Konoha was in flames.

He stopped, staring uncomprehending at the smoke swirling up above the treetops. The others halted too, Naruto could see the astonishment slowly creep onto their faces and then the horrible realization that stuck like a blow. He felt it deep in his gut, the sinking breathlessness and the trembling of his heart in his chest.

A quick glance around and they sped forward, the ground seemingly passing by in a blur, the great doors of the main gate unhinged and leaning to the side. He passed through, the sudden sights and sounds of the village overpowering him as he went inside.

Buildings had collapsed, their rubble spilling out onto the street like the insides of a gutted animal, support beams sticking up into the air forlornly. Signs were knocked down and shredded apart, telephone and power lines bent at acute angles the lines running between them snapped. The ground was scorched and scarred with blood and battle and who knew what else.

He stopped, unable to make his feet go any further, surrounded by the destruction. Places that had been familiar just a few weeks ago were completely unfamiliar now, only the eery traces remained- tiny recognizable somethings in the debris. He shook his head slowly, unwilling but needing to take it in. Even from here it was worse than the attack from Oto all those years ago. A more widespread haphazard destruction that he couldn't believe.

He heard the gasps from behind him, small utterances against the roar in his ears. He didn't face them, the smoke making his eyes water, yeah that was it, he rubbed them angrily.

"The hospital," he heard Sakura whisper loudly, like she had just thought of it, "I have to go to the hospital."

"Mom and sis," a whine.

"Dad."

"We'll go together," Shikamaru, his words strong even if his voice held the slightest quaver, "We don't know what's happened yet, there could be enemy ninja. Hinata."

"There is a large group of people at the Hokage Tower, a dozen- no- thirteen," she replied, "The rest of the immediate area is empty."

He heard Kiba sniff, "No... not empty..."

Even Shikamaru had no reply for that, "We'll go then, Kiba and Akamaru up front. Then me, Naruto, Chouji, and Sakura in that order. Hinata will be last. Let's go."

The setting sun found him on his roof, or what was left of it. Naruto's apartment building had not escaped the destruction unscathed, although it was in much better shape than many others. Only one whole side was truly gone.

The cistern was leaning to the side and leaking, the water washing down into the street. A nearby tree had been scorched, bare and blackened instead of the normal leafy green. Someone's metal antenna was falling over the edge of the roof, dangling by one slim cord.

He had managed to fish out some stale pretzels out of his cabinet, his instant ramen not edible without electricity and his milk spoiled yet again. Sighing, he munched on the salty snack.

The civilians had stopped trickling out of the Hokage monument a while ago, their stunned faces bursting into tears at the state of their homes and businesses. They had asked about family and friends, some were reassured, some were not. Tsunade had done all she could to limit the number of casualities, her slugs attaching and healing to fallen shinobi. But not everyone had made it through.

Chouji's father, Chouza had died. And so had Kakashi.

Naruto slumped, resting his elbows on his knees. There were others he didn't know as well, their injuries too sudden or severe to be healed. They had died protecting their village and their names would forever be memorialized, but...

...They didn't deserve their fate.

He frowned, dumping the remaining crumbs to the ground. This attack wouldn't have happened if not for him, Danzo had said. Perhaps he was right in that.

That didn't excuse the fucker for threatening Tsunade-baa-chan, though.

She had sent them on their way. Sakura to the hospital and the others to their families. Rebuilding would start tomorrow, there would be no rest.

He had checked on Sasuke and Iruka and Konohamaru, then wondered home. Not really knowing where else to go. His landlady had shrieked at him, nonsense about how his security deposit wouldn't cover this type of damage. Naruto had patted her on the back.

"Naruto-kun?"

He turned, "Hey Hinata-chan," he said.

She stepped daintily on the roof, "It isn't much, but we had some extra riceballs," she held out a package.

"Seriously?" he was salivating, "I couldn't make anything. Is your power out too?"

"Yes," she answered while he inhaled the food, she sat down, "But the compound has some old wooden stoves and a gas line. So the family is doing well."

"Was there a lot of damage?"

"No, Neji-nii-san and Father kept out any enemy ninja."

He frowned, many of the names of casualties had been Hyuuga, "Should you be out here?" he asked, "Won't they need you?"

She looked away, "They are being taken care of," she said stiffly, "I wanted to check on you."

Ah, he stuck his foot in his mouth again, didn't he? She was just concerned for him, "Sorry, just... aren't you like the main family's heir? I just assumed..."

She frowned, her pale gaze fixed on some faraway place. Naruto started to wonder if maybe he was really off, and decided for the millionth time that maybe he should've just kept his mouth shut.

"It's not that," she finally said, sighing and turning back towards him, "It's just... it's just that I care about my family very much," Hinata explained, "I was very relieved when I was able to see them. But," here she paused, biting her lip, "But I was also concerned about you. I wanted to make sure you were okay too," she said softly.

Oh... he stared at her for a moment, surprised at the sincerity in her voice. She just kept on surprising him, it seemed. Naruto could feel his cheeks redden and scratched his nose rather self consciously, "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

"Thanks," he muttered lamely, not really sure what to say. Why is she looking at me like that? he wondered. Her pale eyes boring into him. Should I say something else? "I bet you checked up on Kiba and Shino too."

"I-yes," she answered, confused at his change of subject, "I saw them earlier."

Earlier? he thought abruptly, I was the last one? That deflated him a little, an unfamiliar knot settling in his gut, "They probably appreciated the food."

"Oh yes," she laughed, "Akamaru-kun made such a mess."

She was just being nice, he realized, his brow furrowing. Hinata was a kind person, of course she would bring food to her friends and teammates. Of course she would check up on him when he didn't really have any family to do so.

She was just being nice to a friend.

And somehow that thought made him sad.

Naruto ran a hand through his spiky hair, not really paying attention to her story about Akamaru's lack of manners. She had just checked up on her friend, like she would do for anyone. He shouldn't have expected her to single him out.

But, he sank a bit, I would've liked it. After she had visited him in the Suna hospital, and told him that he was still Naruto-kun and that it didn't matter if he was the jinchuuriki, he had maybe thought that... well it didn't matter. Even if her words meant a lot to him.

And they did. He didn't kid himself about that. So few people who knew treated him well, treated it like something that just happened to be rather than the main component of his being. For her to tell him that meant so much.

And then she had hugged him. He had tried not to blush-it was a hug-but, he had been nearly naked and she was pressed up against him and...he shook his head, not up to facing that memory just now.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked worriedly, "You've been quiet."

He came back to the present, forcing a smile onto his face, "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I was thinking."

"Hmmm?"

"Akatsuki attacked because of me," he said somberly. He couldn't tell her what he'd really been thinking, but she ought to know this- she was his friend after all, "They were looking for the jinchuuriki."

She frowned, "That's not your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself."

He smiled wanly, "I won't," he replied gratefully, "But, it's still my problem."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm leaving tonight," Naruto shrugged, "It's too dangerous for me to stay here, and I won't put the village in danger again. Tsunade-baa-chan gave me a new mission, to defeat Akatsuki."

"By yourself?" Hinata asked incredulously, "You can't."

"Yeah," he agreed, "I'll be training a lot, though. Plus I have a promise to keep," he smiled at her.

She shook her head, distressed, "But..."

"It won't be that long," he reassured her, "So will you let the others know? I won't get a chance to."

Hinata was fidgeting, one hand squeezing the fingers of the other one until her knuckles were white, "I will," she promised, looking up at him, "But... but I'll worry about you. So you take care of yourself!"

Warmth spread through him, and he scratched the back of his head. He would take her concern gladly, "I will," he stepped forward and hugged her.

Soft but steadfast, Hinata embraced him too.

Disclaimer: Mayhaps... but no.

A/N: Sorry it took so long, but the oneshot I had planned was not really going and then ASOIAF sucked me in and demanded fic. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it, a few notes:

I hate Danzo. He appeared in an earlier draft of this chapter, and I couldn't stand it. It was way too contrived and stupid- just like him! Um... So I cut it out completely. But basically, Akatsuki attacked because they were looking for Naruto and destroyed a lot of the village and killed people. I wanted to wait for more of the manga to let me know what happened, but since that won't happen til next year I'm going forward.

Poor Naruto is being rather selfish and jealous. The whole village was just attacked, give Hinata a break!

Hurrah for super timeskip chapter ahead!

As always, thanks for reading!