the team, a grin plastered on his face as Akamaru excitedly followed.

Shino and Hinata both chuckled at their friends' antics before jogging ahead to continue their 'stroll' around the modern village.

"Everything seems to be looking up"

"Uzumaki-san! Good morning!!" An old lady greeted as she cleaned a futon from her window.

"G'Morning, obaa!" Naruto happily greeted back as he continued walking.

Giggles of children playing came closer before they rounded the corner, chasing each other, passing the blonde with bright grins as they played, but not before all enthusiastically stopping to come and bow at him, "Good morning, Naruto-senpai!"

Before he could even reply, the kids continued to run off.

Naruto laughed at the children's joy, then continuing down his path with a gleeful tone as he whistled.

"Ah, Naruto! Extra pep to your step, I see!"

The blonde happily turned his head and waved at his friends, "Ino! Shikamaru! What's up guys?!"

"It seems not much compared to you" Shikamaru laughed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Got back from breakfast at Ichiraku's?"

"You know it!" The Uzumaki cheered.

"We'd love to stay and chat, but we better get going!" Ino said as she raised a finger, "We promised Choji we'd come try out this new restaurant that serves food quickly! He might eat without us! We agreed to split the bill evenly!"

"Shit, you're right" Shikamaru said before he nodded at Naruto with a smile before saying, "Hey, see'ya!"

"Yeah!" The Uzumaki cheered as he nodded back, resuming to his morning walk, greeting and being greeted by fellow ninjas and villagers, both local and foreign.

"Then all of a sudden,"

"Wow..." Hinata cooed, practically blindly walking as she paid no mind on her path, only on the towering buildings that she never thought could be built that tall.

At the corner of her eyes, she saw a shop, colorful and bright.

She almost jumped in excitement when she saw what was being sold inside, she skipped her way there, "Ninja Tamago merchandise!"

She quickly took out her wallet from her obi's pouch and smiled brightly, she then looked up at her side and asked excitedly, "Neji-nii-san! Can we buy-"

"It breaks me down."

the forest, Naruto slowly came to a stop, the smile he had all morning dropping.

His eyes curved in a bitter-sweet look as he stood before the gravestone he made for his late master, "Hey there, Jiraiya-sensei..."

Naruto looked at the stone and the carving on it, then to the tree behind it.

"Mahh, sensei, your tree is becoming a bit mossy there!" The blonde said, tracing his hand over the mossy tree, "You're becoming old-ttebayo!"

"You've been gone for a while now, huh?" He silently thought as he sat beside the grave.

"Throws me away like trash,"

Right in front of her, was her own reflection, watching her own cheerful smile suddenly turn into heartbroken sadness. There was nobody beside her. She found no reflection of the one that always stood beside her.

Her blood went cold, and her heart broke.

No matter how many times that she's accepted reality, thought she moved on from the pain... It still kept on coming back.

Hinata's head bowed, her bangs shadowing over her eyes as she decided to walk away.

"Blows me away like paper."

"You didn't even get to see..." "The village loves me now, you know..." Naruto said, dull voiced, sitting against the mossy tree behind the makeshift grave, "They did right after you left..."

The blonde looked at his prosthetic arm, covered in wraps. It looked cool outside. Underneath, it's pasty and white.

"Hey, uh..." He tried to keep going, "I learned to wrap properly now..! I was very sloppy with it when you were around..."

Why was it so hard to talk?

"I lost someone..."

She felt a heavy hand rest on her shoulder.

Her eyes widen and shone in surprise, half expecting it to be him, but-

"Hey, it's 'bout time we head home!" Kiba cheerfully said with a wide grin, "We're still helping with the upcoming festival tomo-"

He stopped mid-sentence, seeing how light in Hinata's eyes suddenly die, a harsh slap from reality getting to her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed, but she quickly shook her head and looked away, "Nothing..."

Not even a fake smile. With a heavy sigh, Kiba decided to give her a little bit more time and space, not pressing, "Well, let's go find Shino and we're on our way. You need some rest"

"It's hard."

It was rare of him to be quiet.

Even when Naruto's visiting Minato's and Kushina's graves, he would talk endlessly, tell never-ending stories as if his parents were there, gleefully listening.

Was it the weight of the pain of actually getting to know the person honored before he died?

"I miss you. So bad..." Naruto said barely above a whisper, his head bowing down as he clenched his fists tightly, tears escaping involuntarily, dropping to the grass underneath him, "Jiraiya-sensei... I'm sorry if I didn't treat you properly, dattebayo!"

As he screamed it out, a sudden clap of thunder tore through the sky, and with it, brought was heavy rain.

"It's rough."

"Ack! Where did that come from?!" Kiba asked as he threw his jacket over Akamaru and throwing his arms up as a feeble attempt to keep as dry as possible, "Stupid rain!"

"We'll just report tomorrow, we can't walk in to the Hokage's mansion wet" Shino said, seemingly unbothered under his heavy coat, "For now, let us return and rest"

Kiba and Akamaru both cheered at the idea, to which Hinata only nodded.

They ran under the canopies and fastly into the Konoha gates, the team eventually parting ways in a hurry to return home.

"It's funny..."

"Fine..." He mumbled, "I guess that's my cue to leave"

Despite having to journey through heavy rain, he refused to run.

He slowly, ever so slowly, walked away from the grave of his late master.

He felt as if the farther he got, the more his heart started to hurt.

He would give anything just to see Jiraiya again. Or just to stay with his grave forever.

He wanted to show lots of things, tell him lots of stories.

But he had to leave.

"I feel so lost..."

She ran. She ran through the rain, keeping her head hung low as she parted ways with her friends.

The puddles of water soaked through her boots, and the rain got all the way through her hair and clothes.

She felt pathetic.

And with every step she took, she felt the weight of her emotions become heavier and heavier.

Until she came to a full stop.

She couldn't run anymore.

All she wanted to do right now was hide her tears in the rain.

And that's just what she did.

"And I rely on you to come and find me."

"Eh?! Hinata! What the hell?!"

The kunoichi looked up, the water from her hair splashing upward from the perk of her head.

The blonde young man jogged his way quickly to her, then grabbing her by her arm and dragging her underneath a shade of a nearby tree.

"What were you doing standing around in the rain?!" Naruto asked out loud, "You'll get sick, dattebayo!"

Hinata deeply bowed and said "I-I'm sorry, I-I spaced out"

"You know, Hinata, you always do that!"

She stood up and looked at him apologetically, about to say another apology, but something caught her eyes. It was his. And they looked different.

"You always space out all of a sudden! It's usually funny, but it's actually dangerous if you space out in the middle of the rain!" Naruto kept complaining, wildly gesturing out at the rain, "Where are Kiba and Shino, anyway?! Those bastards were with you in your mission, right? Did they leave you or some-"

The softness on his cheek stopped him from his ranting. The same comforting feeling that saved him from darkness.

"Then all of a sudden..."

She held his cheek to study his face, "Naruto-kun... Were you crying?"

This caught him off guard.

He sharply looked down to the side, before bashfully scratching the back of his head, "That obvious? That's so uncool of me..."

"No, no!" Hinata quickly said as she waved her hands to reassure him, "You're not uncool at all, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto looked at her, and he felt somewhat relieved and scared.

The look in her eyes... She was empathizing with him. She was feeling the exact same way. The pain that he felt... She completely understood.

"It's okay..." She said with a bittersweet smile, "It's just a rough day"

"Hinata..." He was sure she was talking for the both of them.

"It's gonna be okay"

It was an amazing feeling to have... To know somebody understands the deep and complex feeling that you have...

They were lucky.

Lucky to know.

She understood him. He understood her.

"Yeah... Things are gonna be alright"

"Everything's fine"


Aaaand we're back.

I just wanted all of you to remember that Neji and Jiraiya really made impacts in Hinata's and Naruto's lives.

Even though they technically weren't direct families, they were still the closest people they had.

They've moved on from their deaths, don't get me wrong. But Naruto and Hinata are humans, they miss people, and they have their off days.

You can accept that someone is already gone. Move on from the pain you felt from it. But in the end, you can never truly fully let go.

Just a reminder that people should really hold on to those they love. Nothing lasts forever.

-OrenjiRabenda