A/N: Well I am back from vacation and trying to recoup, not from the vacation as is the usual case but from the strep infection I came down with two days after getting back. So this is a shorter chapter than originally planned it to be, but everything that happens in this chapter will be relevant in the not too distant future.

Anyways, I received a similar question from a few readers about the last chapter, some by private message and others as part of their review. It was in regard to Hanabi saying that she knows what happened between Naruto and Sakura, so I thought I should clear that up if anyone else is confused.

Well in Chapter 38, when Naruto told Hiashi about his encounter with the fangirls he told about how he had been lied to by someone he trusted. Hanabi looked to Hinata for confirmation of who she suspects he was referring to, and Hinata nodded. So in her mind Hanabi thinks that she knows the whole story.

It is late evening and Naruto is walking along the riverfront thinking about the strange events that has filled his last day in the Hidden Leaf Village before leaving on his mission to the Hidden Sand Village. It seems that word of his impending mission with Hinata had already made its way through the entire Hyuga clan by the way many of them acted this morning. Kodi, who was the gate guard the previous night, and most likely the origin of the rest of the clan hearing the news, had paused in his training with Kira to bow a greeting with a big smile on his face. Kira had bowed respectfully as well, but his face held none of the warmth that Kodi's had. Actually, Kira's face resembled the same intense, almost scowl-like look that Neji had when they had faced off against one another during the chunin exams.

Stranger still was the unexpected attendee to his breakfast with Hinata and the others. The Hyuga Elder, Hiashi's father, had joined them for breakfast this morning. The man might look like an old wrinkled prune, but it was easy to see by the cold look in his eyes that the old man had seen his fair share of action and could handle his own against an opponent expecting a frail old man. From what Hinata had told him before, her grandfather had moved into a guest house when he had stepped down and handed the leadership of the Hyuga clan to her father. It was his way of signaling that Hiashi was in charge now, and he was to become only an advisor when needed.

After a very brief but formal introduction of the two men to each other by Hiashi, they all had a very quiet and subdued breakfast; even for a meal with Hyuga Hiashi it was intensely quiet. Naruto just slowly ate his food and waited in vain for somebody else to start a conversation, not wanting to say something offhand that would embarrass Hinata in front of her grandfather. He occasionally glanced over at Hanabi, who usually was the source of many breakfast conversations, but she never even made eye contact. Hiashi was his usual stone face self, but there was something even stiffer about his body posture, if that was even possible. Naruto had not even given into his usual impulse to brush up against or whisper into Hinata's ear, out of caution.

The meal had ended just as oddly when the elder bowed to everyone after finishing the last of his tea and left. He had been met at the door by Ko, who had bowed to everyone before closing the door, and by the sound of their soft footsteps he had followed the old man down the hall. The air pressure in the room seemed to have slightly increased as each of the remaining Hyuga clan members let out a silent sigh as they visibly relaxed.

After breakfast, when they had gone to go over their mission assignment information, Hinata had told him of the story when she had been kidnapped as a child. It was her grandfather that had suggested the swap between Hiashi and his twin brother, who was Neji's father. Her father has held onto the guilt of his brother's death all these years, and it seems that event also strained the relationship between the Hyuga Elder and his remaining son. To the point where they seem to only communicate directly with each other when it involves clan business, otherwise the old man stays in his private house meditating and stuff.

Later that day dinner had its own surprises waiting for him, but at least the meal had been less stressful.

FLASHBACK

"Ahhhhhh, man am I going to miss your ramen while I am gone on this mission." Naruto after setting down his now empty bowl nearly wipes his mouth on the sleeve of his new jacket before pausing and grabbing a napkin instead. "Hey old man, set me up with another bowl please. I got a lot of paperwork to do tonight before I can even go home to finish packing. I would hate to be starving before I am even done doing that paperwork."

Ayame laughs as she picks up the empty bowl and places it to the side to be washed. "So, you got another big mission Naruto?" She begins to delicately add toppings to the freshly made bowl her father just handed her for Naruto's order. "Is that why you are wearing that new outfit?"

Naruto sits up a little straighter and plucks at his collar proudly. "Yup, the Hokage has assigned me to go to the Hidden Sand Village's foundation celebration as the Hidden Leaf Village's official representative."

"Sounds to me like that is a lot of responsibility. I can't believe the loud mouth kid who disrupted my classroom is now going to be the face of the Leaf Village at such an important event." Umino Iruka, brushes aside the half-curtain as he steps into the ramen shop.

Naruto cannot contain his joy and smiles broadly at the familiar figure taking a seat right next to his own. "Iruka-sensei, you are back!"

Iruka gives Ayame a smile and signals for a bowl of ramen before turning to regard Naruto fully. "That's right, and I am finally home for good. I got back from my final trip to the allied villages yesterday."

Naruto, his bowl of ramen temporarily forgotten, urges his old teacher to tell him more. "So how did the assignment go?"

After swallowing a mouthful of noodles Iruka sighs happily at his first taste of Ichiraku ramen in quite a while. "Very good, I think we are going to see improvements here and in the other allied villages pretty quickly." He goes on to explain that the Hokage, a person who values knowledge and the ability to use such knowledge correctly, had assigned him to go to the other allied villages as part of an ongoing exchange program. From this he was able to see where the Hidden Leaf Village could make improvements in its training program, and also suggest ways their allies could make little tweaks to their own training regimens.

Iruka lets out a tired sigh and moves his head side-to-side to relieve some of the tension in his neck muscles. "I just got out of a long session with the Hokage and a few other senior staff members from the school, and I am beat. At least all of this hard work has its rewards." He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a decorative scroll case.

Naruto elbows Iruka in congratulations when he recognizes it as a promotion scroll similar to the one he received after the war from Lady Tsunade. "So they finally got around to making you a jōnin, congratulations." He then signals to Ayame that he is buying Iruka's ramen tonight.

Iruka, much to Naruto's confusion, shakes his head from side to side and chuckles. "Nope, I have been offered something that will allow me to stay home and continue to do the job I enjoy. It seems that word has gotten around that I was the teacher of a very notable graduating class. That notoriety got me this assignment, which has now lead me to be promoted from head instructor to principal of the Leaf Village's Shinobi Academy."

After a round of congratulations from everyone Iruka points his chopsticks at Naruto. "That means you and I will probably be seeing a lot more of each other since you have been doing some work in the administrative building lately." His smile saddens just a little. "I am just sorry that I have been away so much over the last year or so. I would have liked to been here for you to have someone to talk with, I…"

Naruto waves his hand back and forth dismissively and interrupts his old sensei's apology. "That's all right. I wasn't much company to talk with for a while there, and would have probably said something stupid that I would be regretting now. I am doing alright, actually I am doing better now than at any other time in my life."

"Yeah, I've heard that you have been nearly inseparable from a certain young kunoichi lately." Iruka leans over and wraps an arm around Naruto's shoulders, snapping his chopsticks together loudly. "So tell me, did you figure it out on your own or did you need help?"

Naruto hangs his head in shame as Ayame and her father both start laughing. "Did… did everyone in this village know but me, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka laughs and rubs the top of Naruto's head affectionately as he sits back up. "I do get to know each of my students pretty well. Plus, it wasn't that hard to figure out when the only person not laughing at your often spectacular failures in my classroom was the same little girl who was the only one rooting for you to kept trying."

Naruto gives his sensei and big cheeky grin and waves his chopsticks in Iruka's direction. "That's not exactly right. Hinata might have been the only girl there rooting for me, but she was not the only person." He goes on to remind Iruka that he too was there urging Naruto to do his best and to keep trying until he succeeded. "It was your guidance that helped me to never quit no matter what, so much so that it helped to mold my own personal nindō."

After a teary-eyed thanks from Iruka, Naruto lays down his chopsticks and rubs his belly in satisfaction. "Speaking of hard work and keeping my promises, I should probably get going. Otherwise, I will still be working on those files for the Hokage tomorrow after the rest of the team has left for this mission."

Iruka holds up his hand to get Naruto to wait for a second. He then looks over at Ayame as if seeking permission and receives a nod of approval. Teuchi lays down his knife and turns around expectantly. Seeing the confused look in Naruto's eyes Iruka laughs and holds out his left hand to Ayame, who places her's gently inside. "Shortly after you should be getting back from you mission Ayame and I are getting married, and we would like it if you would do us the honor of being our guest."

Naruto stands there dumbfounded for several seconds looking at each person one by one and then back again. Once he is sure that they are being completely serious he leans over the counter and gives Ayame a big hug, and then shakes Iruka's hand. "When did this happen? I didn't even know you two were even dating."

Teuchi places his hands on his hips and gives a loud harrumph. "They have been dating for quite a while actually. Maybe too long, if you ask me, Naruto."

As Iruka coughs nervously Ayame throws a towel into her father's face. "Well, if somebody would have let me have more time off to go on dates it might not have... so go look in the mirror for someone to bear most of the blame." She turns and gives Iruka a knowing stare for whom else shares the blame on this taking so long to happen. "Anyways…" She holds out her left hand to proudly display the engagement ring she is now wearing. "He came by my house last night after we closed the shop. I don't know who cried more, me or father when Iruka asked father for permission."

Teuchi sniffs loudly mumbling something about it being all the damn spring pollen getting in his eyes last night and goes over to his work station to slice up some green onions for garnish. "Dang onions are bothering me too." He wipes his cheek on the shoulder of his shirt and continues slicing while the others chat for a few more minutes.

Iruka and Ayame, still holding hands, laugh at Teuchi's antics along with Naruto. "So, will you come and be a witness at our private ceremony? Maybe you could bring Hinata as your guest?" Ayama and Iruka share a conspiratorial smile with each other as they wait for Naruto's reply.

"Absolutely, just tell me the date and I will make sure that we are back from the mission in time, believe it." Naruto spends the next few minutes discussing the date, and learning that the two of them have actually been dating since shortly after Pain's attack on the village.

END FLASHBACK

Thinking about how happy his old sensei and Ayame looked made it harder than usual to focus on his paperwork afterwards. Plus, the image of old man Teuchi crying happily while trying to blame it on the onions kept popping up in his head and making him pause in his reading while he laughed.

Now as he continues his walk, Naruto can barely keep himself from rushing over to the Hyuga Estate just to tell Hinata about the invitation. 'Do wedding guests have to wear anything special? Hinata will know, and maybe we can do some shopping while we are in the Sand Village.' He almost blushes as he remembers the last time the two of them went shopping together. They will have to be more careful if they get to go shopping in Suna.

Naruto let's out a slow cleansing breath as he forces his brain away from blush inducing thoughts and to focus on his new assignment. 'Okay, I am going on a mission that has two parts; first we are to have the annual gathering to make sure that everything is going okay with the bijū, and also with the other jinchūriki.' Checking with the bijū is nothing but a formality really; because if they were in trouble the bijū can reach out and speak to him through their connection. It is like the Hokage said, it is more for the Kage's peace of mind, and not his own. This allows each of the villages to sort of see for themselves that everything is going as agreed and not have to just take his word. Each Kage can then report to their daimyo that they have verified that the peace agreement is being honored by the other nations. Now that he is beginning to understand the game of politics better, the fact that certain people need more than his word doesn't bother him like it would have not long ago.

Naruto reaches up and scratches his head in mild frustration. The second part, which is the cover for the first, is the more annoying thing to deal with on this mission. He has to attend a festival, which at first sounded like a lot of fun to go to with Hinata. Unfortunately, instead of just being able to go down onto the streets and take in everything like normal people, they are going to have to hang around with a bunch of high ranking people from the other Allied Nations as they have their own private party.

He lets out a little chuckle as he shakes his head. 'Of course that is why they needed to send somebody from the Diplomatic Division to go along with me, to make sure that I don't do or say something that could possibly cause an international incident.' Lucky for everyone that Hinata was the one chosen to be that person for this mission, because her presence will force him to think twice before saying something rash. Well… hopefully.

Naruto reaches down and picks up a few small rocks from the road and tosses one up in the air a few times. Ironically, that is the one thing that is bothering him about the whole mission. With Hinata coming along he is going to want to work his hardest to do everything right, because he doesn't want to embarrass her in front of all those important people. She is used to this protocol stuff so she will know exactly when he is not doing or saying something correctly. He gives the little rock a hard toss down the hill and nods approvingly when it hits the river with a splash. On the other hand, if he somehow manages to do everything right, then she might feel useless and become worried that she is not performing her duties properly. Naruto reaches up and runs his hands through his hair in frustration. 'Damn, how am I going to not look like an idiot in front of my girlfriend and make sure that she feels useful at the same time?'

'YOU REALIZE THAT MOST PEOPLE IN YOUR SITUATION WOULD BE MORE FOCUSED ON THE SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS.' Kurama says in an almost disappointed sounding voice.

Naruto stops dead in his tracks and looks up at the waxing moon. 'After that super awkward conversation with Hinata's dad last night I have been trying to not think about that subject, okay. I mean we are going on a mission together so we will be sleeping in the same tent along the way. We have been on missions with each other before, so that should not be a problem to act professional, right? Plus we will have Shikamaru and Choji in the tent as well, because her sleeping with me alone in a tent is probably on that list of restrictions the old man was talking about last night. Once we get to our destination and get our own hotel rooms I guess things could get… more complicated.' Naruto covers his mouth as a sudden surge of nervousness begins to make his stomach feel queasy from performance anxiety, just in case things were to get...

Kurama lets out a thunderous sigh of exasperation. 'MATING IS THE NATURAL PROGRESSION IN PAIR-BONDING. WHY DO YOU SEEM TO BE HAVING SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH THIS FACT?'

'Because I care what Hinata thinks about me, and I don't want her to think that I am some sort of pervert like nearly everyone else seems to expect me to be, or that I am... not any… good at it, okay.' Naruto makes a fist shakes it in the air. 'Also, can you please not use the word mating when you talk about me and Hinata, I am nervous enough about this mission without you teasing me about the whole thing too. You are really making me miss the time when you were angry at me and not talking.'

Kurama lets out a mischievous chuckle. 'THAT'S RIGHT, YOU HUMANS SEEM TO REQUIRE A PAIR-BONDING CEREMONY PRIOR TO MATING. WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISCUSS WHY THAT SUBJECT HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND SINCE LAST NIGHT'S MEAL?'

A corner from one of the now crushed pebbles digs deeply into Naruto's palm as Kurama's question catches him totally off-guard. 'Listen, I am still having trouble getting up the nerve to tell her how I feel, so how am I supposed…'

"Hey boss, how are you doing tonight?" Naruto is saved by a familiar young shinobi from trying to explain to the irritating kyubi once again about his situation with Hinata, and making himself feel even more nervous. Konohamaru approaches with a big grin on his face and his fingers laced behind his head.

Naruto gives the boy a friendly wave. "I'm doing pretty good, just walking around and enjoying the spring air. Except for the fall this is the best time of the year around the Leaf Village. Everything is waking up from the long cold winter and bursting out with new life." Naruto chuckles to himself about how this is kind of metaphorical of him as well. Things had gotten pretty dark and cold for him for a while, and then suddenly Hinata walked up with a shy smile on her face. That smile had been like the sun; banishing the darkness and bringing with it warmth, turning everything to spring. 'I wonder what summer will be like?'

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Konohamaru looks over at Naruto curiously. "Uhh, speaking for spring, the uhh… there is a festival coming up soon, and…" He scratches the back of his head nervously as he berates himself for sounding like an idiot. "If you… happen to need, you know… a fourth person again… because you might be on a…"

Naruto, realizing what Konohamaru is trying to ask, is enjoying seeing the usually outspoken young shinobi tripping over his words. 'Hinata makes me feel like this sometimes, and it explains why she was acting so funny for all those years.' He chuckles as he places a hand on Konohamaru's shoulders. "You are wondering if you could double-date with me and Hinata is that it, Konohamaru?"

"Uhhh…" All the boy can do at first is stand there in shock and stare at Naruto. After a quick jostle from Naruto he is finally able to speak. "N-N-Not d-d-double date, I just thought that I would offer to help you out like I did at the last festival. That's all, r-r-really." He leans up against a light post in an attempt to seem nonchalant about the whole thing, but nearly falls over as he barely catches the pole with a shoulder.

The panicked look in Konohamaru's eyes is all the evidence Naruto needs to know that the boy is lying. "I appreciate the offer of help, but I am leaving for a mission tomorrow and will miss this year's festival. At least the one here in the Leaf Village."

Konohamaru seems to deflate like a balloon after hearing that Naruto is leaving on another mission. "So, I guess Hanabi will be out of the village for her birthday." He lets out a very disappointed sigh as he digs at the ground with the toe of his ninja sandals.

'So, he knows that Hanabi's birthday is the same day as the festival this year, very interesting.' Naruto grins mischievously as he comes around to place an arm around Konohamaru's shoulders before leaning in conspiratorially. "Oh, I am leaving for a mission with the elder Hyuga sister this time." His smile deepens when the young shinobi turns and looks at him in hopeful shock. "I would consider it a real favor if you would keep an eye on Hanabi while I am gone. Plus, I know that Hinata is really sad that she is going to miss her sister's birthday this year." Naruto pats Konohamaru on the chest with his other hand. "So I bet that Hinata would be really happy to know that Hanabi is going to the festival with somebody as trustworthy as Sarutobi Konohamaru. That is if you don't mind doing me a big favor, and hang out with Hanabi so she won't be alone at the festival on her birthday?"

Konohamaru looks up with grateful smile on his face. "Thanks Naruto, I promise to make sure that Hanabi has a great time."

Naruto taps his fist into the boy's stomach and then looks around as if making sure that nobody is eavesdropping. "Just make sure that you don't have too much fun. Hiashi can be quite scary when it comes to his daughters and I would hate to come home and find out that he had punched out your heart, or maybe exploded your brain because you had too good of a time with his little girl." He has to admit that it is actually kind of fun being on this side of the conversation for a change. No wonder every one of his friends has been teasing him so badly where Hinata is concerned.

Konohamaru's face goes a deep crimson as he backs away from Naruto, his hands waving back and forth. "Wait… wait, who said anything about… that, I was just offering to make sure Hanabi has a good time on her birthday." Konohamru drops his head in defeat when Naruto gives him a sly smile and a wink.

Naruto laughs out loud as he tosses Konohamaru some money. "Just make sure that you get her a nice present, okay. Hanabi likes flowers, but just don't tell Ino who the flowers are for, okay. Otherwise she and Tenten will hunt you both down at the festival, teasing you both till your ears are permanently red." Naruto shoos the boy away when he looks back up from the money in thanks.

As he watches Konohamaru walk off into the night all Naruto can do is shake his head. 'I can't wait to tell Hinata about this too. I really wish it wasn't so late already, because I bet she could have had some real fun tonight teasing Hanabi for a change. Maybe I can whisper something to her when I meet her in the morning and she can get one little tease in before we leave.' Just before Konohamaru is completely out of sight he yells, "Why don't you drop by the main gate in the morning to see me and the others off?" Naruto chuckles as the young waves in acknowledgement.

As he reaches down to pick up a fresh rock to throw Naruto suddenly feels a familiar presence nearby as if it just appeared out of nowhere. He clears his mind and slips into Sage Mode to reach out further with his senses. Naruto's breath catches in his throat as he confirms what his spirit already knows; the chakra signature is that of his rival, best friend and brother in so many ways. "Sasuke."

A/N: Queue dramatic music as the screen fades.