Title: What could've been
Author: Kurotsuki-Tenchi
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: NaruXHina,
Genre: Action, Romance and a little bit of comedy.
Rated: M for Language, violence, and sexual content.
Authors Note: This chapter was suppose to be part of Chapter 8 but it ended up getting to long so I split them in 2. This takes place after Naruto gets out of the hospital. It's about him recovering and the dinner with Shino's family. I'm also sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out, I finally managed to wrestle the computer from my sisters enough to actually type. So here it is, read and review! When people review it motivates me to write more! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: All Naruto characters and stuff belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and therefore can only make make believe stories about them and dream about them being real. Sigh.
Chapter 9
"Whoo hoo I'm free!" Naruto shouted as he exited the hospital. Shino and Hinata who were following behind just watched in amusement as he ran around with his hands in the air.
"Calm down Naruto," Shino interjected. Naruto paused to listen to him, his arms still held in the air. "Your still injured slightly, don't push yourself."
"Y-yeah Naruto-kun," Hinata added with a slight blush. "I-if you keep running around like that you could aggravate one of y-your closed wounds and have to be put back in the hospital."
The look of horror that crossed his face at the mere mention of being hospitalized was priceless, Hinata giggled at him and even Shino cracked a small smile. "I don't want to go back! Dr. Takahashi is evil!" Not to mention that the doctor had been teasing him about Hinata all week long, his face had been red for his entire stay in the hospital.
This new development confused Naruto, these feelings churning inside of him made him nervous. Yes he felt a light version of this for Sakura, but now it was for Hinata. But unlike with Sakura this feeling was more stronger, more prominent with Hinata.
It unnerved him, making it harder to look Hinata in the face. Every time he looked to long he felt himself start to blush again, it was getting to the point where he avoided looking in her eyes as much as possible. The worst part was that she was noticing his sudden nervousness, he didn't even know what he was feeling and he really didn't want Hinata figuring it out.
"Okay then," Naruto said dropping his arms. "So what do we do now?" Naruto asked them.
"K-kurenai-sensei wanted to talk to me today about something, I-I have to leave soon or I'll miss our meeting." Hinata said softly, not wanting to leave her friends behind.
"Oh," Naruto said sadly. "I was going to ask if you guys would like to go out to eat with me." Hinata looked absolutely saddened by that making Naruto stammer. "But we can go another day!" He said and she smiled slightly.
Shino who had noticed the subtle change in Naruto was watching the transaction between the 2 with interest. Naruto had begun to act more nervous around Hinata, and even went far enough to go out of his way to comfort her.
He keyed back into the conversation as Naruto asked Hinata what Kurenai wanted to see her for. "I'm not sure, she just said that it's in regards to my training." She replied, Naruto tilted his head in confusion. As he attempted to figure it out Shino decided to inform Naruto of his families request.
"My family wants you to join us tomorrow for dinner Naruto," Shino said surprising them both. "And Hinata is invited also, even though you've already met them."
"S-sorry, my family is having a big formal dinner tomorrow. I-it's imperative that I attend," She said apologetically. Shino just waved her apology off, nodding in understanding.
Naruto felt nervousness flood him at the thought of meeting Shino's family. He didn't have his own family, well except for gram gram and pops but he still didn't know how to behave towards his teammates parents. Especially considering that they were the clan heads, he didn't know how to react towards higher standing individuals.
"Don't worry Naruto," Shino said noticing his nervousness. "My parents understand that you don't have experience in front of higher classes, so don't worry about it."
"Yeah but, what if I do anything to make them mad?" He asked worriedly, "What if they end up hating me?" Naruto asked sadly, Hinata looked stricken by this.
"D-don't worry Naruto-kun," Hinata said to him trying to reassure him. "I-I'm sure they will like you," Naruto looked at her unconvinced.
"Yeah Naruto," Shino spoke up. "My parents won't hate you, no matter what so just calm down." Naruto nodded, not as worried due to his friends encouragements.
"O-oh no!" Hinata shouted suddenly staring at Naruto's wrist where his watch still sat in surprise. "I-I'm going to be late to meet Kurenai-sensei!"
"Go on then," Shino said. "We'll meet up with you later okay?" Shino asked and she nodded in agreement before taking off down the road.
"Bye Hinata!" Naruto shouted after her, Hinata who had heard him stumbled in surprise. As she regained her footing she waved back at them before turning a corner.
"So where to now?" Shino asked as they were left alone.
"To Ichiraku ramen!" Naruto shouted while pointing to the sky dramatically. "I'm only allowed ramen once a week and I've been waiting for this day for an entire week!" He shouted excitedly, literally giddy at the thought.
"Lets go," Shino said as they turned to make their way to said ramen stand. As they walked down the street Naruto literally skipped with happiness, while Shino followed behind calmly. As he saw the villager's glares pointed at Naruto he shook his head, they still glared at him. Though their glares weren't so hostile when they see Shino walking with him, almost as if the Aburame's influence alone calmed them down a little.
He and Hinata had been reporting to Kurenai weekly and she hadn't been surprised by the villager's reactions, if anything she was expecting it. But when they told her that Naruto had begun to ignore them and talked to them as though he wasn't being glared at she was genuinely surprised.
Kurenai-sensei couldn't express her happiness at this development, glad that he was finally able to move past all the hated glares and muttered insults.
"Here we are!" Naruto said happily as they entered.
"Ah Naruto!" Teuchi said happily as they both took a seat. "And if it isn't your teammate Shino! Welcome, both of you!" He than noticed the missing addition to their group, "Where is your nice Hyuga friend?" He asked.
"She had a meeting with Kurenai-sensei," Naruto explained. "So she couldn't come today." He paused for a second, before he started to speak. "Can I have a bowl of pork ramen? I'm hungry."
"Chicken please," Shino muttered.
"I'll get right on it, and tell your friend that she's always welcomed here." He replied. "But I have another question, why haven't you been in to eat for the last week and a half?" He asked as he started to cook,
"Well we had a mission that lasted for almost a week and I got injured pretty badly so I've been in the hospital recovering since." He replied as his food was placed in front of him. He quickly shouted a thanks before breaking his chopsticks and digging in. Shino who had received his ramen ate in silence, listening attentively to the conversation.
"Are you okay?" Ayame asked as she walked into the front, having heard him talking about his mission.
"Yes, I'm fine." He said taking a bite, a blissful smile on his face.
"You are now," Shino commented as he watched Naruto. "But you almost died, and would've if it wasn't for Hinata and Kurenai-sensei." He remarked. Naruto glared at him when both Teuchi and Ayame gasped.
"You didn't have to tell them," He muttered to Shino while they both fussed over him. Shino just gave him his usual calm look, Naruto somehow knew he was inwardly smirking at him.
As both Teuchi and Ayame got reassurances from Naruto they both calmed back down, though they still watched over him worriedly. Naruto could swear they were watching him like hawks, worried that he would suddenly relapse.
"Yeah, but you know how Kakashi-sensei is." They both looked up at the female voice, watching as three figures walked into Ichiraku ramen.
Kiba, Sakura, and Sasuke came in, all three looking a little worse for wear. They all three sat down, not even paying attention to Naruto or Shino.
"But geez you'd think he'd at least give us a break," Kiba complained stretching his back. "We just got back from our mission and he has us doing team training immediately after?" Akamaru whined as Kiba winced at his sore back, "He's crazy."
"Hey," Naruto said suddenly drawing their attention, they turned to him in surprise. "You guys okay?"
"No," Sakura growled at him. "Does it look like we are okay baka?" Sasuke just ignored him and ordered his food, he hadn't wanted to come but Kiba and Sakura dragged him.
"No need to get mean," Naruto said as Teuchi put another bowl of ramen in front of him. "I was just wondering if you guys were okay."
"We're fine," Kiba commented before Sakura could growl at him again. "Our first C ranked mission didn't go as planned, so were still sore from it." He than sighed, "It doesn't help that Kakashi-sensei thinks we need more teamwork training."
"Yeah our C ranked mission didn't go well either." Naruto said as Kiba received his food.
"Wait you guys got a C ranked mission as well," Sasuke said looking up sharply. His black eyes were literally glaring daggers at Naruto, not believing that they could be up to their level.
"Yes," Shino said joining the conversation. Sasuke's tone had put him on the defensive, he hadn't liked how Sasuke had said that one sentence. Sasuke however didn't comment, he was weary of Shino.
"Well ours turned into an A ranked mission," Sakura gloated to them. "Meaning that ours was much more advanced then yours."
"Really?" Shino interrupted Naruto before he could blurt out what happened on their own mission. The Hokage after reviewing their mission had claimed their mission as a S class. They were also told not to tell the details to anyone, the rouge ninja's leader was still free after all. "Tell us about it," He said looking at Naruto with a stern look.
"We were suppose to escort this bridge builder back to his village, a simple mission right?" Kiba said as he started to explain. Sasuke went back to not caring and Sakura started to eat. "We ended up getting attacked by these 2 really fast rouge ninja's known as the demon brothers, at first we thought they killed Kakashi-sensei but he ended up coming back and killing them."
"They couldn't have been faster than that behemoth," Naruto muttered under his breath. "And I bet they couldn't hit as hard either."
"What?" Kiba asked, not catching what Naruto was saying. Naruto was about to repeat what he said but Shino subtly jabbed him in the side causing him to stop. Another stern look from Shino made him rethink his words.
"Nothing, continue." Naruto said motioning him forward with his chopsticks.
He looked at them curiously but continued anyway. "We than learned from the bridge builder that he lied about how high the ranking was for the mission. It was fine until we ran into Zabuza, the demon of the mist. It just got worse from there. He had managed to trap Kakashi-sensei in a prison that he couldn't escape, but me and Sasuke managed to break him out."
"Sasuke-kun did most of the work mutt!" Sakura yelled at him, Naruto put a finger in his ear. "You were just an assist, I bet that Sasuke could've done it by himself."
"Shut up Sakura," Sasuke muttered. She did so reluctantly, relaxing back in her chair.
"Anyway," Kiba continued ignoring his two teammates. "A mist hunter ninja came and took Zabuza away before we could kill him, it turned out however that the hunter ninja was working with Zabuza."
"That's a twist," Naruto noted as he finished his second bowl.
"Yeah, and it wasn't till a few days later that we encountered them again." Kiba said with a wince, "It didn't go so well. It turns out that they were working for some guy named Gato, who is some big ringleader of a gang. During the fight Sakura and Sasuke got cornered by the kid, who in turned hurt them pretty badly, Sasuke awakened his Sharingan during that fight." At Kiba's words Sakura's shoulders seemed to droop. "I was guarding the bridge builder until that point and I got him to follow me enough so I could help them. Kakashi-sensei was fighting Zabuza and was about to land a finishing blow when the kid moved in front. The kid ended up dying. Then Gato came and told Zabuza he no longer needed his services and some crap and ordered his men to kill Zabuza, who in turn went crazy and killed him. After that Kakashi finished off Gato's men and the bridge was able to be finished."
"Wow," Naruto commented. "That was a lot of stuff you guys went through."
"It gets better," Kiba replied. "After the bridge was completed they ended up calling it the Hatake bridge after Kakashi-sensei."
"That's pretty cool." Naruto commented again, Kiba just sighed.
"Yeah but Kakashi-sensei said we didn't work to well as a team on that mission and has been making us do teamwork training since." He said with a sigh, "I've been in a state of pain for a week."
"Ouch," Naruto commented and Kiba agreed.
"It wouldn't be so bad if Sakura and Sasuke would actually cooperate with me." He said, ignoring Sakura's outburst to his left. "Be glad that you have teammates that actually listen to you."
Naruto nodded in agreement, glad that his teammates saw him as one of them. "Yeah I am lucky," Naruto said and went back to his ramen. Thankful that Shino and Hinata accepted him and even befriended him.
He then wondered absently what Hinata was doing, and if she was okay. Not noticing Shino's look from his right, to intent on his thoughts.
o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o
Hinata walked towards the meeting spot where Kurenai had told them to meet, her fingers pushed together nervously. What could her Sensei want with her and not Naruto and Shino?
She was worried, afraid she done something wrong. She had an idea on what it was about, but she couldn't be sure. She feared it was about Naruto and the time they were coming back to the village with the seriously hurt Naruto. Maybe she messed up her gentle fist when she closed his chakra points and caused more harm than good.
That made her panic even more, the thought of worsening Naruto's condition making her even more upset. So when she arrived at the clearing they first gathered to see Kurenai sitting on a rock and waiting she reacted instinctively.
"D-did I hurt Naruto-kun!?" She shouted at her surprised teacher, taking Kurenai completely off guard.
"What are you talking about Hinata?" Kurenai asked worried, surprised at the level of upset that Hinata was showing. "What do you mean?"
"I messed up when I closed Naruto's chakra points didn't I?" She said worriedly, her bangs covering her face. "A-and I caused him more damage didn't I!?"
Kurenai sighed, she really had to get Hinata over her low self-esteem, "No, actually you saved his life." Kurenai said with a smile, surprising Hinata.
"Saved him?" She asked surprised, looking up again. "What do you mean saved him?" She asked, her normally soft voice coming out a little stronger.
"If it wasn't for your gentle fist he wouldn't have survived until we got to the village," She said and Hinata smiled slightly. "But that brings up why I called you here."
Hinata looked at her sensei confused, "What is it?"
"I noticed when I examined him that several pressure points on his body were struck," At Kurenai's words Hinata's eyes widened. "Points that were not chakra related. Do you know what it was?"
Hinata's head dropped at her sensei's words, her fingers nervously dancing together again. "Y-yes," she said guilty. Her tone was reproachful, almost as if she was caught breaking the law or something.
"Don't be sad about that Hinata," Kurenai said to the downtrodden Hyuga. "If it wasn't for that combined with your gentle fist Naruto most likely wouldn't have survived, the gentle fist wouldn't have been enough."
Hinata looked up in surprise, too shocked to say anything.
"I wanted to know how you knew to do that, I've never heard of a Hyuga or anyone else using that method to heal." She said and Hinata hunched her shoulders.
"I-I was in the Academy library about a year ago when I came across a book," She said. "It looked interesting so I checked it out and read it."
"What was it about?" Kurenai asked.
"I-it talked about the benefits of pressure points to relieve stress and even heal in some cases." Hinata murmured quietly, her fingers moving together nervously. "So I thought it might help to add my gentle fist to it, I figured it might be an added benefit."
"But your theory was entirely untested," Kurenai said. "Didn't you think it was dangerous to try it on Naruto without knowing what the effects this method could cause?"
"I've been practicing it for about a year now," She said. Her voice was getting a little stronger, showing she was gaining confidence in herself.
"Practicing?" She asked confused. "On who?"
"Myself," She said looking down slightly at Kurenai' look.
"But that's dangerous," She said. "What if you had messed up and injured yourself?" Kurenai was shocked at the risk the Hyuga had taken.
"I-I was never in any real danger," Hinata told her. "I had my s-sister Hanabi with me when I tested my theories, and I-I was always careful when trying it." Hinata said nervously. Prior to popular belief her and Hanabi were quite close, they just didn't tell their father.
"Well that's in the past now," Kurenai sighed. "And under orders of the Hokage I am to train you in this new method," Kurenai smiled at Hinata's shocked face. "And your father won't be informed, considering this is training between sensei and student it will be considered confidential."
"Really?" Hinata asked in shock, she had been afraid Kurenai-sensei would inform her father. She didn't know how he'd react to knowing the heiress was performing a technique no one in the Hyuga clan had ever heard of. And Hinata wasn't too keen on learning how'd he react.
"Yep, so now after every training exercise I want you to report to me. We'll get started tomorrow and work our way through this mess." Kurenai replied, "Because I don't know nearly enough as you I'll let you lead the instructions."
Hinata gaped at that, she'd be leading the exercise? This had never happened to her before, usually she was to shy to take charge of anything. "O-okay." Hinata stated weirdly.
"Well that's all I wanted to talk to you about," Kurenai said standing up with a stretch. "I'm actually glad I was able to talk to you about this," Kurenai said causing Hinata to look at her in confusion.
"Why Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.
"Because if we're able to train this ability of yours to perfection then we'll have a healer in our squad, making our mission success rates rise." Hinata smiled at that, catching the compliment her sensei added in to that.
"Thanks sensei." Hinata thanked, Kurenai smiled.
"Well you're dismissed now, and remember we start tomorrow." Hinata nodded before her sensei disappeared, she sat down and pondered on her sensei's words. She was glad she was able to help Naruto, glad she hadn't been a burden to her teammates.
o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o
Naruto stood outside the Aburame residence, shifting from one foot to the other. He had never been this nervous... ever. He was only meeting his teammates parents, what was there to be afraid of?
Though in his defense he was meeting not only the clan head but one of the seated members of the Konoha high council, on top of that they were one who hadn't established good relations with hardly anyone.
Naruto gulped again, biting his lip nervously. He had been standing at the doorway for 10 minutes and still have not gathered the courage to knock on the door. He pulled at his collar, the fabric suddenly seeming suffocating.
He wore his usual uniform, because he didn't have much clothing to begin with, but it was neat and newly cleaned. His hair was brushed, though not even that could tame the spikes. But at least it looked neater then usual, that was at least one comfort.
He raised his hand again letting it hover over the door, like he had multiple times in the last 10 minutes. This time however he refused to let himself chicken out and rapped on the door.
The door opened and he was surprised to see Shino, standing looking at him with slight amusement. Though if you didn't know him you'd never be able to tell. "Naruto," He greeted. "So glad you finally decided to knock."
"You knew?" Naruto asked surprised, his nervousness raising.
"Of course, I knew the moment you arrived. No one can come onto the Aburame Estate without us knowing," He said. Just as the words left his lips a small bug crawled across his glasses and Naruto sweat dropped.
"Oh," Naruto said in understanding. He really should've guessed. "Well I'm here." He said with a sheepish smile, Shino nodded.
"Come in," He said moving back to motion him in. "Mother and father are waiting to meet you," Shino said closing the door behind him as he stepped in. For some reason the sound of the door closing behind him sounded menacing to Naruto, he swallowed.
As Naruto was led to a sitting room he wasn't too surprised at what he saw. A male stood up, a large coat much like Shino's and dark goggle like glasses. "Welcome Uzumaki, to my home." He spoke raising his hand to shake Naruto's, his voice just as emotionless if not more so then Shino's. "My name is Shibi Aburame, it is nice to finally meet you."
Naruto nodded and shook the hand, not even flinching as a bug ran over his hand briefly. He was far too nervous to notice the small bug as he looked at Shino's father. "It's nice to meet you too," Naruto managed.
Shino stood off to the side, enjoying his teammates nervousness. Yes it was mean but it was just too entertaining to pass up.
"Shibi," A female voice interrupted them. "Stop terrifying the poor boy, he's so nervous he's shaking." It said as a woman walked into the room, an apron around her waist.
Naruto was completely baffled at the sight of the woman, she was just a little shorted then the Aburame head with long dark brown hair. She was at complete odds with her son and husband, her expression open and pleasant. Her eyes were a light brown, though she did have a pair of Aubrame issued sunglasses perched on her nose. She looked over them at Naruto, a smile on her face. "Ah hello Uzumaki-san!" She said going over to shake his hand, he was so shocked that he didn't even react.
After grabbing his hand she then pulled him into a hug, shocking him even more. "Thank you so much for protecting my baby," she said pulling back and patting him on the shoulder.
Shino who was watching from the side smiled at Naruto's expression, though it was slight. He knew that Naruto hadn't been expecting that, not many suspected that his mom was like this.
As she finally noticed Naruto's expression she shook her hand in front of his face, "I think I broke him." She said and Shino nodded again, still highly amused.
At the words Naruto snapped out of his shocked state, "Oh sorry." He said sheepishly. "It's nice to meet you," He smiled nervously. "And of course I'd protect Shino." He said, "Shino was protecting Hinata and I was protecting them. They're my teammates as well as my friends." She smiled at his words, nodding in agreement.
"Shina," Shibi spoke up distracting her for a second. She looked at him in question, "Is dinner done yet?" He asked and then she just remembered what she had been doing.
"Oh that's right," Shina said, "That's why I came out. Dinner is ready." She said and they all proceeded to the dining room, Naruto following behind.
He finally found himself relaxing, the nervousness finally settling down. After meeting Shino's parents and learning they didn't think him weird or anything he felt calmer. Though Shino's mom had thrown him off, who knew a parent of Shino could act that nice and sociable.
They all sat down to eat and Naruto found himself starting to enjoy it. It wasn't as bad as he envisioned, the Aubrame's weren't stuck up like most Clans. Though he did learn that Shina had a colony of bugs in her too, she had a few crawling over her shoulders during dinner.
Though the bugs usually freak out most people Naruto himself wasn't really that bothered. He had lived on the street for a brief time after he was kicked out of the orphanage. Living in dumpsters got him used to the insect world, especially when they crawled over him in his sleep.
Shino's parents were pleasant and treated him like a normal human, and to that Naruto was grateful. Especially when he didn't know which fork to eat his salad with, or which spoon to eat soup with. They didn't comment as he struggled, and Shina even helped him out on which silverware to use.
"So Uzumaki-san," Shina said as the meal wound down. "How does it feel to be a genin?" She asked, as the spouse of the clan head she had heard about his failure during the test and the stealing of the scroll.
"You can call me Naruto," The blond replied uneasily wiping his mouth off. He had made sure to do that periodically, "And it's awesome." He said.
Shina smiled at his answer, she had been expecting that.
"I really like my team, and my sensei." He continued, as Shina gathered the dirty dishes. "Especially because they're my friends, though I could do without getting up early in the morning." He commented, Shino smirked at his comment.
Shina laughed again, picking up all of the dishes. "That's what I had trouble adjusting to when I first became a ninja," She commented. She loaded all of the dishes on her arms and headed toward the kitchen, Naruto stood up.
"Here let me help you with that," He said holding his arms out for them. Shino and Shina moved to interrupt but Naruto got to it before they could speak. "It's only fair, you did cook and invited me over." He said, "The least I can do is help clean up after.
"Let him," Shibi said. "He feels that he must repay us, and it's more comfortable for him to do so." Shina glared at him slightly before nodding.
Naruto smiled and taking most of the dishes followed Shina into the kitchen. "You didn't have to help," Shina commented as he sat the dishes down on the sink. Shino and Shibi stayed in the kitchen, both of them discussing something important.
"Yes I did," Naruto said. "Any time I get a free meal I have to help, it's only polite." Shina smiled at his answer as she started to pour water into the sink.
"That's very polite," She said as she started washing the dishes. Naruto stood beside her rinsing them, "You don't see much of that in young ninjas these days."
"Well I doubt any of them had to go through extended periods of starvation," Naruto stated as though he was stating the weather. There was no anger nor bitterness in his voice.
Shina stared at the boy at his comment, and she felt herself get angry. She found herself despising the village, rejecting and hurting such a nice boy. "Well if you ever need anything to eat come over here, I'll feed you." She said with a smile, "After what you did for my son it's a small price."
Naruto smiled his thanks, not many offered him a place to eat. "I don't have to worry about that anymore though," He said with a smile. "I'm a ninja now, so I can pay for my own food."
She smiled as she sensed his pride at his rank, he wasn't very hard to figure out. "That's good," She said with a smile. He nodded, "How is it to work with my son?" She asked.
"Well he's quiet, and I swear I can hear him laughing at me when I do something stupid." Shina laughed at that one, "But he's cool to have around, he's smart, and doesn't miss anything." Naruto paused, "So I guess it's pretty awesome. He even likes me as a friend," Naruto said with a smile. "Though I wish he wouldn't sneak up on me, it gets pretty scary when I don't hear him coming."
Shina laughed at that, "That's good." Then she remembered Naruto's other teammate. "How do you like having Hinata Hyuga on your team as well?"
At the mention of his female teammate he blushed suddenly, and Shina catching this smiled wider. "It's alright," he said nervously. "She's nice and stuff."
"My my my," She said with a smile. "It this a crush I sense?" Naruto flushed deeper and pulled away in a fashion that looked panic stricken.
"N-no!" he said with a stutter. "I-it's not like that!" But Shina only continued to smile at him, he dropped his head in defeat. "You're as bad as Dr. Takahashi." Naruto said glumly.
"Don't worry, I won't tell her about your little crush." Shina said with a smile, knowing Hinata felt the same way for the blond boy. She had meet the Hyuga heiress some years ago, but even then Hinata had flushed over the mention of the Kyubi container.
Naruto just stared at her, she smiled again. "Well, we're done with the dishes now." She said cleaning off the sink, as well as surrounding countertops. "I guess we can rejoin Shibi and Shino," Naruto nodded following behind her his face still holding a pink twinge.
As they made it back to the dining room they spent the next half hour talking, conversing about this and that. Though Naruto was the one who did most of the talking, after he settled down and opened up it made it easier to communicate with them.
After they were done and Naruto felt it was time to head home he got up. After they said goodbye they told him to come back whenever he wanted too, and that he was always welcomed.
Waving goodbye Naruto made his way home, a smile on his face. It hadn't been as bad as he thought it would've been, and for that he was thankful. Glad that there was 2 less people in the village that hated him, he was slowly turning the villages opinion around bit by bit. It was taking a while but it was working, and Naruto couldn't help but feel a small bit of success.
End Chapter