Patience Chapter 9: Thank You
Tons and tons of homework blocked my path to the fanfiction world! That is the reason why my update is so late!
Disclaimer: Haven't done this for a while... Still don't own anything. -_-
It was done. Hinata shifted her eyes to see her leg inside a cast. Tsunade had finished the surgery and now she had a wooden leg instead of flesh. Her new leg was still inside a cast so her body could properly attach itself to the wood. She could feel no connection to her leg, just emptiness. Now that her leg was taken care of, Hinata wondered what she was to do. The clan thought she was a burden and wanted no part of her. She only had two options. She could bear the cursed seal or marry some stranger she had never met and peacefully live with. At this moment, the cursed seal sounded much more appealing. She took a deep breath and looked out the window. Even though Hinata never really wanted the title of being an heir, knowing for sure now that she would never get it saddened her. She wondered what her father thought of her. I'm probably a burden to him too. Gloomily, she watched the beautiful sun shine bright. Too bad i have to stay in this hospital for the time being. Her thoughts drifted to the coming decision. She could happily bear the seal since she would stay in the family and not in some stranger's hand. And then there was Naruto. She could stay and see him. Several ideas shifted into her head. After some debate with herself, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her decision was made. There would be no going back. The soft rustle of the wind moving the curtains lulled Hinata to sleep.
Naruto sat atop the Hokage Mountain deep in thought. The wind played with his locks moving them around slowly. His headband was off and by his side. So many thoughts revolved inside his head, all leading to one question, how could Hinata ever get her life back? He tried to think of anything and everything but Naruto just didn't know what would he do to help? Every thought lead to a dead end. He heard scuffling of feet behind him and turned his face to look at his visitor.
"Naruto, can i sit by you?" Sakura asked hesitatingly. He gave a short nod and went back to staring at the view in front of him. Sakura walked forward and sat down awkwardly next to him. She wanted so badly to burst into tears and beg for forgiveness. After going over her actions, she realized that even if Naruto dropped an anvil on Sasuke, he wouldn't die so easily. Her caring for him more was definitely not right. Then there was Hinata. She couldn't imagine the suffering she went through. Sakura turned her head to look into those azure pools and smiled sadly.
"It's ok. Hinata is a strong shinobi. She'll pull through." The words coming out of her mouth were hopelessly pathetic. Even so, she just wanted to see a smiled on that whiskered face. Naruto looked towards her and tried a bitter smile.
"Yeah...she'll pull through." Sakura chewed her lip as guilt surrounded her. She wanted to ask him but words wouldn't escape her mouth. She just wanted to ask him to forgive Sasuke. Before she could speak, Naruto got up silently and nodded towards her once before leaving her on that empty mountain, with guilt and sadness. She turned her head and mirrored Naruto's previous sitting position.
Naruto walked around the streets of Konoha not even bothering to look exactly where he was headed. He realized Hinata's surgery was most likely done. Deciding to go see how she felt, he headed towards the Konoha hospital. Upon arriving, Naruto headed straight for the appointed room where Hinata currently was. He knocked softly at the door and waited. No sound or even a shuffle of blankets reached his highly trained ears. He opened the door slowly to find the lavender eyed Hyuga sleeping peacefully. Naruto stepped inside and walked forward to sit by her. Her pale features were peaceful and her breathing was even. He moved his head to see her legs. Her left leg was now bandages into a smaller cast then the one she had before. He looked back at her face to notice a detail he had missed. Small tears streaked her face and her eyes were slightly blotchy. His heart shattered in a million pieces just by looking at those small drops of water. A look of determination was set in Naruto's eyes as he slowly stroked the droplets away from her face. She surprised him by snuggling into his hand and moving her cheek so now Naruto's hand was trapped between her soft skin and the bed. He blushed faintly but smiled. Leaning his head to the wall next to him, Naruto closed his eyes fell asleep right next her.
A knock on the door interrupted Hinata's blissful dream in which she was snuggling next to Naruto. She felt soft pressure under her cheek and moved her head only to see her dream had turned onto reality. More like she had dreamt of reality. Naruto opened his eyes blearily and scowled at being awoken. He felt someone staring at him to see Hinata with her doe eyes wide open and staring at him. It took a minute for her to process the information. Naruto slept next to her, Naruto slept with her! With a loud squeak, Hinata moved away only to stumble off the bed, startling Naruto and surprising herself. He quickly jumped off the bed and knelt down beside her. "Hinata! Are you ok?" Worry was in those deep blue eyes and it took a while for Hinata to rip her attention away from them and at the matter at hand. "Eh? A-ah! N-naruto-kun. What a-are you doing h-here?" She asked quietly. He bent down and helped the poor soul up and smiled. "I came by to check on you last night but you were sleeping. So i sat down beside you and before i knew it, i was asleep too!" He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck.
The suddenly opened and an angry Tsunade stepped inside only to stop at the scene before her. Hinata was on the floor along with Naruto who had a grip on her back. Several thoughts ran through her head, all of them leading to killing the bastard for laying a hand on an injured patient. She swiftly moved forward, grabbed Naruto by the collar and slammed him into the nearest wall, making him wince.
"B-baa-chan! What did i do!?" He cried. Tsunade simply put on a fake smile and looked towards Hinata.
"Exactly when did he make a move on you?" She asked. Move? Ah! Hinata quickly figured out the situation and tried to get up, but failed and slid back on the ground. Tsunade immediately let go of Naruto and helped her up. After muttering a thank you, she cleared up the situation.
"Naruto-kun was j-just helping me up b-because i f-fell off the bed." She stuttered. Tsunade moved her glare towards the blonde on the floor trying to catch his breath.
"Well, alright. I need to discuss a few things with Hinata. Do you want to leave now?" She tapped her foot impatiently. Naruto looked towards Hinata. "Do you want me to stay?" He asked. In return, she looked towards the blond woman.
"Is Naruto-kun allowed to stay?" She asked a little pleadingly. Tsunade though for a moment, what she was about to say to Hinata would not sit right with Naruto and he might try to influence her. However, she needed support at this time. Tsunade sighed. "Alright, you can stay." Anyway, get off the floor and sit down. She helped Hinata to the bed and sat down herself. Naruto grumbled about the pain and sat down beside Hinata. "Let's begin. First of all, now that your leg is wooden, it will take some time to get used to it so i have some crutches for you. I will release you from the hospital today so that you can start using your leg to get used to it. You need to have someone by your side at all times alright?" Hinata nodded.
"One final thing. The man that injured you, how do you feel about him?" Naruto stiffened at this question and looked towards Hinata. Her expression was surprisingly calm. She smiled. "I do not hold any hatred towards Sasuke-san." She said. This answer baffled Naruto and Tsunade, though the plump woman didn't show her emotions like Naruto did. "But he took away your life! If he hasn't injured you, you would never been like this!" The lavender eyed woman shook her head. "He had every reason to injure me. We were enemies in a battle. You don't take pity on your enemy. No matter whom they are." Stunned silence filled the room. Even Tsunade was surprised. To think there is actually a person in this world that doesn't hold a grudge when she has every reason too.
"Well...it's in your hands to decide whether Sasuke lives or dies. If you want him to die, then there will be immediate execution. However, if you want him to live, he will suffer a year in jail. Which do you want?" Without any hesitation Hinata spoke. "I'd like him to live and repent for all the pain he caused to others. To Sakura-san, to you Naruto-kun and to all the others that he hurt." Tsunade smiled at her answer.
"I'll inform the elders. You are released from the hospital. Naruto, i order you to help Hinata adjust with her leg." She got up and gave a nod before leaving. Naruto sat there, still stunned by Hinata's answer. She looked at him quizzically, those tinted orbs morphed into confusion. "Naruto-kun? Let's go ne?" His mind snapped back to attention and Naruto shook his head. He helped the shy woman up and smiled down at her. "You know Hinata; i could never have as much courage as you. Already you have saved me 3 times. Thank You." Without warning, He snaked his arms around Hinata's waist and enveloped her in a hug. That one thank you had so many reasons. For a minute, a deep red tinted Hinata's face but she slowly returned his hug ad buried her face in his ramen smelling jacket.
"Thank You."
Yippie! This was a chapter to get things going and hopefully it contained enough fluff to satisfy my Naruhina readers! Don't worry, there will be more Naruhina! Now i need to get back into the world of math equations and kill myself. -_-
~Thejollyhyuga
