Chapter 10: Changes

Naruto listened to the sounds of the birds that morning, his eyes closed as he focused on the sounds of the different kinds of chirps. The morning air was cool against his skin, the wind rustled the trees and created a sound that created an atmosphere that calmed him.

"Uzumaki-san", he heard a soft voice.

He quickly opened his eyes and stood a bit straighter as he realized it had been one of the servants from the Hyuga compound who had called out to him.

"Ohayo Natsu, sorry about that. And please, just Naruto is fine," Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Natsu smiled warmly in greeting with a short bow of her head in acknowledgment.

"Hinata-san will be ready in a few moments. Hiashi-sama would like to see you for a moment." Natsu said as she stepped aside and motioned for him to enter the compound.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, his palms suddenly felt clammy at this invitation. He had half a mind to look behind him at the gate but thought otherwise to avoid any miscommunication.

"S-sure", Naruto said as he slowly picked up his feet to go up the steps.

Natsu saw his hesitancy and couldn't help but give him a bit of advice.

"Remember Naruto, you're the hero of Konoha, we all appreciate your efforts greatly, including Hiashi-sama," she said as she followed behind him.

Naruto sighed as he didn't have the heart to tell her that these compliments did not help much. He had promised to protect the village at an early age, this meant the people in it as well, no matter who they were or what they had done, and much less what they had thought of him. Naruto knew from the sorrow in Hiashi's eyes that he felt great remorse for the way he had treated Neji, and he had hoped maybe Hiashi had changed for the better.

He was led to a grand tea room, the polished wood shined with the sun warmly and the sliding doors opened widely to show the view of a beautiful garden with a koi pond, the sounds of water running smoothly in the distance.

Naruto's eyes widened fractionally as he saw Hiashi come from around the corner of one of the sliding doors. He quickly whipped his head to the side to ask Natsu about when Hinata should arrive, but he found that she had already left from behind him. Naruto stood a bit straighter once again as Hiashi entered the room, once he stood before him, he bowed with great respect, as he had been taught before by the Third when greeting others with a high status. The Head of the Hyuga clan was no exception.

Hiashi watched with the same pearlescent eyes that Hinata carried, only his eyes lacked the warmth Hinata's had.

When Naruto had picked himself up and remained straight, he saw Hiashi bow himself, "Thank you for returning my daughters safely." Hiashi finally said.

"Oh! Please, you don't have to thank me, I'm just glad they're both okay." Naruto said with a nervous laugh.

Hiashi gave a curt nod at this as he faced the open sliding doors that welcomed the breeze from the morning air into the tea room. Naruto faced the doors as well, taking this as a sign to bask in the peaceful silence. They remained quiet for some time, and while Naruto wanted to focus on the serenity, he truly did, something was bothering him. And soon, he voiced his concern before he could even think twice.

"Did you know?" Naruto asked quietly.

Hiashi turned to look at his side, and before him, as though by magic, Naruto's child-like demeanor faded and a man stood before him. The blue in his eyes quiet as they didn't dare meet his gaze, his jaw tense from the nerves.

"Did you know about the history of the Byakugan? Of the Otsutsukis?"

Hiashi remained quiet for some time as he continued to look ahead as well.

"You should not ask overly-invasive questions when you have just been invited into someone else's home." Hiashi stated calmly. There was no malice in his words, it was merely an honest word of advice.

Naruto bit his tongue to keep from apologizing at this mistake, not wanting to take away the serenity that was still in the room even after Hiashi's response.

"I knew some of it, as all clans should know their origins, as do we. We are the descendants of the Otsutsuki's, that was the extent of our knowledge for some time."

Naruto nodded at his response, taking in the new information.

"I would like for you to enter this room to meet every morning that you would like to see my daughter."

Naruto felt his body tense slightly, his stomach flipping at the idea of meeting with Hiashi every time he went to pick up Hinata. If he had been asked to do this at sixteen, he would have thought Hiashi wanted to offer his hand in friendship. But the world was cruel and it opened his eyes to a more adult world, where status was everything and formality with tradition was right behind it. These were the things he had learned while taking notes from the current Hokage, who also happened to be his former mentor.

"Naruto-kun"

A soft voice said from behind them. Naruto turned to look at Hinata, a greeting caught in his throat as he watched Hinata's eyes carry caution toward her father.

"Ohayo father," Hinata bowed in greeting.

Hiashi gave a nod in acknowledgment before turning to look at Naruto.

There were no words spoken, but Naruto could see the message in his eyes, clear as day.

Take care of my daughter.

Naruto gave a curt bow before making his way to Hinata. He greeted her quietly, and soon after, they left for the morning.

Sakura placed the last of her paperwork for the morning in her completed pile. It had been a couple of weeks since the moon incident and the village was as lively as ever. She watched from her window as people passed by, a soft smile playing on her lips as she watched children run and laugh. It seemed so long since she had been able to simply enjoy being in Konoha.

"What are you looking at so intently?" A familiar voice startled her out of her thoughts.

Sakura whipped around and clasped her hands behind her back. "Nothing Shishou! I was just admiring the village from up here."

Tsunade arched a delicate brow before making her way to the window and scanned it as well. Sakura had returned to the pile of papers she had just completed and fixed them a bit more this way and that as Tsunade continued to watch outside.

"Hm, looks like the fool finally opened his eyes after all." Tsunade said more to herself than Sakura as her eyes followed someone.

Sakura frowned and made her way over to the window, greeted with the view of Naruto walking alongside Hinata.

"He sure did," Sakura said as she watched as Hinata spoke to Naruto, a grin marred Naruto's features as he listened intently.

"The Hyuga girl is perfect for him." Tsunade added as she pulled away.

Sakura looked away from the window.

"Her character is a much better match for him than someone like you." She continued as she picked up the paperwork Sakura had just placed on the desk.

"W-what?" Sakura asked as she arched her brow at this.

"If he were to have been with someone more stubborn like you, he would have probably been butting heads with them often." Tsunade said as she put the papers down after skimming through them quickly.

"I don't mean to be rude, Shishou, but why are you here? It's not like you to suddenly visit when you have a day off." Sakura asked as she hid her slight annoyance at the sudden comment made by her mentor.

"Just wanted to ask one of my favorite students out for a drink. Shizune said she was too busy but I saw that your work is already done so you can't say no."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she removed her white lab coat knowing very well it would be difficult to tell Tsunade 'no' when Shizune had already refused her invitation.

"Fine, but I'm not drinking. The last time we went out you kept trying to hammer the drinks down my throat."

"That's fine, there are important matters to discuss anyway, some regarding the next missions you'll be taking."

Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked home. He had dropped off Hinata earlier and spent more time with her while speaking to Hanabi. He was relieved to see that she was almost fully recovered. He had realized that less and less women were approaching him, the presents subsiding as well. The change was like night and day to him once he had returned home with Hinata at his side.

"What's that look on your face?"

He looked up and found Sakura with a brow arched at him.

"Wha- Sakura-chan!" He said suddenly as though it had been a long time since they had last seen one another.

"I was just heading home! I finally get to go out on another mission tomorrow!" He practically beamed at the fact that he was finally going to be returning to missions.

Sakura frowned at this, "Is it a solo mission?"

"Ah, don't look so worried, a simple B class on a ninja like me is just light work."

Sakura remained pensive but nodded as she continued to walk the opposite direction. Naruto suddenly moved to follow her instead of going home. Sakura rolled her eyes when she realized he was following her.

"Shouldn't you be heading home now? You have a mission tomorrow, remember?"

"Aren't you gonna ask me about it?"

"If I ask about it, will you go home?"

"Of course Sakura-chan!"

Sakura sighed as Naruto chuckled and walked alongside her discussing the details of his "easy" mission.

"Naruto I've told you this a million times already, don't ever underestimate a mission, no matter how easy it looks on paper. The last thing you want to do is get caught off guard."

"It'll be alright Sakura-chan, Kurama and I got this, you've seen what I can do, so just trust me on this!"

It wasn't on purpose, she hadn't meant to think of it, but she thought about how she had found him almost completely drained of chakra on their last mission together and her eyes hardened at the thought, a frown marred her face as she looked ahead at nothing in particular.

It had taken three days to get him to stabilize, and even then she had felt that she had still not done enough. She had come to realize that it took far more than what the average person can take to bring down Naruto Uzumaki, but she also knew that once something brought him down, it brought him down even harder.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Hm?" She said as she had forgotten that she was still being followed by the blonde.

"You alright?" He asked, the concerned look on his face quite a contrast to the excited expression he had held only moments before.

Sakura decided not to chide him as she usually did, knowing very well she could lecture him for hours and he would still be the same unpredictable shinobi by the time he left. They stopped in front of her building and Sakura could almost scoff at Naruto's cheap trick to walk her home without her noticing. But instead, she turned to face him and looked up at him, the moonlight making the blue of his eyes appear luminescent.

"Just promise me something," Sakura finally said.

"Anything Sakura-chan," Naruto said almost immediately.

Sakura knew from experience that a promise held more value to Naruto than any lecture she would be able to give him.

"Promise me you'll watch yourself and get home safe." She could not emphasize enough on the last part but she did her best to do so by jabbing a finger to his chest and glaring up at him.

Naruto seemed surprised at her request, but the seriousness in her tone and the determined look on her face told him she was unmoving toward her request. He felt it before he could stop it, a grin that only widened at the way Sakura's brows furrowed and a blush of embarrassment flushed her face.

"I promise Sakura-chan!"

Sakura finally backed away, content with the promise she had asked for and turned toward her home.

"Good, now go get some rest and I'll see you off tomorrow." She said with finality.

"Good night Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out to which Sakura only raised her hand in acknowledgment without turning. Her face was still flushed so she decided not to risk it.

The following morning came all too quickly, and Sakura had all but raced to the main gates of Konoha. She had quickly gone to Ichiraku's to grab some ramen to go, knowing Naruto would never turn down a meal from his favorite place. Just as she had turned she found that Naruto was, indeed, getting ready to set out. But her smile faded once she saw that he was not alone and she quickly hid behind the nearest building to avoid being caught. Hinata was there, looking as delicate and graceful as ever, with a perfectly wrapped bento for Naruto in an orange cloth. Naruto smiled as he took it and his eyes quickly scanned the area. Sakura hid deeper behind the building, knowing very well he could sense her, she clamped her lips together and squeezed her eyes shut, willing him to just go.

When she felt that it was safe after some time had passed, she turned once again, only to find that the gates had closed, and Hinata was already walking away. Sakura's stomach sank as she watched her leave toward the compound.

What the hell were you thinking? Sakura asked herself as she looked at the plastic bag in her hand. She gave a loud sigh as exited from behind the building and walked off.

"Ohayo Sakura-san!" She heard behind her. She felt before she saw the young children that had made their way toward her, their chakra signatures not all that controlled and fluctuating as though it resembled their joy and laughter. They were children of different ages, begging her to train them and give them lessons. She sighed in fake defeat and walked off with the small group toward the training grounds.

It seemed like there would always be distractions to keep from thinking about something that should not be a problem for her. And for that, she was thankful.

TBC

A/N: We have made it past the Last, if you stayed, thank you for sticking with me through that. This chapter had been done for a couple days now but I only now revised it to make sure it was the best version. Please continue to voice your thoughts and opinions (please don't come for me though) as I appreciate them. Until the next update! :D