Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
AN: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews guys... I am glad that you enjoyed this fic of mine but I fear that this journey has come to its end because here it is... the epilogue which I enjoyed writing...
Epilogue: The Sun
Lee and Sasuke were searching for firewood.
"It's no use…all of the wood here are soaking wet!" Lee said. He picked up another wood. It was also wet; he threw it away and searched the surroundings again. "Damn, it's so dark here…" He added.
"You are acting grumpy tonight…" Sasuke said.
"I'm sorry, it's just… damn those Sound-Nins!" Lee gritted his teeth. He sank in the ground like he lost his energy all of a sudden. "It's because of them that…that…" Lee lowered his head. He was looking at the ground.
There was silence.
"Hn…" Sasuke whispered.
"What now, Sasuke?" Lee asked.
"I found some…not-so-wet wood…" Sasuke said.
Lee got up slowly and he approached Sasuke who was picking up the wood. "This will do…" Lee said as he examined the wood.
"I think this is enough…" Sasuke said when he uncovered more wood buried under dried leaves.
They picked the wood up and went back to where Hinata and Naruto were.The forest was still dark.
Hinata didn't see the man much, only the outline of his body because the forest was much darker than it was earlier.
"Stop crying, alright?" The man repeated.
The man's voice was very familiar. His hands felt much warmer now. Hinata was lost in thoughts. Who was this man begging her to stop crying?
The man then brushed his fingers in Hinata's cheeks, he wiped away her tears. When the man touched her; Hinata felt something like an electric current surge through her body.
"W-who are you?" She asked in between sobs.
"You don't even recognize the voice and the touch of the man you love?" The man said with a low volume of voice. It sounded like he was weak.
'But…that can't be…Naruto-kun is…' Hinata thought. "Stop toying with me! N-Naruto-kun is…he is…" Hinata cried once again.
"Stop crying!" The man said. "Naruto is NOT dead…" The man caressed her face. "He is here, kneeling in front of you weakly… he came back for you…I came back for you…for the woman named Hyuuga Hinata…for the woman that I hold close to my heart…" The man said with a tone of deep affection.
"…N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. She grazed her fingers against the man's face. She felt it was Naruto. "…Naruto-kun!" She hugged the man. She hugged him tightly like she never wanted to let go.
"R-relax, Hinata-chan…" The man said. "Don't choke me…to death…" The man added.
Hinata let him go.
"Naruto-kun is that really you?" Hinata asked.
"Of course it is me!" Naruto said.
Just then two men approached the area, the other one was holding a torch up. It illuminated the spot where Hinata and Naruto were.
When the two men saw Naruto living, the other one, who was Lee, almost dropped the torch.
Hinata's eyes widened when the torch's light illuminated the man's features. He had wet blonde hair, his eyes were blue and he had whisker lines in his face. His clothes were soaked with the rain's water and his own blood. He looked weak.
"Naruto-kun it is you!" Hinata exclaimed. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Hey, hey, I told you not to cry!" Naruto said.
"Naruto, is that really you?" One man asked.
Naruto turned his head towards the direction of the two men. He grinned in a foxy way and said; "Yes it is me! The one and only Uzumaki Naruto! Konohagakure's number one loudmouth ninja! …The future Hokage!"
Lee smiled, Sasuke looked emotionless. Sasuke then threw a stick at Naruto.
"Why did you act dead?" Sasuke said.
Naruto rubbed his forehead. "I wasn't acting dead, Sasuke-no-baka!" Naruto pouted.
"But if you weren't…how did you?"
"How did I live again?" Naruto asked. He pointed his index finger towards the sky. "They gave me a second chance…but…I"
He dropped down on the ground.
Hinata checked his pulse. She gave off a sigh of relief. "He is still alive…" She said calmly.
"Good…" Sasuke said.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah he will be…he just lost too many blood." Tsunade replied. "Uchiha Sasuke, report what happened to your mission."
"We arrived there and split up as ordered. What Lee and I did went pretty well. We acquired information about the HQ…"
"What is that information?"
"They were just building that so their troops can rest there when needed… they also planned it to be a training complex…"
"Then what about the number of Sound-Nins there?"
"There were a couple of hundred…but most of them are dead because of the incident… the others ran away…"
"Tell me about this incident…"
"Let me tell that to you, Hokage-sama…" Hinata said.
"Go on…"
"When we were observing the area that Sasuke-san told us to observe, we found a group of Sound-Nins mysteriously gathering in a spot. We observed them… I had a talk with Naruto-kun and I wasn't paying much attention to the Sound-nins… I was caught off guard…and he protected me…we fell from the tree. When I recovered from the impact of the fall, Naruto-kun was injured. Five kunais were deeply buried in his back…I tried to heal them, but to no avail, he won't stop bleeding. Again, I was caught off guard. He protected me…again…and this time he was wounded more severely. The blade of the katana hit him in the chest. I was enraged, and I defeated the five Sound-nins…"
Sasuke cut her off. "From the looks of their bodies, you all gave them a death blow…"
Hinata nodded. "Let me continue then…after I defeated them, I quickly tended Naruto-kun's wound in the chest. It was more severe than his wounds in his back and I had a very hard time trying to heal it. It was raining that time. After minutes of trying to heal his wounds…I felt lost…my chakra was being drained because of the healing jutsu. He stopped me from doing the technique and…" Hinata paused. She didn't want to recall the painful memories anymore. But since Naruto IS alive, it didn't matter much. "I continued doing it but my efforts were in vain. So he…"
There was silence.
"Continue the story Uchiha Sasuke" Tsunade said.
"When Lee and I got there…Naruto was already…dead…"
"How did he live then?" Tsunade asked.
"We left again, Tsunade-sama. We left Hinata alone so she could think. When we came back there…he was alive." Lee continued.
Tsunade was in deep thought.
"He came back and when he did…his wounds were healed…" Sasuke added.
Tsunade was deep in thought.
There was a low moan coming form the man resting at the room's bed. Tsunade, Hinata, Sasuke and Lee were currently talking at the hospital, in Naruto's room. Naruto was asleep for 3 days now since they all came back.
"But nevertheless…you have completed your mission…"Tsunade said. [It's in italics because Naruto can hear them during his sleep, well he's about to wake up anyway…]
Hinata was staring at Naruto in the bed. She was staring at him like she didn't want to miss a single expression that Naruto would make. After a few minutes, the others left leaving Hinata alone with Naruto. She pulled a chair and she sat near Naruto's bed. It was night and she didn't want to leave him yet. She stared at the blood pack hanging in a pole. It supplied Naruto with the blood he lost. She leaned down and rested her head at the bed; she closed her eyes hoping to catch some sleep. She then held Naruto's hand in hers; she squeezed it and waited for a response. But he didn't response.
'He'll wake up anytime soon…anytime…' She thought and she fell into a slumber.
"Hinata-chan…" A man called out her name. He squeezed her hand to wake her up. Hinata woke up, she opened her eyes and she felt Naruto squeezing her hand. She instantly raised her head to look at his face. He was smiling at her, his blue eyes seemed like it was sparkling. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.
Hinata stretched out in her chair. "Not that well, it's not that comfortable to sit here…" Hinata smiled.
"You should have gone home…"
"No, I want to stay here…with you, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled
"How long have I been sleeping?" Naruto sat up and rubbed his slightly stiff neck.
"You've been sleeping for three days straight." Hinata answered with a very warm smile.
"Hmmm, why are you looking at me like that?" Naruto asked. He was pouting because of his stiff neck.
Hinata shook her head and she continued smiling. "Your neck hurts?"
"Yeah it does…" Naruto pouted.
"It's your fault since you've been sleeping there for three days straight not making a single movement aside from breathing." Hinata said.
"Well it's not my fault that I've been injured that much…" Naruto said while trying to joke but Hinata…well…she cried…
Naruto panicked. "Hinata-chan, I was just joking!!!" Naruto said while trying to stop Hinata's tears.
"But…it was really…my fault…if I was just paying attention…" Hinata said while she sobbed. Naruto scrambled his way through the bed and he was now sitting in front of Hinata. He almost pulled the tubes connected to the blood pack.
He wiped away her tears. "None of this is your fault…" Naruto said.
Hinata stopped crying but she was still sobbing.
Naruto brushed away stray strands of her from her face. "None of this was ever your fault…" He said. Sadness was visible in his eyes. "All of this…is my fault…" He added.
There was silence while they both stared at one another's eyes.
Hinata then stood up.
"Huh, where are you going?" Naruto asked.
"I'm gonna tell Tsunade-sama that you have awakened…she's still here, I bet…"
"Come back as soon as you can, alright?" Naruto said.
Hinata nodded. She smiled before she left.
After a few minutes of searching and walking inside the hospital, Hinata finally found Tsunade.
"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Tsunade asked.
"It's about Naruto-kun…"
"WHAT ABOUT NARUTO?!" Tsunade exclaimed almost in a shout.
"Please calm down, Tsunade-sama…" Hinata said.
"HOW SHOULD I CALM DOWN? THE TONE OF YOUR VOICE IS DIFFERENT! DON'T TELL ME THAT HE IS…HE IS…" Tsunade paused.
"Oh was the tone of my voice different?" Hinata said. "Don't worry Tsunade-sama, he is fine… I just came here to tell you that he has already awakened."
Tsunade sweat dropped. [Hinata said it in a tone that made Tsunade nervous, she was only joking to find out how much Tsunade cared for Naruto]
Tsunade cleared her throat. "Oh is that it?" She said.
"Yes that's all…"
'What's taking Hinata-chan so long?' Naruto asked inside his head. He was staring at the window, observing how the tree's leaves swayed because of the wind. He was thinking about, of course, Hyuuga Hinata. 'Gosh… how should I bring that up?' Naruto thought. He pouted.
After a few minutes, the door finally opened.
"HINATA-CHAN, FINALLY, I THOUGHT YOU HAVE ALREADY LEFT!" He exclaimed. He sweat dropped, the person that entered the room wasn't Hinata but Tsunade. "Err; it's you Tsunade-obachan…" He whispered.
Tsunade eyes flinched. "You're lucky that you are still in a state of recovery…if you weren't, you'll already be in the emergency room by now…" Tsunade glared daggers at him. After a few seconds, Hinata came in. "Well, anyway, I'm glad that you are alright… I mean you almost died back there!" Tsunade sighed.
"I did what was right…" Naruto said with a serious look.
"But do you think that it is right to leave us at such a young age? Do you think it is right to leave Hinata without ever saying how much you love her, or without telling her the whole truth?"
'…The whole truth?' Hinata thought.
"Well, maybe you are right…" Naruto sighed. "But still Hinata's life is worth protecting…" He said. "And besides, I AM live, right?" He added.
"Well, it's true that you ARE alive…but don't ever do such a reckless thing again. Situations like that have alternatives you know…" Tsunade said.
"Okay, don't worry…" Naruto smiled. "I won't die that easy…" Naruto continued smiling.
"Fine… rest now…I'll ask the doctor when you will be released…"
Two days later, Naruto was able to leave the hospital. And here he is…standing below the cherry blossom trees, waiting for his special someone.
Hinata was walking towards the park where a lot of Cherry Blossom trees were planted. Last time she went there, she was hurt and she hoped that this time, she would feel joy. After walking for a few moments she saw him, her special someone. As usual, he was accompanied with his energetic glow that she didn't feel last time they met here. He had a foxy grin pasted on his face and he was waving gladly at her. Hinata waved shyly back and she approached him with a smile.
"Hey, how are you?" He asked.
Hinata looked up the sky and saw it was very, very dark. She frowned; she didn't like the rain much…since she would only remember the day when he almost left her.
He looked up at the sky too.
"Let me say this; I also don't want to see you frowning like that…" He said.
Hinata looked at him and she smiled again.
"That's better…" He said.
"So what did you want to—?" It started raining. He picked her up from the ground and he started to run.
After a very short span of time, she found herself inside his apartment.
"Whew, that was close…good thing that it was not raining that hard…" He left her and came back after a while, he was holding two towels. He gave the other one to Hinata. He wiped his self with the other. [Oh, I forgot to mention that he was already wearing different clothes]
Hinata wiped herself and she took of her not-so-wet sweater. She was glad that her plain white t-shirt was not wet. [To all readers…this is not the fanfic called 'warmth', ok?]
He gestured for her to sit down so she sat down on his couch. He sat down beside her.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Hinata asked.
'Err, where should I start?' He thought.
"…Naruto-kun?"
"Oh, sorry…" He scratched the back of his head. "First of all, thank you…"
"Thank you for what?"
"Thank you for cleaning my apartment." He grinned. He suddenly looked serious.
There was silence.
"Stop scaring me with that look of yours, Naruto-kun…" Hinata said.
"…thank you…for all, Hinata-chan…thank you for being there for me, for acknowledging me, for understanding me, for loving me…" He said with a very warm voice. "Thank you…" He repeated and he gave Hinata a peck in the cheeks.
Hinata flushed because of the warm words. She opened her mouth to speak but Naruto cut her off. "And…I wanted to talk to you about that day…"
"…that day?" She asked.
"Yes, that day. You know, cherry blossom trees, sad look on my face, bandage on your neck, and that kiss…" He said and he looked down on the ground.
"Oh…" She said. "What about that?"
"I…I want to take it back…" He said. "Because I didn't mean it in the first place…"
"Then why did you do it?"
"I did it for you…"
"Why?"
"So you wouldn't be hurt anymore…because of me…" He said.
"Naruto-kun…you know…"
"What?"
"Because you did that, you hurt me more…" Hinata began crying… [Again]
Naruto embraced her. Hinata let her head rest on his chest.
"I know…" He whispered in her ear. "And I don't want that to happen anymore…"
Hinata wiped her tears with a knuckle.
Naruto looked at her. "I love you… that's the only thing I'm sure of… what I am not sure of was…if I was really meant to be with you…I mean… I am like hell and you are like the heavens…"
"Don't say that!" Hinata exclaimed. "You are not like hell…"
'Well my life is…without you, that is…' Naruto thought as his mind floated into oblivion.
"Naruto-kun…" Her voice brought him back to reality. "Do you know what you are like to me?"
Naruto shook his head.
There was silence for a moment. All they can hear was the sound of raindrops hitting the window.
"You always inspired me…you were the only one that drove me to go further… you were like a sun that shines for me… you were like the sun that leads me out of the dark forest which was my life inside the dark walls of the my family's manor… in other words you are like the sun for me…"
Naruto smiled at her warmly.
"The sun shines with the heavens, Naruto-kun… If I am the heaven for you… and you are the sun… Aren't they meant to be together?" Hinata asked.
"You are right… the sun does shine with the heavens…" Naruto said. "But there are times when the sun leaves the heavens' comfort…"
Hinata frowned.
"But…I don't want to leave you like the sun does with the heavens… I once did…but the sun comes back after a while right?" Naruto gave her a kiss on the forehead. "And the sun does not want to leave the heaven's comfort anymore… the sun promises this to the heavens; that he will be with her no matter how many times something bad will happen… the sun WILL shine with the heavens…the sun will give off its rays to give light and happiness to the heavens… it will not stop shining for the heavens until its time ends here on earth…" Naruto said with a very warm tone.
Hinata smiled at him.
Naruto leaned closer and his lips met Hinata's. Hinata could feel Naruto's love in his kiss.
After their kiss, Hinata rested her head in his shoulder. They both stared at the window; they were observing the raindrops as it fell from the sky. The both of them enjoyed the silence while they enjoyed each other's company.
I will not stop shining for you… coz' it's the right thing to do…
END...
Well that's it! The Final chapter! Hope ya guys enjoyed it! Don't forget your reviews, ok?
Anyways, you might have noticed by now that Naruto hasn't told her about Kyuubi yet... if I have a good story line, maybe I will write a sequel or even a prequel to this...
These are my upcoming fics:
(all naruhina)
1. Run Away
Naruto gets fed up and leaves Konoha, while he was running away, he encounters a certain blue haired girl who has run awat from home and tells him that she wants to go with him...
2. Child of the hated
Naruto made his son promise that he shall protect Konohagakure... his son then goes to Konoha to fulfill his promise but will he still do it when he finds out how much the villagers hate his father?
or
3.Children of the hated
Maybe a sequel to Run Away...
(Note: child of the hated and children of the hated has different stories...)
4. Konoha's guardian
Naruto gained his second life and now Kyuubi's blood flows in him... he hides in Konoha's shadow for years... and he will come out to fend off a certain 'stranger'
I want you to tell me what you want to read next!!!