A/N: I know I said this would be the last chapter but I suppose I do need to do another…
I do not own Naruto…
He offered to do the dishes after their unusually quiet dinner. She thanked him as she placed all the plates into the sink before silently walking away. They were being distant, he realized. Too courteous – like they had just gotten to know each other.
Soon after, when he had finished washing and putting away all the dishes, he found her in their bedroom, packing. Suddenly, he could feel a painful tug in his heart. The whole arrangement was almost unreal until now. She was really leaving. Dejectedly, he moved to sit on the bed, just beside her bag as he watched her pack. Many seconds passed before he reached out to grasp her hand.
"Don't go," he said.
Those two words were all he needed to say. For a moment, she stood frozen as tears slowly filled her eyes. Nevertheless, she still couldn't bring herself to look at him.
"I'm sorry," he continued.
A tear made its way down her cheek. He stood up to wipe it with his thumb. Another tear rolled down her other cheek. Leaning forward, he pulled her into his arms, allowing the tears to soak onto his shoulder. It pained him to see her so sad.
"I'm sorry," he said again as he tightened his hold. They stayed in that position for a good long time before he loosened his embrace and moved to place his hands on her shoulders instead. Then, he looked into her eyes. "I… I just want us to be together. I won't say the name again," he promised.
"You don't even know you did," she quietly said as she looked down to wipe more tears away.
"I know… but the next time I do it, just give me a slap or hit me hard…"
"It's your feelings towards Sakura that mattered here…" she finally spoke out. "You… still have feelings for her."
"I'm sorry," he didn't really know what else to say. "I… I'll change. I'll… I'll not think of her again. I won't even see her."
As it turned out, she had to look up, straight into his eyes as they both realized that he had just made a ridiculous offer. How could he not see Sakura at all since he's the Hokage and she's the medical head? They were routinely dependent on one another and not seeing her would be counter-effective in many ways. And wouldn't he have to put in extra effort just to avoid her? Wouldn't that make him more sensitive to Sakura's very presence? …Wouldn't he start to think of her more often then?
"I need you to help me, Hinata. I want to start anew. I… I'll get rid of any… any feeling I might still have for…" he was careful not to say the name. "Just… just stay… please."
She contemplated his words for a moment as he slowly took her hands, "Give me a chance."
They stayed still for a while, looking straight into each other's eyes - eyes as distinct as they could be. She searched for the earnestness in his words in those deep, blue eyes. His offer was more than tempting. It would be so much easier to say yes. So much easier to just stay in Konoha and not have to go so far away, to a land as distant and different as she could imagined and with people she hadn't even gotten to know. So much easier to just shove every negative feeling aside and concur that her husband will not have anymore feelings for Sakura from now on. So much easier to just put her arms around his waist and believe that they could start afresh this very minute.
Time stood still as they stood hand in hand, she, in quiet contemplation while he, in need for an answer.
The spell was broken when the doorbell rang.
Stirring from their stationary stance, Hinata turned and walked out to get to the front door, leaving Naruto feeling a little disconcerted. For a fleeting second, he thought he could see her relenting - he was almost sure she would stay.
Upon opening the door, Hinata found herself face to face with the last person she wanted to see at this point in time.
"Hinata," Sakura greeted with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Where is he?" She sauntered into the house looking for the Hokage.
Outside, Sasuke was leaning nonchalantly on the wall beside the front door, not at all interested in going in.
"Uh… Sakura," Naruto croaked out in surprise as he walked out of the bedroom.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried as she strode across the floor. "What have you done? You're sending Hinata away?"
"Sa… Sakura," he called out the name in a whisper this time – a name that had become a most sensitive subject at present. And then, as if in slow motion, he saw Hinata walked past them, entered the bedroom and closed the door.
"Naruto, you brainless fool!" Sakura continued. "How could you send your own wife away for such a long time? Are you out of your mind? Do you even know how far Oiru is from Konoha? It takes six to seven days just to get there, double the time for normal people. Now, do you know how far that is? …Why are you doing this? What happened? Have you lost your mind? I mean, I can't even start to believe this whole thing. Three years? That's such a long…"
"Sakura, please…" Naruto finally interrupted. "...please… leave."
"Wh…?" those words took her by surprise. The pink-haired lady had never thought she would hear her good friend utter such words.
"You heard him," Sasuke reiterated as he stood at the front door with his hands folded. "Come on, let's go."
It took her a while to get over her shock. The Hokage was clearly not himself today. Arguably, Naruto was her friend, a very close friend indeed. And Hinata was also a good friend and for that reason, she thought she had to help them out when she heard that Hinata was leaving. To her, Naruto must have mismanaged the task he had assigned his wife. She still believed that the blonde-haired Hokage could so often act like the heedless, dense and foolish young child he used to be. But then again, his words suddenly made her feel like she had been a little too bossy, too interfering. It took her some seconds to let the words sink in before she realized that she should actually let her two friends run their lives themselves.
Slightly embarrassed, Sakura quietly emitted, "Just make sure she's going to be fine, okay?"
Naruto dropped his head. What could he say in a time like this?
"Let's go now," Sasuke called out again, his voice now laced with amusement. It's not often the Uchiha get to see his friend so dispirited. To him, Naruto's pose was actually amusing to watch.
"-kay," Sakura finally conceded, her voice toned down as she quietly walked out of the house and closed the door.
It took the Hokage many minutes, contemplating on how totally disastrous this whole affair was turning out to be, before he sighed and turned towards the bedroom. Then, as he opened the door, he found the whole room in total darkness. A few seconds passed before he could see the outline of his wife on the bed. She didn't want to talk, that was expected. But, just as he was about to climb into bed, something caught the corner of his eyes – Hinata's dark-blue, cotton canvas bag lay at the side of their bed. As it turned out, she had finished packing…
%%%
Muro Kazuo stood in anticipation, many paces away from his father and his three servants, tapping his feet impatiently. The large wooden structure that made up the main entrance of the leaf village that they were currently standing under, didn't seem to interest him at all. Before long, he spotted the one person that had kept him spellbound since she stepped into the Hokage's office yesterday. Reflexively, he strode towards the person, immediately realizing that the Hokage was with her. He thought it weird that a village leader would actually show up in person to bid a subordinate farewell and not only that, Naruto was actually carrying Hinata's bag.
"Aa… Hokage-sama, what a surprise. I didn't imagine you would actually show up in person here," the guest from Oiru exclaimed as he reached out to take the bag.
Naruto didn't answer as he tightened his hold on the handle and subtly flashed an annoyed gaze at the curly-haired male.
"Hokage-sama?" Kazuo called out, a little taken aback before the blue-eyed Hokage slowly released his grip. "Good!" Then, grabbing the bag and turning to Hinata, he flashed a smile so broad that it brought out a pair of deep longish dimples on his cheeks. "It's so nice to see you again, Hinata-san. I just can't wait to bring you hom…" he paused when he thought he spotted an almost deadly glint from the Hokage. "…I mean… I can't wait to bring you to… my… village."
Hinata could only force a smile as she gave a nod of consent. Being on a mission, she had chosen to put on the standard shinobi uniform, complete with a flak jacket. This however, seemed to pique Kazuo's curiosity and interest. The dark-haired lady looked different in proper uniform. He soon decided that he liked the appearance.
"Hokage-sama," Kazuhiro then called out as he joined the party, giving a nod before Naruto returned the gesture while Hinata gave a bow. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?" the older man remarked.
"Yea…" the Hokage answered with a sigh.
"You know, Hinata-san, you've got such smooth, beautiful hair," the younger Muro heedlessly said as he boldly reached out to touch Hinata's hair.
Then, without warning, the young man felt a sudden jab to his neck before his hands fell limp on his sides and his tongue went numb.
"Wh… what happened?" the father cried out as he turned his son around to perceive what had gone wrong while the servants came to assist.
They didn't see it – not the pair of father and son; not even the three servants who had been standing nearby. But Naruto saw it or rather, he had felt it. It would have taken a highly-skilled shinobi with sensory skills to spot the attack and he figured that the two genin at the nearby counter would have missed it altogether too. Hinata had inflicted a temporary paralysis on Kazuo's sensory nerve. In just split seconds, she had activated her Byakugan, aimed a stream of chakra at the male's neck and injected a little chakra to paralyze the nerve and muscle function around his tongue and hands. The whole execution was so swift and discreet that nobody else knew that the Hokage's wife had just made a silent attack on the guest from Oiru.
"Are you okay, Kuzuo-san?" Hinata then asked in an act of concern.
Naruto chose to keep quiet though. Usually, in a situation like this, he would have laughed and cheered aloud. But then today, in such circumstance, he couldn't bring himself to see humor in the action. Not even when he highly approved that the curly-haired, dimple-flashing guest deserved the attack. Inwardly, only one thing stood out clearly in his opinion as he felt a calming relief within – Hinata was fully capable of taking care of herself.
"It must have been a bee…" Hinata finally said, artfully looking around. "I think I saw one flying by earlier."
"A bee?" the older Muro exclaimed as one of the servants hastily looked for sting marks on his master's neck and hands.
"Don't worry, Kazuhiro-sama," the Hokage's wife then offered. "It happens often here but the effect is only temporary… Give it half an hour or so… he'll be fine by then."
"Are you sure?" the older man asked as he scrutinized his son's condition. "Can you walk?"
Kazuo could only make muffling sounds as drool started running down his chin. To rub salt into the wound, he couldn't even lift his hand to wipe the drool away. Nevertheless, his legs weren't affected.
"He'll be fine," Naruto finally emitted with a sigh.
"Can we leave then?" Kazuhiro asked. They have a long journey ahead and it would be impractical to delay any further.
"Why don't you go along first," Hinata quietly suggested. "I'll catch up."
With a mixture of anxious and thankful expression, the old man gave a nod before leading his son along. They were followed closely by the three servants who were carrying a few bags each between them and Naruto couldn't help paying attention to the small, dark-blue, cotton canvas bag on the right hand of a tall, burly assistant. Quietly, he decided that he didn't like that particular servant. The dark, burly male was taking with him a part of Hinata's belonging and what Oiru was actually gaining would be Konoha's loss – his loss.
A few seconds later, when the party from the Land of Oil was out of sight, the blonde-haired Hokage turned to face his wife.
"I…" he started, before Hinata instantaneously moved forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Naruto's waist.
Her action was so fast, so sudden that it took the Hokage by surprise. But he quickly returned the affection with an equally fervent hug. At that point in time, they understood that they were actually savoring their last embrace – something that they will have to fall back upon for at least two to three years. Perhaps, for that reason, they were not at all concerned with the fact that there were two genin on duty at the check-in counter not too far away. All the same, the two young men had chosen to look away, allowing the Hokage and his wife their little private moment.
"I know you care a lot..." Hinata finally stated as she slowly loosened her hold. "...and I know you're worried... I'll be fine." Then, she placed a hand on his chest, her eyes brimming with tears. "But until you find it in you… to actually love me."
And with that, she swiftly turned and leapt from the ground, instantly disappearing from sight.
"Hinata!" Naruto called out as her words echoed in his mind and a heavy weight slowly settled into his heart.
He had let her go, allowing her to leave for three long years, into a land far away. Undeniably, he was angry with himself because he couldn't get her to stay. It was his fault, he thought. Somehow, he felt guilty of what had come to light and that feeling was enough to take away all of his resolve. But now, standing at the entrance of the leaf village, under the large wooden structure, he could only wish he had been more adamant, more resolute. He should have claimed that she had been wrong. He should have played out his part, insisting that she was being too sensitive. He should have insisted that he did love her… he should have made her stay by all means.
Afterwards, taking in a deep breath and releasing it in a heavy sigh, Naruto finally turned to walk away. It was too late now. Too late to do or even say anything anymore and all that he could do now was wait. However, as he took his first step, he felt something in his hidden chest pocket… something that wasn't there earlier. Curiously, he put his hand into his coat and felt for the object inside it. And then his heart gave a sudden jolt as he slowly fished out the article with his fingers. There, in his right hand, between his thumb and index finger, was Hinata's wedding ring…
A/N: Once again, I'd like to thank all those who have so thoughtfully left me review(s) for the two chapters. To those of whom I couldn't reach – KirbySuperStarNinja, Andrea, anne, Lisa Jones, angel0014, D. Rider, LeeRocks, jess, Lista, Mylady, Arsenal89, Guest NaruHina and Jimbo – thank you for your reviews.
In truth, I've never been that amused or entertained with comments for my stories before. This story (Chapter 2, especially), seemed to have drawn out quite a lot of contrasting remarks and I have to admit, it had been quite an eye-opener. End of the day, I cannot deny that I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the reviews (except one from a guest who wouldn't say much except 'Just like the rest of your stories, this sucks' – *ouch). But I suppose it was a wake-up call. At least now I know I really do have to draw out the ending which I've initially decided to leave out in order to allow the readers to figure and create their own conclusions. So, there will be a next chapter.
Nevertheless, I do have some things I'd like to express and I cannot do so here because it would take up too much space. To those who have reviewed this story earlier and hope to get a little feedback from my part, I hope you would check out my profile (under the subtitle 'The Ring That Binds,') so that I could provide a little explanation to the storyline. Thanks!
As usual, to the readers who have enjoyed or even hated this, leave me a review won't you? Let me know exactly what I've done right or wrong. I'd appreciate whatever comments. Thanks again!
- softwinds -