Author's Notes:

Well, this is NOT a chapter about the wedding of Naruto and Hinata. This is a continuation of the last chapter. I don't want to leave a hole in the plot, do I?

Once again, I want to thank all of the people who reviewed Chapter 8. This one is for you guys!

Flashback is written in Italics. Present time is written normal.

WaRNiNG: FLUFF ALERT!

Diclaimer: I do not own anything here! Just the plotline

Don't forget to R&R

To Be Loved By You

Everyone inside the Hyuuga Mansion was panicking. Everyone was running around. A group carried the flowers the heiress had to choose from. Another group had the ramen samples the groom was suppose to taste before they cook it as a part of the meal at the celebration.

But the Hyuuga heiress and the groom were nowhere to be found. That was the reason everyone was panicking. They were missing the day before their wedding.

Underneath the mansion, there was a room – a meeting room where secret meetings were held. The bride's father, Hyuuga Hiashi, sat on one end of the table. Beside him was his second daughter, Hyuuga Hanabi.

On the other side of the table, the Hyuuga heiress and the groom sat beside each other. The heiress was shaking because of the tension of the room. The groom noticed this and held her hand, as if saying that it was alright.

Hyuuga Hiashi coughed. He wanted to gain the attention of the soon-to-be newlyweds. The two lovebirds looked at the Hyuuga patriarch. "I arranged this meeting to talk about the clan's future. We, the main family, always had heirs. I was an heir of the main family. But now, you, Hinata, are the heiress of the main family which makes it a bit difficult because of the laws that bind marriage."

"You got to loosen up a bit, old man." As the patriarch heard the statement, his eyebrow twitched.

Hinata was shocked by his statement and uttered, "N-n-naruto…"

Naruto answered, "If the laws don't have loopholes, then that means you have to change a few things here." He stood up and said, "I'm not stupid, you know. I know that once Hinata and I are married, she gets the Uzumaki name. And you're saying that it's not right due to tradition? That plainly means one thing: find another heir from the main family and make sure it's a boy before you decide who it is."

Hinata tried pulling his hand. She was embarrassed by what Naruto said to her father. It was not right to make him angry the day before the wedding.

Hanabi, for once, spoke, "I think, for once, he's right, Father. Even if I become your heir, once I get married, the Hyuuga name goes."

Hinata added, "That's true, Father. Maybe it's time we have change around here. It's time that we treat the branch family as a part of the main family. We don't need to degrade our own blood relatives just to have protection. We can protect each other in times of peril. And in order to begin this change, I believe that we should let the one of the branch family to become the heir. And I really do believe that Neji should be the next clan leader."

Naruto simply nodded at her statement. He even added, "Neji's the perfect choice, you know. He's good. He's talented. He's strong but I'm stronger."

Hiashi thought about it.

Hanabi added, "You know they're right. It's better to have these changes than disregard a law. And besides, you always treated Neji as your own son."

Hiashi nodded and said, "However, you need to make a public statement about your withdrawal from the position and about Neji."

Hinata smiled. For once in her life, her father agreed to what she said. At first, he never agreed to the relationship Naruto and Hinata had. The person that convinced him to allow the nuptial was the Hokage. If she didn't convince Hiashi, Hinata would be married to somebody else.

She bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Father."

When Hinata and Naruto went out of the meeting room, they were swarmed by groups of people. Naruto formed the Kage Bunshin Technique and with the help of his copies, he organized the whole chaotic assembly.

A few hours later, everything was done and they were finally able to rest. Hinata and Naruto were resting in the family room of the main house. It was a wide room, two sliding doors that led to the house's hallways could be found on the north side of the room. The room was furnished with a Japanese table and soft cushions. When you open the sliding door on the west side of the room, the beautiful view of the gardens could be found.

Naruto opened the sliding doors and revealed such a wonderful view. The auburn rays of the sun reflected on the fish pond which gave it a beautiful glow. Hinata sighed at the view. She was tired from picking this and picking that. However, Naruto had never been happier in his life. He never tasted so much food before!

Suddenly, a carrier pigeon flew toward them. Tied on its feet was a message. Hinata raised her hand and lifted her index finger so that it would serve as the landing spot for the bird. Indeed, the bird landed on her index finger. She carefully removed the note tied on its foot and handed the note to Naruto. She caressed the bird and carefully held its body. She went out of the room for a moment to get birdseed.

Naruto opened the note from the bird. His eyes grew wide with shock as he read the note. The note stated:

Uzumaki Naruto and the soon-to-be Uzumaki-Hyuuga Hinata,

I have sent you this note because of an urgent matter. Do not let this matter ruin your mood for tomorrow's celebrations. I look forward for many bottles of sake!

This letter indicates that Uchiha Sasuke, once again, left Konoha due to the events that occurred between him and Haruno Sakura. No one knows this but a soon-to-be member of the Uchiha family has to undergo a certain ritual which required trust and love. This ritual cannot be stopped in the middle of the process. However, Uchiha Sasuke stopped the ritual impulsively, causing Haruno Sakura to undergo pain.

Both of you must not worry because Haruno Sakura is okay now for I did the reverse method of the ritual. But this would still bring mental pain to her so Uchiha Sasuke decided to leave after we made her drink a Forgetting Potion so that she won't remember anything.

To get the story straight, we will tell Sakura that Sasuke died on his way to Konoha. The ANBU team never found his body in the forest. We will tell her that because of the news, she got sick and Neji postponed their wedding.

That is all. – Godaime

Hinata came back with a plate of birdseed. (The bird was already eating.) She stopped abruptly to find Naruto speechless. "What did it say?" She sat down beside him and placed the plate down.

"Sakura…" Naruto said, "… doesn't deserve so much pain." He handed her the letter.

Hinata read the letter and was shocked by the news. "I… cannot believe this… She… We have to lie to her?"

"We have to." Naruto added, "It's for her own good. And I'm glad that for once, Uchiha did a good thing for her."

"Why don't we visit her?" Hinata suggested. "I wanted to see if she's alright. And I wanted to know if Neji's okay."

The couple went to the hospital. Both of them were fairly acquainted with the hospital. Most of the time, Naruto came home with a lot of injuries during missions. In so doing, Hinata was a frequent visitor. Hinata knew the basics of being a medic nin but most of the time, she was the hand-to-hand combat specialist in her ANBU team.

Hinata brought cherry blossoms for Sakura. She loved cherry blossoms. As they entered the hospital, some people greeted them "congratulations" and "happy marriage". They asked for Haruno Sakura's room at the reception desk. "She's in Room 216, on the fifth floor." The receptionist added, "Congratulations to both of you!"

Both of them walked up the stairs and when they reached the fifth floor, they saw Room 216 near it. Hinata lightly knocked on the door. Someone with a chirpy sing-song voice said, "Come in!"

Hinata and Naruto opened the door and saw that most of their friends were there. Ino and TenTen were huddled over the Sakura. The boys were talking to Neji.

The room left no traces of what really happened. The walls were sparkling white. The floor was spotless clean. The candle was gone. And the best of all was that the sad atmosphere from last night was gone.

The pink haired patient smiled at her new visitors. It was amazing to see her now. It was as if she never underwent any pain, any sadness… It was as if she was happy the whole time. Hinata gave the flowers to Sakura. "Thank you, Hina-chan!"

Ino said, "How does it feel to be the first one to be married in the Rookie 9?"

Hinata blushed a bit and answered, "It seemed normal enough."

"When do you and Shikamaru plan on getting married?" Sakura asked her best friend.

Ino's face turned red. "Well… I don't know when the hell he is going to propose. I'm just waiting for him." Ino sighed.

Silence enveloped the girls. Sakura's guests were thinking, 'Should I tell her about Sasuke?'

"I know what happened to Sasuke." Sakura suddenly said those words. The girls were a bit shocked and relieved. "Neji told me already."

"So what do you plan to do now, Sakura?" Ten-Ten asked her.

Sakura sighed and answered, "Go on with what I have now. I knew that he was never coming back for me. I just don't know how to let go. Maybe it's time to let go."

Ino and the rest of the girls hugged Sakura. "We're so happy for you, Sakura." Hinata whispered.

The boys, however, were talking about different matters instead. "So, he's not coming back?" Naruto asked Neji.

Neji answered, "I don't know. Maybe he wouldn't come back for Sakura's sake."

"How troublesome!" Shikamaru muttered, "I just hope that the old woman never make us find him."

Rock Lee changed the topic because he was afraid that Sakura would hear them talk about him. "So, Naruto, how does it feel to be the first one to be married in the Rookie 9?"

Naruto gave him a questioning look. "What the heck are you asking that?" Naruto answered and hit him on the head, "Mind your own business, bushy eyebrows!"

By five in the afternoon, Sakura's guests left the hospital. The white room was silent again. There was a bit of tension in the white room as the sun's auburn rays filled the room. Neji was staring outside from the window, holding a piece of paper, which was sent by Master Tsunade ten hours ago, in his pocket.

Sakura wanted the tension to die. She had no idea why there was that much tension. Whenever she tried remembering, it was either blurred or none. She tried and tried to remember the whole time. She tried to connect the timelines that Neji told her when she woke up.

The morning rays of the sun started entering the room. It brought color to the patient's face. Her visitor and room companion was sleeping. He was sitting on the chair near her bed. His head was bent down over his right arm. His left hand was holding her right hand.

Jade eyes opened to see the world. She sat up and looked around her and finally felt pain throbbing from her head. She tried soothing her head with a massage and a bit of chakra using her left hand. She wasn't able to use her right hand because something or better yet, someone was holding her right hand.

The unique light purple (or is it really pearl white?) eyes of a certain Hyuuga slowly opened as he felt her hand flinch. He immediately looked up and saw her old jade eyes. He stood up and saw her questioning look. He suddenly hugged her tightly like she was gone for so long. A tear slid down his face as he whispered, "I'm so glad you're okay now, Sakura."


Sakura laughed. "I can't breathe, Neji… Let go…" Neji uttered a sorry and let her go. Sakura asked him, "What happened to me? Why am I here?" She saw his facial expression change from the expression of the happiest man alive to the expression of the most woeful person alive.

"Sakura, I have to give you very grave news." Neji began. He sat down again and said, "Sasuke died on his way back here. Remember when Hanabi told you that he's alive? You left Konoha without a word. We looked for you for two whole days until we found you, wounded and a bloody mess. You were stammering something like… 'Sasuke… Don't go… Don't leave me…' We saw ripped parts of his clothes stained with blood nearby. We searched for his body but it was no where to be found…" Sakura's grave expression was painful for Neji. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I tried to look for his body too. But we really couldn't find him."

Sakura slowly got out of her bed. She slowly walked toward Neji and hugged him. "Neji, I'm sorry for everything I did to you… I'm blessed to be loved by you." She snuggled in closer to his back. Neji held the paper inside his pocket. That paper would shed light to the lies he told her. He decided to keep it there. He pried Sakura's hands from his body. He turned around and faced her.

"No." Neji cupped her face. "I'm the one blessed to be loved by you." He tilted her head and kissed her lips. This time, the feelings were real for both of them.

The soon-to-be newlyweds walked together, hand-in-hand, on their way back to the Hyuuga Mansion. Both of them were silent. Starting tomorrow, they will always be together, bound by marriage. Hinata thanked her lucky stars because she's finally getting her happy ending with him.

Time went fast and soon enough, they were in front of the Hyuuga Mansion. "Here's my stop. Thanks for walking me home, Naruto."

Naruto smiled and answered, "This would be the last time I'm bringing you home because starting tomorrow, we are going to live under one roof - my roof, at least!"

Both of them gave a hearty laugh. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, a sign that it was almost nighttime. Silence came over and both of them were looking for parting words.

"Uhm…" Hinata was about to say something when Naruto kissed her lips. She was surprised of course. But she was more surprised and happier by what he said. "I'm blessed to be loved by you. You are the only place in my heart where the sun shines brightest." He started to run and then he looked back and waved, "Goodbye, my sunny place!"

Hinata sweat-dropped, anime style. But then, she smiled and embraced herself. It was getting cold. She stared at his back as he walked away. "Naruto, I'm the one who is blessed to be loved by you."

--

Author's Notes:

According to a website, Hinata is written in the same kanji as Hyuuga. And Hyuuga means "Sunny Place". That's the reason why Naruto called her "Sunny Place".

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