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Chapter 12: My Village

Her whole body was warm and cozy as she turned over in the bed, under her covers. Naruto had an arm over her and was right up against her back; she could hear his soft breathing.

She lightly grabbed his arm and wrapped it tighter around her waist and went up closer against Naruto. She laid there and enjoyed the moments she had.

Naruto woke up to the sound of chirping birds outside the window. He noticed Hinata tightly holding his arm around her waist, nestled close up against him.

Naruto pulled her in closer and tightened his grip, showing Hinata he was awake.

"Good morning Hinata." Naruto could smell Hinata's hair, and it was relaxing as he cuddled up against her.

"Good morning Naruto-kun.." Hinata grabbed a hold of Naruto's hand. Naruto looked over at the clock, it read 10:30 am.

"We should get up and get ready soon, I'm not sure if granny Tsunade has any requests for us today." Naruto said as he rested his head against his pillow.

"Yeah.. We should, but just a few more minutes maybe?" Hinata squeezed his whole arm against her chest.

"Haha.. Y-yeah that's fine." Naruto blushed at what Hinata did.

They laid there in each other's arms for a few more minutes, and then got out of bed to start making breakfast.

Hinata made a couple omelettes for the two of them, and they both sat down at the table to enjoy their breakfast.

Hinata's hair was messy, but her eyes were bright and happy. Naruto couldn't help but stare at her as they were eating. He hadn't seen the attractive girl that Hinata has become, nor has he seen her in a different way than just a friend.

"I-is something wrong, Naruto-kun?" Hinata looked at him. Naruto was staring right at her.

"O-oh Hinata, s-sorry I spaced out for a second.. Haha" Naruto have her his signature smile and put a hand behind his head.

"Haha..okay then." Hinata went back to eating her breakfast.

The two finished their breakfast and were about to start getting ready for the day when someone knocked at the door.

"I'll get it." Naruto said as he shuffled towards the door.

He opened the door to see Sakura standing there.

"Hi Naruto." Sakura noticed he still had his pajama's on. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Oh, uh no we just finished breakfast. What's up?" Naruto leaned against the side of the door.

"Lady Tsunade wanted me to inform you and Hinata to report to her office at 12, she has something very important for you to do." Sakura looked past Naruto to see a shy Hinata standing behind him. She looked cute although her hair was messy and she was still in her pajama's.

"Thanks for informing me Sakura. I'll see you later." Naruto replied.

"See ya Naruto, bye Hinata." She waved as she walked away from the door.

"We need to go see granny Tsunade at 12." Naruto said as he turned around and closed the door.

"What for?" Hinata asked.

"She has something important for us to do, maybe a mission but we'll have to see." Naruto said. "We should get going, we need to be there soon."

"Alright." Hinata responded.

The two both took turns showering and getting dressed into their ninja outfits and gathered their gear. They stepped outside the apartment close to noon, and we're ready to walk to the Hokage's office.

...

Naruto and Hinata knocked on the door of the Hokage's office.

"Come in!" Tsunade yelled.

The two of them walked in quietly and shut the door behind them.

"You needed to speak with us granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. I have an extremely important mission for you. Since you two worked so well on your last mission together I assume you two can take this one as well?" Tsunade fixed her state on Naruto.

"Yes ma'am." Hinata bowed.

"Alright. This mission is simple, but secret. You are to deliver to this scroll to an exact location between our village and the Hidden Sand village. Just place the scroll there and return to the village." Tsunade explained.

"We got it granny Tsunade. Are we leaving now?" Naruto asked.

"It takes about three days to reach the Hidden Sand village, and the drop off point is somewhere around halfway through. The point is an open bridge crossing a small cliff closed off all around by forest. There are directions I'll be giving you. You'll leave as soon as your ready." Tsunade turned her chair to face the window. "Here's the scroll, directions are attached to it." Tsunade tossed it to Naruto.

"We'll leave as soon as we can." Naruto have her a smile, and the two walked out of the Hokage's office.

"...It's just a matter of time before he'll be back." Tsunade whispered under her breath, as she looked down at the village below.

...

Naruto and Hinata were at the front gates of the Leaf village, now ready to depart for there few days of travel. It would take only around one day to reach the destination, and another day to get back.

"Are you ready Hinata?" Naruto turned to her.

"I'm ready, let's go." They both departed for the location to deliver the scroll.

The journey went by fairly quickly. No ninja were after them, the weather was clear and it was only the two of them. They stopped for an occasional lunch and snack break, or just to take a rest.

"Just up here I think..." Naruto pointed ahead. He could see the ending of the forest up ahead.

The two came to a stop on the ground just at the edge of the tree line. There was a small open cliff, running miles long to either side of them. There was a small, sturdy bridge in the middle connecting the two sides.

Naruto walked across the bridge and started scanning around.

"What are you looking for Naruto-kun?" Hinata looked over at him.

"Hold on..." Naruto looked at the ground near his feet. "Found it!" He moved a small shrub aside to reveal a rock about the size of a book. "The directions said there would be a rock like this hidden somewhere around here."

Naruto moved the rock aside to reveal a small hole, just large enough to fit the scroll inside. He placed the scroll inside and covered up the hole again.

"Do you want to stick around and see who shows up?" Naruto asked with his usual smile on his face.

"I don't think the Hokage would like it if we didn't keep this mission a secret like we're supposed to. Plus it's not intended for us to see who comes, we should start going back." Hinata replied.

"Yeah yeah your right Hinata. Let's get going." Naruto and Hinata jumped up through the trees on their way back to the Leaf.

...

It was nightfall, only the moon and the stars were providing light to illuminate the forest around him.

The dark haired man jumped from tree to tree, almost silently as he was coming towards his destination.

He came to the small clearing, the bridge spanning the width of the chasm. He looked for a specific spot.

Spotting it instantly, he moved the shrub aside, lifted the rock and picked up the scroll. He untied the scroll and opened it.

'Itachi,

I would like to thank you for everything you've done for our village. Although you're classified as a rogue ninja, you still are loyal to the Leaf, to the safety of our people, and still to your younger brother Sasuke. I would still like to offer you an opportunity of returning to our village. Although many don't know the truth about you, it is your choice to come back. You know where to meet if you decide.

- Tsunade"

Itachi looked up at the stars, wondering what it's like to be back in the Leaf village, the village he loves, the village he still wants to protect.

'My village... my home...' Itachi thought to himself. 'Sasuke... What has led you to desert your home? Why did you leave the people who cared about you most, all for power?'

'If I come back Sasuke... Than you will too.'