I wish I could say I have a whole list of people who could have died in place of Neji and Jiraiya and provided the same character development and pushed Naruto the way their deaths did, but I don't. Writing this made me sad
The New Year had come, celebrations had been held, and Hinata was surrounded by her clan. Her family. Yet still, she felt alone. Even though snow covered the ground, the cold was still coming through her thick blanket. She sat, legs crossed in front of Neji's grave, tears drying against her face. A few others had come and gone while she sat, Tenten had sat with her for over an hour. Neither girl talking, just silently crying while holding the other's hand. Hinata was about to stand to leave when the blanket dipped beside her.
"Hey." Naruto's normally light-filled face was drawn tight in grief. "Sorry I wasn't here sooner."
"What do you mean?"
"He just, he gave it all for us, I wouldn't be here without him. Hell none of us would probably be here without him and he deserves my respect."
"Neji Nis-San and I didn't always get along. Honestly, we spent more of our lives disliking each other than we did getting along. But even with that I knew this, he was selfless and kind. A lot of people didn't know that and didn't get to see that side of him. But the Neji I grew to know, to love, the one who took care of me and made sure I was keeping up on my training, wouldn't care who visited his grave. He would care who was taking the missions to keep this village safe, and who was maintaining their relationships with their comrades. Naruto, I know you're doing that. You're living the way Neji would have wanted you to."
"Well crap Hinata, I just wanted to come here. Tell the guy I was grateful for what he did, what he gave for us, ya know. And you have all that to say."
"I mean it too, I know you two had your differences but he'd be proud of you. I know I am." She adds the last part in a hushed tone turning away from him.
Naruto feels the back of his neck heat, chuckling at her words. "Nah, I'm just doing what needs to be done, nothing special, ya know."
"Who else is taking missions during the New Year celebrations?"
"Someone's gotta do it." Naruto draws his knees up, leaning back on his hands. "Not like I have a family to celebrate with."
Hinata's heart breaks at his words. "But are you taking breaks, taking care of yourself?"
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto looks up at the gray sky.
"You just look," Hinata pauses, searching for the right word "off."
"I went right from my mission to Jiraiya-sensei's grave. I had," he pauses "I had a hard time there."
"Wanna talk about it?"
Shock briefly passes over Naruto's face "He just, he meant a lot to me. Yeah, he taught me things about being a shinobi but he was also my God Father and my dad's sensei, not a lot of people know that actually." Naruto pauses, turning to face Hinata.
"I only found out after he died, while going through some of my parents' old things Kakashi-sensei found while cleaning out the Hokage's office. I don't think he didn't want me to know, I just think he felt bad about not being there for me more. But he was, ya know, when I wasn't training with him we wrote letters. He'd show up randomly in the village for a day or I'd feel his chakra while on a mission. Just making sure I was okay. Jiraiya-sensei was the last person I had to tie me to my parents. And I never got to say goodbye. He fucking died trying to protect this village, a village that hardly knew he existed outside of his book series. He just,"
Naruto trails off, tears falling down his cheeks. "He gave everything. Left me alone to fight a war he knew was coming. I don't know why I expected him to stick around no one does.
Hinata looked up at him, thinking back to the last time she had seen him cry at this grave. "Naruto." She starts.
"I know, I know Hinata. I have you and our other friends. Kakashi-sensei and Granny Tsunade, but I just wanted someone to tell me about my parents. Someone to be a damn adult for me." Hinata draws in a deep breath and reaches out to take his hand in hers, running her thumb over the back. Naruto turns his hand, interlacing his fingers with hers.
"Wanna just sit for a bit?"
Hinata pauses, shocked at the way her hand fits in hers. "Sure." And they do just that, hand in hand, the silence comfortable around them.