KONOHA
Kakashi stared out the window enjoying the peace not wanting to acknowledge the teams who had returned and hear the reports of what they encountered and ruin the good vibes he was experiencing.
"You can't just ignore us and hope we'll go away Hokage-Sama" Shikamaru couldn't help the annoyance that slipped into his voice considering he hadn't slept yet and if this continued sleep would continue to avoid him.
"You know I don't like being called that it makes everything so serious" turning around to finally let his eyes sweep over their current state being pleased when the looks of Team 7, Team 8, team 10, and Team Gai all reflected that they haven't been in any combat. (Neji didn't die in the war)
"Then you should hurry up and hand over the hat to me Kakashi-sensei!!" Naruto yelled slamming both his hand on the Hokage's desk sending Kakashi a grin.
"We'll talk about it after you finish up those classes we set up for you and become a Jōnin, Chūnin Naruto," Said Kakashi stressing the Chūnin title before Naruto's name with a closed eye smile.
Being reminded of his rank and hearing his peers who managed to make Jōnin snicker Naruto's smile faltered" Shut up I'm still the strongest and I'll catch up and be your boss soon" Naruto turned on them and gave them a smug look "besides at least I'm ranked higher than Sasuke" Him being the one to snicker now.
Sakura perked up at the mention of Sasuke's name "Have you heard back from Sasuke-kun yet Kakashi-sensei" looking hopeful.
"Unfortunately I haven't managed to contact Sasuke," Kakashi said with a sigh "although Sasuke's a higher rank than you Naruto considering he's currently serving as Konoha's spymaster" to the shock of his peers.
"What since when" cried Naruto
"Towards the end of his brief imprisonment, Tsunade and I had Sasuke take the necessary test after he completed his mandatory classes to be reinstated as a Konoha Nin".
"That clears up a lot of questions I had on how he's able to travel the nations so freely, so you granted Sasuke the same travel status as Jiraiya and Tsunade-sama once had," said Neji knowing the Uchiha was once a rogue Ninja
"That's correct" Kakashi nodding at Neji
"I assume you talked to the other Kage and village leaders" Shikamaru added picking up on where Neji was going with this.
"I understand both your concerns but I assure you I've spoken with all the kage while Daimyo-sama spoke with the others Daimyo to clear Sasuke there was a little pushback by The Land of Lightning due to the attack on Killer Bee on their sole and the battle at the Kage Summit they let it go due to his actions in ending the war the others didn't have a problem with it Mei even said and I quote a handsome man like Sasuke is free to enter her wetlands anytime " Kakashi finished with a giggle at the innuendo.
"What!!!" Sakura screamed, "Who does she think she is seducing tryna seduce Sasuke-kun like that you didn't tell him she said that did you?" She finished nervously remembering Mei's good looks, status and power.
"Judging from your tone at the end there I'll say you know exactly who she thinks she is" Kiba added with a chuckle before stopping when he saw the glare Sakura was pointing at him
" oh c'mon Forehead when you gonna let it go and admit he's not interested in you" commented Ino
"Shut up he promised he'd return so I'm gonna wait for his return" Sakura blushed imagining Sasuke coming back to settle down with her before adding "Just because you accepted he doesn't want you doesn't mean you should try to sabotage what I have with him"
"Are you so delusional you forgot already that he returned before and left without you?" Ino said rolling her eyes "I moved on from Sasuke when we were 13 besides I realized we would never work any way he's looking for the next Uchiha Matriarch to repopulate his Clan while I'm the Yamanaka Clan head" ignoring the knowing looks from Shikamaru and Choji since they know she only moved on once she met Sai.
"Hey! Sakura-Chan would make for an amazing wife and any guy would be lucky to have her," Naruto said coming to the defence of his crush sending her a smile
"Thank you, Naruto," Sakura said sending Naruto a sincere smile causing his to look bashful and scratch behind his head
Hinata couldn't help but notice this exchange feeling down that she had never been on the receiving end of such words from Naruto or caused him to behave In a shy manner like Sakura seemed to cause him to. Neji noticing her expression cursed Naruto internally before noticing the state of fatigue from the others or boredom in the case of Rock Lee who was bouncing on the spot he decided to get the conversation back on track.
"We should finish up the report I'm sure some of us would like to get some rest" Neji cut in once everyone was quiet and seeing Kakashi mod to go on he said " After piling together all the information the Teams managed to gather we've only managed to pinpoint where the rumour seems to originate which is Tanzaku-Gai we weren't able to determine who's responsible for the selling or hunting though Hokage-sama"
Taking a moment to think Kakashi nodded " It would seem whoever we are dealing with is smarter than we thought that town is an entertainment district with many people coming in and out we could go ask around but they scene too many faces to point out any suspicious person lurking around spreading tales" releasing a sigh and rubbing his forehead "well there's nothing we could do right now until we know more you guys should get some rest while you can your dismissed".
While leaving with everyone else Hinata still couldn't get the image of Naruto-Kun's acts around Sakura-Chan out of her head they disheartened her because she thought that her attempt to sacrifice her life for his and her confession during pain would get him to realize her feelings for him but he still seems ignorant of her feelings, not wanting to make her friends worry she resolved to deal with this matter on her own and talk to Naruto-Kun in private seeing everyone say their goodbyes and starting to split up Hinata realized she zoned out seeing Naruto-Kun about to head off on his own she cried out
"N-Naruto-kun wait" Running to catch up with him
Hearing someone call his name Naruto stopped walking turning around " Hinata-Chan hey did you need something?" giving her a questioning look
Not finding the exact words to express herself to him she shook her head " I-I was just wondering if you'd like to get some Ramen"
At the mention of his favourite food, Naruto perks up before deflating " I'd love to but I just got reminded I should hurry up and finish those classes with Iruka-Sensei" Seeing the down look on Hinata's face he added "But we could get some in after I'm done in about an hour if that's okay with you?"
"In an hour is fine Naruto-kun" confirming to Him she was fine with meeting in an hour Naruto left leaving Hinata to hurry home to get ready excited for her date.
1 hour later…..
Ichiraku Ramen
Hinata arrived wondering if she should wait outside or go inside to acquire seats for her and Naruto-kun due to the increased popularity of the shop thanks to him there always seemed to be customers inside nowadays not wanting anything to go wrong Hinata decided to go inside and take a seat opening the flap of the curtains taking note that only Teuchi and his Daughter Ayame are here
"Hinata-Chan haven't seen you in a while what could we get for you," Ayame said with a kind smile with Teuchi giving his greetings from the back
"Hello Ayame-Chan, Teuchi-san I'm waiting for someone if you don't mind if it's a problem I could wait outside" not sure if her sitting on a stool and not ordering is allowed
"Non-sense make yourself I'm gonna go help pops in the back just call when you're ready," Ayame said making her way into the back.
Taking the alone time to settle her nerves she reassured herself "You could do this Hinata just behave normally and ask him at the end of the night about your confession" she whispered under her breath.
1 hour later…..
'It seems Naruto-kun forgot about me again' Hinata thought to herself dejected looking out and seeing all the light had faded from the sky indicating it was now nighttime
"Hey, Hinata-Chan still waiting huh?" Ayame comes from the back seeing Hinata still here alone "Would you like a bowl of Ramen while you wait?"
"A-actually I think I'll just take a bowl of Miso Ramen to go" Feeling she's waited long enough and he's not coming after waiting for Ayame to cook and package it to go she took out the necessary amount to pay before being shocked at Ayame rejecting her payment
"I know what's it like to be stood up it's free of charge Hinata," Ayame said with a sigh
Hinata said her thanks and bid her goodbyes before making her toward the Hyuuga compound on her way she couldn't help but think 'Maybe I should move on from Naruto-kun like Ino-Chan moved on from Uchiha-san' noticing she was near his apartment and not yet wanting to let go of her love for him she decided to stop by and bring him the to-go Ramen and maybe talk to him about the confession with a new location in mind She set off before arriving at his door as soon as she was bout to knock she heard
A moan of "N-naruto stop" before hearing a female's drunken giggles not wanting to hear anymore or to break down and reveal herself Hinata fled dropping the Ramen and holding back her tears and sobs
After running for a while and finding herself at the training fields she finally let her sadness overtake her letting her tears fall and her sobs cry out not even minding that it's started to rain
"You know they say There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love."
Caught off guard With a Gasp Hinata turned around coming face to face with the one and only Uchiha Sasuke exiting a portal.