The sky was alight, and the sound of small explosions carried across the village.
In the center of Konoha's largest lake, fireworks shot upward from an anchored barge. When the finale came, the great cliff was illuminated. Light shown on the framework that had been built to allow the carving of the sixth great face.
Along the shore of the lake, large festive tents vied for space with tables heavily stocked with food and drink, and stages graced by traditional performers. Like wheat heads blown this way and that by swirling winds, the happy crowd shifted one way or another to allow the long dragon floats to pass by, followed by children waving much smaller lanterns. Down by the water, watched by all of their friends, unmarried girls threw tangerines into the water, hoping that their future spouse would pick them up.
Naruto watched it all from the balcony of the old temple. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. To someone visiting the Hidden Leaf Village, the scene would have suggested some kind of seasonal festival. For good reason. The arrangements had been extravagant. The whole village had pitched in. Tonight, two people were joined in matrimony. More important, a clan was reborn.
"I should be happy," Naruto said, holding two items in his hands. "I am happy, I guess." He placed a small box on the wide flat railing. Next to it, he set a Red Packet decorated with fancy calligraphy. He had to open them. It would be rude not to.
Watching as a number of couples strolled by arm in arm, dressed in their best finery, Konoha's resident Jinchuuriki picked the packet up again and ran his fingers over it. The married couple had gone out of their way to revive a number of long-forgotten customs. That had him smiling for a moment, knowing that it must have been her idea. He would have rolled his eyes and acquiesced, wanting to keep is bride-to-be happy.
"It was a nice idea," Naruto said, tearing open the packet. "But, few of my friends got one." The small gifts were handed out to the unwed. Inside, there was a message of luck and a coin of unknown denomination. He had been told that the tradition had grown from something called or hóng bāo in a distant land. "Hey, my lucky day." He sarcastically regarded the gold coin he found. There was only supposed to be one of those.
Looking over at the small lawn in front of the temple, he watched as shinobi and townspeople danced, some of them waving long ribbons and banners in their hands. He spun the folded message around his fingers, trying to pick out the shapes of his friends. Their futures were all bright. His might be too; but, it didn't feel that way. Sighing again, he opened the stenciled paper after taking a deep breath of incense.
"OK, let's see." Naruto read the message silently at first, closing his eyes when he was done. He stood that way for a few moments, the wind tugging at the paper. Opening his eyes, he read out loud: "O, once in each man's life, at least, Good Luck knocks at his door; and wit to seize the flitting guest, need never hunger more. But while the loitering idler waits Good Luck beside his fire, the bold heart storms at fortune's gates, and conquers its desire." He let his fingers open. The message disappeared in the distance, carried over to where groups of young children ran laughing, dangling paper cranes from long flexible sticks.
He banged his fist hard against the railing, looking to make certain that no one saw what he had done. The metal was bent to the shape of his hand. No one was watching him. They were too busy rejoicing, and he had chosen a place in shadows.
"Good luck…" Naruto tensed up. "Bold hearts…" He shook his head. "Bullshit." When had good luck ever come knocking at his door? He had spent his entire childhood watching good luck pass him by. When he started making friends and succeeding in his training, it had come through hard work and sacrifice. And, he would dare anyone to name someone with a bolder heart than he had.
What did he have to show for it? He was alone, while most of his friends were dating or married. One of the people he respected most lay dead. His greatest dream had been dangled before him, and then pulled out of his reach.
"Fortune's gates. Sure. Just be careful where you stand." Naruto picked up a small gift box, the most beautiful he had ever seen. "Kakashi is safely inside the walls. Gaara got crushed in the doors. And me…" He hung his head. "I'm on the outside."
He opened the box. Walking over to where light came slanting down from one of the temple windows, he looked at the item that lay nestled in silk. He couldn't help himself. Tears came to his eyes. More gold. A special carving. Three figures intertwined: A Frog…a Snake… and a Slug.
"You guys…" Naruto ran one hand across his eyes. "Yes, we'll always…" He hung his head, but smiled. A chorus of happy images sprang up in his mind, all touched with a bit of melancholy.
The gift was princely. No one else had gotten one as grand, or as personal. It wasn't because he had been the Best Man. It wasn't because he was their teammate. It wasn't because he had been one of the ninjas who brought Sasuke home. It wasn't because he had been the only one able to break through Sasuke's self-imposed walls of guilt and shame. It wasn't because he had risked his own life and standing in the village by standing up for a rogue shinobi who had trained with an evil Sannin, killed that warped and perverted soul, and allied himself with a group of S-class criminals for his own purpose. It was because he was their friend.
The wedding had been wonderful. Sasuke had been resplendent in his suit. Sakura had been more beautiful than any bride deserved to be. The vows had been emotional, touching on the sadness and happiness in their lives. Sakura had cried and hugged him during their dance. Sasuke had pulled him aside, to say words of thanks for the first time in his life. Before the reception, the three of them had worked to plant a tree together, still dressed in their costly clothing. They had given him the first piece of cake.
"Well, maybe Good Fortune did knock once or twice," he admitted.
"I thought I might find you standing alone somewhere, now that the happy couple has left to enjoy their own private little party." That rich familiar voice preceded the bulky form that joined Naruto at the railing. "Nice night." Jiraiya took out his telescope and used it to survey the village below.
"They both chose well," Naruto said. "I couldn't have arranged things better myself." In point of fact, he had arranged things in a sense. His two friends had been orbiting around each other for years after Sasuke returned, neither one of them thinking that the other had any interest. It had taken the good eyes of their teammate to see the truth.
"Really?" The Frog hermit asked, scratching under one armpit. "Are you sure you're not feeling a little regret? She was so beautiful tonight, that I might have to put her in my next book." He paused. "You did have feelings for her once, didn't you?"
"Yes," Naruto admitted. "For a while. Before we finally brought Sasuke back." He grabbed the railing with his hands and closed his eyes. The metal twisted ever so slightly. He wasn't thinking of Sakura. "You know that I gave my heart to someone else."
"Now I remember," the Legendary Sannin said softly. In a rare show of comradery, he reached over and squeezed his former student's shoulder. There was no way that he was going to forget what had transpired. He and Tsunade had done the best they could, but some things were beyond their power. "You know… you look more and more like the Fourth every day…" He sighed. "Your day will come."
"That's what I used to think," Naruto said, not surprised that the older ninja would know all of his reasons for feeling down. "Before that damn battle." He felt the urge to scream at the heavens, but didn't. "If only I could have…"
"Don't." That was another familiar voice. "Don't blame yourself for what happened." It was Tsunade. She didn't look any differently than she had when she first put on the tri-corner hat. "There was nothing that you could have done to save him. If you had come to my aid, I would have died after the enemy won." Her voice was rich with emotion. "There were a lot of sacrifices that day. They would have been in vain, if you hadn't won the day." She reached out and straightened the collar on his suit. "I'm very proud of you. You show a promise that Dan and Nawaki never had."
"But, if I could have acted sooner, you might not have…" Naruto cringed, remembering the sight of Tsunade collapsing on the battlefield. She and Jiraiya had brought Orochimaru down, but at great cost to her. Unlike Gaara, she had walked away from that fight. But, she no longer was able to work jutsus of any note, other than her Rejuvenation technique. It had been harder for her to step down as a medical ninja, than it had been to step away from being Hokage.
"Enough," Tsunade said somewhat sharply. "What's past is past." She looked out over the village. "If tonight taught you anything, it's that the future holds a lot of promise. I don't want to sound facetious; but, it might do you some good to focus on other things for a while."
"She's right," Jiraiya said, putting his hands behind his neck. "You've surpassed my expectations for you as a fighter, and I had high hopes to start with." He looked over at Tsunade, knowing that some hopes never come to pass. "But, you're not ready to be a leader yet. And, despite your feats, the older generation would still have trouble bowing to the man who carried the Kyuubi inside him." He folded his arms across his chest. "Everyone needs more time."
"I hope you don't hate us," Tsunade said, waving her arm towards her fellow Sannin. "We were the ones who recommended Kakashi to the council." She caught a reflection of light off of Naruto's necklace. "It was the right choice."
"I know," Naruto said. There were few shinobi that he admired and trusted more than the Copy ninja. In fact, the only two ninjas he revered more were standing on either side of him now. "At least you didn't name Sasuke." His attempt at a joke fell flat.
"It's time for me to make sure that there aren't any pretty young girls without a dance partner," Jiraiya said. He nodded to Tsunade, letting her have some time alone with Naruto. "I mean, girls who look young naturally."
"That…" Tsunade held her tongue. She stood their in silence with Naruto for a few minutes. "You're thinking about her again, aren't you."
"Yes," Naruto said. "It's hard not to, seeing Sasuke and Sakura married." He put his hand in his pocket, running his fingers across the cold surface of his gold coin.
"I hope you don't blame me for that, too." Tsunade felt her throat tighten. With all that Naruto had been through lately, she couldn't help but feel so much sorrow for him. "I did my best. But, a Hokage's jurisdiction goes only so far." She sighed. "And, a bargain between clan heads and countries remains binding, even after the death of a man who made the pledge."
"I know," Naruto said. "I had hoped that Neji would have been able to change things when his uncle died. I had been so happy to hear that Hanabi had stepped aside and let him be Clan head. But…" Things had not turned out the way that he had hoped. Worse, he had said things to Neji that hurt them both. It would take time to heal that friendship.
"We all make sacrifices, Naruto." Tsunade said quietly. "Neji made his, by upholding the laws of his village and clan." She paused, thinking back to a fateful day when a procession of dignitaries from the Lightning had arrived in Konoha, coming to take away a young woman in pomp and ceremony. The fact that a deal had been struck with that nation was ironic to say the least. "Hinata made hers, by agreeing to the arrangement, and cementing an important alliance."
Naruto remained silent. He looked up at the stars, wondering if Hinata might somehow be looking at the same ones. She had gone away to train for three years, in order to learn the traditions of her new homeland and to prepare herself to be the bride of a Clan chief's son, a man twice her age. The three years would be up soon. He did not expect to get an invitation to that wedding.
"I think that there is someone else who wants to speak with you," Tsunade said, taking note of someone else standing on the balcony. Pushing herself away from the railing, she ruffled Naruto's hair. She remembered doing that when he was a genin. Even though he was a special jounin now, it felt the same. "Here. My mother gave me this when I was a little girl. I would like you to have it." She placed a small egg-shaped stone in the palm of his hand and closed his fingers over it.
"What is it?" Naruto asked. Holding his hand out under a large shaft of light, he saw that the stone was pink in color, with bands of various size and color.
"It's a river stone," Tsunade said. "My mother called it a phoenix egg, because I loved that legend. That's also why I want you to have it." She leaned over, kissed him on the brow, and then walked off.
Naruto felt his eyes watering again. That was ridiculous. He was in his twenties now. They had put his name in for a lead position with the newest ANBU squad. If Kakashi died or stepped down, he could well be the seventh Hokage.
He rolled the stone across his hand. The Phoenix. Looking to see who might be waiting to speak with him next, he wondered just what legend Tsunade had meant. The Feng-Huang or Chinese Phoenix was a symbol of virtue, power, and grace, the union of yin and yang. It was often pictured attacking snakes with its talons. That would be appropriate, seeing how he had taken Manda down single-handedly during one climactic battle, when he and Sasuke faced off against one another again, before his dark-haired friend had his tortured look on life changed yet again. But, the fantastic bird's feathers were black, white, red, green, and yellow. He still preferred orange.
The Egyptian Phoenix, Benu or Bennu, was associated with the sun and the act of creation. The sun. That wasn't him. He was bright enough. But, being honest, he knew that he wasn't the genius that Kakashi, Sasuke, and Shikamaru were. What's more, his creativity usually took the form of pranks and verbose challenges. Hardly the stuff of legends.
Naruto knew little of the Russian Yel, or firebird, other than the fact that it was supposed to be immortal. He knew a little more about the Japanese Phoenix, Ho-Oo, also known as Karura. It was supposed to represent the sun, fidelity and obedience, and its coming always heralded the start of a new era. Those two did not fit. They had never seemed that wondrous to him. It was the classical Arabian Phoenix that had captured his imagination when he was a child, listening to the tales that the caretakers at the orphanage told him and the other children.
That majestic creature had scarlet and orange plumage. Close enough. Only one could be a live at any given time. That was fine. Uzumaki Naruto was certainly unique. At the end of it's life, the bird would build a pyre of aromatic branches and spices, set it on fire, and be consumed by the flames. The new Phoenix would rise from the ashes. That was just a story, though. His very life seemed to be smoldering around him, but he was no magical bird. What did Tsunade expect from him?
"You're pretty popular tonight," a voice said. The scent of perfume reached Naruto before he watched a shapely young woman move as smoothly as the night itself. "I saw you earlier, but didn't have time to talk." It was Temari. She had come to the wedding with her brother Kankouro, the new Kazekage.
"Not as popular as I might like," Naruto said. He hadn't seen Temari since Gaara's funeral. "You seemed to be doing pretty well, though." He was surprised that the girl could walk after the number of times she had been asked to dance.
"Well enough," Temari said. "I still get a bit of a pang, watching Shikamaru and Ino together." She put her hands on the railing, wondering at the damage there. "It was only a passing thing, but…" Her romance with Shikamaru never really took root.
"I hear you," Naruto sympathized.
"You know," Temari said laughing. "A lot of people think that you and I should get together."
"Right," Naruto said. "Someone as pretty as you with someone like me." He shook his head. That wasn't the real issue. He was very fond of Temari. She was almost like the sister he never had. "We do have a lot in common."
"Yes," Temari said. "But, I was glad when they chose Kankouro instead of me." She had been furious at first, knowing that she was passed over purely because of her gender. "Eventually."
"I wish that Gaara could have been here tonight," Naruto said, his throat tightening up. "He deserved to see something like this. He deserved to find someone who made him feel complete." He sighed. "I hate this life sometimes." He though back to his life a child shunned by the village. Gaara had been through the same thing.
"I miss him terribly, too." Temari leaned up against Naruto for a moment. "We all did the best we could. You were magnificent." She looked up at the moon, wondering if there was an after-life. If there was, she hoped that her brother would find the peace that he had been denied in his early life. "You and Chiyo-baa had brought him back once, back when Akatsuki was after the Tailed Beasts. He found happiness with that second chance. I'll never be able to thank you enough for that."
After they chatted for a bit longer. Temari went off to find her brother. Even as a Kage, or perhaps because of it, he could get into trouble if left alone too long. At least she had been able to convince him to leave his puppets back in Sunagakure. She had struck him repeatedly with her fan when he suggested dressing one up as a bride and another as a groom.
Naruto stood by himself for a short time more, and decided to call it a night. He was fortunate to have people that cared for him, but he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone else. Not feeling like taking the long and winding stairway down the hill… the only path that didn't pass through one of the brightly lit and wide open spaces still filled with revelers… he squared his shoulders and told himself that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Ducking under streamers and passing by groups of people who were busy singing and dancing, Naruto gave cursory nods to strangers and people he barely new. So far, he had managed to avoid seeing any of his close friends. He slowed and wondered if he should find another route when he saw that a crowd was gathering in excited fashion at the foot of the hill. He had no idea what might be going on. He didn't really care. He didn't want to get caught up in it.
"Naruto!" That was Lee. "Oi. Naruto!" His voice carried across the din of the party, catching other ears. "I was looking for you."
"Great," Naruto muttered under his breath. "Hey, Lee." He stopped, not wanting to be rude. "You're not looking to pick a fight because my old sensei was named Hokage instead of yours, are you?" He couldn't help but smile. The expression on Lee's face, along with those bushy eyebrows, did him in.
"Ohhh-hh-h…" Lee struck a pose. "Naruto, you know better than that. While Gai-sensei would have been a wonderful choice, Kakashi will be a great Hokage." His face fell somewhat. He didn't have to say anything more for Naruto to guess what was on his mind. But, his eyes lit up again and he took Naruto by the arm. "You must come with me."
"Maybe some other time," Naruto said, pulling away. "I'm really very tired and…"
"Yo. Naruto!" That was Kiba. He was accompanied by Shino, who was wearing a very fancy set of robes, the cowl of which showed only his dark glasses. Akamaru trotted by their side. Someone had placed a tie around his massive neck. "Come on, man. I would have thought you'd be down there already. If you like, you can jump up on Akamaru's back. We can move faster that way."
"Thanks guys, but I've rally had enough for one night." Naruto wondered who was going to show up next. "I don't want to be rude, but…"
"Naruto! Why are you waiting?" That was Choji, swathed in voluminous dress robes. He was followed by Ino, who dragged a perturbed looking Shikamaru after her. "If you like, I will perform Nikudan Sensha and clear a path through the crowd. We can apologize to them later."
"I would have expected you to be the first one to see her," Ino said. She put her hands on her hips and gave Naruto a scathing look.
"He doesn't know that she is here," Shikamaru said, correctly reading Naruto's face.
"Her?" Naruto said. "She?" At first he had no idea who they could possibly mean. Then, it dawned on him. It could only be one person. "Hinata."
"Yes," Shino said. "She just arrived. Her journey was a long one. No doubt she is looking for you."
"I…" Naruto's eyes brightened. "Wait…" His face stiffened. Hinata was either married or about to be. Did he really want to see her? It would only leave him hurting again. "Tell her 'Hello' for me. I should be heading home now."
"Baka!" Kiba made a face. "Akamaru!" he pointed at Naruto.
"ARFFF ARFFF ARFFF." The gigantic dog ran over to Naruto, grabbed him by the collar with his teeth, lifted him of the ground, and took of at a quick trot. Long streamers of saliva trailed behind him, some of which battered Naruto in the face.
"Put me down!" Naruto finally got his wish at the bottom of the incline, when Akamaru let him go unceremoniously, causing him to fall and land sprawled on the ground.
"WOOF." Akamaru ran up the slope to rejoin Kiba.
"Stupid… smelly…. slobbering… flea bag…" Naruto stood up and brushed himself off. He turned, to see Neji nearby. He was standing with Ten Ten, who was pregnant with their second child. Near them both, surrounded by people who knew her, there was a young woman dressed in a striking dress. It was cut from the style of the Land of Lightning. She wore with it a sash with the markings of Kumogakure no Sato.
Ten Ten pushed lightly on her husband's back. Looking very solemn, Neji walked up and stood in front of Naruto. Neither said a word. Then, Neji reached out and clasped arms with Naruto. "I did what I had to do," the Hyuuga Clan leader said.
"I know," Naruto said, clasping Neji's arm I return. "I know." he opened his mouth to say more, but stopped. The woman had walked over to join them, her face covered by a heavy veil.
Naruto felt as if his heart had stopped. With everything he had been faced with over the years, he was not prepared for this bittersweet reunion. He could speak to Hinata for a brief moment, but the pain would follow him for years.
"Naruto-kun." The woman removed her veil. It was indeed Hinata. She had been a dumpy looking girl at the Academy. When he had returned after training with Jiraiya, he had founded her taller and rounder, if somewhat chunky looking. Over the years that followed, she had grown beautiful. She was even more striking now. "I tried to get here as quickly as I could, but I missed the ceremony." Her voice had changed, too. It was melodic now, as if she had been trained to be a living musical instrument.
"That's understandable," Naruto said, having to clear his throat. "You had a large distance to cross." He couldn't help but stare at her. The dress was elegant and alluring at the same time. She had a body that shamed her face, and the perfume that she wore was affecting him despite his best efforts to ignore it. He coughed, and looked around the area, expecting to see shinobi from the Lightning. "I'm surprised they allowed you to come alone."
"It wasn't up to them any longer," Hinata said, a look of uncertainty in her eyes. She looked up at Naruto's face, wondering if he had found someone new when she went away. "The man who was chosen to be my fiance died," she said, trying not to disrespect the dead by sounding happy. But, it had been one of the most wonderful moments of her life when she realized that she didn't have to marry a man she didn't love. "There were no other son's of marriageable age in the family." She rubbed her fingers together, something she hadn't done in years. "The matrimonial agreement died with him."
"Wh-… Wh-… What…" Naruto stiffened. His head was abuzz, as if someone had struck him hard with a pole-arm. "Does that mean who have returned to the Leaf for good?" He found himself trembling. That was not something he could let everyone else see!
"Yes," Hinata said. Lowering her eyes for a moment. Naruto's reaction told her everything that she needed to know. She felt her heart thumping against the wall of her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She was slightly dizzy.
"Then… you…" Naruto was oblivious to the people watching them. "And me…"
"If…" Hinata swallowed hard. "If…" This was ridiculous. She had trained for three years in domestic matters, to the point that she never stuttered, and never found herself off balance. "If… ummm…"
"I…" Naruto's face looked bleak. "Hinata, I said some terrible things before you left." He hung his head. He tried not to remember the spiteful and anguished things he had called her when she accepted her duty. The shame from his behavior had hit him as hard as her leaving. "I could be that you'd be… you know… better off with…" He stopped. He had no choice. Hinata had put her hand over his mouth.
"It's alright, Naruto-kun." There were tears in Hinata's eyes now. "You said things that you didn't really mean." She wiped one tear away. "I never said the things that I felt, and regretted that ever since."
"Me too," Naruto admitted, reaching out to catch one of Hinata's tears. It glistened on his finger like a small jewel. "You're beautiful…" He swallowed hard. As much as he had cared about her before, and as pretty as she had become, he had never told her how he felt. He had always assumed that she knew. Someone that foolish didn't deserve to be Hokage.
"Thank you." Hinata smiled, blushing prettily. When she looked up into Naruto's eyes, her face changed, showing her longing. "Naruto-kun… I…" She reached out to put her hand on face. "I love you…"
Naruto pulled her to him gently. Once again, a number of tears flowed, running down off his face and onto her lustrous indigo hair. He stroked his hand along that hair, marveling at the fact that it now hung below her waist. "I…" He knew what he wanted to say. No, he knew what he needed to say. He would be taking a risk, letting his heart be seen by others. But, that was nothing new, was it? "I love you too, Hyuuga Hinata."
"AROOOOO-OOOO-OOO-OO-O…"
Akamaru's howl had them both jumping, just as they were working up the nerve to kiss one another in the midst of a growing crowd.
Hinata snuggled against Naruto, holding him tighter than he would have thought possible. Naruto looked up and surveyed the throng surrounding them. All of their friends were there, smiling or wiping their eyes. Jiraiya took his one arm out from around one of two young ladies to wave. Tsunade met his gaze and nodded her head. Naruto took the Phoenix stone out of his pocket and held it up for her to see.
"Here Hinata," Naruto gently took one of Hinata's hands off of him and placed the polished stone there. "I want you to have this," he said.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata brought the stone up and took a look at it.
"I'll explain later. It was a gift to me from Old Lady Tsunade. You and I both have better times ahead, I hope." Naruto closed his eyes, breathing in Hinata's scent, and listening to the sounds of the world around him.
Nothing could bring Gaara back to them. But, it was time to stop mourning his loss, and start celebrating the man that he was. Kakashi would make a strong Hokage, and he would serve everyone well until he chose to pass the reigns to his successor. As much as those things impacted his life, they seemed distant at that moment. He had brushed aside the ashes.
Hinata reached her arms around his neck, and pulled him down for a long deep kiss to the sound of applause.
THE END