Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. It rightfully belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Last time:

"But Hinata is already Head of the Hyuga and I plan on becoming Hokage."

"If you're in a position like that, either keep your position as Head of the Hyuga clan, become Head of the Uzumaki clan or join together and make one strong clan."

He had a choice, Konoha or the Land of the Whirlpool.

Celebrate a Birth, Grieve a Death

Her birthday had yet come again, twenty-three she turned and only more beautiful. She felt that this birthday would be one of the most special birthdays she had ever had. Instead of going through a ceremony that is traditionally done every, she was able to be free and enjoy herself. She wore a simple grey kimono that she was given to use during her stay. It fit her perfectly.

As for Naruto, he wore something a commoner would wear. They were going out into town and they didn't want to be the centre of attention. With a wave of good bye, they left the Uzumaki residence and began to walk around the small town.

They felt at home. The whole town smiled. A small boy came up to them and stared up at Naruto's forehead. His smile grew into a grin.

"That's a forehead protector, right mister?" he asked excitedly,

Naruto grinned back. "Yep!"

"Cool! I want to become a ninja!"

His father laughed. "You will," he said. And they left.

The Land of the Whirlpool was so calm. It was in peace and there was no-one who would come and destroy it. He would protect like it was Konoha if that did ever happen.

The town was getting ready for the New Year celebrations. A few of the shops were closed down to help out. A ramen stand was spotted in the corner of Naruto's eye who immediately ran to it. He wanted fresh ramen, not cup.

"One miso pork ramen please!" he ordered. He sat on a chair and gestured Hinata to follow. "I know you don't like ramen but I haven't had fresh ramen for ages!"

She only giggled. "I do like it a bit."

"Make that two please!" he called out. He then turned to his wife. "What do you want to do in the village?"

"I want to see how much the same the village and Konoha are. I also want to have a nice warm bath. It takes off some pressure."

"Here you go."

They were handed two large bowls of steaming ramen. To Naruto, it smelt like heaven. It didn't smell like it to Hinata though. It made her feel a bit sick. She pushed the bowl of hot ramen away from her with her free hand covering her mouth.

"You can have that Naruto," she said.

It was unusual for Hinata to step away from ramen. Whenever she was given a bowl of ramen, she would eat it. No she didn't hate it but it never satisfied her. He looked at her with worried eyes. "Are you okay?"

She nodded before taking a deep breath. "Naruto, I'll walk around for a while. I'll meet you back here in fifteen minutes."

Naruto quickly stuffed his mouth with the two bowls of ramen. He paid for it and stood up.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"I'm staying with you," he tried to say which actually came out like this, "I saying wif oo."

Hinata could only giggle at him. His cheeks were puffed out with remaining ramen. She could see he was trying his best to keep it in his mouth. After a couple of moments, he swallowed it down and said an 'ah' or relief.

"Any longer and my mouth would be in pieces," he said. He held out a bent arm, motioning her to grab on and continue their walk. She did so with pleasure and held his arm while she rested her head on his shoulder. "Let's look for some private place like the hidden spot in the Hokage monument. I'd like to see the whole town from above.

"That'd be nice. I do love that spot." Her mind was filled with the moment of when she fell. Tsunade screamed at her to use chakra but she didn't care. She missed Naruto too much to think of herself. Luckily Neji had caught her in time but received angered words from him in return. She shook her head slightly to get rid of those thoughts.

Naruto had noticed Hinata was slightly troubled by a memory. He wasn't sure what memory would be troubling. He only walked on to the village's version of the Hokage monument. Sure enough, they had found a path that led them upwards. They took the trail. They were close to the top when they heard quiet sobbing. It didn't sound familiar but curious, they went on. Mika sat in front of a small cross with a lily in her hand. She was the crying girl.

"Mika-chan?"

She jumped slightly in fright. No-one was supposed to find her. She wiped the tears away and looked at her cousin with a smile. "What are you doing here?" she asked politely.

"Well, we thought that because this is a mini version of Konoha, there would be a track that leads to the top of the Hokage monument. It's our secret place," Naruto explained.

"And why are you here?" asked Hinata. She let go of Naruto's arm and slowly walked to her. "Is that someone special?"

Mika nodded her head. "My mum died here after I was born. I'm not exactly sure how she died since no-one will tell me. People say she accidentally walked off the cliff which isn't likely and others say she died by giving birth to me. Even father won't tell me so I think it might be pretty gruesome." Fresh tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. "I wish she didn't die. I want to talk to her."

Naruto looked at the scenery. It was beautiful. Somewhere on the outskirts of the village was a small waterfall. Inside the village had so many people who laughed and smile and oh, it was such a nice view. To know that you're safe and you're happy, it made Naruto feel a bit envious.

"At least she has a great view," he said.

"Yes, she does but wouldn't it be better if she saw it now and interact with it." She stopped to let the tears out. "She would be so happy."

"But she is…already. She's proud of you and what you have achieved. You're part of the Uzumaki clan, a strong clan that has managed to build its own land. I bet the Uchiha clan wouldn't be as successful," he added.

"I guess you're right," Mika said. She stood up and wiped the tears with the sleeve of her kimono. She turned to face Hinata. "Thank you for helping me and Hinata-sama," she took out a blue ribbon. "Happy birthday." She paused for a moment as she handed it to Hinata.

"Thank you Mika-chan."

Mika smiled, this time, a genuine smile. "I thank you both and as it is your birthday Hinata-sama, I'll give you some private time. See you back at the mansion." And she was gone.

Naruto sat down in his spot. Hinata tied her hair up with the blue ribbon and kneeled down next to him. She leaned on his shoulder. It was so comforting. She looked up at him. He had a disturbing frown on his face, one that she didn't like.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm sort of…" he began.

"Sort of what?"

"Scared…about my mother. I've only just met her and we have a year to be with each other. What if it's less than that and she dies when I'm not ready for it? It scares me to think one moment she's alive and the next she's…" he could continue as tears welled in his eyes.

"Naruto, don't think about that now. I'm not stopping you from visiting her everyday, every hour. Enjoy being with her and don't hesitate. I am here for you as well. We support each other and I'm not going to change that."

She wiped the tears away from his eyes. She felt hurt inside; it was quite rare for Naruto to cry. "Please stop crying," she said. "You're hurting me as well."

With his eyes dried, he bent down and planted a soft kiss on her silky hair. "I have."

She smiled with joy. She jumped onto him and giggled with pleasure. "I love you so much!"

He could see it. They both wanted to be young children when they didn't go through so much. He could see Hinata's childish ways popping up but with tears in her eyes. It was as if she was scared about his mother too. He knew she didn't want Kushina to die either. All he could do was wrap his arms around her.

"Thank you," he said.

She buried her face into his chest, hiding forming tears. 'We will go through this together Naruto.' She reminded herself of that saying that Sakura had told her. 'Every cloud has a silver lining…you must go through the bad in order to get the good.'

I'm sooo sorry I didn't update this earlier and I'm sorry for the OOCness from Hinata. It's something that I do every now and then and I needed to put that in. I didn't know how to end this chapter as well! I had writer's block and I wanted to change most of the chapter because the older version was bad. I've rewritten this two or three times. There was also school work to deal with, money to get in…ahhh! There is so much. The next chapter I'll try my very best to put up by the end of next week.
Note: This chapter had been reposted due to a mistake some people have pointed out. Thank you for telling me!

Thank you so much everyone! And don't forget to review!