As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.
It hurt to hear Naruto plead with them all to leave Sasuke to him. It hurt because Hinata never wanted to accept killing one of their class was the only way, but she did. It hurt because she hadn't wanted to agree with Neji and Shikamaru and all the others who said it was their duty to take care of Sasuke, but she had. It hurt because Naruto had the ability to make the world feel less definite, less inevitable, but a part of her couldn't believe it even as their group reluctantly separated with the matter somehow left in Naruto's hands.
Hinata would be the head of the Hyuuga clan in only a few years. No matter how much she wanted to see the world through Naruto's eyes, she had to face the world as it was to protect her clan. She'd been taught that all her life, and she'd finally managed to do so in some small measure. Yet what hurt most was the realization it wasn't Naruto's optimism that hurt at all. It was part of her, buried and forgotten about that made her cling to the practicality of Sasuke's necessary death. She didn't know what to do now that it had been dug up and brushed off and refused to be buried again.
Ignoring that feeling sounded like a good idea. It wouldn't help to dwell when war was on the horizon. She would need to work with her uncle and grandfather to prepare the clan, since Hizashi wouldn't be spared from the fight this time. Spreading the load would be better for everyone. But first, she had one more thing to do.
Hinata hurried away from their meeting place in the direction Naruto and Sakura left. They hadn't run, so catching up with them was simple. Naruto might not want to see Hinata or the rest of their friends yet, but she might not get the chance to talk to him much once the war preparations went into full swing.
"Naruto-kun. Sakura-chan," she called, and the two waited for her to reach them.
"What is it?" Sakura asked, stepping back slightly so all three could see each other easily. Hinata thought a flash of guilt crossed her friend's expression—eyes not meeting and a slight creasing around her lips—but she didn't know what caused it. Perhaps it was the guilt over what they'd all decided.
"I know you're probably not happy with us, Naruto-kun, but I recovered something from the debris and I think you'll want it back. It's at the compound, or, well, the new compound."
"I'm not mad at anybody," Naruto said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped. Instead, he turned to Sakura. "I'll catch up with you later."
Sakura nodded and headed off toward the medical tents, leaving Naruto and Hinata in awkward silence. It felt wrong for Naruto to be so subdued.
"The compound's this way now."
Naruto tossed his arms behind his head as he walked. "They rebuilt your place already?"
Hinata nodded. "It's not what it used to be but we have a number of buildings. The clan's pretty big, and we had a lot of our civilians helping in the reconstruction. I also arranged for out-of-clan to be housed in any extra space we had. I suggested rebuilding the compound early would allow families with smaller children to have more secure housing and community child care, which frees up their parents to help with the reconstruction."
"You did all that?"
Hinata rubbed her hands together to help calm herself. It hadn't seemed like a huge accomplishment at the time, but the surprise in Naruto's voice amplified what, at the time, had been nothing more than necessity.
"Grandpa was hurt when Pain destroyed the village and Uncle Hizashi only returned a couple days ago, so I had to take care of the clan. I didn't do it all alone, though. Neji-niisan and Aunt Naomi helped a lot those first few days, and Uncle Hizashi's doing most of it now that he's back."
"But that's great!" Naruto's trademark boisterousness returned in full force with about as much warning as he ever offered. "The clan respects you. That's what you wanted, right?"
She nodded, not quite looking at him. "Just like the village respects you now. I guess we both managed to grow up well in the end."
His sullen demeanor banished, Naruto spun on his heel to walk backward and face her. "As if that was in question."
"Not for you, of course." For her, it took a lot of fighting by a lot of people to get what she needed.
"Stop acting like you aren't awesome. You saved me from Pain, so really, you saved Konoha."
Competent as she might have become at taking charge when the situation demanded it, Hinata still couldn't take a complement. She suspected that children needed to be praised early on to feel comfortable receiving it as adults, and she was most definitely not comfortable right then.
She dropped her gaze to avoid looking directly at Naruto. "Osamu-kun said you released the Kyuubi to fight Pain. I just bought you the time you needed."
Naruto stopped in front of her and stared with a serious expression more akin to when he argued with Kiba or Neji. "I didn't release the Kyuubi, not the way you think. It took over. I was too . . ." he paused, his face scrunching as he searched for the word he wanted. "Upset and sad ain't right. It was all just too much, seeing Pain kill you. I couldn't take it. It was easier to let the Kyuubi free. Yeah, the Kyuubi's power helped me defeat Pain, but if you hadn't come to save me—if you hadn't died—Pain would've won. He'd have taken me and probably gotten the Kyuubi, like they did to Gaara."
Hinata fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve, unsure of what to say in the face of Naruto's revelation. "I didn't realize." She wanted to say more—to tell him she was sorry for causing him pain and thank him for bringing her back—but the words refused to come. Such words would lead to conversations she wasn't prepared to have while the village was in shambles and war loomed ahead.
"Yeah, well, now you do." Naruto turned around and started walking again.
They continued the rest of the way to the compound in silence. The outer perimeter of the compound was little more than a quickly constructed fence to delineate the used land from the newly formed street, but Naruto stared through the open gate as if it were the threshold to the forbidden. A fierce grin spread across his face—victory.
"Finally. I'm getting past these damn gates."
Hinata understood the sentiment, but she also couldn't help but find his enthusiasm amusing. It wasn't the same place he'd been denied access before, yet, there was a certain amount of pride in having her oldest friend finally visit her home, albeit ten years later than she'd planned that first time they met.
Naruto raised his head with a ridiculously haughty smile and took a step toward the gate.
"Is that Naruto?"
Hinata turned to see a group of shinobi, both in and out of clan, heading out of the compound. As agreement flashed through the group, they all rushed forward, surrounding Naruto just outside the new gate. Voices praised him as he struggled to adjust to the sudden hero-worship. Genuine joy lit his eyes, but his grin turned strained whenever he attempted to respond. The poor guy was flabbergasted with his now positive notoriety.
Naruto seemed especially unsure how to extricate himself from all the attention. Though, Hinata thought she saw a bit of a desire not to leave helping that along. After all this time he'd gotten the recognition he'd always wanted. Maybe it was best to let him enjoy it.
"How about I go get it and meet you back here?" Hinata said over the din of chattering people.
"Hey!" he cried, suddenly pushing through the crowd without care. "I'm not getting left outside again. I'm making it into that damn house if it kills me."
The crowd took his departure in good humor, a few whispering hopes he would be staying at the compound and they could get his autograph for their kids later on. Amazing how the world changed since they were two lonely children trying to make friends.
They avoided another ambush until they reached the new main house building, which was where most of the out-of-claners with children currently stayed. As a benefit of this arrangement, Shou got to interact with the other children. He, at least, wouldn't be completely overwhelmed when he entered the academy and saw a sea of dark eyes all staring back at him. But it did mean that the front training yard was alive with playing children not yet old enough to help with reconstruction.
"Oneesama!" Shou launched himself at Hinata with childish joy, laughing when she tossed him into the air and caught him.
Naruto stared at the boy in her arms, brows knit together in bafflement. "Who's that?"
"That's right—you'd already left the village." Hinata shifted Shou onto her hip so that he could see Naruto better. "Naruto-kun, this is my little brother, Shou. Aunt Naomi had him about a year after you left. Shou-kun, this is one of my oldest friends, Naruto-kun."
"Naruto?" Shou leaned forward, head bobbing as he looked Naruto up and down. Then he snapped his head away, little face twisted in an angry pout, and a haughty hmph escaped his closed lips. Hinata didn't even know he made that sound.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "I can't win with your family."
"Shou! That's very rude." Hinata forced Shou to look her in the eyes. "You know better than to act like that. Apologize to Naruto-kun."
Tears welled in his white eyes. "But he's the one Oniisama said hurt your heart, right? I don't want to be nice to someone who hurts Oneesama."
"When did Oniisama tell you that?" The heat veritably cooked Hinata's face from the inside. Beside her, Naruto's wide eyes flashed back and forth between Hinata and Shou.
"When you went to help Kurenai-sensei cause her heart got broken." Shou wiped at the tears dripping down his cheeks. "He and Mama and Papa were talking serious and Grandpa says to listen to adults when they're all serious. So I did and Oniisama said he didn't like Naruto cause he broke Oneesama's heart. Not like with jyuuken though, the inside breaking like Kurenai-sensei."
"He told Aunt Naomi and Uncle Hizashi that?" Hinata's voice raised in pitch with each horrifying word. Shou nodded and buried his face in Hinata's jacket.
So be it. Hinata was never going to the war. No, she was going to die of embarrassment right there on the front lawn. Despite having confessed to Naruto already, she wouldn't have considered talking about this in front of him, but Shou was a child, and children needed to be taught the right way to behave, no matter how uncomfortable it made her.
Not looking at Naruto, Hinata urged Shou back enough to see her and wiped his face clean. "Shou, I promise Naruto-kun doesn't hurt my heart anymore, and even if he did, sometimes going through the pain can make you stronger. Heartache is a part of growing up, and that's not a bad thing. All right?"
Shou nodded.
Hinata put Shou down and pushed him toward Naruto. "Good. Now, I want you to apologize to Naruto-kun. He's my friend and he saved all of us. He deserves the same respect you give to me or Oniisama."
Shou bowed obediently. "I'm sorry I was rude."
Naruto flashed a smug grin and fluffed Shou's hair. "Don't worry about it. I can handle bratty kids."
"I'm not a brat." Shou gazed up at Hinata with genuine worry in his eyes. "Right, Oneesama?"
"Right. Now go and play with your new friends. I'll see you later." Hinata enveloped her little brother in a big hug before sending him off to return to the other children. Then, before anyone else could accost them, she motioned for Naruto to follow her—not that she actually looked at him. Her face might burst into flames if she did.
Naruto didn't say anything until the door to her room closed behind them. She and Neji were sharing the room to conserve space for out-of-claners. The room only held a couple of futons recovered from the debris and the handful of possessions she and Neji had left. Furniture wasn't a top priority until everyone had a roof over their heads again. She hadn't looked Naruto's way, but she could hear the uncertainty and regret dripping from his voice when he spoke.
"Hinata, I—"
"Please don't apologize. It was years ago and a lot was going on with the clan at that time. To be honest, if things hadn't happened the way they did, I might not have been made genin or got my team, and having them in my life has made all the difference to me. It's not nearly what Shou made it out to be."
Naruto let out a frustrated grunt and plopped onto the ground. "It just don't feel right."
"I never told you. You have nothing to apologize for."
Hinata moved to the corner of the nearly empty room where the book that hid the seal sat beneath a pile of neatly folded training scrubs, her only spare set of clothes at the moment. Two pictures remained tucked between the two. Hinata retrieved the pictures and, after praying her face wasn't as scarlet as it felt, she turned to face Naruto.
"I retrieved these from the rubble. Well, I found one. Neji-niisan found the other." She handed him the photos, one of Team 7 and one of them as children—the only photos that he'd displayed in his apartment. The frames were destroyed, but the photos survived with only a bit of wrinkling.
Naruto ran his fingers over the face of the photos, as if he'd forgotten what they looked like and wanted to memorize every line. "How . . . how did you find these?"
"I figured out the general area your apartment ended up. Then it was just a matter of byakugan and time. I wanted you to have something to remember the good times with Sasuke-kun."
"Thank you," he said, surprisingly quiet. It reminded her of when he was in the hospital just before he left the village with Jiraiya. His gaze remained on the Team 7 picture, thumb running back and forth beneath Sasuke's image. "Do you agree with them? Do you really think Sasuke needs to die? I don't believe that. I can't."
Hinata sat down on the futon, her hands fisting over her knees. "I have to believe one death for the sake of the village is the right course, otherwise my father died for nothing."
"What?" That had not been the answer Naruto expected, and it was enough to break him out of his own melancholy.
Hinata hadn't been able to talk about it with Neji. She knew she couldn't talk about it with anyone she trusted in the clan. Too many of her feelings were muddled in events that would either confuse or hurt them. It had to be someone out of the clan. She'd expected Shino or Kiba. They knew the particulars of the clan, but weren't invested. Yet Naruto's question brought all those conflicted feelings bubbling to surface and she didn't want to hold it in any longer.
"When I was three, a shinobi from Kumo tried to kidnap me to get byakugan. My father stopped him, but the shinobi turned out to be Kumogakure's Head Ninja, who had come to sign the peace treaty that would end the war between Konoha and Kumo. They denied the whole attempt, but used the death as an excuse to demand compensation: my father's body. If Konoha refused, the peace would be over. My father agreed to die to save the village from war. I have to believe it was the right thing to do, because good can come from the most difficult choices. Sometimes the worst decision is the correct one."
"I didn't know." Like always, Naruto's emotions showed clear as day on his face. Horror turned to compassion turned to righteous anger within the blink of an eye. He leaned forward onto his hands, his fierce blue eyes mere inches from her face. "But why is that the right choice? Don't you wish someone would've fought for your dad? How can it not be better to grow up with your parents?"
Not even his proximity flustered her this time. His question hit to the core of her conflict, the reason she could never talk about this with the clan.
"I don't know," she admitted, her gaze falling to the new wood floor. It was easier to face the emotionless wood than the confusion in her friend's eyes or the truth she was about to speak. "As much as I loved my father and mother, the more I look back—the more I imagine what my life could have been, what all our lives could have been—the more I believe it was the right choice, because so much good came from it.
"And I'm not talking only about the war. So much of my life, of who I am today, is because he died. I wouldn't have had my team, or my friends, or Neji-niisan. The clan's better, too. There're problems between the main and branch families that people outside the clan don't know about. But they're better. I can see the surprise in my uncle's eyes whenever a member of the branch family talks to me.
"And I intend to keep working to make the clan feel whole. In a few years, I'll have the power to affect real change, and I'm doing everything I can learn the skills to do it. But I want that because growing up I wasn't allowed to see my family for what they were: mother, father, brother. Even though they're the only family I can remember anymore. My real parents, they're just feelings, impressions in places or objects—the smell of freshly turned earth in my mother's garden or the feeling of the thick wood of my father's desk—both gone now. There will always be main family who are made branch, but that shouldn't make them any less family, and I'm determined to fix that."
Hinata paused, realizing how far off her original point she'd gone, yet feeling steadier having said it. Her goals didn't sound like a dream anymore, they sounded like a conviction. "But if my real parents had raised me, would I ever have seen the division in the clan as a problem, or would I have learned it to be the way things always were.
"I'm not naive to think all tragedy can have good come out of it, but I can see how a tragedy can also become a path toward hope. Asuma-sensei taught me that just because there are no good choices, doesn't mean there isn't a choice, and sometimes the decision we don't want to make, can be the correct one."
Hinata took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling something inside her settle. She'd needed to gives voice to the truths the situation with Sasuke had brought to the surface. Orphaned children were supposed to imagine the happy life they could have had if their parents had lived, but Hinata wasn't a child anymore and she'd gained enough practicality to see the world for what it was. Hinata would not have had a better life with her parents. The clan would not have been better off with someone who thought like her grandfather. That was the horrible truth.
Feeling steadier, Hinata braved a glance up at Naruto. She hadn't intended to burden him with her feelings. Kiba and Shino usually helped her work through issues with the clan, but they'd all been so busy and Naruto's questions brought it all out before she could think better.
Naruto's gaze never left the photo in his hand. For once the tension in his body was subtle: a clenched jaw, his muscles contracting and relaxing as if ready to jump up and fight. "I think Gaara tried to tell me something like that. It's probably what a leader is supposed to think . . . but I can't. Since I never had anyone to begin with, the people I finally got mean everything to me. They matter more than becoming hokage. I'll fight for them, even if it kills me. I can't do anything else."
"I know. And if anyone has the power to save Sasuke-kun, it's you. But don't forget about all the people who are with you now." Hinata forced herself not to look away. "Whether you save Sasuke-kun or not, we'll be here for you. Good can still grow from terrible outcomes."
"Maybe, but I'm not gonna let that happen. I'm not losing any of my friends, even if they want to be lost." Naruto's blue eyes raised meet hers. Hinata expected a bright smile to push all his doubts away, but his face remained still and serious as he stared at her. "Not again."
Hinata swallowed. When Naruto slowed down and focused on someone with that intense expression, it was as if he carried his own gravity, pulling them to him without anyone moving. They hadn't talked about what happened with Pain—she hadn't spoken with anyone about what happened to her—and though Naruto wasn't broken the way Neji was, the hurt remained, buried in those eyes.
"Hinata—"
A burst of smoke spiraled up from the empty floor where Naruto had sat, now Naruto-less.
Hinata shot to her feet, byakugan active and searching the compound. She hadn't sensed any enemies. Naruto couldn't have either or she'd have noticed a change in his demeanor—as close as they'd been she'd have seen the tiniest twitch of warning. Naruto vanished and she could find no enemy or trail to follow. He was a jinchuuriki, the person Akatsuki was willing to start a war for, and somehow he disappeared from her room without even a flash of chakra.
Hinata bolted through the halls and passed the confused caretakers watching over the children in the yard. Kakashi or whoever was in charge now needed to know what happened. They had to find Naruto before it was too late.
Hizashi stretched out his muscles, sore from the damaged futon he'd be sleeping on for the foreseeable future. He'd been clan head too long. His body no longer remembered what it was like to sleep on the ground during long missions, and the futon wasn't much better than the floor.
They were lucky to have proper walls, so he wasn't going to complain about poor mattresses. Hinata and Neji saw to the clan immediately after the destruction with admirable results, given the circumstances. Hizashi wouldn't say it aloud and admit to worrying about the transfer of power, but it eased his mind to know not only that Hinata saw it as her place to take on the responsibility in his absence but also that the clan supported her through it. If the village had been destroyed a few years ago, the outcome would have been very different. Hizashi couldn't be prouder of both his children. That he needed to say more often.
The house was fairly quiet with the children asleep and so many out looking for whoever took Naruto. It didn't help Hizashi's internal clock any. The adults slept in shifts to keep as many working day and night as they could. Naruto's disappearance aside, they had a war to prepare for and a village to rebuild.
War. Hizashi had already lived through his share of war and had prayed that Hiashi's sacrifice would keep another from happening until the children were much older. Perhaps that was a foolish hope. He should be glad that Neji and Hinata were old enough to defend themselves. But that meant they would fight. He and Naomi would fight. Shou . . . Shou would be safe in the village—Hizashi hoped.
A pop and a thud from Hinata and Neji's room stopped Hizashi. Both his children were out searching, and though no one had valuables to steal, no one else was assigned to sleep in that room.
"Shit," came a voice from the room, and the door slowly slid open to reveal wary blue eyes searching the hall. When they found Hizashi, the rest of Naruto burst out of the room frantically waving his arms back and forth. "This is not what it looks like!"
Hizashi sighed. One problem solved. The last thing the village needed was to lose Naruto after all they'd been through. "It looks like you've been returned to the same place you were taken from."
Naruto stopped panicking and straightened up. "Oh, then yeah, this is what it looks like."
"What happened? We thought you'd been taken by an enemy, but since you've returned here, I assume that's not true."
Natuto ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. "The Great Toad Sage dragged me out to Mount Myouboku, and right when I was about to—" Naruto stopped talking, eyes on Hizashi. "—say something."
Hizashi now understood Neji's 'idiot you can't help but respect' appraisal of Naruto. He'd been secret friends with Hinata all through their schooling and he still failed to convey the barest hint of subtly.
"You should probably go and inform Tsunade-sama that you're back. She has a lot of people looking for you."
Naruto's entire demeanor brightened. "Granny Tsunade's awake?!"
"Yes, about the time you disappeared. She's returned to her duties as hokage."
"That's great! I'll head there now."
Hizashi held a hand out to stop Naruto from passing. It was time Hizashi made things right. "Before you go, I'd like to say that Naomi and I are sorry for how we treated you. We see now that Hinata is a good judge of character, and we should've allowed you to be friends. Our reasons, while meant to protect our daughter, were wrong. And you gave her back to us. That is a debt we'll never be able to repay. Thank you."
Hizashi bowed low, offering the boy—the young man—the respect he deserved. Naruto sputtered and stepped back. It appeared it would be a while before Naruto got used to the village's new attitude toward him. Hizashi doubted he was the only one who would need to make proper amends. For now, he'd let Naruto off the hook.
"I won't delay you any longer. You should go see Tsunade-sama."
"Right!" Naruto grasped onto that suggestion and bolted down the hall only to turn around a few rooms away and run back, thrusting two small pieces of paper into Hizashi's hand. "Ask Hinata to keep these for me, will ya? I don't have anywhere safe to put them."
Hizashi nodded and Naruto disappeared, though in a normal shinobi fashion this time. Hizashi looked at the items—photos—Naruto had given him. His gaze lingered on the childish handwriting on the back of one: For Hinata when I'm hokage. The children's smiles on the other side revealed a happiness they both could have had more often, if he and Naomi had seen a boy instead of a monster.
Hizashi placed the photos among Hinata's small pile of possessions in her room before returning to his original intent of going to work. Despite his brash nature, there was something appealing about Naruto's uncomplicated personality. He made you want to trust him. What better hero could the village ask for? Now, it was their turn to protect him.
Time to prepare for war.