Chapter 53

Hinata Returns Home

Hinata and Naruto headed back for her house, she wasn't sure if it was such a good idea for Naruto to come with her, she wasn't sure if her father would hold a grudge against Naruto for her leaving but she still wanted to be around him.

When they reached her house she tried to think of a way to say goodbye when she heard her sister yell from inside the house "They're back, they're back!" and then she opened the door to run outside.

"Naruto, I passed the exam!" She shouted.

"I knew you would Hanabi, up top," he said as he held out his hand for a high five.

Hinata looked at both of them with a puzzled look, as far as she knew they had never even spoken before, now they looked like best buds. It made her smile to see a friendship between the two of them.

Her father opened the door and called out to them, "come inside, I just put some tea on."

Hinata figured that since he didn't exclude Naruto in his invitation, he was probably welcome she looked at him and nodded her head towards the house while smiling, as if to ask if he was coming. He nodded his head yes and smiled back at her.

When they got inside Hinata dropped her things off in her room and came to the table where her father, Naruto, and Hanabi were already sitting down and talking. She had a feeling like she was missing something.

"So you passed your exam," She said to her sister, "I'm so proud of you Hanabi."

"Thanks sis, I trained everyday that you were gone," Hanabi mentioned.

"How about you father," Hinata asked, "What have you been doing to pass your time?"

"I've been helping rebuild, but mostly I had been meeting with Naruto until he left to the Sand." He finished, noticing the look of surprise on Hinata's face. He understood why should would be so surprised. He hadn't exactly given her the impression that he liked Naruto.

She looked at him, "you didn't mention that before," she pointed out to Naruto.

He just shrugged his shoulders and took a big sip of his tea.

"So Naruto," Lord Hiashi asked, "is Hinata home to stay this time?" He smiled at Hinata.

Naruto looked at Hinata as she looked back and forth between her father and him. He reached for her hand and held it and looked at her as he replied. "I hope so, what do you say Hinata?"

"Yes, I'm so glad to be home," she returned while squeezing his hand back.

"You haven't been tending to your garden in a few weeks and I haven't had much time to keep it up," Lord Hiashi mentioned, smiling slightly while he took a sip of tea.

"I'm sure I have a lot of work to do," she said with a sigh. She was kind of tired from the journey and wanted a day to rest before getting to work on chores.

"You should see it," Hanabi hinted.

Hinata thought that her sister was acting odd and made a puzzled look at her while she got up to go look outside. Naruto stood up with her, he wanted to see the look on her face when she saw her garden for the first time since returning.

She looked outside and gasped and then looked at Naruto and her father. "Did you guys do this?" she asked as she opened the door and went out to see it firsthand. They didn't have a chance to answer before she popped outside.

"It's beautiful," she said as she looked around. They had done so much work that she hadn't had a chance to get to, they even put in a stone trail through one area of the garden. "Thank you father," she said as she hugged him. She had the biggest smile on her face.

"It was nothing, Naruto did most of the work, it even helped him get some strength back in his arm." Lord Hiashi returned.

She turned towards Naruto and looked into his eyes "This means a lot to me," she began, "how did you know…" she trailed off.

"All the flowers you brought me when I was in the hospital, and the healing balm you made," he replied. "I wanted to find a way to show you that you're important to me." He blushed.

She stood next to him and grabbed his hand and rose on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. He blushed even more than before.

Lord Hiashi and Hanabi made an uncomfortable look at one another before he reminded them that their tea was probably getting cold.

When they got back inside Naruto realized how late it was and that he probably should get going.

"I'm going to head out," he said to Hinata, "It's late and you really should get some rest."

He walked over to Lord Hiashi before leaving, "I just wanted to thank you for the advice you gave me, you know, about approaching Kakashi sensi."

"I'm glad it helped," Lord Hiashi replied. He was glad to have his daughter home again and he could see why she liked Naruto. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" he asked

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"Breakfast. Just because Hinata's back doesn't mean that you have to stay away. Hanabi and I were getting used to having you over for breakfast." Lord Hiashi offered.

Naruto smiled, "Yeah, sure. I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he left and headed back to his place.