Disclaimer: First Chapter
Story Start!

Naruto just looked at the ceiling.

That sucked for him.

'... For a second, I wanted to give into revenge, just like with Pain over Jiraiya... it took everything I had... revenge isn't just something you beat. It really is a constant battle with your own heart... but I know I made her proud of me.' Naruto thought with a smile on his face. It had been hard, perhaps the hardest birthday of his life.

His hardest birthday was on the day of his first birthday party, which the irony of this situation was not lost on him.

There was a knock on the door.

'I'll just ignore it.' Naruto figured that if it were Megumin, she wouldn't knock and would just barge in anyway.

The door opened.

"Naruto?"

"... I'm awake." Naruto heard the familiar voice of Ivy speaking through the darkness, and she had a candle in her hands to light up her face. Instead of turning on any lights, she used an old fashion candle to get the job done. "... Do you-"

"Do you need to talk... about earlier?" Ivy asked him.

Her voice was little more than a nervous whisper, but he still heard her. He sat up and he looked at her, and she saw that his cheeks were unstained, his eyes weren't puffy. He had NOT been crying or overly emotional. Ivy walked into the room and she sat the candle down beside Naruto's bed, before she sat down on it.

Neither of them talked for awhile as Naruto thought about if he wanted to talk about what happened, or if he didn't want to.

"You know the girl I loved died... well... it was that guy's fault it happened." Naruto stated out right to her.

"... I figured... why didn't you kill him?" Ivy's question was asked innocently. "You would have gotten justice for her death." Ivy could understand that aspect of why the man could have died for his crimes very easily. Naruto just let him go though, and it didn't make any sense to her, or a LOT of the people who had witnessed the guy get to walk away free.

Naruto didn't even need to think about it.

"It was the right thing to do... he is truly sorry for what he did, and he was just seeking to make amends for his crimes. He wanted to make me angry, so that I could get revenge on him. I won't kill a man who truly feels regret, who won't hurt anyone else. It won't change what he did, and it won't make me feel better." Naruto felt Ivy move closer to him as she touched her shoulder up against his shoulder.

...

"So... if somebody says sorry, you forgive them?"

"No, I'll kill a person to stop them from hurting others, even if they say sorry. Toneri didn't say just say sorry, from the very bottom of his heart, he truly felt deep remourse. He wanted to take every punish he could take to make things right. There is a difference to killing somebody to stop them, and killing somebody for personal satisfaction... killing Toneri would have been purely for my own enjoyment." Naruto felt Ivy put her hands on top of his hand.

"Tell me about her."

"About Hinata?"

"Yes."

"I was born lucky, I have 2 bright and shining suns in my life. My parents who died for me, but where they were the sun, Hinata was the moon that silently watched over me from the sidelines. Funny, looking back at it, she was always there for me when I was at my least confident. We fought side by side a few times, and she was never rude or mean to me... actually, she was one of the few people in my life that have never wronged me." Naruto felt Ivy put her head on his shoulder.

Ivy felt weird.

She didn't feel jealous like she thought she would, hearing about the girl he loved and their history. Ivy found herself liking this Hinata girl, liking her because of how important she was to Naruto. She didn't find herself conflicted over if she liked or disliked a girl she had never met, which was what made her feel weird.

"She sounds like a good person."

"Not just good... amazing. She was a kind and loving girl, but she was strong and fierce. I once walked her rip her sister's eyes out of a man's head, because he stole them. She's had guts, a strong fire in her heart. Her light was a gentle one, her hands were small but firm, and I felt safe holding them." Naruto felt Ivy cling tighter to his hands when he said that. He noticed that her hands were smaller than Hinata's were, and they seemed frail, but she was using her grip in a comforting way.

"You haven't moved on from her?"

"You never move on from somebody you love."

"Never?"

"Never ever, but that is the beauty of it. I formed a bond with her, I loved her, and she will never be gone from my heart. That is what makes love beautiful, you can always find more to love. I will never stop loving her, never ever... but that doesn't mean I can't find more love to give." Naruto told her, and he felt the small feeling of butterflies in his stomach as he started to speak from a deeper place.

Ivy smelled good.

"... You love us too, you love me, and Crim, Stunk, and Zel... Meidri... you made more love in your heart for all of us... because you love us."

"I do."

"... and you will always love us."

"I will."

"No matter how much it hurts, or how hard it is to move on. You've always been a good guy, through everything, this is what I love about you." Ivy wrapped her arm around his. Her head was moving from his shoulder, so that she could rest it against his chest.

"You love me?"

"I do."

"Heh..." Naruto let out a small chuckle when she used his response to her against him. He asked her a stupid question, but she answered it seriously. He enjoyed her scent though, it smelled like a cool lavender. "... you've in love with me..."

"I am... and you're in love with me?" Ivy's words sounded unsure when she asked him that question.

There was a pause, but she felt Naruto's heart slowing down as he relaxed into her, as he considered her question.

"I am." Naruto used her words this time to answer.

There was no talking between them for awhile as Ivy started to turn red in the face, a goofy, love struck smile going across her lips. She looked away from Naruto.

"Are you sure... I'm not just a Hinata replacement?"

"I am... and nothing will replace her. You wormed your way into my heart, into a place next to her. You've been kind to me ever since I showed up here. Whenever I got back from quests, you were here... whenever I had a rough day, you were here. No matter what, you've been here, supporting me when I needed you, and leaving me alone when that was what I needed. You're never going to replace her, but my love for you isn't fake." Naruto's words eased her insecurities. "Not to mention, she had waaaaaay bigger boobs-"

Ivy pushed against him.

"Pervert... how about my hips though, I'm proud of them?" Ivy joked with Naruto, because she realized right away he was joking with her. "I might be flat, but these are child birthing hips."

"Heh... they are really nice." Naruto laughed with Ivy.

"... Lets go to bed."

"Want me to..." Naruto stopped when Ivy laid down in his bed, and she pulled the covers over herself, but raised them up. She smiled at him, waiting for him to lay down next to her. "... Ivy?"

"You've had a long day, and it's been hard on you. So... lets have a good sleep together." Ivy spoke, and her words weren't seductive or kinky. They had nothing sexual about them, and out of everything they said, every word spoken between the two of them. It was this action that brought a tear to Naruto's eyes.

Ivy showed him an act of loving support.

-The Next Morning-

Nothing happened at all.

When Naruto woke up, Ivy was still there. She was still there, but she was awake and just snuggling up to him. She wasn't naked, and neither of them were covered in the scent of sex. For the first time in awhile the room didn't smell like sex, and for the first time in awhile, Naruto felt truly relaxed in his own bed.

"Good morning."

"I love you."

It didn't matter who said what word, who started to talk first, because between the two of them, the sentiment was the same.

Love had been born anew.

Chapter End!
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