Chap 1

Growing Hope

“I never go back on my word, it’s my ninja way!”

“Even if I die I’ll protect those precious to me!”

“I’ll never give up!”

As words rang loudly around a dark space, the determined face of a boy flashed in and out. “Naruto-kun…”

A petite girl stood staring at the faces, drowning in his words. “Naruto-kun… I miss you so much.” The world around her began to rush by and the blue haired girl realized she was lying in her bed.

She pushed herself up and found that her pillow was damp. Quickly she whipped her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror. A fair skinned girl stared back at her.

If it weren’t for her light-lavender eyes she knew that her eyes would have looked bloodshot. Hearing the noise of the waking manor the young woman quickly dressed, hoping to escape the rush of people and the eyes that accompanied them. After the day that Naruto left she had trained hard to become someone he could be proud of and although she tried her hardest there was still the fact hat after the day Naruto left she always woke with a wet pillow and dried tears. The clan had begun to pick up on this fact and everywhere she went Hinata couldn’t help but feel watched and under question.

Hinata quickly ate her breakfast and went outside, unable to stand the quick glances she was getting. The young woman made her way to the Hyuuga gates, deciding she needed a walk to clear her mind.

Hinata began to walk along the more forested districts when a thought came to her. ‘What would Naruto-kun think if he saw me now? Didn’t I promise myself to become stronger, to do my best?’

The young woman changed her course, heading for the training fields that she had frequented so often after Naruto’s departure. ‘I’ll get stronger, I promised myself that. I need to be like Naruto-kun… or else… he’ll just leave me behind… and-and…’

She soon realized that she was now walking on a trail with dense forest surrounding all sides of her. The training grounds for the Leaf were dispersed all over in various clearings with different terrain in each for the many situations that they trained in. Hinata knew the area well and she knew exactly where she was going to go for this particular session.

It was a place where she was reminded of him, a place where he had actually spoken to her, a place where she would go to be near him.

The woman walked a little faster but the sounds of battle slowed her. Normally Hinata would have gone to a different area but something pulled at her today. Quietly Hinata made her way into the clearing only to let out a squeak as she gazed upon the sight before her.

Twenty people were all attacking a single person but that wasn’t what surprised her, no it was the fact that this man was blond-haired, blue-eyed and most importantly, wore orange. The man stopped fighting amid all the others and appeared in front of the woman in an instant.

“Did you need something?”

Hinata’s heart raced faster and faster at the proximity of the man. Naruto was so close, he was just a step away but… but she was so scared.

“N-Naruto-kun?” the man gave her a confused look, “Ano… do I know you?” The woman nodded her head slowly. “I’m-I’m Hyuuga Hinata.” She spoke in a quivering voice.

Hinata was about to faint from the amount of blood rushing to her face and it was a miracle that she didn’t considering what the man did next. Naruto unexpectedly leapt into the air, throwing his hands up.

“Hinata-chan! I can’t believe it’s you! You look so different!” The kunoichi’s face turned a deep shade of red but she quickly tried to hide it. Truth be told she did look different from when Naruto last saw her. Hinata had grown a bit taller, as was the norm for the Hyuuga family, but Naruto had surprisingly outgrown her, which Hinata considered a good thing. The young woman had let her hair grow from that extremely short cut to now being above her shoulder and she was expecting to grown it would longer, considering what she heard about Naruto and his long hair fetish.

Hinata’s style really didn’t change from what she had worn in her younger years, a simple jacket and some pants but Naruto didn’t really mind that, it was practical after all. Hinata quickly turned her head from Naruto, unable to look at him as her face became hotter due to the rush of blood.

“Is something wrong Hinata-chan? Are you sick or something? Do you need to go to the hospital? I’m sure Obaa-san will make you feel better. If you-”

With a shake of her head Hinata stopped Naruto’s worries. “I’m-I’m ok.” Naruto gave her his foxy grin and Hinata blushed a deep red. “So what brings you out here Hinata-chan? A walk?”

Hinata nodded, chancing a glance at Naruto’s still half-naked body and finding it… blush worthy. “Cool. Can I come to? I mean…. Damnit…. Sorry Hinata-chan. Wanna take a walk tomorrow?” before Hinata could even let out a sound Naruto ran off yelling a quick goodbye before he disappeared.

The young woman felt as though she was going to faint as the blood rushed to her cheeks from such an encounter. “Naruto-kun…” she whispered and Hinata couldn’t help but let out a small smile. Hinata began to walk again, her earlier purpose forgotten, humming to a joyous tune when she suddenly stopped and a look of dread ran on her face. “Naruto-kun…” she spoke softly. “Naruto-kun asked me to see him tomorrow… he asked me on a date…”

XXXXX

Uzumaki Naruto was no pushover, well he shouldn’t be considering he was trained by a Sannin but when it came to seeing those things right in front of his nose Naruto wasn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the kitchen. It just so happened that this talent for shortsightedness was displayed in his conversation with a particular pink haired medic nin.

“Oye. Sakura-chan!” Naruto ran up to his former teammate who was sipping at her morning coffee at her favorite café. “Oh… hey Naruto.” She said weakly. “You’re back already?” Naruto nodded eagerly. “Yup came back yesterday. It was awesome, me and Ero-sennin went all over the place and-” The blonde noticed the ripples developing in Sakura’s cup, which meant that Sakura was shaking.

“Nee Sakura-chan, are you ok? I mean you’re a medic nin now right? I think there might be something wrong because your hands are shaking.” Sacra gave him a forced smile. “No I’m ok. I have to go to work now. I guess I’ll see you around.” She quickly got up and left, leaving Naruto to feel a bit confused. He could find the best way to assassinate a lord, or how to extract information from a foreign shinobi but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out women.

He just shrugged as he continued to walk towards the village gate, lost in his mind about a problem Jiraiya had given him to solve; how to eliminate four lethal targets in less than one minute without getting seen or wasting chakra.

In analyzing the situation Naruto didn’t seem to hear the soft whispering of his name until a small hand wrapped around his wrist. As by instinct Naruto went to throw the person but soon found himself ogling. Hyuuga Hinata quickly let go of him and her eyes were immediately thrown downward.

Hinata stood there, blushing under Naruto’s gaze as he swept his eyes up and down her body. Hinata was wearing a light yellow summer dress that went just above her knees to reveal her white legs. The upper half of the dress was also very different from what Naruto usually saw or expected. The dress was cut in such a way that Hinata’s delicate neck was exposed and the cut was just low enough to show the beginnings of her assets but not enough to make her feel too embarrassed.

To top it all of Hinata wore a white hat with a yellow ribbon tied around it. “You-You look awesome Hinata-chan.” Naruto yelled and he didn’t notice the intense blush the young woman was radiating. ‘Only for you my Naruto-kun.’

“Com’on Hinata-chan, I’ll take you to my secret hide out… uhhh sorry I didn’t tell you before but it’s not on a trail or anything.” Naruto gave her a worried glance, not knowing if she would be able to go in that dress.

“It-it’s ok Naruto-kun.” The kunoichi walked behind the young man and she found that it was rough terrain that they were traversing but she didn’t mind, she had a pretty good view after all.

After thirty minutes of twists and turns they found themselves facing a giant tree that had fallen what looked to be some thirty years ago. “We’re here!” Naruto yelled, enthusiastically stepping on the man-made niches in the tree. “Com’on Hinata-chan!” Naruto called from the top of the fallen tree as he waved at her.

When Hinata reached the top she realized just why Naruto called it his secret hideout. Before her lay the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen. Flowers of all colors lay everywhere and the soothing sounds of the small waterfall that fed into a lake made it seem all the more tranquil. It was as though this place had never been touched, a place for a god or an earthly spirit.

Naruto landed softly in the grass and he let himself lay among it, the gentle breeze washing over him. Hinata sat down next to him, working up the courage to ask the question that was bothering her. “N-Naruto-kun… how did you find this place?” Naruto smiled at her, his big toothy smile. “I just sorta wandered into it.”

“Bu-But it’s hard to get to…” Hinata knew that even if people were told that this place existed they would be hard pressed to find it; during the trip there she had even wondered if Naruto had lost his way. She wanted to know about the man, she wanted to know why even when he smiled there was a distant look in his eyes.

Naruto chuckle and the feeling behind those sapphire eyes was nothing but pain. “I did wander into this place… before I was a genin, when I was about seven or so. There wasn’t really anyone to play with and I was… well I was sick of pulling pranks and having people yell at me so I wandered. I knew no one would look for me… no one really cared so I just wandered around, going in any crack or crevice I could find so that I could entertain myself. Sometimes I whished there was someone there with me, so we could have fun together but I knew no one would come with me. But if it weren’t for being alone I never would have found this place, and I probably wouldn’t cherish what I have now…” Naruto let a genuine smile slip onto his face when he looked over to Hinata only to find her in tears.

“Hinata-chan! What’s wrong?” Naruto sat up and glanced worriedly at the kunoichi. “I-It’s nothing Naruto-kun.” Hinata wiped the tears from her eyes and gave him a rare cheery smile, rare because she wasn’t exactly courageous enough to smile at people. “I-I just had something in my eye.” Naruto lay back down in the grass, not giving a second thought to the woman, after all he was the greatest dunce right?

“Hey Hinata-chan! What have you been doing all this time?” Hinata instantly got into the push-my-fingers-together-because-I’m-nervous-mode because there was nothing she could reply. What exactly could she say, “I was training hard because you inspire me Naruto-kun and I like you?” That was totally out of the question so she went with the only response that she could. “N-Nothing much Naruto-kun.”

“Really? Me and Ero-sennin…” Hinata smiled as Naruto began to retell his whole trip throughout the entire ninja world. She laughed at the funny parts, was embarrassed at Jiraiya’s peeking expeditions, and whenever Naruto told a tense or scary party Hinata inched closer to him until she eventually she was holding his hand. Naruto didn’t seem to notice because he went on until the sun was high in the sky.

The rumble of Naruto’s stomach brought him back to reality and he sat up, a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry Hinata-chan. I didn’t know it was so late. You must be hungry huh?” Hinata quickly let go of his hand and shook her head.

“Na-Naruto-kun…” Hinata turned and put a picnic basket between the two of them. “You-You had this the whole time Hinata-chan?” She gave a quick nod and started to lay a blanket down, not daring to look up at Naruto, who was staring in bewilderment.

After Hinata had laid out an impressive spread Naruto grabbed the nearest item, calling out, “Itadakimasu” before he took the first mouthful of food. Naruto froze after the first bite, the color draining from his face. Panic began to flood the young woman. ‘Naruto-kun… my cooking must be really bad. Oh no! Naruto-kun!’

The color returned and his face scrunched up, “Oishii! Did you make this Hinata-chan?” she nodded her head meekly. “You’re a great cook Hinata-chan!” Hinata began to blush furiously as Naruto devoured the food, literally inhaling everything as he went. After Naruto finished, Hinata having only a few bites here and there, he sat back and took a long drink from his juice. “That was great Hinata-chan!” Naruto said enthusiastically as Hinata drunk her juice as well. Naruto smiled at her cheerfully. “You know what Hinata-chan? Even tho you’re weird… I like you.” Naruto took another sip of his juice when an idea clicked in his head. “Ne! Hinata-chan! You wanna go swimming.”

Hinata blushed at the thought of seeing Naruto half naked again and she shook her head viciously to dispel any… strange thoughts. “I-I don’t have a bathing suit right now Na-Naruto-kun.” The fire faded from the shinobi’s eyes and Hinata quickly looked to make up for it. “How about tomorrow… I mean if you’re not busy Naruto-kun.”

A red hawk flew high above the trees, circling above them, calling out loudly. “Sorry Hinata-chan, gotta run.” Naruto said as he got up. “I’ll see you tomorrow then Hinata-chan!” Naruto yelled enthusiastically before he vanished.

Feeling proud that she had suggested such a thing Hinata began to clean up the picnic when something struck her yet again. ‘If I asked Naruto to go swimming tomorrow, and he said yes, then he’s going to be here in swimming trunks ready to swim and…. And I need to swim so I’m going to be in a bathing suit!’

No flower in that field could have possibly been as read as Hinata’s face at that moment. Determined to hurry home and pick out something acceptable to wear Hinata quickly put away the rest of the trash when she reached for their drinks only to find that one of them was completely full. ‘Naruto-kun and I… we shared the same drink? So…. It was an indirect kiss?’ Hinata could have sworn she blacked out for a second and the petite girl lay back into the grass, thinking of all the intimate things she would like to do with the boy… no man, that she had fallen for.