I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Surprises
Ryuu walked back toward the village in silence, burning Sasuke's letter as he did. Orochimaru was dead, finally. Sasuke had told him where to send Suigetsu and Karin, and had promised to keep Ryuu updated on the progress of his search. Ryuu stopped, staring at blood on the ground. It was a fairly severe trail of blood leading along the edge of the village. He followed it at a quick jog. It was too large to be a minor injury, and yet it didn't head for the hospital. In fact, it went directly past it. Something wasn't right.
He extended his wings, flying along the trail quickly before slowing to a stop as it reached the Third training ground where Naruto was training. He was training in Kenjutsu against a horde of clones, except that while the clones were all fine and were sparring with him one at a time, Naruto was far from fine. Blood was running down his forearms from his hands, and coated his katana's grip, and the bottom half of his feet, along with his sandals, were caked in blood, fresh blood running out of his hands and feet both each time he shifted his weight, his grip, or blocked a clone's slash. Ryuu could see Naruto's cheeks glistening in the moonlight and walked over, catching his arm as he pulled his sword back. Naruto stopped, gritting his teeth and trembling.
"Naruto, what the fuck?" Ryuu asked, taking his sword and stabbing it into the ground, staring at his hands. "What have you done to yourself?"
"I need to get stronger," Naruto said, trying to pull his hands away, only for Ryuu to tighten his grip. "I wasn't...I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't fast enough."
"Naruto, what are you talking about?" Ryuu asked, quickly healing Naruto's palms, only to find his hands were both sporting numerous broken bones and shredded knuckles from punching trees as well.
"It was all my fault, okay!?" Naruto shouted, pulling his hands away and curling them into fists, despite the still-broken bones. "If I had been faster, if I had just gotten there a little sooner, Hinata might never have been captured by Guren! She might not have been captured by Shinno! Because I wasn't strong or fast enough, she was almost killed! Twice!"
Ryuu stared at him for a long moment before using a chakra thread to pull his hands back up, finishing healing them before making Naruto sit down, quickly healing his feet as well. "Is that all that's botching you?"
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "It's all my-"
"I know," Ryuu said. "It's all your fault. You weren't fast enough. You weren't strong enough. But is that all that's bothering you?"
Naruto watched him for a moment before nodding.
"Good," Ryuu said. "Then I can help you with that. And then tomorrow, you can apologize to Hinata for not being able to protect her. However, Before you do that, I want you to think, really think, about why it bothers you so much that she was in danger. Because the rest of your friends are all in equal amount of danger frequently. Is it that you trust Hinata less? Or is it that you can't stand to see her hurt more? And if it is that one, why? What's different about her from the rest of us."
Naruto frowned. "I don't-"
"I said think about it, not talk about it," Ryuu said. "Go home, Naruto. Tomorrow I'll start training you, after you've rested and I've taken care of what I need to.'
Naruto nodded and released his clones, taking his sword and heading home. Ryuu sighed and flew tot he apartment Suigetsu and Karin were sharing, knocking on the door. After a moment, Suigetsu opened it, smiling.
"What's up?" Suigetsu asked. "Need a sparring partner or something? It's a little late, but I can never say no to a good fight against a kill Kenjutsu master."
"Sasuke contacted me," Ryuu said, Suigetsu's eyes widening before he glanced back at Karin, who was just behind him, also staring at Ryuu in surprise. "Orochimaru's dead."
Both of their stares turned to pure shock.
"He needs the two of you to help him find Itachi Uchiha," Ryuu said. "He and I have some questions for Itachi, and Sasuke needs the two of you to track him down."
Both of them nodded and quickly gathered their things before stepping out of the apartment and locking it.
"Where are we meeting him?" Karin asked.
Ryuu transferred her the location with his Sharingan and she nodded, turning to leave. "Oh, and one more thing."
They both looked back at him.
"Are you two a couple yet or what?" Ryuu asked, both blushing crimson.
"No!" Karin snapped.
"What's wrong with you?" Suigetsu asked. "You can't just go asking people something like that!"
"Alright, alright," Ryuu said. "Sorry. Now go help my brother."
Both nodded, leaving quickly and Ryuu chuckled, heading back to his home.
Ryuu watched as Naruto struggled under the weight of his gravity seals, fending off two of Ryuu's clones decently, despite the seals. Of course, Naruto was sweating more than he had been in the desert where they had met Prince Michiru so long ago, but he wasn't complaining. In fact, despite clearly being running on fumes, at best, he was pushing himself hard. harder than Ryuu had seen him push himself until the night he'd found Naruto training until he bled two days ago. And to think, it was only just after sunrise. Naruto had demanded Ryuu start training him at about two o'clock that morning, apparently impatient with his own progress the day before.
Finally, Ryuu released his clones as Naruto collapsed, finally passing out from over-working himself. Ryuu walked over, removing his Gravity Seals and healed Naruto's muscles, carrying him to the shade. As he was sitting there, Fu and Hinata arrived for their training. Fu walked over and greeted Ryuu with a kiss while Hinata watched Naruto in concern.
"When did he start?" Hinata asked.
"Two o'clock this morning," Ryuu said.
"You're pushing him too hard!" Hinata said. "He's going to burn out!"
"I agree," Ryuu said. "But I'm not pushing him. He all but dragged me here this morning. The only thing I've done besides have clones spar with him is control his gravity seals. He's pushing himself to train this hard."
"What?" Hinata asked, eyes widening slightly. "Why?"
Ryuu sighed, standing and drawing his tanto just as Naruto stirred. "Ready to continue, Naruto? Or would you like a break now?"
Naruto's eyes flicked to Hinata and he pushed himself up, swaying for a moment before summoning his sword, the hilt stained red in some places from his blood, despite him having worked hard to clean it off. Hinata stared at it as Naruto and Ryuu walked away from the tree, both preparing themselves before Naruto moved to attack. Their blades clashed again and again, the two moving around and around the clearing, striking at each other rapidly. Naruto pressed Ryuu hard, sweat pouring off of Naruto's body within moments, and yet he kept attacking. Ryuu was able to fend Naruto off well enough, countering whenever he saw a chance, but Naruto had gotten goods with his new determination to kill himself with training. Ryuu actually found himself struggling a bit without his Sharingan. Finally, Naruto, completely exhausted still, stumbled, his left food slipping out to the right as he tried to turn while off balance, and crashed to the ground, panting and sweating. he tried to get up but collapsed back to his knees.
"I think...I need...a break," Naruto said.
"I would have agreed to that about three hours ago," Ryuu said.
As he walked away from Naruto, Hinata rushed over to make sure he was okay, apparently too worried about Naruto's mental state to be shy. Ryuu stopped beside Fu and smiled, turning his head slightly to listen.
"Are you alright, Naruto?" Hinata asked.
"I...Yeah," Naruto said, sounding downcast, even without Ryuu seeing his face. "I'm alright."
"You shouldn't push yourself so hard," Hinata said. "You're going to hurt yourself. There's no reason to work yourself to death in one day. You're not going to improve that way."
"But...I need to get stronger as fast as I can," Naruto said. "Because...I wasn't strong enough."
"Strong enough for what?" Hinata asked.
Ryuu turned slightly, barely restraining his grin.
"I wasn't strong enough to keep you safe," Naruto said dejectedly. "I was too late when you were fighting Guren, and I couldn't save you at all from the Sky Ninja. If I had been stronger, you wouldn't have been in danger."
"Naruto, danger is a part of our job," Hinata said. "You don't need to protect me."
"I know," Naruto sighed. "I just...I was so scared when I saw you in that crystal. I thought you were gone."
Hinata's face was crimson, but in spite of that, she smiled. "You don't know how much it means to me to hear you saw that. But Naruto, there was nothing you could have done. There was no way you could have known I'd get captured by Shinno, and against Guren, I was only caught because I got sloppy. it's my fault. Not yours."
Naruto stared at the ground. "Still. I should have been there for you."
"Why?" Hinata asked, Ryuu seeing the hope in her eyes, even though she was keeping her face carefully confused. "You have no reason to need to protect me. So why are you being so hard on yourself for it. I can defend my self. You know that, right? Don't you trust me? You...you don't think I'm weak, right?"
"Of course I don't think you're weak!" Naruto said. "You're so much stronger than I could ever be! You're strong, fast, brave, beautiful. You're incredible, Hinata."
Hinata's face was all but shining bright red, and as Naruto's brain caught up to his mouth, his began to match hers.
"Uh...I-I mean...uh..." Naruto swallowed hard. "I-I mean it. All of it. You're amazing. And I'd trust you with my life. But...but I was still...terrified when I saw you trapped in Guren's crystal. It felt like my blood had turned to ice."
Hinata smiled, the color fading from her face slightly. "Th-Th-Thank you, N-Naruto. B-But I'm alright. I can defend myself, and..." Her voice faded to a murmur. "I-I worry ab-bout you t-too, N-Naruto."
Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "You do?"
Hinata nodded. "Whenever you're hurt in a fight, like when you fought Shinno, or when you went missing after the Three-tails swallowed you, I was so worried I could hardly stand it. I...I was so mad at myself that I let you be hurt, and that I wasn't there to help you. I was mad that I couldn't protect you and stand up for you, the way you've always done for me."
"I...I've never really done anything special like that," Naruto said.
"But you have," Hinata smiled. "Don't you remember? You've always been there when I needed you. You stood up to Neji for me, you came to save me when we went to find the Bikochu beetle, you helped me train in order to grow stronger countless times, during the incident with Moryo, you protected me several times, including using your body as a shield when we fell off the cliff so I wouldn't be hurt as bad, you shielded me from Sora when he lost control of his Tailed Beast Chakra, you got me away from Guren while I was trapped in crystal, and were concerned about me after I broke free of it. Even before we were ninja, you were there when I needed you. During the Academy, and even before it, you saved me from being bullied several times, even though you got beaten up for it. You've always stood up for me, Naruto. Ever since we were young, I've been trying to get stronger so that I can fight alongside you instead of having to always be protected by you."
"But, you already do that," Naruto said. "During the Bikochu mission, you ended up saving me. And during the mission in the Land of Vegetables, you saved me from that one ninja that could magnetize stuff. You've protected me more times than I've actually protected you."
Hinata smiled. "I don't know."
"No really," Naruto said. "You're way stronger than you give yourself credit for."
Hinata smiled, Ryuu able to see she was a little disappointed that the conversation was getting away from what she wanted it to be about.
"I'm totally jealous of how strong you are," Naruto continued. "That's why I have to get stronger as soon as I can. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you."
"W-What do you mean?" Hinata stammered, blushing again.
"I...You're...really important to me, Hinata," Naruto said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
Hinata's were about to fall out of her head, and Ryuu wasn't sure if she was breathing. Her face was growing constantly darker, and Ryuu had a sneaking suspicion she might faint in a moment. He opened his mouth to cut the conversation off, but before he could, Hinata fell forward, Naruto catching her, smiling as he cradled her in his laps, brushing some loose hair out of her face.
"Fainted again, huh?" Naruto mumbled, Ryuu only knowing what he was saying thanks to his Sharingan. "You were doing so well, too. I...I guess Sai was right after all, though, wasn't he? I could hardly believe him when he said you liked me. Well, more like he asked when we started dating. Sounds like him, huh? Clueless Sai. he didn't even realize I didn't know how you felt until he had said it." Naruto smiled softly, gently brushing his hand over the top of her head. "Don't worry, Hinata. I'm not going anywhere. I'll keep you safe from now on, I promise. And maybe someday you'll be able to keep from fainting long enough to tell me how you feel for yourself."
Ryuu, barely containing himself, deactivated his Sharingan just as Naruto leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Hinata's forehead. Ryuu instantly covered Fu's mouth, silencing her squeal and keeping her from tackling Naruto in an excited hug. Not that it mattered. As soon as he sat up, Naruto looked back at them, sighing and smiling tiredly.
"Please don't say anything to her," Naruto said. "I want to wait until she's ready enough to say it first before I do."
Ryuu nodded. "Sai spilled the beans, by the way."
Fu shrieked in outrage instantly and turned, flying away quickly. Rai chuckled and Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"She's going to teach a lesson in discretion," Ryuu said. "Anyway, bring her over here and rest in the shade. She shouldn't stay in the sun."
Naruto nodded and carried her over to the shade of a tree, setting her down so that her head was resting in his lap still, hi back leaned back against the tree. Once he was there, Ryuu smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder, using a Genjutsu to put Naruto to sleep so that he'd rest. Not a strong one, since Naruto was about to drop anyway, just enough to give him the tiny shove he needed. Then, he sighed, using chakra to quickly clean the blood stains from Naruto's sword before leaving it beside Naruto in its sheath. Then, he left a clone to train the two of them once they were both awake before leaving, following Fu to scold Sai.
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