Author's Note: Wow. I totally wasn't expecting to get that many reviews for the last chapter, especially considering I was doing some pretty weird stuff with Naruto's "death." Ah well, I'm not complaining. By the way, in this chapter, expect some fluff. More fluff than a teddy bear. Onward!

Dicslaimer: Doooon't stop… Beliiievin' (that I don't own Naruto). Journey? Anyone?

Chapter Eighteen: Out of the Frying Pan

"I'm coming, Naruto-kun. I'm coming and you can't stop me."

"No…"

"You can't do a thing about it. You can't protect yourself. You can't protect your home. You can't protect your friends. You can't protect her."

"Stop…"

"Like the rest, she will stand valiantly. But inevitably, she will fall. All because of you."

"No!"

Naruto awoke, gasping and sweating. With a glance at his clock, he guessed it must have been around noon. "A dream," he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Just a dream…" But the eyes he'd seen in that dream haunted him. Indeed, more frightening than the Sharingan or Byakugan were those concentric circle eyes to Naruto. "He didn't win," he kept reminding himself, "I won, and Hinata-chan and everyone else are safe. No one died… well, except me, I guess. But that was only for a month or so."

He turned to the woman lying fast asleep next to him. Drawing his fingers across her jawline, he could not help but admire the smooth texture. Grinning at the smile that came over her from his touch, he thought, "It's amazing. I can create a thousand kage bunshin without so much as a blink. I can wield all five elemental chakra types. I can summon two different species of animals, one whose scroll I created. I killed the strongest shinobi anyone's ever seen. I've fought a tailed beast to a draw. And yet…"

He sighed, taking in the sight of the gorgeous woman before him. "And yet, she makes me as tame as a kitten. She eases the pain in my heart. People say I'm pretty special for one reason or another, but really… she's more special than I could ever hope to be. God, gods, the heavens, whoever's up there… I don't care what you do with me. But please, keep her safe and happy."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts and waking Hinata. "Whazzat…?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Shh," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Someone's just at the door. I'll be right back."

Faking a pout, she said, "Promise?"

He smiled. "You know my Nindo (Ninja Way)," he answered, stepped out the door, and slid down the stair banister.

Sakura was the one to greet him when he opened the door. "Hey, Naruto – Oh God," she said, covering her eyes. "Please put on some pants."

"Huh?" Realizing he was in fact bottomless, he blushed, grinning sheepishly. "Oh! Heheh, sorry. Kage bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)! Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)!" he said, and put on the bunshin, which was transformed into a pair of shorts.

Uncovering her eyes, Sakura raised one eyebrow and said, "Thaaat's really, really creepy. Anyway, Tsunade-sama wants to see our team. Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun are there already."

"Why does she want to see us?"

Sakura's expression grew grim. "She didn't say, but she had a very serious tone in her voice… it must be important."

Naruto nodded. "Alright. I'll be there in a flash. Thanks, Sakura-chan." She waved good-bye and Naruto ran back upstairs to get dressed.

"What did Sakura-chan want?" asked Hinata, brushing her hair.

"Tsunade-baachan wants to see us. I gotta hurry, but I'll be back soon." He paused to give her a kiss. "Bye!" With that, he was out the door.

-----------------

"Okay," said Tsunade a few minutes later, "Now that you're all here, we can begin. Jiraiya?"

He nodded. "I'll get right down to it. This is going to be difficult, but in a few months, nearly all the neighboring shinobi countries will be declaring war on us."

Everyone's eyes widened. "A war?" repeated Sakura.

"How is that possible?" asked Sasuke.

"Apparently, when Naruto defeated the leader of Akatsuki, the rest of the organization had a backup plan. They decided-"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Naruto. "I thought he was the last member of Akatsuki."

"Unfortunately, he wasn't. In order to perform the sealing of the tailed beasts, Akatsuki needs a certain number of members. Otherwise, it won't work. Anyway, their plan was that if they couldn't capture you, they would destroy Konoha and take you from the remains." Jiraiya paused to let this take effect. "Using the strength of each member, they have killed several residents of each shinobi village and planted a Konoha forehead protector on the scene of the murder."

"So they framed us…" said Kakashi.

"Right." Jiraiya grinned. "But they didn't count on one thing: Our alliance with the Sand."

Sakura smiled. "The Kazekage!"

"Exactly. As a former Jinchuuriki, Gaara knows of Akatsuki's treachery. Therefore, he's decided to continue being allies with us during this war."

"But wait," said Sasuke, "Couldn't we just explain that it was Akatsuki, not us?"

Shaking his head, Jiraiya answered, "Unfortunately not. Akatsuki is a relatively unknown group and they only really became enemies to Suna and us. In other places with Jinchuuriki, the villages did not object to their presence and even regarded them as liberators. In addition, the people they killed were several high-ranked members, so it's unlikely they'd listen to our reasoning."

"Naruto?" said Tsunade. "You've been awfully quiet. What do you have to say about this?"

Naruto had been facing the ground, silent, fists clenched. "It's… it's all my fault," he muttered. "All this bloodshed will happen because of me!"

"I thought you might feel that way," said Jiraiya. "But the other villages, except maybe Mist, are all reasonable and mostly even-minded. They wouldn't leap to war at something like this. As my sources reveal, the other villages were growing resentful of our strength, which never wavered, even after Orochimaru and Akatsuki's attacks. Since the beginning, Konoha has had some of the most powerful kekkei genkai (bloodline limits)and handed-down techniques and styles: The Sharingan and Byakugan, the Aburame Clan's bugs, Nara's Kagemane (Shadow Possesion), and hell, even Akimichi's fat-based techniques… all are heavily envied by our rivaling villages. They were looking for an excuse to fight."

There was silence for a moment until Kakashi asked, "So why call just the four of us together, Tsunade-sama?"

"Because," said Tsunade, "You four will play pivotal roles in this war. Kakashi, you will use your status and influence in ANBU to organize different teams from those operatives. Sakura, you, as my star pupil, will be in charge of distributing the battle-ready medical ninja to the various teams. Sasuke, I'm leaving you to train the military troops. Also… I have something of a gift for you." Reaching under her desk, she pulled out a glass case containing a straightedge sword in a very ornately designed sheath.

Sasuke's eyes widened; that sword had been in textbooks when he was at the academy. "That's – "

"The Second Hokage's ninja katana, correct. Much like Asuma's old trench knives, this blade can channel whatever kind of chakra you wish without your having to charge it. He used to use it as a sword of water, but I'm sure you can find other ways to use it. We haven't had a sword specialist like you in a long time."

"Tsunade," Naruto said softly, "What about me?"

Tsunade sighed. "I'm sure you expected me to tell you something about having to protect you and thus leaving you out of the conflict or some such thing. But instead, I'm making you a general in the army."

Naruto's mouth dropped open. "What… did you say?"

"That's right. You'll be leading our men and women into battle. Can I count on you?"

He seemed flabbergasted for a moment, then said, "You… You bet!"

"That's what I wanted to hear. Now, the other villages have planned the attack as occurring in two months. Use that time to prepare and alert everyone you can. We have to perform a counter-ambush, making it appear as if we were unaware of the whole thing. Understood?"

A unison "Yes," came from the four.

"Good. Then you're dismissed, except for you, Naruto." As Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi left the room, Tsunade whispered, "I know what you're thinking, Naruto, and it's quite understandable from recent events. But doing that will only make things worse."

Crestfallen, he replied, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

She smiled. "I know you. You'll figure it out."

He grinned. "Thank you, Tsunade."

"Hmm?" Raising an eyebrow, she said, "I thought you'd call me 'Tsunade-baachan' and skip out of here like you were on a sugar high."

"Well," he said, giving one last smirk before turning to leave, "I'm not a kid anymore."

After a moment, Tsunade called, "Kakashi, I know you're outside the door listening in on us. Come on in."

The scarecrow wandered in and placed a hand to his forehead. "Boy, do I feel old," he said with a sigh.

"Yeah, well, get over it," Tsunade replied wryly, "Because you don't feel half as old as we do."

"Hey, speak for yourself," said Jiraiya, "I'm still a spring chicken!"

-----------------

Naruto returned to the mansion only to be greeted by the scent of a delicious omelet. "Mmm… I forgot how good a cook Hinata-chan is," he thought, licking his lips.

As he stepped into his enormous kitchen, Hinata said, "Naruto-kun! Welcome back!" a delighted expression on her face and a general glow about her.

Returning her smile, he asked, "What's got you so happy?"

She beamed at him. "Well, when I woke up this morning… I thought your waking up was a dream. But then I heard your voice and it was like the most beautiful music I've ever heard, Naruto-kun. I realized how great my life is at that moment. My family loves and respects me, I've got plenty of friends, and to put the delicious icing on that cake, I'm getting married to the man of my dreams! There's no way this could be ruined, right?"

After a brief inner struggle, he decided, "Well, I guess the news about the war can wait a day or two. For now, I'm gonna enjoy my delicious omelet with my wonderful fiancée." "Yeah. Nothing can take this away from us. Now let's eat, I'm starved!"

When they sat down to eat, Naruto, inspired by Hinata's evaluation of life, decided to recall how drastically she had changed over the years. When they'd met in the academy, she most of her speech was stuttering around him and she could never look him in the eye. Because he'd always been alone and never had time to learn more about her, his young mind was forced to conclude that she was just what he'd seen: Plain, timid, and weird, above all else.

Then came the chuunin exam. Despite her then cruel cousin's taunts about destiny and inescapable fate, she forced herself to change. "She changed… for me." Looking back, he realized that this was one of the most touching gestures anyone had ever made to him. Before the final, he'd seen her and admitted something he told no one: That all his bravado and arrogance was just a show to hide his weakness and insecurity. Her reaction was incredible, and her words reignited his confidence, which, he believed, ultimately formed the foundation for his victory that day. After her display of her faith in him, he realized, as he told her, that people like her were truly the most valuable to him.

She didn't come to meet him when he left to train for three years. Perhaps she was afraid that, if she did see him off, she wouldn't be able to help but confess her love for him. In which case, she must have been sure that he would flat-out reject her. Though she knew intellectually, at the time, that she could never love him, her heart needed to maintain the illusion that he would, should she ever tell.

When he came back, she had been part of the eight-man platoon to capture Itachi. Obsessed with returning Sasuke as he was at the time, he did not notice her strength or her beauty. She had been very helpful in the mission, though.

And then, right before the second chuunin exam, she told him, tears flowing out of those large, pearly eyes. He'd told her to wait, not because he felt nothing for her (he sure felt something for her), but because the reception of romantic love had been so foreign to him. Sure, he'd crushed on Sakura for years and years, but this feeling of being loved back, of having one's existence acknowledged in the most beautiful way… it was enough to force him to realize those feelings were mutual. Finally, they had their first kiss, and the rest is history.

These memories had brought sort of a dazed smile to his face, which Hinata did not fail to notice. "Naruto-kun?" she said, "What is it?"

He snapped out of it. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing; I was just remembering… Hey, Hinata-chan, what do you say we go out on the town today?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well," he said grinning, "I can tell you that getting there and coming back will be on Gama-kun. Between that, we have to make it up as we go along."

She beamed back at him. In all truth, the day was amply fun; talking to friends, going to fine restaurants to eat (one of Naruto's most liked pastimes), and other such activities entertained them. Perhaps the most fun part of it was seeing everyone's shocked expressions when they saw a man they thought dead walking about town. Several fainted; others shouted things akin to "Ghost!" For the first time in a month, Naruto truly felt what it meant to be alive.

"Oh, Naruto-kun," she said, leaning on him as they walked in the door to his place, "I haven't been this happy in so long. Oh!" She held one hand to her mouth. "I just remembered! When do you want to get married?"

Naruto's face fell. He knew it would have come to this eventually. Sighing, he said, "Uh… Hinata-chan, I don't think we'll be able to get married in a long while…"

Mostly failing to try and hide her disappointment, she asked, "Why? I mean, that's fine, but…"

Sighing, he resigned himself to his duty and told her about the situation.

"… A war?" She had barely spoken in a whisper, as though speaking too loudly would make the war start in their home at that instant. He nodded. "Oh my God…"

"Hinata-chan…"

"I know what you're going to tell me," she said, cutting across him. "You think I shouldn't fight, or that I need extra protection, or – "

"Hinata." She immediately ceased talking; whenever he used her name without his affectionate honorific, she knew he was being serious. "I know how strong you are." He spoke softly, another sign that he thought he was speaking words of import. "The only protection you need…" He reached into his shinobi tool bag and pulled out… "Is this, the Hiraishin (Thunder God) kunai. I'll be on the frontlines, so if you ever need me, just throw it."

She grasped the kunai, feeling its heaviness in comparison to its regular counterpart. Just as softly as he, she said, "Thank you… for your faith in me, Naruto-kun."

His usual bright smile returned. "Nah, of course! You're the next leader of the Hyuuga clan and my fiancée. Of course you're strong."

Her smile too returned.

----------------

"So you're here at last," said Sasuke as Kakashi appeared before him in the training ground.

"Ah, you arrived before me."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I have been waiting for an hour, you know."

"Oh. Sorry about that," said Kakashi, who then donned his one-eyed smile. "You see, there I was, walking along, when I saw an insect perch on a flower and suddenly, I was stricken with an immense epiphany about life. That's when I realized – "

"I don't… I don't want to hear it," said Sasuke, annoyed. "You said you had some 'tricks' to show me. So show me already."

Kakashi's expression reverted to normal. Revealing two sacks, he said, "You're right. I must warn you, this requires a bit of intense chakra control, far beyond that of making a sword out of chakra or lightning."

"I think I can handle it."

"Okay." He opened the first sack, from which a few balloons rolled out, apparently full of liquid. "The first step is to swirl the water inside until the balloon pops. Simple enough, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" said Sasuke skeptically. "A twelve year old could do it."

Kakashi chuckled. "Quite right you are…"

---------------

The next day, two Jounin eagerly awaited the arrival of their new general in the male locker room.

"I'm telling you, Mari, that'll totally get me in good with the general!"

"I'm not so sure," said Mari. "I think you might be assuming to much about the general, Aokane."

Aokane laughed. "Nobody could resist this, Mari! Well, except you, but that's because you're weird." Eyes darting to the door, he added, "Oh, look, he's coming! I'll show you."

Naruto stepped through the door and saluted, proudly saying, "Soldiers."

A hearty "Sir!" erupted from the soldiers with a wave of salutes to accompany.

Satisfied, Naruto stepped through the room until Aokane walked next to him, saying, "General Uzumaki! I've heard stories about you, you're famous."

The general smiled. "Thanks."

Aokane shot a look over his shoulder to Mari that clearly said So far so good, sucker.

"My name's Aokane Hitoshi. So… I hear you're engaged to the heiress of the Hyuuga, eh?"

"Yep…"

"That's pretty awesome, eh?" Then, Aokane made the mistake of continuing. "That's one fine piece of ass, eh?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks. "Excuse me?"

"Come on… she's a hot babe! Any guy would kill to get her in the sack, eh?" He nudged Naruto with his shoulder. "Eh, you lucky dog, you?"

A second later, Mari had carefully examined the bloody pulp that was now Aokane's face and, seeing he would be fine, followed Naruto. "Sorry about him, sir. He's a good guy, but… he's a bit of an ass sometimes. I tried to talk him out of it, but… well, you know what happened."

By this time, Naruto had calmed down. "It's alright. What's your name, soldier?"

"Me?" he said nervously. "Uh… Private Mari Takeshi, sir."

Naruto extended his right hand. "Good to have you on board, Private Mari."

Grasping the hand and shaking it, Takeshi said, still nervous and a little excited by the general's recognition, "Th-thank you, sir! It's an honor to serve under you."

Finishing the shake, Naruto addressed the whole locker room. "Attention. Aokane will be given latrine duty for the next two weeks. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," said the crowd.

Naruto sighed. This was going to be a long two months.

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Well, this chapter was… uneventful, but I really wanted to look into Hinata's character. I love her character very much and dearly wish that she ends up with Naruto. I know, however, that the author will inevitably either pair him with Sakura or not at all.

Le sigh.