Howdy! I'm back. Yes it took a while but I'm back. I honestly wasn't going to continue this story because of the amount of hate I got from people. Not just in reviews but in PM's too. So I took a break. And then I started again and then I took another break, but here I am now.

I also just want to say thank you. Thank you for not giving up on this fic. I honestly never thought that ANY story I would have written would get this popular. So thank you. The amount of people who sent me messages asking me when the next chapter drove me to continue it. Keep sending PMs and Reviews. They truly and honeslty keep an Author motivated.

So please, don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review! I hope all of you have a safe day!

Originally Published on 11-9-2022

Konoha General ICU Ward December 24th 52AF

Naruto didn't remember when he could start to feel other people. It sort of just…happened for him. He had just been floating in a dark void, endlessly drifting in nothingness slowly but surely he was able to feel and hear.

It wasn't a quick process by any means, but what initially were raw noises to him started to become voices. What used to be raw Chakra around now could be distinguished between different living things.

Now, Naruto was back to what he thought he could function. He could sense people around him, he could pinpoint where all the nurses and doctors were in the hospital. He could feel the swirling of peoples Chakra as they moved closer to them. He could identify their emotions as they passed his room, and smell what they ate for breakfast that day.

This, of course, meant that he could feel when three people walked into his room in the dead of night. He kept his eyes closed, but was now wide awake, ready to strike.

"Is he awake yet?" One of them, a man, asked while they moved around the room.

"I don't think so," Another, this one a woman, said while moving to look at what Naruto thought was probably his chart. "Says here that he shouldn't be up and moving till after New Years."

"Good," The third and final person said as they walked behind the women. "Let's keep it that way. We have orders to do this as quietly as possible."

"Of course," The woman said while reaching into what Naruto thought was some kind of bag. He could feel her reaching and pulled out a kunai.

Well that's not good, Naruto thought as he moved his arm to stop the woman's arm. He sat up and opened his eyelids to reveal his bright blue slitted eyes.

"Well," He smirked as he looked at the three killers in his room. "This is one way to wake up from a coma." He didn't let the ninjas recover from their shock and jumped out of the bed, ripped the IV out of his arm, and started sprinting out of the room.

"After him!" The boss shouted.

Naruto didn't need to look behind him to feel the kunai knives that were flying towards him. He ducked and weaved out of their way as he continued to run down the hallway, hospital gown blowing in the wind he was creating.

"Shit," He cursed as he turned around to see the three Ninjas blocking his only exit.

"You have nowhere to go!"

Naruto turned to look at his would-be assailants and took in their appearances. We really need to upgrade this village's security. He thought as he noticed the Kiri headbands the three ninjas wore.

"Why are Kirigakure ninjas after me?" He shouted as he tried to get as much information out of them as he could while he thought of a good escape. He didn't want to use any Chakra because he didn't know if he could or not. Well only one way to find out! He thought as started going through potential options to get him out of this situation.

"That's none of your concern child," The woman said. She was wearing a black top, skin tight bottoms, and ninja heels. She had brown eyes and wore her brown hair in a ponytail and had a deep scar running across her right cheek.

"Plus it's not like you're going to live much longer anyway," Said the man who Naruto recognized as the first person to enter the room. He wore the same all black outfit, but had a much larger build then the woman's more lithe frame. He had jet black hair which fell about his shoulders, and black eyes.

"Oh?" Naruto asked as he formed the ram hand sign with his left hand. . This is going to hurt like hell. He thought before smirking. "Who said I was dying?"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

He turned around and blew a fireball into the wall, causing it to crumble allowing for the cold Konoha winter air to rush into the hallway. He shivered slightly and jumped out of the whole he created and launched himself as far away as possible.

Once he landed on one of the lower roofs of the hospital, he sprinted towards the edge of it and hopped to another roof which was close by.

"I need to get out of here," he mumbled to himself as he ran from roof to roof. Since Konoha only had one major hospital, which was situated right in Downtown Konoha, he had very few options of where he could go.

He thought about going to Mikoto in the Uchiha district, but he knew that waking her up along with countless other Uchiha's would have been a terrible idea. He then turned towards his second best option, the Hinata. He closed his eyes to try and focus on her general direction, but didn't have much time since he felt something coming toward him.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw a wave of water coming towards him and ducked. His eyes narrowed as they tried to track his assailants.

"Water Style: Submersion!"

A large wall of water was moving full steam towards Naruto who barely has time to put up a rock wall before it collides with him.

Definitely slower than I used to be. He thought bitterly. Let's see, Shushin is out because I don't think my body can take it. I guess I just have to get to her the only fashion way. He groaned and sprinted past the wall towards the Clan District.

"Oh no you don't!" The woman shouted while quickly going through hand seals. "I won't let you escape!"

"Earth Style: Earth Bullet!"

Naruto groaned when he saw the large balls of rock hurtling towards him. He looked down at his body and once again found himself groaning. I feel like I"m gonna be doing that a lot more now that I'm awake. He thought while he dodged one of the boulders.

"Where the hell are the ANBU?!" He shouted as he continued to run towards Hinata's house.

"We took care of that little problem already!" The large man shouted while chasing the child

Naruto shook his head and continued to hop from rooftop to rooftop as he moved closer and closer towards Hinata and her home. He could feel her Chakra signature getting closer and closer.

"Earth Style: Mud River!"

"You know, for Kiri Ninjas you sure do use a lot of earth style jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he jumped into the air to avoid the mud that was being placed under him. He felt something tugging on his arm and decided to stretch out his arm, allowing for a silver chain to appear and latch onto a nearby building.

"Well that's useful!" He smirked as he pulled on the chain, propelling him further into the air. "Where was this when I was getting back to Konoha?!" He asked as he flew through the air. It was here he got an idea. He propelled himself into the air, twisted his body so he was facing his assailants and held up a hand seal.

"Fire Style: Fire Flame Jutsu!"

While still in the air, Naruto released a large stream of flames towards the ninjas and laughed. He then reached out his arm and shot a chain towards another building and shot back into the direction he wanted to go in.

"What are those?!" The woman shouted while dodging the flames.

"Yeah that wasn't in the report we got from the boss!" The man looked back at the taller mustached ninja who remained quiet.

"That doesn't matter, Azutaga," The leader said while going through hand seals.

"I mean is there a new plan of action?" Azutaga asked while he followed his boss. "Zonya and I aren't really long distance fighters.

"Well then impersonate one," He growled while taking a deep breath.

"Water Style: Violent Stream!"

A highly pressurized stream of water launched out of the man's mouth and flew straight towards Naruto's back. The child looked over his shoulder, saw the attack coming for him, and tried to avoid it.

He twisted his body in the air, but was still hit in the shoulder. He tried to launch a chain at a building which was close to him, but all it did was cause his already hurt shoulder to pop out of its socket.

"Agrah!"

Naruto fell out of the sky and landed badly on the dirt road below him. He groaned as he pulled himself up. He looked down at his light blue hospital robe which was now covered in dirt.

"Give up!"

He looked up and saw all three ninjas forming a semi circle around him with kunais drawn. His eyes narrowed with anger as he tried to get into a position where he could defend himself.

"I'm sorry?" Naruto asked while spitting blood out of his mouth. "Did you just tell me to give up?" He clenched his fists and turned on his Sharingan;the red eyes glowed in the dark of the alley.

"Fine then," The leader said while walking towards him. "Be that way."

The man started walking towards Naruto and was about to stab him before he was interrupted by what looked to be an arrow entering his chest. He staggered back as a second and a third arrow entered his head and his lung.

"What the hell?!" The other two ninjas asked as they tried to figure out who shot the arrows.

"Great timing…Hinata-chan," Naruto smirked as he felt movement form a dark corner of the alley. He looked over and saw a small hooded figure walk out with a metal bow in their hand. They then lowered their hood to reveal the face of one Hinata Hyuga who had a small smile.

"I'm glad you're awake, Naruto-kun," She said softly as she aimed her bow at the female ninja who was still in shock. "We should end this so we can get you back to the hospital."

"Agreed," He held out his non-injured hand for her to hand him a kunai knife. Once he had the weapon, he launched at the older man who had braced himself for the impact.

"You're a hundred years too early to think you can beat me kid!" He yelled as he slashed at Naruto, who dodged his attack easily. Naruto jumped into the air and sent a flying kick into the man's stomach.

"So, what's the plan Hinata?" Naruto asked as he slashed at the man's throat. It got blocked by Azutaga who tried to slam his own knife into Naruto's head. Naruto twisted the man's arms and tried to push him away.

"Why are you asking me, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she started going through hand seals. "You've always been the one to make the plans on the fly." She said while using her bow as a slashing weapon.

"You are rescuing me, Nata-chan!" He smiled as he dodged a punch to the head.

"Battle Format 6," She said with a newly found confidence. Naruto nodded his head and performed a backflip over Hinata and started going through one handed seals.

"Hey watch out they've got some battle strategy thing going on!" Azutaga shouted as he formed up with his only living partner.

"Ready?" Naruto asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"I should be asking you that," Hinata said while going through one handed seals. "It sounds like you're exhausted."

Naruto rolled his eyes and smirked. "You try fighting immediately after getting out of a coma." He nodded his head signaling for both children to take a deep breath.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Both Kiri Ninjas had seen the mist roll enter the alley and laughed. "They'll learn to not use our own Jutsu against us." Azutage said while starting to go through his own hand seals.

Naruto glanced over at Hinata and smirked. The two five year olds were sitting on the roof of a nearby building watching the two ninjas.

"Ready for the show?" He asked while holding up the hand seal for his signature move. She sighed and shook her head, but didn't try to hide the smile on her face.

"Bring down the Thunder!"

The two ninjas that were in the mist had no clue what was happening when a giant lightning bolt came crashing down. They didn't have anytime to react as they were electrocuted and turned to ash

Hinata looked down at the Kiri Ninjas and sighed. She knew that they were dead.

"Oh Kami, Naruto!"

There were many things that Hitomi Hyuga expected to happen to her. She expected to have her husband's eyes glues on her whenever she walked into a room due to the fact that she had cut him off of any sex for a period of time. She expected to get glares from the Elders of the clan due to being opposed to some of their ideas and ideologies.

Something, however, that she didn't think would ever happen to her was her daughter waking her up in the middle of the night screaming. She sat up groggily and looked at her with confusion written all over her face.

"Hinata," She said while looking at the clock in her room. "It's 3AM, what could possibly be wrong for it to warrant all this shouting?"

"Naruto-kun is unconscious and injured again!" Her daughter shouted while throwing her arms in the air widely.

"Hinata, Naruto has been in a coma for two months." She explained to her daughter. "He's still at the hospital."

"No he's in my room right now Kaa-chan!" Hinata yelled as she grabbed her mom's arm and dragged her out of bed towards the door.

That got the gears in Hitomi's head to start turning. Why would Naruto be here? She asked herself while she followed her daughter.

Then it hit her.

"Hinata," She asked her daughter quietly and calmly. "Why are you awake right now?"

Hinata looked at the floor with a blank expression on her face. To be honest with herself, Hinata didn't know why she did what she did. One moment she was asleep, then she felt like something bad was going to happen. She didn't know why. She didn't know how she knew, just that something was going to happen. All she knew was that Naruto was in trouble.

And that was enough for her.

She picked her head up from the floor and looked at her mother dead in the eyes with the most serious expression that she could muster.

"Because I knew he was in trouble and had to help,"

That alone would have been enough of an answer, but for Hitomi the thing that got her was the fire that was burning behind her eyes. The last time she had seen Hinata this determined was the day she was in the hospital talking to Hiruzen.

"Alright," She said while bending to one knee. "I believe you,"

"Then let's go!" Hinata smiled while walking towards her room. Once she reached it, she slid open the door to reveal a very pale Naruto lying on her bed. Hinata has already reset and healed his dislocated shoulder, and had healed the bruises on his arm and face.

"He looks to be fine, maybe he was just tired." Hitomi said as she walked over to him and looked at him closer.

"I'm not totally positive, but I think it's chakra exhaustion," Hinata said quietly while lightly moving her palms over Naruto's chest. She desperately looked at her mother for any kind of help. "Kaa-chan…I don't know what to do." She looked down at her hands and balled up her fists.

Hitomi looked at her daughter and nearly shed a tear at the look of despair on her face. She had watched Hinata sit by his side in the hospital everyday for three weeks before she was told that it wasn't good for her mental health. Not that throwing herself into intense physical training was any better.

Hitomi walked over to Hinata and got down onto her knees so that she could look her in the eyes. She brushed a bit of her indigo hair out of the young girls eyes and smiled at her sadly.

"Honey," She said quietly while cupping her cheek. "He'll be okay."

"I…" Hinata looked over at Naruto again and deflated. All the drive and determination gone, only to be replaced by intense sadness. "I miss him." She whispered while letting the teas she had been holding back run down her face. "I missed him so much."

"I know sweetheart,"

Hinata looked at her best friend and sighed. "I can't keep watching him lay in a hospital bed," She sobbed as she tried to keep her tears hidden from her mother. "I… It hurts me so much!"

Hitomi clutched her chest and let out her own sigh as she saw how distraught her daughter was. She had been in a similar situation with Kushina after she had gotten injured in the war. She gently grabbed her daughter and moved in to give her a hug.

"Don't worry darling," She cooed softly as she felt her daughter sob into her. "He's going to get better. He's going to get so much stronger that you won't have to worry about him."

"But if I don't worry then who will?" She asked while looking up at her mother, tears streaming down her face. "Mikoto-san has her own family to worry about, you have to worry about the clan with Tou-san, Kakashi and Yugao have missions to worry about . Who's gonna worry about him if I don't?"

Hitomi was stunned by what she just heard. She looked at the fire and desperation in her daughter's eyes and truly felt pain. She knew that ever since Hinata found out the lengths that Naruto had gone through to save her that she was even more determined to be by his side. She had seen it everyday as her daughter madd clone after clone to improve. She felt it when she started noticing how hard Hinata's Juken strikes were getting. SHe knew that Hinata wanted to get stronger, but to see the length that she would go for this boy, it was…inspiring.

"I'll worry for him,"

Both girls looked up to see Hiashi and Hizashi standing in the doorway of Hinata's room. Both men were wearing their battle attire as if they had been preparing for a fight. Hitomi looked at her husband with a confused look on her face as though asking for an explanation.

"As you said all those months ago," Hiashi walked further into the room and laid his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Naruto is one of your babies. We both have seen that boy grow so much over the time he's been with us that I've grown to see him as my own son."

"Hiashi…" Hitomi whispered as she looked at her husband, tears threatening to fall from her own eyes. "You don't mean that do you?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"I do," He walked over to the boy's bed and placed his hand on his shoulder. "He's the son of my best friend, and damn it if I'm not going to help him when shit inevitably hits the fan."

"I agree with you brother," Hizashi said from the doorway. "And the Branch Family feels the same."

Hinata moved her mother so that she could get a better look at her father. "Do you truly mean that?" She asked quietly.

"Yes," Hiashi leaned down and looked his daughter squarely in the eyes. He then nodded his head. "Every word."

Naruto's immediate response to waking up in a different room was to jump out the window and run away. However, as soon as he realized who's room it was he relaxed. He sensed someone approach the door and immediately smiled when he figured out who it was.

"It's good to see you awake, Naruto-kun,"

"Mikoto-kaa-chan!" He squealed as he tried to get out of bed but couldn't due to how sore he was.

Mikoto smiled at the child that was hers in all but name. She had heard from Hitomi that he was caught up in some shenanigans and rushed over to see how he was doing. She walked further into the room, her red and white sundress moving with her as she crossed the distance. She finally knelt down and gently took Naruto's hand in hers and cried.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she gently rubbed circles into the back of the boy's hand.

"Sore," He asked as he scooted over so that he could be closer to her.

She laughed quietly while looking at the child's body. Hinata had done a good job getting rid of most of the bruises and scars with healing salves and Medical Chakra, though there was a bandage around the boy's left shoulder where he dislocated it.

"I bet you're feeling sore," She said while still holding his hand. "You were sprinting through the roofs of Konoha being chased by Ninjas after being in a coma!" She chidded while still rubbing his hand.

NAruto at least had the decency to blush at how crazy the situation sounded. He didn't even know if he was allowed to be doing half the stuff he did last night. He could definitely feel that his Jutus were taking more Chakra then they used to. Now that he thought about it, he definitely didn't feel the aching pain in his joints and leg muscles when he was running yesterday.

"Yeah," He smiled slightly while rubbing his head with his right hand. "It was a crazy night last night."

"Mhmm," Mikoto agreed while letting go of his hand and walking over to him. "We need to get you back to the Hospital so that they can check you over now that you're awake."

"Why would I do that?" Naruto asked as he swung his legs over the bed. He could feel his body protest as he stood up and walked to the door. "Why would I do that when I can train?"

Naruto walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where he saw Hinata eating while reading what looked to be a medical textbook. He saw her lookup and her eyes widen when she saw him.

"Naruto!" She shouted as she jumped from her chain and ran to give him a tight hug. "You're awake!" She said into his chest as she cried softly.

Naruto grunted when he felt the weight of his friend come crashing into him. He had to take a step back in order to avoid falling. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. The last time had seen her before last night was in his arms as he crossed into the village. Now, she was ok. She had made it.

"It's good to see you Hinata-chan," He whispered as he breathed in the scent of her shampoo. He buried his head into her long magenta hair and let a few tears fall.

"It's good to see you too Naruto-kun," She replied while burying her face deeper into his chest.

The duo stood there in the middle of the kitchen for what felt like hours. Neither wanted to move lest the other suddenly disappear. They both had longed for this moment for so long, that it felt surreal that it was finally happening.

However, the moment couldn't last, and both children were brought out of their hug by their respective parental figures.

"It's good to see that both of you have finally reunited," Hitomi said while holding a mug of coffee in her hands. "However, I think Naruto would benefit from a good meal and a trip to the hospital to make sure that he is 100% ok."

Both children nodded their heads and let go of the other. Hinata moved back to her seat at the table and sighed. "Now that you're awake you're going to have to see the Hokage." She said while taking a bite of her toast.

"I figured he would want to know what happened while we were out there," Naruto replied while making his way to sit next to his best friend. "Actually," He paused as he looked out the window "What day is it?"

"It's December 25th sweetheart," Mikoto answered while handing Naruto a plate of breakfast. "You were out for exactly 2 months."

"TWO MONTHS?!" Naruto shouted while flinging his arms into the air.

"Yes Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly while trying not to let her anxiety show. "You were unconscious for 2 months."

"Jeez…did we even pass the exams?" He asked while taking a bite of his eggs.

"Funny you should ask," Mikoto walked over to her purse and pulled out the same two scrolls that had been given to Hinata. "These are for you. I'm sure Hiruzen would have wanted to talk to you about it, but he's not here right now."

"What are they?" He asked while Mikoto handed him the scrolls. Once he had them in his hands, he tossed them up and down and examined them extremely closely.

"Just open them silly," Hitomi giggled while sitting down in front of Hinata.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and channeled a bit of Chakra through the scrolls and caused it to explode in a small cloud of smoke. He waved his hand in the air to clear the smoke from his face and immediately stopped moving when he saw the green jacket and a piece of paper.

"I passed?!" He shouted as he looked at the Chunin Jacket that was now in his possession. "How the fuck did I pass?" He then looked at Hinata who was smirking at him. "Did you pass too?!"

"Oh just wait till you see the second scroll," She said while turning her full attention to Naruto. He raised his eyebrows and opened the second scroll. He mumbled quietly as he read the piece of paper, his eyes growing wider and wider as he continued reading.

"I KNEW IT!" He shouted while fistbumping the air. "I knew he was going to put us into the ANBU!" He turned to face his friend who was smiling at him. "I'm guessing you're accepting?"

"Of course I am!" She answered while sliding over her application. "The paperwork is due January 4th so you need to get it signed."

"Oh he won't need to worry about that," Mikoto reached into her bag and pulled out a scroll with the Hokage's seal on it. "Kakashi and Yugao already took care of it." She tossed the scroll to Naruto who caught it. "All it needs is your signature and then you can take it to the Hokage."

Naruto nodded his head and grabbed a pen from one of the many that Hinata had when she was studying and signed the document with his name. He showed it to Mikoto who nodded her head and smiled.

"When will we officially get promoted?" Hinata asked while Naruto tried to put on the jacket.

"When I talked to Hiruzen, he said we could have a small ceremony with a few of the other clans that knew that you both were in the exams." Hitomi explained while she collected the clean dishes.

"So who all knew we were going to Kiri?" Naruto asked while drinking a glass of milk.

"The Yamanaka, Nara, and Aburambe," Mikoto answered.

"Don't forget Danzo," Naruto added while clenching his fist. "The little shit tried to kill us before we even left the village!"

Mikoto and Hitomi looked at each other and sighed. They both knew that they would have to know the full story of what happened to Naruto and Hinata when they left. However, they also knew that it could wait. They had seen how happy the two children were to see each other.

"Should we push for details?" Hitomi mumbled to her friend as they watched the children talk about the training they were going to do to prepare for the ANBU.

Mikoto shook her head and smiled gently. When she looked at Naruto and Hinata, she could only see herself and Minato. Two lifelong friends whose lives were thrown into chaos because of the actions and decisions of others. She looked at the children and softly smiled.

"No," She said while wiping a tear that was starting to fall down her face. "He's only just gotten back. Let's let them enjoy this little bit of peace they get before they start training for the next life altering disaster Sarutobi is going to throw them into next."

Hitomi nodded her head and continued to sip her cup of coffee as she watched the children talk. "Yeah," She said quietly. "You're right.

Story Stats:

Views: 146,370

Favorites: 633

Follows: 766

Reviews: 246

Communities: 3