I'm back peeps! With a new adn FINAL chapter. I made sure to maek this one extra long. Hope I did a good job for you.
Aishiteru, Hinata-chan
Chapter 24
"N… Naru…to…kun?"
Naruto smiled and rubbed her back once more. "Yeah, Hinata-chan. It's me."
If possible, the number of tears Hinata had shed multiplied as she latched onto him. She sobbed heavily, her cries so loud they drowned out everyone else. This in turn made every other ninja look up in alarm before doing a double take. The same thought ran through all of their heads.
'Naruto's alive!'
"Shh, Hinata. I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere for a long, long time." Naruto closed his eyes and let tears run from under his eyelids. He had heard what she had whispered in his ear. No one had ever loved him with the emotion that had leaked out of her words. He knew that she loved him way more than a friend.
And he knew that he felt the exact same way.
'Arigatou, Kami-sama. For giving me a second chance at life… With the one I love.'
Hinata had similar thoughts running through her head. 'Arigatou, Kami-sama! Domo Arigatou! I knew that you wanted him to live! It's not nearly his time. Also… Arigatou for not letting him leave me. I need him so much.' She lifted her head slightly and, through blurry eyes, saw the tears streaming down his cheeks, which were starting to return to their normal color. The young Hyuuga detached an arm from around him to reach it up and wipe the tears off of his cheek. His eyes flicked open.
She smiled slightly and he returned it, somewhat sadly. She took a deep breath.
"Did… Did you hear what I said?"
He nodded and smiled brighter before pulling her closer.
"… And what are you going to do about it?"
He grinned her favorite foxy grin and she felt her heart swell. "Well, Aishiteru mo (1) so," he pulled her so that their noses were touching, "I think I'm going to do this."
Then his lips were on hers.
Her body melted into his and her arms wrapped around his neck as his tightened around her back. The kiss was sweet and tender; small but passionate. After parting, they looked into each others' eyes with such love that the other ninja smiled at their happiness. They would have stayed like this forever.
But time was not on their side today.
"Well, well, well," Kakashi drawled form the door. The two looked up but remained in the other's arms. "Looks like we arrived at the right time." He looked to Naruto and Hinata on the bed then to Sasuke and Sakura on the floor in the corner. The pink haired girl was completely covered by the Uchiha boy. "Kurenai, what do you make of this?"
The genjutsu specialist walked past him and looked pointedly at her only female student. "I think… that my pupil has finally found her confidence. And possibly something else."
She smiled at Hinata and the Byakugan user returned it brightly. Then her gaze turned to the three people that stood just outside the door, the female smiling at her fondly. "Rumiko-nee-chan," she called before turning toward her love. "Naruto-kun, I have to take care of my family."
He smiled before releasing her. She gave him a peck on the cheek and stood, then crossed the room. The young Sanota was tugged in by her arm, the two men following.
"This," Hinata said gesturing to the woman, "is Rumiko, my half cousin."
There were a large amount of gasps heard around the room. To her surprise, the only that did not was the Gondaime Hokage.
"You are Sanotas, are you not?" she asked, her brown eyes shining with wisdom.
The older man's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded nonetheless. "We… would like permission to… stay here," he announced, ignoring his daughter's worried stare.
The Hokage paused, considering, but after glancing at the pleading look on Hinata's face, she nodded.
Rumiko's face lit up as she squealed and jumped into Tomuro's arms. He chuckled and squeezed her. Her father, however, looked nervous. Tsunade immediately took notice and understood why.
"You sir," she called, catching his attention. "May I ask your name?"
He hesitated, but said, "Ryo Sanota."
She nodded. "Would you mind coming down to my office for a minute, Ryo-san? I have a matter that should be discussed with you privately."
He nodded with some confidence, though he was nervous still. Rumiko noticed this and put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled and waved her off. "You should stay here and learn your way around the village if we're going to be staying here."
She nodded and smiled as he left the room behind Tsunade.
"So, Naruto-kun," Hinata started," how do you feel?"
He shrugged. "I feel fine, I guess. Although, a kiss would make me feel much much better." He waggled his eyebrows at her.
She giggled, leaned forward, and pecked his lips lightly. After witnessing his wide grin, she asked, "Do you think Tsunade-sama will let you walk around the village yet?"
"Probably not," he pouted.
She smiled before rubbing his cheek lovingly. She then turned to her half cousin. "Rumiko-nee-chan, Tomuro-nii-san, I think we may have to postpone our grand tour of Konoha. How about I just show you the main places you will need to know?" They nodded and smiled. "Naruto-kun, do you mind if I take them out for a minute?"
He put his hand to his chin in mock thought. "Hmmm… I don't know…" She pouted and batted her eyelashes. He sighed. "Fine, fine. Just be back soon so I can have another kiss."
She giggled before gesturing for the older couple to follow her out of the door.
Naruto had noticed that Sakura and Sasuke had snuck out during his… private time with Hinata. As did all the others. But he didn't mind. He had a lot to think about.
'I have a wonderful, beautiful girl that loves me, a loving Kaa-san, and teammates that care for me like a sibling. I've managed to survive one of the most difficult times in my entire life. But only with the aid of my new family.' He paused his train of thought and smiled. 'Family. I have a family now. They may not be blood related, but they love me just the same. Now that I know that my parents really did love me, it makes it all the more great that I have other people to give all of my love to that will be able to cherish it in their hearts.'
He looked out the window to his left. Down below, he saw the most important person in his life leading her other family around the village. A warm smile lit up his face, hoping that Kami-sama would do as much for her as he had done for him.
But what he didn't know was that Hinata already knew that she had her blessing. And she could feel it staring at her from the window above.
~*A Week Later*~
"Naruto!"
Naruto's head whipped around, soon followed by his body and Hinata, who he was latched onto at the moment.
"Oh, hey Shikamaru."
The spiky haired genius walked up with the blonde florist at his heels. "I heard you got out of the hospital today."
He nodded. "Yeah. Kaa-san just wanted to keep me to see if there were any other traces of the poison in my system. But there's nothing!"
Ino smiled before wrapped an arm around Shikamaru's and hugging it.
"Are you guys… together?" Hinata asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk to match.
With a small pink blush and smile, both nodded. "Are you?" After they nodded, high fives were passed around in celebration. "We should double date sometime!" Ino announced. "How about at the fireworks show tonight?"
Naruto shrugged. "If it's okay with Hina-chan, I'm all for it." Said girl blushed before nodding and smiling broadly up at him.
"Hina-chan, eh?" Ino grinned. "Well, Naruto, you know us girls." She let go of Shikamaru to grab hold of Hinata's hand. "We have to prepare for our date with time to spare. So… Ja ne!"
With that, Ino took off toward the Hyuuga estate with its young heiress in tow. "Hey, bring back my girlfriend, Ino!"
Shikamaru chuckled and his girlfriend's antics. "Does it feel weird to call her that?"
Naruto shrugged. "Sort of. Just because I'm not used to it yet." He paused. "So… you up for a little cloud watching until the show?" They grinned at each other before setting off to the Hokage monument to wait for their special girls.
Naruto sighed. "How long does it take to get dressed for a fireworks show?" He had been anxious to see Hinata all day and her being late had not helped anything. After cloud watching, the boys had split up to change out of there ninja gear. Naruto now wore a pair of comfortable blue jeans, orange t-shirt with a white swirl on it, a black jacket, and black tennis shoes. Shikamaru had on a pair of black jeans, a green t-shirt with a brown question mark on it, a brown jacket, and green tennis shoes.
Shikamaru chuckled. "Patience, Naruto. Girls take a long time to do everything that involves beauty. But they should be here so-"
"Shika-kun!"
He smirked. "Now, what did I tell you?"
Both males turned around to greet their girls. But stopped in their tracks, jaws dropped.
The girls looked fabulous, to say in the least.
Ino wore a blue midriff tube top and a dark blue jean mini skirt. Her hair had been let down and pinned away from her face by blue and purple hair clips. Her tennis shoes were blue and purple while her jewelry was a mix of the two colors.
Hinata wore a purple off the shoulder top with a black belt around her waist. Her black jeans reached down to her purple and black tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with two tendrils framing her face. For an added bonus, she had Ino experiment with makeup. Since she had never before worn it, it added color to already beautiful face. Or so Naruto thought.
"… Hi," the Hyuuga heiress greeted shyly.
Naruto blinked before coughing nervously. He flashed her a grin and caught her in his arms. "You look even prettier than you normally do," he whispered in her ear.
She blushed, but giggled nonetheless. Hinata noticed Ino and Shikamaru already heading toward the tall tree that stood proudly behind them. "Ano, Naruto-kun…"
"… Oh! Yeah, maybe we should get over there so we can," he wound an arm around her waist, "finish our first date properly."
She smiled warmly and leaned against him as he led her toward what was beyond the tree. In front of it was a blanket big enough to seat at least twelve people. Naruto and Shikamaru had thought that it would be big enough to give both couple enough privacy. On the grass next to it sat a big picnic basket.
'Wow,' Hinata thought. 'They really thought this out.'
Naruto sat them down on the left side; opposite of the other couple's chosen spot. He opened the basket and took out 2 bowls with plastic wrapping over them. Hinata peered into it curiously.
Ramen.
She giggled softly. She should have known. "Ramen, Naruto-kun?"
He blinked. "Nani? It's just not the same without ramen. Demo," he reached in again, "I remember what you said your favorite food was so…"
He brought out a wrapped plate of cinnamon rolls. Her eyes widened before she glomped him and kissed his cheek. "Arigatou, Naruto-kun!"
He chuckled as she ripped off the covering and bit into one of the rolls. "Mmmm…" She looked up in surprise. "Oh, gomen. Would you like one Naruto?"
He laughed then shook his head. She blinked when his hand shot out and clasped around her wrist. "I'd like a bite of yours, if you don't mind." She blushed as he brought her hand to his mouth and took a big bite. When he pulled back, he laughed.
"You are too cute, Hinata."
She smirked mischievously. "Oh, really?" When he nodded, she did something he would not expect from her. Ever. "Oh, Naru-kun. You have some icing on you cheek."
He looked down and tried- but failed- to see the icing. "Could you get it for me, Hina-chan?" he pouted.
She grinned before nodding and moved in closer. "Ano, Hinata, don't you need a nap-!" He recoiled; hand on his cheek and a red blush covering his face. She had licked the icing off of his face. He hadn't known his Hinata could be so bold.
"I… uh… you…"
She laughed so hard that tears sprung to her eyes. Then he got closer, a gleam in his eye. "Ano… Naruto-kun?" He darted in and kissed her, tongue gliding over her teeth but never going any further. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Neither of them noticed themselves falling back onto the blanket until Hinata's back hit the ground, Naruto completely covering her. They parted and laughed. Then a loud crack filled the air. Both looked up just in time to witness the first firework go off in the sky.
"Sugoi (2)," Hinata whispered after they sat up. She sagged against him as his arms wrapped around her and he leaned against the tree. "It's beautiful, Naruto."
He grinned. "But not as beautiful as you."
She giggled and snuggled up closer to him, breathing in his scent. "I'm so glad Ino drug me off today. It was fun; talking to someone who has no idea about dating the person they've loved, but loving every second of it."
He chuckled, blushing slightly when she said she loved him already. He sighed and pulled her closer. "…Aishiteru, Hinata-chan. I never want you to forget that."
She twisted in his arms to face him. "I won't. And you better not forget that Aishiteru either." They both smiled and she pecked his lips before turning back.
As they watched the colorful display of lights overhead, shared a few laughs with Shikamaru and Ino, both thought of how lucky they were. They both secretly thanked Rumiko for poisoning him, because if she hadn't, they wouldn't have confessed to each other. And they wouldn't have what they had now.
"Hinata…"
The fireworks had finished and Shikamaru and Ino had gone to see their parents. Naruto decided to walk Hinata home since he knew her father wouldn't want her out that late.
"Yes, Naruto?" Although she didn't want to go home yet, she was happy that they got to spend so much time together.
"… I-"
"Hinata-sama! Hiashi-sama requests your presence!"
Hinata sighed. "I'll be there in a minute, Neji-nii-san!" She shook her head before looking toward her love. "Now, what did you want to talk about Naruto-kun?"
He paused, but then shook his head. "It's not important, Hina-chan." He pecked her cheek. "You should get in there. Hiashi doesn't like to wait." With that he headed down the street, but paused. "Oh, and tell Neji that I'm coming to get you in the morning so we can hang out. He probably wouldn't take to kindly to me just showing up at your door step." After earning a giggle from Hinata, he watched with a grin as she walked inside. When she was out of sight, he frowned and started down the road.
'I couldn't. I just couldn't. What am I gonna tell her? "Hey Hinata, I've got the worst demon that has ever walked the earth housed in my stomach"? Yeah, that's a great way to end a relationship before it even started.'
'You know you'll have to tell her sometime, Kit.'
He sighed. 'Yeah, I know Kyuubi. But… not yet. I'm gonna wait it out until she absolutely has to know. Until then, I'm just gonna have a wonderful time with the most wonderful girl in the world.' His sulky mood shifted into a giddy one as he grinned all the way home.
What the blonde shinobi didn't know was that that time was coming much more quickly than he expected.
~*the end*~
1. Aishiteru mo: I love you too
2. Sugoi: Amazing
...So? Good? Bad? Did I do good for the last chapter before the end of my 1st fanfic?
Oh, and just to stop the confusion, there WILL be a sequel. I've already got it planned out! But I've got some other projects I'm working on first. It might be a while before I actually do it. Lolz. So Please review people. I want to hear your thoughts! And check out my BBRae story "Our Mirrored Future".
ja ne,
-Tsunei-chan