Hero's Heart

Chapter 4

Hero's Come Back

Note: I hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday season.

Kakashi spread the word to the entire village, and the news set the village upside. Everyone frantically grabbed all of the decorations that they could and set them up for Naruto to see. All they were told was that he was going to appear in front of the Konoha entrance so that's where all of the action was taking place. Even his friends were getting pumped to see his return. They eventually found out why he was gone and were extremely excited to see how much he's improved and to see if he learned anything new.

Meanwhile, Hinata was alone at home, completely unaware of the fact that Naruto was coming home today. She was working on a little project for him that she spent the entire year on. No one knew about so it allowed her to really make it worth the while when Naruto sees it. It wasn't quite done, but out of nowhere, she heard cannon fire from her room which startled her. She still didn't know what it was for, but in reality, Naruto had returned.

The crowds were cheering and even some of the girls were crying. The most well-known person in the village had returned in such incredible fashion. There were a couple of changes to his apparel that really turned heads. He cut his hair, he had on his red and black cloak, and wore a scroll on his back. It was obvious that he had become a true Sage. No one knew it though. They just cheered for the return of their hero. As the cheering continued, something caused the crowds to split. It was the Hokage. At that moment, Naruto got on his knee and bowed to him.

"Lord Hoka…"

"Oi, oi. I've never really liked that name, especially coming from you, Naruto." He saw Naruto raise his head and slowly put a smile on his face. "Welcome back."

"I'm glad to be back."

When he rose to his feet, he took his first steps into the village and everyone welcomed him back with smiles on their faces and friendly pats on his back. He walked through the huge crowd of people until he came across the ones who he knew the most. All of his shinobi friends were waiting patiently for him.

"Hey Naruto, welcome back."

"Hey you guys." At that moment, he completely dropped his grandeur act and ran at them at full speed and gave every one of them a big hug. "Dang. It feels like it's been so long."

"I mean, a year can feel longer for some and shorter for others."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Shikamaru."

"So what did you do on your time away?"

"Yeah, we've all been anxious to hear about it."

"Don't worry. I'll tell you guys everything you want to know. Let's head to Ichiraku's though. You have no idea how long I've been craving ramen. I will tell you that the food where I was training was not something worth dying for. Anyway, let's going." Right as he took his first steps towards the ramen house, he noticed something was off. "Hey, where's Hinata?"

"Oh yeah, she's not with us. Have you guys seen her?"

"She's probably at the Hyuga dojo."

"Sakura-chan, where is that," he demanded as he grabbed her shoulders.

"It's just up the hill passed the Hokage quarters. Why?"

"Thanks." At that moment, he turned around and ran in that direction.

"Oi Naruto, what happened to our plans of going to Ichiraku's?!"

"You guys go ahead! I'll catch up!" He didn't respond to anything after that. He just kept on running until he arrived at the Hyuga dojo. When he arrived, the place was very quiet and almost deserted. This was his first time being on this side of town so it was a little strange knowing that there was a place in the village that he didn't know about. He knocked on the door and took a deep breath. Not before too long, someone opened up the front gate. "Hanabi-chan? You live here?"

"Of course I live here. I'm a Hyuga, idiot."

"Right. My bad, I totally forgot. Well, it's nice to see you after so long."

"I guess I could say the same to you, Naruto-san."

"Hey, is Hinata around? I need to speak with her."

"Yeah, she's in her room. However, she's been locked up in there for a long time so I don't know if you'll be able to speak with her."

"Can you just show me where that it? I'm sure I'll be able to do something."

"Alright. Suit yourself." Hanabi guided him through the dojo and to Hinata's room where she left him alone. "Good luck." She waved goodbye and disappeared without a trace. For a brief second, he stared at the door before knocking.

"Hanabi, I already told you that I'm busy right now."

"Hinata, it's me."

"Hyah!" A whole bunch of crashing sounds came from inside which made Naruto worried. He bashed through the door, already in Sage Mode.

"Hinata, are you okay?!" He quickly examined the room and noticed that there was nothing wrong. However, Hinata was on the ground with her sewing equipment everywhere around her.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?"

"I just got back and wanted to see you. Did I happen to come at a bad time?"

Her face turned red.

"No, no, no. Of course not. You just surprised. I had no idea that you were coming back so soon."

"So soon. It's been a year. Did time go that slowly for you?"

"N-Not really."

Naruto walked over to her and stuck out his hand to her.

"Well, time couldn't go any faster for me." He pulled her up and picked up her things. "I didn't know you sewed."

"Yeah, it's kind of a hidden hobby that I have."

"I like it. It really fits your personality."

His words were a constant bombardment of embarrassing things for her. There was so much she wanted to say, but in this situation, she just couldn't do it. Naruto had complete control of their conversation and decided to continue with where they left off.

"Hinata, would you like to come with me? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"O-Of course."

The two of them left the Hyuga dojo and headed up the ways to some place Hinata was unaware of. As they walked to their destination, Naruto was silent the entire time. Hinata decided not to speak either since it was obvious that he was going to share everything with her when they got to wherever they were heading. After a while, Naruto lead her to the top of the Hokage Mountain. He was silent at first, but slowly the conversation.

"Hinata, I really do want to say sorry about leaving like that."

"No, it's okay. You did what you had to do."

"I mean, that's true, but…"

"Naruto-kun, if you think I'm mad at you, I'm not. I'm actually really happy that you're back. Things have been too different without you here."

"What? Like bad different?"

"Not exactly. It's just… A lot of people were missing you and everyone wanted you back. I wa… Never mind."

"Hinata, I wanted to talk to you about what we talked about before I left."

At that moment, Hinata started to grow shy. Her cheeks were red and her legs were starting to lose strength. However, she tried to combat this as best as she could. She knew what he was talking about and was determined to speak her mind as well. The last time this happened, she was unable to open her mouth. This time, she was going to do what she promised to do.

"I know I said some things that you might have misunderstood."

She widened her eyes and lost the words that she was thinking about.

"But I meant every word I said."

Her reaction changed once again.

"You did?"

"I did, and I feel it even more now that I'm back from Mount Myouboku."

"W-What do you mean?"

"When I was training, I learned something crucial that allowed me to take the final step in my training."

"What was that?"

"I don't need to do all of this on my own." Naruto grabbed her hand and smiled. "I'm not doing this because I need to. I'm doing this because I want to. Hyuga Hinata, I love you. What do you say?"

"Naruto-kun, you don't understand how long I've wanted to tell you how I feel. Now that I have the opportunity, I don't know what to say."

"So is that a no?"

She shook her head.

"It's quite the opposite." She let go of his hand and put her hands on his cheek. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. This caught Naruto off guard, but soon figured out what her answer was. He lowered his hands and put them on her hips. Together, they shared their very first embrace. An embrace that they would never be able to forget.

End of Chapter 4