Disclaimer: The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto and I don't own them.

I am new at writing fanfiction, so it might be terrible, I am sorry, but please review, it would mean so much! Thanks!

Chapter 1:

"R-Really?" The navy haired girl timidly asked.

Her pink haired friend nodded vigorously, "Yeah!"

Naruto-kun…it's been 3 years. You have finally returned. Thank you. She thought, blushing slightly at the thought of seeing him after so long. Her friend grabbed her hand and pulled her along to the Hokage tower. "S-Sakura-chan!" She said, startled.

"Come on! Let's go meet Naruto!" Sakura chanted.

When the two kunoichi reached the Hokage tower, they ran to Tsunade's office and Sakura knocked on the door. A grunt came in response, to tell her to come in. Sakura came in, dragging a hesitant, blushing girl behind her.

"Oh, Sakura, Hinata. Hello." Tsunade said.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" A voice came. Sakura was tackled by a blur of blonde.

"Hey, Naruto." She said, hugging him back. "You're finally back."

"Yeah." Naruto released her and then turned to Hinata, "Hey, Hinata! How have you been?"

"Hello, N-Naruto-kun. I-I've b-been good." Hinata stuttered.

Naruto smiled in response.

"Ahem." A voice came from the doorway, there was a man with only his right eye visible, the rest covered with a mask. His hair was defying gravity and silver. He had an orange book in his hand. "Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled. He ran over to greet his former teacher. "How have you been?"

"Well enough. You have grown, Naruto." He observed, patting his ex-student's head softly.

Naruto laughed, "Height is not the only thing I have grown in, I am way stronger now, thanks to Ero-Sennin."

Kakashi smirked and said, "How is Sensei by the way?"

"Good." A new voice said. Kakashi turned around to see Jiraiya there, smiling, "Long time, no see, eh, Kakashi?"

"Yeah."

Afterwards, when Naruto had greeted everyone again, Tsunade wanted Sakura and Naruto to go and train with Kakashi.

"Let's see how much you two have grown." Kakashi said. He pulled out two familiar bells, "Same rules as when you were kids."

Naruto smirked, "YOSH! LET'S DO THIS SAKURA-CHAN!" He held up his hand, telling her to high-five him.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Naruto, don't make me punch you when I haven't seen you have for 3 years."

Naruto looked offended, "Sakura-chan." He pouted and put down his hand.

Kakashi laughed at their behavior, "Okay, start." And with that he vanished, leaving a trail of dust behind.

"Damn it!" Naruto exclaimed, "Where did he go?" He looked around frantically.

Sakura however, remained calm and closed her eyes, trying to sense his chakra. She noticed that it was nearby. She looked around, no one was there, which only meant one thing. "BELOW!" She punched the ground, which in result made the ground crack and rocks were thrown everywhere, "SHANNARO!" She screamed. There, in the rubble Kakashi was standing in the now destroyed ground, staring wide-eyed with his one visible eye.

Damn. Kakashi and Naruto both thought. Tsunade smirked, happy that her apprentice was doing so well. Shizune smiled as well. Jiraiya and Hinata who were watching were impressed and kind of scared.

Sakura smiled sheepishly and charged at Kakashi.

An hour later, Sakura and Naruto were panting, each holding a bell in their hand.

"You both really have grown." Kakashi admitted.

They all laughed. "Let's go get ramen! I am dying for Ichiraku's!" Naruto yelled, his fist in the air.

Same as always, Naruto. Sakura and Kakashi both thought. Nonetheless, they all went to Ichiraku Ramen and Naruto practically inhaled 6 bowls of ramen. Tsunade and Shizune had to go back to the Hokage tower, to finish some more paperwork. Jiraiya decided to go with them and Hinata had to go train with her father.

When Naruto was finishing his 6th bowl, he slammed down the bowl and said, "Thanks for treating us, Kakashi-sensei!" and dashed out with Sakura following him, laughing.

Kakashi sighed and paid for everything, They were so cute when they were younger, now they are just plain mean.

Naruto and Sakura walked around the village together, "I noticed that Obaa-chan's face is finally on the Hokage Mountain."

Sakura nodded, "Mmm-hmm," she gave him a sidelong glance, "And you really shouldn't call her that in front of her. You don't want to be near her when she is mad, trust me."

Naruto laughed, "It's fun getting her mad."

Sakura laughed as well.

"So," Naruto said, getting serious, "Teme hasn't come back, has he?"

Sakura's gaze dropped to the floor, "No, there hasn't been word from him since he left."

Naruto didn't respond, opting to glare at the ground in front of him.

Sakura stopped walking and looked over at Naruto, "You don't know how much it means that you came back. When you were gone, there was no one. Both of my teammates were gone and I felt like I had no one to go to. That's why I trained all the time."

Naruto's eyes filled with pity and shame, "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan."

"It's okay, at least you are back now." She offered him a smile, which he returned.

"NARUTO-NIICHAN!" A child's voice came from behind them.

They both turned around to see Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru! How have you been? It's been so long!" Naruto said.

"I LEARNED A NEW JUTSU!" He said, instead of answering.

"Oh, really?"

Konohamaru made some hand seals and started to say, "Oiroke no Jutsu," when someone punched him. "KONOHAMARU! YOU WOULDN'T DARE TO DO THAT IN FRONT OF A LADY!"

"Moegi!" He complained, holding his head.

Moegi crossed her arms and looked away, "Hmph!"

"Sorry, nii-chan, I couldn't show you my amazing technique." Konohamaru apologized. Udon was behind Moegi, looking at Konohamaru, to see if he was alright.

Naruto laughed slightly, "Konohamaru," he started, "You shouldn't do silly jutsus like that anymore." His eyes burned with fire and he held up a fist, "YOU NEED TO GET BETTER AT THEM! LET ME DEMONSTRATE!" Naruto screamed. He made the same hand seals and got through saying "Oiroke no-" when Sakura had punched him. Hard. He crashed to the ground a few feet away.

She walked up to Naruto, picked him up and started to shake him roughly. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! THEY ARE LITTLE CHILDREN! WHY WOULD YOU SHOW THAT TO THEM?! BAKA!"

Udon, Moegi and Konohamaru stared wide-eyed and in fear. They quickly ran away.

The rest of the day, Naruto and Sakura walked around Konoha. Naruto sighed as the sunlight fell perfectly on him, This sure feels nostalgic, he thought, looking out on Konoha.

At the end of the day, Naruto went back home to his apartment. As soon as he entered his old home, he glanced at the old Team 7 photo. He sighed sadly and put his bag on his bed, which resulted in a large cloud of dust forming. Naruto coughed, "I should really clean this place up."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Coming!" Naruto shouted. When he opened the door, he saw Hinata standing there. "Hey, Hinata! What brings you here?"

"Um…T-Tsunade-sama wanted me to tell you that your and my team are to report to the Hokage Tower tomorrow morning. S-Sakura-san couldn't tell you as she was busy at the hospital."

"Oh." Naruto said, Maybe it's a mission! YES! "Okay, thanks."

"D-Do you need any help settling in again? D-Do y-you want me to help cl-clean your apartment?" Hinata asked shyly.

"Oh, um, sure. Thanks! I am not really good at cleaning things." Naruto laughed nervously.

Hinata smiled shyly and they both went into Naruto's apartment. For the next hour, they both cleaned his small apartment. Hinata was blushing most of the time from happiness and nervousness of being with Naruto alone.

When they were done, Naruto said, "Thanks, Hinata. You are really kind."

"Y-You're welcome, Naruto-kun."

"To repay you, let's go get ramen!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling her out of his apartment.

Hinata furiously blushed, on the fact that Naruto was holding her hand. She finally regained her senses and held on tighter, happy. When they reached Ichiraku Ramen, Hinata asked, "D-Didn't you already have r-ramen today, N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, but that was lunch. I'm hungry again, now."

Hinata giggled at his response.

Naruto sheepishly laughed as well.

When they were done eating, Naruto walked Hinata home, "Thanks for everything today, Hinata."

"T-Thank you for dinner. B-But you didn't have to p-pay for m-me." Hinata replied.

"Well, it was to repay you for cleaning my apartment with me."

Hinata blushed and said, "If…If you ever need something else. Tell me."

Naruto smiled in response.

When Hinata went inside her house, Naruto walked home slowly, thinking of many things.

"Where have you been?!" Hinata's father bellowed.

Hinata cowered in fear and eyes averted to the ground said, "I was with N-Naruto-kun. I helped him clean his apartment and then he took me out to d-dinner."

"I told you to stay away from that boy!"

"I-It has been 3 years since I last saw him." She said.

"I don't care. You are not to see that boy ever again! He is a monster and you are not to be with him!"

Hinata's eyes saddened. Her father was always lowering her self-esteem like this.

"And how dare you have the nerve? You should have been training with Hinabi when you were out goofing around with that...that thing." He said it like it disgusted him. "Is that why you didn't want to come home? So you wouldn't have to be beaten by your younger sister, yet again? You are absolutely worthless and a disgrace to the Hyuuga family!"

Hinata's eyes filled with tears but she refused to let them fall. She had been training all yesterday night and morning until Sakura came with the news that Naruto was back. She was constantly trying to train harder so that she could prove to her father that she was not worthless, that she was worthy of being the heiress, so that she be acknowledged for once. How much harder was she supposed to try? She often collapsed from training too intensely and exhaustion, but she still picked herself up and kept going for her father, so she could be noticed for once. But still, it wasn't enough. She always felt like nothing was enough for her father to satisfied.

"F-Father, I'm sorry, but I do train. A-A lot. A-And I hope that you can recognize it for once-" She was cut off, because a hand came down on her face, hard.

"Worthless!" Her father said.

Hinata looked up at her father, frightened and said, "I-I'm sorry." Then she ran out of the house, not looking back. She finally let the tears flow down her face and she wondered if the sky was crying too, it was raining now. She ran and ran, not knowing where she was going, until she bumped into someone and fell. "I-I'm so sorry." She looked up at the person, realizing it was Naruto.

"Hinata?" He helped her up, "What are you doing here? Why are you crying?"

This made Hinata cry harder and Naruto's gaze softened looking at

her tears. He picked Hinata up and ran home, Hinata crying all the way there.

Once they were home, Naruto gave her some of his dry clothes and once they both showered and were dry, Naruto asked, "Hinata? What's wrong, you can tell me." They were both sitting on the floor, leaning back on Naruto's bed.

Hinata stayed silent for a while until she said, "My...My father thinks that I am

worthless and a disgrace to the Hyuuga family."

Naruto looked at her with sympathy evident in his eyes and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Hinata leaned into him and silent tears streamed down her fragile face.

"He always says that." She sniffled. "I-I train so much, all day and night, just so that h-he could acknowledge me. So I can prove that I am not worthless, that I am worthy of becoming the Hyuuga heiress."

Naruto's eyes widened, She is like me. I used to train so hard, wanting to become stronger, so that someone, anyone could notice me.

His grip on her tightened and he said, "I'm so sorry, Hinata."

Hinata cried for some more, with Naruto holding her tightly and stroking her hair, silent the whole time.

After a while later, Hinata stood and said, "I should get back to my father, he is probably worried."

But Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her down, "No, I'm not letting you go near him anymore. He is too much of an ass to let you anywhere near him."

Hinata said, "B-But Naruto-kun."

"No! I'm not going to let you get hurt. I don't like seeing you cry." He then put a gentle hand on her face, "It doesn't match with a beautiful face like yours."

Hinata blushed and put her own hand on top of his, "T-Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Come on, let's go to your house, but only so we can get your things. You can live with me for a while."

Hinata blushed, "N-Naruto-kun, you don't h-have to do that."

"I want to, come on. Let's go."

They silently ran to Hinata's house and crept up to the roof, where they slid in skillfully through her window. Hinata grabbed a bag and stuffed some clothes, personal items, pillow and a blanket. They left the Hyuuga Compound without being caught.

When they reached back to Naruto's apartment, Naruto said, "Take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."

"N-No! I-I can't let you do that. Y-You have already done enough."

"You're the guest."

Hinata said, "I-I know, but still, please, Naruto-kun."

"Please don't make this hard for me, Hinata, I mean you're a girl and I can't let you sleep on the floor. WHAT KIND OF GUY WOULD THAT MAKE ME?"

Hinata giggled. "Just please, let me sleep on the floor."

"You know what, we can both share the bed, I know you are not going to give up. You're too nice for that." Naruto reasoned.

Hinata blushed and avoided his gaze, "O-Okay."

They both climbed in his bed, pulling the sheets over them both. The bed was just big enough for both of them to fit, but they were still pretty close. Hinata, still blushing, said, "G-Good night, N-Naruto-kun."

Something about her being there comforted Naruto and made him sleepy, "Goodnight, Ramen." His words came out slurred.

"Ramen?" Hinata giggled.

"Oh…" Naruto blushed, "Y-You know how sometimes people give other people nicknames?"

Hinata nodded.

"Well, sometimes, they name it off food they love, AND I LOOOOVE RAMEN, so yeah." Naruto was still blushing.

Hinata smiled, "Thank you, Zenzai." (A/N: I don't really know, but it is just cute. Zenzai and cinnamon rolls are her favorite foods, it says on Narutopedia.)

Naruto laughed. He then wrapped an arm around her waist and snuggled closer, pulling her back flush against his chest.

Hinata blushed at how close they were and hoped that she wouldn't faint, which she didn't because instead, she fell asleep peacefully in the arms of the boy she had loved for years.

Author's Note:

Doesn't that make you all warm inside? It made me feel all fluffy, lol. Please review, I want to see if I should continue this. Thanks!

~ booklover333