Author's Notes: I don't wanna say much about this particular story, but just one simple thing. A single emotion echoed through my soul as I wrote this story related to Naruto and Hinata here. Let's just say it's something very could've happened in the manga after The Fourth Great Ninja War between Naruto and Hinata.
After-Visits
A few days had passed by since the Fourth Great Ninja War came to an end, and since the fateful battle between the reincarnation of Ashura and Indra took place, Naruto and Sasuke came to an end. The two strongest shinobi in the entire ninja world came out of the battle unscathed except for two specific outcomes. The results of the final clash between Naruto and Sasuke came at the cost of both shinobi sacrificing one of their arms. Naruto lost his right arm. Sasuke lost his left hand. They even reached a point where both lost a huge amount of blood as a result. However, the destructive battle that Naruto and Sasuke engaged with one another also came with a catastrophic event. The Final Valley, where the founders of Konoha, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had their own confrontations, was left in complete ruins. Nobody was even sure if it was safe for anyone to have gone near that place again due to the after effects and ash that surrounded the place since then. Not a single ounce of water that surrounded the place was visible to the public eye either. Nobody even knew if it was gonna be a temporary change or one that remained permanent. The world was lucky that Naruto and Sasuke had performed the unison sign so that the Infinite Tsukiyomi was finally undone. Everyone was free from the dreams that Madara had left everyone in once he had casted the jutsu. They were all just glad that the terror of the ten tails and Madara Uchiha was finally over. Even so, there were still a few loose threads that needed to be dealt with in the few days that passed.
The state of the villagers from each of the five great nations.
The whereabouts of other six jinchuriki now in a world at peace.
Most of all, the position of where Sasuke was gonna be after all this.
At the moment, the whole village had been placed under a temporary curfew where all the villagers and the shinobi needed to be in doors before ten pm. Naruto was given strict medical orders for best rest by Lady Tsunade and the medical department for a whole week.
He wanted to play his part and try to be of service to his home after everything that's happened. When he defeated Nagato, the whole village renowned him as The Hero of The Leaf. It has become something else once Naruto found his way back home with Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke. He was now known as The Hero of The Great War. Since he was given the mandate to rest for a whole week with no commotion, Naruto couldn't have helped, but be frustrated. If it was like how things were back in the day, he would've honestly jumped at the chance to jump right into training and get stronger. All it means is that he saved his best friend from the darkness. That had finally come to pass which was hard to have imagined for him. He finally accomplished something many believed was an impossibility. There was only one goal that mattered to him most. The one where Naruto had the opportunity to have picked up before he left with Jiraiya the day.
The road to becoming the next Hokage.
Those were all the thoughts that ran through Naruto Uzumaki's mind while he stared off into the ceiling of the dark hospital room he was placed in with a steel wall that surrounded the window. Just to help someone... That's all I wanna do at the moment. That thought continuously lingered in the back of Naruto's mind since he's been in the hospital. He had worn his hospital gown that was given to him once he had been given the top clearance.
He took a deep breath, "How much longer did I need to wait?" until he heard a bang against the metalic hospital door. Who could that be?
"Naruto... Naruto, are you still awake?" A voice called out from the other side.
"You could say that, but why do you ask?" Naruto answered in confusion, "Isn't it a little past curfew, Sakura?"
No response was followed up. The doorknob tilted until it finally clicked before his medical assistant and long time friend Sakura opened the door, and flicked the lights on. The entire room was quickly illuminated in a matter of seconds. She went back to her usual style of clothing that consisted of a red sleeveless shirt over her yellow shirt and denim skirt. Except, she had also worn white coat over her as well, and she kept her pinned up as she usually did when it came to her patients.
"I figured that you would've been home by now!" Naruto continued as he scratched the back of his head, "Unless you specifically came to see me."
Sakura immediately gave off the same cute giggle that he always recognized, "If I wasn't still on the clock with other patients then I would've been more than happy to give you company for a little bit, but... There is someone who I personally called in to help you feel at ease."
"Someone else?" He raised an eyebrow.
She nodded happily, "Come on over..."
A few light sounds of footsteps quickly grew louder as the other person appeared right next to Sakura. Naruto had his down in realization because it hadn't crossed his mind especially after everything that happened. It was none other than Hinata. She was in the same uniform most of the Allied Shinobi Forces wore in the 4th Great Ninja War.
"H-Hinata!" His eyes widened in surprise, "You came to visit me!"
Sakura patted her on the shoulder, "Hinata wanted me to send you a message, but I told her it would've been better if she said it herself."
Naruto's eyes glistened, "Wow, that's really thoughtful of you Sakura, I really appreciate it" with a cheeky smile.
"I do what I can to help out my teammates!" Sakura echoed a similar reaction with a peace sign on her fingers.
Hinata asked cautiously, "Umm... Sakura, if you don't mind me asking, how much time would I be able to spend with Naruto since it's past curfew?"
Sakura looked towards the clock on the wall, "At best I'd probably say about fifteen minutes." then started walking out of the door, "So I'll be back here shortly."
"T-Thanks Sakura!" Hinata answered kindly with a bow.
Naruto instantly saw the look that his teammate had given him, "Don't give Hinata a lot of trouble Naruto, remember you're still recovering."
"I know that already, Sakura sheesh..." Naruto complained with a pouty face, "I mean I'm not exactly a little kid anymore."
Sakura giggled, "Relax, I'm just teasing you!" as she closed the door behind them, "Enjoy your temporary visit, Hinata!" and walked away.
For a moment there was a short pause within the room, and a decent sized gap between were Hinata stood from Naruto's bedridden side. Her heart throbbed at an insane rate because this was the first time she'd seen him since The 4th Great Ninja War came to an end not so long ago. She briefly saw Naruto's condition after The Infinite Tsukuyomi was undone that day, and all that mattered to her was that he was still alive. The one who inspired her to never give up. The one who protected her at the early stages of the war. The one she had reminded of the path that they both shared when he nearly hit rock bottom that day.
Because never going back on one's word is my ninja way too!
"Hinata..." Naruto called out with a smile and simple hand gesture, "Come sit right beside me."
She nodded happily, "O-Okay..." and walked towards him. There was a chair that was just right by where Naruto's bedside was. No second thoughts emerged once Hinata sat in the chair as close as she was to the man of her heart. "I heard they've kept you in here for rest since we came back to the village."
"Yeah..."Naruto sighed, "The staff here and Lady Tsunade think it would be better if I used this time to recover my strength after fighting nonstop in the war for a couple days straight."
"I can imagine, even for somebody as strong as you are...Rest is definitely needed... Especially since... " Her gaze went towards Naruto's severed arm, "It cost you something in the end."
Naruto's attention shifted towards his missing arm, "I'm thankful to be alive to walk away alive from that.. Kurama warned me about how much chakra we'd used throughout the battle against Madara and The Ten Tails."
The purple haired girl tapped his shoulder, "We were able to make it through it in the end, and to be honest... I didn't think my chances of survival were that high... If not for..." She paused at the image that popped into her mind. Neji. It immediately brought tears into her eyes, "I'm sorry Naruto... I have trouble sleeping at night and his face keeps popping up... I-I know it's only been a few days, but this is just..." instantly, Hinata covered her face as a river of tears streamed down her face.
Naruto could tell just how broken she was in the state as he let out a harsh sigh for a moment. His remaining hand scrunched against the bed sheets that kept himself warm with the room's cold temperature. "I know how you feel, Hinata. There have been a few days where I've seen his face since that day. Every time I closed my eyes I always wished there was a way that I wasn't so careless about that... That I just had enough strength to save him and everyone else that died in the war."
"You're much stronger than I am, Naruto." Hinata continued, "You're the one who saved us... When it was all said and done I just ended up in a cocoon not knowing if I was gonna make it out alive. Sometimes I just think... that I'm the reason Neji died. My safety is what got him-"
She lost her train of thought once Naruto took her right hand, and held it tightly. Their palms touched one another in the center. Hinata's tears continued to stream, but she saw the look on Naruto's face. "It's okay Hinata, It's okay... I'm right here if you need a shoulder to cry on.."
Without an ounce of hesitation, she planted her head on his shoulders, "Naruto... You've always been so kind to me in every step of the way."
Naruto quickly tapped her cheek, "I could honestly say the same thing... You've saved my life on two occasions, and gave me the courage to press on... I've been meaning to say this, but Thank you for inspiring me to continue being alive, Hinata." and moved her head back so that their eyes met, "I don't know where I'd be without you..."
That innocent look in his eyes gave Hinata the moment she needed to relinquish the tears from her face, "I appreciate that..."
He moved his hand away with a quiet sigh, "If you don't mind me asking, what was the message you wanted to give me?"
"Well..." Hinata took a deep breath and kept her composure in check, "The memorial service for all the fallen shinobi from the war is coming up in a few days including Neji's and..." She held onto Naruto's hand tightly, "I don't know if I'd be brave enough to face his grave by myself so... would mind if you stood right beside me while it's taking place."
"I'd be more than happy to be by your side, Hinata!" Naruto answered affectionately towards the purple haired girl, "You have my word!"
She couldn't help, but be so moved by his words, "Thank you, Naruto..."
In the time span that remained, Naruto and Hinata exchanged stories about everything that had happened in their lives since they came back to the village. Once it was finally time for Hinata to leave, Sakura volunteered to escort her back to the Hyuga Clan. Naruto laid back in his bed and closed his eyes in hopes that tonight he could rest easy. Hinata also hoped that tonight she too could rest easy in her bed at home.
The next time Naruto and Hinata saw each other again was the day at the memorial service for the lives that were lost in the 4th Great Ninja War. Naruto stood next to Hinata and held her hand in front of the grave that was marked with Neji's name.
Anytime I looked back on 699 with the scene between Naruto and Hinata at Neji's grave a few things that came into my mind was that there was definitely a span of time that passed after Naruto and Sasuke did the unison sign, and when the memorial service was held. That's how I came up with this scene between Naruto and Hinata just shortly after The Fourth Great Ninja War, and the thought that came to me was they might have had a heart to heart chat with one another. At least, that's the head canon I've envisioned during the sequences in Chapter 699, but if any of you guys are weeping in tears and have that heart wrenching feeling just so I'm feeling it too. For the time being, that is pretty much all I've gotta say about this particular story and I will see you guys really soon. Until then everyone, I hope everyone has a great day, or night, and as always thank you all so much for reading everyone!