Colors of Life and Death series
Truth in Dreams
by Songbird21

Chapter 15

This chapter should put more than a few people's minds at ease. :)

Please read and review. I love reviews! Thanks!

Tsunade eyed the four gennin in front of her with a stern expression. "So to sum it up—Itachi used a bunshin to lure you," she glared at Sasuke in disappointment, "out of the village and you followed without informing a single other shinobi which wound up endangering you, Naruto, Lee, and TenTen. Do I have it about right?"

Sasuke sighed angrily at himself. "Yes," he answered through gritted teeth.

Tsunade drummed her fingers on her desktop. "Alright then. Naruto, TenTen, and Lee—you three may go home. Sasuke, please stay behind."

Sasuke nodded sullenly while the others rose from their seats. The scraping of the chairs was a sharp reminder that he was about to be left alone with one of the scariest women in existence—not something he was looking forward to.

"Good luck," Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke with a slight wince of sympathy.

They filed out one by one. TenTen was the last to go, shooting Sasuke a glance just before disappearing through the doorway.

As soon as the door clicked shut Tsunade sighed heavily. "You are very lucky Genma happened to see you leave the village. I know that your hatred toward your brother is very strong, but that doesn't excuse what you did tonight. I'm removing you from active duty for two weeks. Hopefully this will give you time to reflect on your stupidity."

Sasuke gritted his teeth for a second before answering. "Hai, Tsunade-sama."

"I gave you your life back after you betrayed our village and nearly killed Naruto...Please don't waste my generosity," Tsunade requested solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama but, I don't make promises...that I can't keep," Sasuke said sadly.

Tsunade sighed in disappointment. "You're dismissed."

Sasuke simply got out of his seat and left the room.

Naruto tossed and turned under his sheets, the beginnings of sweat forming on his forehead. In his dreams he was in a dark cavern and the sounds of screaming were echoing all around him. He stood in the cavern center, desperately trying to find the source of the screams when a small portion of the area lit up.

In this light was Kikyo—on her chair, in her bonds, and screaming in a way that pierced one's very soul with horror. Tsunade knelt on one side of the circle—performing the jutsu Naruto had asked her to. And on the far wall, he saw himself watching the entire scene with relish—Drinking in every sound the terrified Kikyo made.

As Naruto watched himself he began to feel sick to his stomach. Was that really him? Was he really this person who wanted another living human's torture to go on forever? It was as if everything he was, everything he had worked so hard to achieve, was vanishing in that twisted expression. Tears formed as his voice found his throat. "NO! No stop it!" he screamed. But it did no good, for this was not a fantasy and could not be changed.

Naruto woke up with a start. He clutched his hand over his heart and his breath came in short gasps as the tears began to fall. "What kind of monster am I?" he asked himself in a voice barely above a whisper. He stood up and headed for his mother's room.

Tsunade turned her head to glare at the door that the knocking was coming from. "This'd better be important or I'm going to kill someone," she muttered under her breath. She opened the door to find her son standing before her—pale as a sheet with cheeks moist from crying. She was instantly concerned. "Naruto—what's wrong?"

"Kaa-san, can that jutsu be reversed?" Naruto asked with wild desperation in his eyes.

Instead of shaking her head and saying 'no', Tsunade sighed and smiled, looking greatly relieved. "I was waiting for you to ask that."

Naruto just stared at her for a moment. "You were?" he asked quietly.

Tsunade nodded. "When you asked for that sentence I was shocked, but I realized that you asked for it because you were hurting. I only agreed to it because I knew you wouldn't leave her like that."

Surprise swept over Naruto's face. "You did?"

Tsunade nodded. "I knew because," she bent down a little and placed a hand on his chest over his heart, "the Naruto in here, could never become that boy I saw in the cave."

The tiniest of smiles tugged at one corner of his mouth as another tear made its way down his face. "I...I'm not a monster?"

Tsunade's smile widened slightly and she embraced her son. "No...never..."

Kikyo blinked her eyes in surprise when her hand actually moved. She stared down at it for a moment before looking at the blonde haired boy in front of her with a suspicious glare. "Why?"

Naruto simply gave Kikyo a superior glare. "Because...I'm better than you." With that, he walked away, not even bothering to look behind him.

A stunned Kikyo did nothing but stare after him as the nurse brought her clothes.

Tsunade smiled in satisfaction before turning to Kikyo. "As soon as you're dressed the jounin waiting outside will transfer you to prison—where you'll spend the rest of your life." When Kikyo didn't respond Tsunade left.

Tsunade caught up with Naruto just as he had exited the hospital. "I'm proud of you," she said as she fell in step with him.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Kaa-san."

"Tomoyo said you had a little trouble with your sealing lessons yesterday," Tsunade said with a slight chuckle.

Naruto's smile quickly turned into a pout. "Yeah."

"She also told me why," Tsunade said with a cocked eyebrow as they turned onto the main street.

Naruto turned a little red in response.

"It's not a problem, brat. We just have to work on your handwriting," Tsunade said with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Naruto said dejectedly as he kicked at the dirt.

"You know what? Hinata has wonderful handwriting. I'm sure she'd be able to help," Tsunade offered.

Naruto's eyes widened. "That's a great idea! I'll go find her now!" He ran off down the road. "Thanks, Baa-chan!" he called back over his shoulder.

Tsunade winced a bit at her old nickname finding life again, but quickly smiled. "You can do it, brat," she whispered.

TenTen was on her way to Sasuke's apartment. She'd planned to offer to train with him in an effort to lift his spirits. When she got to his building she lept up the wooden balconies until she reached the covered walkway which led to his door, knocked on the door, and waited. After a moment she tried again. When no one answered she pouted a bit in disappointment. "I guess he's not home."

"TenTen?"

TenTen spun around to find Sasuke standing behind her with a bag of groceries. "There you are," she said with a smile. "You want a rematch?"

Sasuke seemed to think on the matter for a moment. "Not really in the mood. Besides, I need to put this stuff away," he said as he put his key in the lock.

"Well then I'll help," TenTen replied cheerfully as the lock clicked.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "I think I can put away one bag of groceries by myself," he said as he turned the doorknob.

TenTen sighed dejectedly. "Okay. See ya around then," she said with a half-hearted smile. She turned around and jumped down to ground level.

Sasuke's face was a wall of regret as he watched her go. "See you around," he said quietly.

Naruto curled his hand into a loose fist, raised it, lowered it, and raised it again. He was standing at the gate to the Hyuuga complex—fighting the urge to run. He knew Hinata's father hated him and would not take kindly to him just showing up on his doorstep out of the blue. Finally he drummed up his courage and knocked. For a moment nothing happened, but then the gates creaked open.

A male Hyuuga jounin was standing in the now open gateway. The disdain he had for Naruto was clearly written on his face. "Yes?"

Naruto cleared his throat. "I'm—um...here to see Hinata-chan," he said nervously.

The jounin sighed and pushed his glasses further onto his nose. "Wait here." He turned around and shut the gate, appearing about ten minutes later looking even more unhappy than he had earlier. "This way please." He headed toward the main house and Naruto followed.

The glances Naruto received from the residents of the compound varied more than he would've thought. Some were indifferent, only glancing upwards to see who had come in. Some gave him the same disdainful glare he'd gotten at the gate. A few of them, though, actually smiled when he passed. "At least they don't all hate me," he thought with some hope.

They turned down a hallway and stopped in front of a large door. "I will announce you. Stay there." After a moment the jounin returned. "He'll see you now."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks." Suddenly something dawned on him. "Wait...he?"

The jounin smirked. "Yes. Hiashi-sama wishes to speak with you."

Naruto's stomach suddenly felt like a block of cement. What was going on? He was supposed to see Hinata, not face down the man who'd be happy to see his throat slit. He wanted nothing more than to run, but something told him that leaving would be the wrong thing to do so he gulped and entered the room.

The room was fairly impressive. It looked as though at least fifteen people could occupy it comfortably. Small bamboo chutes sat in ornate pots in each of the four corners, a large Japanese lantern style light hung in the center of the ceiling and provided most of the light. The slack was taken up by wall lamps on the left and right walls.

Hiashi was sitting on a large pillow on one side of a short table with a beautiful Japanese crane carved in the center. He had a short stack of what looked like paperwork in front of him. He glanced up with an indifferent look and waved a hand at the pillow opposite his position. "Please, sit," he said as he finished scanning the top paper and put it to one side. He sighed, folded his arms and looked over the obviously nervous boy.

Naruto's heart hammered in his chest. What if he was told he couldn't see Hinata anymore? The very thought made him sick to his stomach, but then he remembered his mother would step in if it came to that so he calmed down a little. "Will he just say something already?"

After what seemed like an eternity, Hiashi spoke. "I don't see it," he said finally.

"S-see what?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Whatever it is my daughter sees in you. I will allow the relationship to continue, however," Hiashi said matter-of-factly.

Naruto visibly relaxed a bit.

"When I first discovered you two were a couple I was very angry. I wanted you separated, but of course, your mother wouldn't allow it," Hiashi said a small amount of venom in his voice. "I asked Hinata why you were so important to her. After hearing her explanation I decided it would be interesting to see where the path she had chosen was headed." He cleared his throat and paused for a moment—seemingly collecting his thoughts.

"Although I still don't see what she does, I will say this." He unfolded his arms, interlaced his fingers and placed his hands on the table top. "Ever since she has been with you, a change has come over her. She is bolder than she used to be, she's nearly stopped stuttering in my presence, and she has been improving drastically in her training. Before ten months ago I never would have thought kaiten was possible for her, but now she is nearly as skilled in it as Neji. I had spent many years despising you so this is difficult for me to say, but...you have my blessing, to continue courting her."

Naruto's mouth fell open in an 'O' of shock.

"You've instilled in her the confidence...that I was not able to give her." Silence. "And for that I thank you," Hiashi finished with a barely noticeable smile.

Naruto finally found his voice. "I...I don't know what to say."

Hiashi sighed and his mouth curled into a bemused smile. "Perhaps you could say that you will at least attempt to act a little more refined when you are with my daughter in public?"

Naruto winced. "I'm not very good at that, but I can give it a shot."

Hiashi nodded. "That is all I ask. You may see Hinata now."

Naruto was about to simply thank Hiashi and then leave, but then he remembered his promise to attempt refinement and bowed. "Arigato, Hiashi-sama," he said with a much respect as he could muster.

Hiashi's eyebrows rose in surprise, but then he smiled. "You are welcome."

Hanabi poked her head into her sister's room. "Nee-san, Naruto is here to see you."

Hinata looked up from her book and smiled. "Thank you, Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi smiled and left the room.

Naruto walked in. "Hey, Hina-chan," he said with a big grin.

"Hi. I can't believe father actually let you in," Hinata said with a pleased expression. She hugged Naruto and they sat down on some floor pillows.

"Well, I'm not exactly by myself. There's a guard outside to make sure I...don't do anything perverted," Naruto said with a blush.

Hinata blushed a bit as well. "W-well there isn't much to do in my room besides read."

Naruto looked around the room a bit. The walls were mostly white, with the exception of a bamboo forest painted on the wall containing the window. Her bed was tucked in one corner, was decorated in mostly decorated in purples and blues and it had a bright blue nightstand next to it. On the wall opposite the bed was a green bookcase with a stuffed panda bear sitting on top. Most of the books inside were at least two inches thick. He winced a little. He hated long books. They were hard for him to get through.

"Well, what I came to ask you about isn't all that exciting anyway," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his neck.

Hinata smiled. "What is it?"

"I-ah...I need some help with my handwriting," Naruto answered with a blush.

Hinata blinked. "Your handwriting?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I was practicing sealing things into scrolls and...my handwriting was so bad that it didn't work."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Oh..."

"So...can you help me?" Naruto asked.

Hinata smiled. "Hai."

"Great!"

"Just let me get some paper," Hinata said as she stood and walked over to her night stand. She opened the drawer and pulled out a short stack of paper, then grabbed a brush and a bottle of ink from their spot on top. Lastly, she pulled a lap desk from under her bed, put it on Naruto's lap and laid the writing supplies on top of that.

"Okay," Hinata said as she sat down next to Naruto, "just write something so I can see what needs to be done," she asked sweetly.

"Right." Naruto took the brush and began writing. After about two minutes he showed her his work.

Hinata took the paper from him. "Okay, let's see..." Her eyebrows rose a bit in shock and her expression turned apologetic. "I...can't read it."

Naruto's face fell.

"Wh...What did it say?" Hinata asked softly.

Naruto sighed sadly. "It says 'Hinata is beautiful'."

Hinata smiled and blushed. "Th...Thank you." She looked at the paper again.

Naruto let out a small snort. "I guess I'm not very good at teaching myself."

Now Hinata looked confused. "Teaching yourself?"

"Yeah. I had to teach myself how to read and write," Naruto explained.

Hinata frowned. "But what about the academy? They teach reading in the entry grade."

Naruto closed his eyes. "I didn't always have Iruka-sensei. My first teachers made me stand outside during lessons. Said they didn't think I even had the right to be there. Of course, back then I didn't know why they said those things," he said with a shrug. "I just thought they hated me cause I'm an orphan and..." he stopped when he saw the expression on Hinata's face, which was full of sadness. "Gomen...I didn't mean to make you sad," he said softly.

Hinata suddenly wrapped her arms around him. "So much," she said in a whisper. "Why did you have to go through so much?"

Naruto gave her a squeeze. "I'm okay now. Don't worry."

Hinata released him and sat straight again. "But...how did you learn without any help?"

Naruto laughed a little. "When I was in my third year I skipped classes sometimes. I snuck outside and listened under the window of the first year class. It was hard cause I had to sneak looks at the chalkboard without getting caught," he said with a smile of pride.

Hinata stared at the writing for another moment. "Well, that would explain why you still write in hiragana. At least," she turned the paper on its side, "I think it's hiragana."

Naruto winced.

Hinata's eyes suddenly went wide. "If you didn't even start teaching yourself until you were in third year then that means..."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah," He swallowed, "I couldn't read till I was almost nine."

Realization swept over Hinata's face like a wave. "S...So that's why your grades were so bad."

Naruto nodded again. "Yeah, but like I said, I'm okay now."

Hinata's expression became determined and she gave him a quick kiss. "Let's get started."

...TO BE CONTINUED

I am so amazed no one called me on the fact that Naruto was sitting in a swing in Hinata's back yard a few chapters ago. He shouldn't have been there with out a 'meet Hiashi' scene. Anyway. I changed that scene to them being in the park so I could write the events in this chap without people going "Heeeey wait a minute..." LOL.

It's been a while since I've said it so I thought I'd mention it again. I love love LOVE COLAD fanart. If any of you have some please send it my way. :)

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you next week:)