Ch.2: Hokage's Surprise

Three years. Three very long, very peaceful years. Three years since the Kyuubi brat, Naruto Uzumaki, brought back one of Konoha's most promising ninjas and destroyed the snake summoner and sannin, Orochimaru. Naruto sat in his office and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. He had been Hokage for no more than three months, and already he was flooded with letters. All sorts of letters.

Letters from the young male shinobi of the village, congratulating him on his appointment as Hokage. He laughed when he read the rather eccentric message from Rock Lee and his sensei, Might Gai.

Letters from all the young kunoichi in the village. He thought it odd how all the women always seemed to ignore him when he was a kid, but since he had grown into easily the most handsome and now the affluent shinobi in the village, they suddenly couldn't seem to be able to stay away from him. He had received more pleas around the lines of "Please marry me?!" or "I will bear your kids!" than he ever thought anyone ever had.

And, of course, the humble, short letters of apology from many of the village elders that had initially shunned him. The seemed to bow low to him as he passed in the streets now, hoping that he would've gotten over the malicious glares they used to give him.

And yet, all of those letters were piled in the garbage can, save for one on the Hokage's desk. Naruto looked down again and read it for must've been the twenty-fifth time that night alone. It wasn't extremely long, but to him, it spoke more to him than he ever would've dreamed…

"Dear Naruto-kun,

I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. I know that you always said that you wanted to be Hokage someday, and that not many people believed that you could. But…I always believed it. I always knew you would become one of the greatest leaders our village could ever have. I've always believed in you Naruto-sama, and I will continue to for the rest of my days. Congratulations again, and maybe I'll be able to visit you sometime.

Your humble servant,

Hyuuga Hinata"

Naruto smiled faintly as he read it again. Hinata…ever since they had started their secret training sessions at night, she had grown so much over the past few years. Apart from some of his more complicated techniques (summoning jutsu, and the odama Rasengan) she could perform all of his preferred jutsu with almost goddess-like grace. Over the past three years, things between Naruto and Hinata seemed to change. Oh, they were certainly good friends at first, but they had a few…err…incidents…that made Naruto wonder whether they were both content with just a close friendship….the most recent of which stuck out in his mind…

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"Cripes, she's fast!" Naruto cursed as he barely dodged another quick Jyuken strike from Hinata. "Even using the Kyuubi's chakra, I'm having trouble keeping track of her moves…"

Naruto and Hinata continued to spar until eventually they came to the top of a large secluded hill. Naruto smirked as he got ready for the move that always won him a match…he quickly created a shadow clone and they both yelled, "Rasengan!"

Hinata smiled inwardly, she knew what was coming this time, and also knew how to counter it… "Eight trigrams! Protection of Sixty Four Palms!"

However, Naruto forgot to note the root from the nearby tree that stuck up from the ground…so obviously, he was quite shocked when his foot caught on it. His Rasengan and clone dissipated, but the momentum of his attack cause him to fly forward nonetheless. Hinata was so taken aback that she dropped her hands for only a moment…allowing Naruto to barrel into her head on.

They tumbled down the hill, tangled together, until they hit the very bottom. Naruto smacked against a tree, cursing loudly, until Hinata rolled in after him and plopped quite gracefully on top of him, dazed and confused. They both shook their heads and found themselves in a rather…err…awkward position.

Naruto was sitting with his back against the three, while Hinata seemed to be straddling his legs, her hands on his chest for support and her face no more than a couple centimeters from his.

They wanted to move, they wanted to end this awkward silence between them and laugh it off nervously, eventually forgetting about it and getting back to their normal lives. But no matter how much one part of them wanted to get the hell out of there, a larger part of them wanted so desperately to stay.

Hinata blushed a fierce crimson, one only matched by Naruto's blush. They had never, ever been so close before, for this long. Hinata cursed her nerves, half of her wanted to pass out, but the other half wanted to shout her love for Naruto to his face and kiss him fiercely. Half of Naruto wanted to disappear, but the other half wanted to grab Hinata and kiss her like he really wanted to.

Their faces began to close the distance unconsciously, their eyes never leaving the other. Unfortunately, Hinata's nerves caught her first. Their lips were millimeters away from touching when she finally fainted, her head falling against Naruto's chest. It took him a moment to get his brain to function coherently again. He shook his head and picked up Hinata, silently creeping back to her house, and placing her in her bed, smiling faintly as he dashed out.

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Naruto sighed loudly. It was official, and he couldn't deny it anymore. He was in love with Hinata Hyuuga, but even with all his power, there wasn't a thing he could do about it. He may have been Hokage, but he came from nothing. No family, no money, no respect. Hinata's father would never, ever, accept his offer to court Hinata. But at 20 years of age, he had reached a point in his life where most of his friends had found suitable wives of their own. Neji had Ten-Ten, Shikamaru had Temari, Sasuke had Sakura…

Naruto chuckled, he had been the least surprised when the ice king Uchiha finally confessed his feelings for Sakura. Sure, a slight pang of jealously had accompanied it, but Naruto realized that his love for Sakura was more like that of a brother-sister relationship. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door.

He stared at his clock, it was half past midnight. "Who the heck visits the Hokage half past midnight on a Sunday?" Naruto muttered as he rose to get the door. The first thing he saw was a pair of lavender eyes, and a head of dark indigo hair.

"Hinata-chan! Holy cow, come on in!" Hinata smiled and blushed faintly as Naruto closed the door behind her. "Hinata-chan, it's so good to see you! I've barely had a chance to get out of this office, save for our training on Wednesdays." Hinata nodded and said, "I know… I was talking to Neji-nee-san about it an hour or so ago…" Hinata blushed again and she seemed to be anxious about something…

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"Hinata-sama, I must say that Naruto-sama has been an excellent teacher to you, even your father is beginning to stand up and take notice how you've become so strong."

"H-hai, Neji-nee-san…" Hinata sat outside with Neji and his new wife, Ten-Ten. "Naruto-sama i-is a powerful shinobi…"

"You know, Hinata-sama…"

"Y-yes, Ten-Ten-chan?"

"Neji and I have been talking and we think…well…Neji-kun?"

Neji nodded and said, "Ten-Ten and I think you should tell Naruto-sama how you really feel about him." Hinata blushed an impressive tomato red and made to say no, but Neji continued.

"Hinata-sama, Naruto is becoming a much sought after man in this village, you've seen yourself how many of the women have been eyeing him lately. I've seen you glaring at those women, with your Byakugan no less."

"O-oh…you s-saw that?"

"Hinata-sama, I know that you and Naruto-sama would be a smart match. Apart from the fact that the heiress of the Hyuuga clan and the Hokage together is a good prospect, I know how much you care for him as well. I know Hiashi-sama isn't very…err…fond of him, but you shouldn't let that stop you. Tell him now, before your chance is gone. Just do it."

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"Naruto-sama…I h-have something to…t-to tell you…"

Naruto smiled and said, "Please, that title is too formal. You're my best friend Hinata-chan, I'd prefer it if you call me Naruto-kun." She blushed more impressively and stammered on, "Naruto-kun…I…I…" She cursed her nerves, but remembered what Neji said… "Just do it."

Hinata knew that if she tried to speak, she wouldn't be able to stay conscious long enough to tell him, so she opted to be more direct in her goal. She quickly grabbed the lapels of his coat, yanked him to her, and kissed him with surprising strength. Naruto paled to the color of a sheet and his eyes snapped open, until eventually he felt his arms unconsciously wrapping around her waist, the color returning to his face and his eyes closing peacefully.

Hinata felt his arms hold her to him and she broke away slowly, staring into his crystal blue eyes. "I love you…N-Naruto-kun…" Naruto smiled in a way that was reserved only for Hinata, and said, "I love you too Hinata-chan…"

Hinata didn't pass out, despite her blush. She only smiled and felt a tear of joy drip down her face. Naruto wiped it away with his finger. Hinata enjoyed the touch of his rough hands, they felt warm, stable, grounded. They leaned in again and enjoyed a passionate kiss, pouring in all the emotion they had bottled up from the past few years. They broke apart slowly and smiled, Naruto wrapping an arm around her shoulders and walking her out of the office, locking the door behind them as they walked into town, silent and still in the twilight.

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Color began to permeate the black in Naruto's mind, he felt groggy, yet oddly energized as he awoke the next morning. He felt fabric pressing against the side of his head, his eyes opened, and he realized that he was in his house, on the couch in his living room. He felt a weight on top of him, and looked down from the ceiling with a smile. Hinata lay peacefully against his chest, still slumbering silently.

Naruto could feel her heart beating in her chest…it's rhythm matched his own heart beat for beat. He lightly buried his face in her indigo hair, breathing in her scent. She smelled like lavender, warm and smooth. He felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. Hell, this was probably the most relaxed he had ever been in his life. He saw his and Hinata's coats discarded by the fireplace.

As if in response to his happy thoughts, the girl stirred and her eyes fluttered open. She gazed into Naruto's eyes and couldn't help but sigh happily. "Good morning Naruto-kun…"

"Morning, beautiful…how're you feeling?"

"Happy…a lot more than I used to be…"

Naruto chuckled and kissed her gently. They rose from the couch and stretched out their bodies, having not moved from that couch since last night. Naruto raised his arms and grimaced, "Oy, I smell like a landfill…I'll be in the shower, there should be some leftover ramen in the fridge if you're hungry."

Hinata made to respond, to say that she didn't think he stunk. She actually thought he smelled like a forest. Like a beautiful, big, strong oak tree. But she quickly forgot what she was going to say as Naruto whipped off his shirt and slung it over his shoulder. She instantly went tomato red and her eyes got wide, she couldn't stop the small smile from entering her face upon seeing his toned, muscular form, miraculously free of scars thanks to the Kyuubi inside him.

Naruto saw her adoring look and laughed, causing Hinata to jump slightly and stare at the ground in embarrassment. Naruto walked up to her and raised her chin, causing her eyes to lock with his. "Enjoying the show, eh Hinata-chan?" He kissed her lightly and then walked off, around the corner and into the bathroom. Hinata stayed glued to her spot. "Naruto-kun…no shirt…close to me…wow…wow-wow-wow…"

She allowed herself to topple over the arm of the couch, her body flopping on the couch in a dreamy haze.