Meiyuu

A Naruto Fanfic
By Gingeh, who doesn't own Naruto. Or Hinata, or Sakura, or Sasuke, or Tsunade, or Neji, or Kiba, or Shino...

"All right, Hinata! Just about another three days, and we'll be there!"

"Okay, Naruto-kun."

They continued tree-jumping in relative silence, trying to conserve energy. That is, until…

"Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Hinata?"

"There's a large amount of chakra quickly coming our way."

"Huh. Enemies, eh?"

"Well, they could be friendly…but…"

He sighed. "I reeeeeaaalllly just wanted to get to Suna in peace," he whined to no one in particular. "Is that too much to ask?"

"They'll be here in three…two…one…"

"Hello, dobe."

The word was hissed, and Naruto's eyes first widened, then narrowed dangerously at the person standing imperiously in front of him. "Sasuke…"

Sasuke smirked. "Who else?"

"Well, you could've been Itachi, which would've really been annoying, or maybe-"

"You talk too much, you annoying baka." Sasuke cupped a hand around his mouth, fire already brewing in his eyes. "I've put up with you since our Academy days, but I've made a decision. I'm going to destroy you now, fox or no fox. The Mangekyo Sharingan will be more then worth it."

"It won't work."

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously. "What did you say, dobe?"

"I said, it won't work."

"And why, may I ask, not?"

"Because," Naruto said, absently scratching his forehead as he spoke, "To get the Mangekyo Sharingan, you have to kill your 'best friend'. Sasuke, you're my friend, for all you've turned into a power-hungry homicidal psychopath, but you're no longer my best friend. Someone else fills that spot."

"Oh?" Sasuke smiled sarcastically. "And who might that be? Kiba? Lee? What pathetic loser could fill my place? What man could possibly be better the Uchiha Sasuke? Please, enlighten me."

"It's not that hard to be a better best friend then you, baka." Naruto snorted. "You abandoned our village to join some psychotic, creepy snake-man, devote your entire life to becoming more powerful then your brother so you can kill him, and have tried to murder me and my friends on multiple occasions. Yeah, that really makes you think, 'best friend'."

Sasuke's face was icy, mocking. "Okay, dobe. I'll humor you for a few seconds. Your new best friend… what's his name?"

"Her name," Naruto corrected him firmly. "Her name is Hyuuga Hinata."

Silence reigned between the two for a moment. Then…Sasuke started chuckling.

"You almost had me believing you there, Naruto. But seriously, a girl? And the Hyuuga heiress, at that! Like she'd even give you the time of day!"

"She is too my best friend! We have lunch together every day!"

"You can give it up, baka. I'm not buying it."

"But-"

"A-ano…"

Both shinobi jumped.

Hinata stepped out from the shadow of a branch, her blush so deep that if you'd held her up to a tomato, she'd've been redder. "Ano…U-Uchiha-san, N-Naruto-kun is telling the truth…"

Sasuke studied her carefully, an annoyed expression on his face. "And you are?"

Naruto face-palmed. "She's Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga Hinata!"

Sasuke looked incredulous. "Really?"

She nodded once. "Y-y-yes, U-Uchiha-san. I w-was with y-you the w-whole t-time we w-were at the A-Academy…"

Sasuke watched her for another moment. "You do seem slightly familiar…and you have the Byakugan, I see."

He nodded once, apparently to himself, and then jumped to a higher branch. "We'll meet again."

Then he was gone. Hinata gave a sigh of relief. "He is very intimidating."

"Yeah, I guess…" Naruto stared at the place Sasuke had stood for a moment, the shook his head. "Okay! To Suna!"

Three months later…

Naruto waved cheerfully at the guard posted at Konaha's entryway. "We're back!"

Recognizing him, the guard grinned. "It's been awhile, Naruto. How was your mission?"

"Oh, it was great. Real great. Fantastic, actually." He nodded, first emphatically, then rather dreamily. Hinata pulled him away before he could say something about the wonderful quality of the ramen he'd had on this 'mission'. "Hurry, N-Naruto-kun. We need to r-report to Tsunade-sama."

"Huh? Oh, right."

Once they were a safe distance away, Naruto pulled up short. "Do we really need to report to her now? She's sure to yell at me for taking off so suddenly, and for dragging you with me." His eyes were big and imploring. "Besides, this wasn't technically a mission, so we don't really need to report to her."

She sighed. "Naruto, the hokage needs to know we're back. And, obviously, she was kind enough to cover for us. I need to know what kind of 'mission' we've been on, so I can explain my absence to Father."

"Oh," he said, deflated. "I guess there's no choice then."

"We're already here, anyway," she said, pointed to the large building in front of them. "C'mon, Naruto-kun."

They entered, and Hinata walked up to the receptionist. "Ano…w-we're here to report to T-Tsunade-sama…"

"Ah, Hyuuga-san," said the woman, smiling brightly. "Please, go right ahead. The hokage is currently doing paperwork, but she should receive you." Her eyes traveled past Hinata to rest on Naruto. She frowned. "I see you're back, Naruto."

"Nice to see you, too, Mizuki-san," he said, nervously running a hand through his hair. I see she still remembers me.

"Is he with you, Hyuuga-san?"

"Yes, h-he is."

"Hmph. Well, you may go now. Her office is at the end of the hall."

"Y-yes. Thank you, M-Mizuki-san."

She flashed Hinata another smile, then glared at Naruto and returned to her work.

As they walked out of earshot, Hinata whispered, "What did you do to make her so angry?"

"Just a few small things. You know, like forgetting to ask if the hokage is already with someone before running down the hallway, not remembering to bow at the proper times…" Sticking a frog in her paperwork….

She nodded. "Oh."

They'd reached the door. Hinata knocked twice. There was a sudden snort, a brief rustling of papers, then a horse, sleepy, "Come in."

They walked inside, Hinata carefully shutting the door behind them. Tsunade, sake bottle clutched in her hand, glanced up from her paperwork. Her eyes narrowed when she saw who it was, and Naruto gulped.

"Hey, Tsunade-baa-chan. Long time no see, huh?"

"You," she whispered dangerously. "You little brat!"

She grabbed the nearest sharp object, an engraved silver pen, and threw it at his head. He yelped, dodging, and the pen embedded itself into the wall. Tsunade glared at it, then at Naruto. "Do you have any idea what I've gone through? First off, at six-o-clock in the morning, the whole Hyuuga clan bursts in here, demanding I find their daughter within the next five minutes and punish whoever dared to kidnap her. Then, while I'm fumbling for an explanation and trying not to kill him, I look down at my desk and find your note saying, 'Hey, Obaa-chan, Hinata and I are being attacked by gossipers, and are heading for Suna. Cover for us, okay?' So then I'm forced to lie for you and say I sent you and Hiashi's precious heiress on an A-rank mission. Which, of course, sends him into another tirade about risking Hinata and don't-you-know-she's-completely-incompetent, and so on, so I order him and his escort thrown out. So, to get back at me, they decide to sulk in their manor for the next three days, which sends all of Konaha into an uproar! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to calm an uproaring town? Very, very difficult."

"Look, I'm sorry!" Naruto defended, Hinata cowering behind him. "But our lives were at risk! You know how Hiashi is, if he even suspected someone like me was having lunch with his daughter, he'd go insane! Not to mention, Neji would completely destroy me, Kiba'd have Akamaru turn me into a werewolf or something, and Shino would send his freaky bugs after me! Not to mention Hinata would be locked in her room for the rest of eternity, if not longer. We didn't have a choice!"

"You're overreacting, you baka." She slouched back down into her chair and rubbed her temples. "But not completely. Alright, I see your point. You really didn't have another option, but would you mind giving me a bit of a warning next time?"

"We're hoping there won't be a next time. Once was scary enough."

"I second that," Tsunade said wearily, and Hinata nodded her own agreement.

"You two aren't injured or anything, are you? I'm required to ask that."

"N-no…" "Nope, we're good!"

"Good. Did anything of interest occur during your little vacation?"

"Well, I learned that Suna ramen is really, really good! It has these weird spices in it that really ups the flavor-"

"Besides the food, Naruto!"

"A-ano…we did run into U-Uchiha Sasuke on our w-way there."

"…What?!"

"Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten about that…"

"You don't forget about running into S-rank missing shinobi," Tsunade fumed. "What are you, a chuunin now? How the heck did you get that high?!"

"Well, it was only for a few seconds, and he left without fighting me."

"…That's rather odd," the hokage said, furrowing her eyebrows. "Did he find you, or did you find him?"

"T-the first one, T-Tsunade-sama."

"Downright strange. Why would he go to all the trouble of finding you, just to leave without a battle?"

"Because the dobe here said something surprising."

At the new voice, all three whirled to face the window, where a nonchalant Sasuke was lounging comfortably.

"Uchiha!" the hokage growled. "How did you get in here?!"

"Your security needs some tightening, Hokage-sama," Sasuke smirked. "Anyway, to answer your previous question, I left because Naruto proclaimed he'd found a new best friend, which, as you can imagine, put a bit of a damper on my plans for him."

"One would think so," Tsunade said dryly, but her eyes flicked to Naruto.

"You're surprised, Hokage-same? I was as well. In fact, I completely didn't believe him, especially when he told me who it was."

"Who was it, Naruto?" Tsunade's eyes never left Sasuke's.

"Uh…Hinata."

"Really?" She looked thoughtful. "Huh. Didn't expect that."

"I didn't either, Hokage-sama. But when I met her-"

"What do you mean, 'met'? Didn't you go to the Academy together?"

Sasuke looked disgruntled. "She doesn't stand out, okay? I can't be blamed for forgetting her."

Hinata blushed, and Naruto scowled.

"At any rate, to continue from before your interruption, Hokage-sama, after I met – re-met – Hyuuga Hinata, I began to consider that he was telling the truth. I've spent the past few months pondering this, and I believe I have figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"If you are actually best friends with her or not! Kami, do I have to go through this every other sentence?!"

"Well, you're not making any sense, teme!"

"You wouldn't understand sense if it was right under your nose, dobe!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"You know, when they're like this, I can totally see them as teammates," Tsunade remarked conversationally to Hinata. "Kakashi still complains about those times, you know. I think I finally understand why."

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

Hinata delicately massaged her temples. "I feel very s-sorry for K-Kakashi-san. I am s-surprised he m-managed to a-avoid going d-deaf."

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Ha! So you admit it! Dobe!"

"No fair! You tricked me, you teme!"

"I didn't trick you, I used strategy, something you wouldn't understand!"

"You're a cheater! Cheater, cheater, cheater!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Cheater cheater cheater cheater-"

"Both of you, BE QUIET!!"

Tsunade's roar effectively quieted the room, and Hinata breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, Sasuke, what were you saying? Something about having 'figured it out'?"

"Ah…yes." Sasuke's face was tinged red, possibly from yelling so loudly, and possibly from being caught arguing like a child. "Well, I've decided that, though Naruto may feel close to Hinata, it is not because she is his best friend."

"What?! That's stupid! Of course it's because she's my best-"

"Naruto, let him talk, or we'll never figure this out!"

"But Baa-chan!"

"Listen to your hokage, dobe."

"Why you – mmph!"

Hinata had clapped a hand over his mouth, stifling his speech. "P-please, continue, U-Uchiha-san."

"Thank you." He smirked at Naruto, then continued. "As I was saying, it is not because Hinata is Naruto's best friend, but rather, she's the one he likes."

Sasuke paused for emphasis, but all he got was blank stares. He groaned. "Honestly! Likes! Has a crush on! Harbors romantic feelings towards!"

That got the reaction he was hoping for. Naruto turned a bright, crimson red and started sputtering incoherently, the hand removed from his mouth because Hinata had crumpled to the floor in a dead faint. Tsunade started laughing, "Oh, so that's why you two were so eager to escape those rumors – they were true!"

Sasuke grinned triumphantly. "By your reactions, my hypothesis has been proven correct. I'm officially your best friend once again. And, to prove it to you, I'll leave peaceably and destroy you next time."

He leapt out the window onto the neighboring rooftop, leaving complete and utter chaos behind him.

Several minutes later, Tsunade, still grinning teasingly at him, ordered Naruto to take the unconscious Hinata home to her father. "Try to get there at a reasonable hour, okay?" She winked teasingly at him, and he ran, dragging Hinata behind him, trying to get as far away from the creepy granny as possible. I don't even want to know what she meant by that, he thought, trying to suppress his shudders.

He'd decided to take the least-populated route – after all, if people saw him carrying Hinata, they might get the wrong idea, and then the escape to Suna would've been for nothing.

He made it to the old training grounds successfully, breathing heavily. He set Hinata down carefully, then collapsed to the ground himself. After a moment, he rolled over to stare at Hinata.

I…like her?

He groaned. "This is too complicated."

"No, it's not."

"Why the heck are you still here, teme?!"

"Because, you're stupid, and unless I explain love to you you'll probably decide to just ignore everything and go on believing she's your best friend. And I need to be absolutely certain that I get the Mangekyo Sharingan when I kill you, so I figure I better do some best-friend-like things."

"Oh. Well, whatever."

Sasuke sighed, jumping down from the training pole he'd been perched on. "Look, figuring out if you're in love is easy. All you have to do is match up the characteristics."

"Huh?"

"Look, does your heart beat faster when you're around her?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Does your faced turn red whenever anyone asks if you like her, or tells you she likes you?"

Naruto nodded.

"Do you get angry when other guys talk to her? Like, say…Kiba?"

"Well, I haven't exactly seen her around many guys. She kinda keeps to herself, y'know. And we generally don't see each other outside of lunch, and lunch is just the two of us."

"Lunch? You're going on dates with her, and you're still in denial?!"

"There not dates! Geez, you sound like Sakura! It's just two friends getting together to eat, five or six times a week. Totally normal."

"Totally normal, he says." Sasuke shook his head disgustedly. "You know, I thought you'd reached the limits of your stupidity, but you've just proved me wrong."

"Oi!"

"Anyway, on to the final, most important question: Do you want to protect her from everything and everyone, even though she has proven that she can take care of herself on more then one occasion?"

Naruto considered this. "Does taking her to Suna to escape a bad conversation with her father count as that?"

"That's why you were going to Suna?!"

"Well, that and the fact that if I didn't leave town, her dad, her cousin, Kiba, Shino, and maybe even Gai and Lee, were all going to kill me for hanging out with her."

Sasuke shook his head again. "Yes, Naruto. Trying to protect her from her father's wrath counts."

"Okay, then."

"So, your answer is yes?"

"Yeah."

"Then there you go! You're in love with her." Sasuke nodded in satisfaction.

"...Huh. That was easier then I thought." Suddenly struck by something, Naruto glanced at Sasuke slyly. "And how do you know about all this? Could it possibly have something to do with a certain pink-haired former teammate?"

Sasuke blushed, and Naruto cackled. "'Your face turns red whenever anyone asks if you like her, or tells you she likes you!'" he quoted, grinning and wriggling his eyebrows.

Sasuke stood, his face still tinged pink. "I'm leaving now," he informed Naruto stiffly, and quickly raced off to the cover of the forest.

Hinata chose this moment to begin to stir from her unconscious state. "Naruto-kun?" she said, blinking. "Where…where are we?"

"The old training grounds. You fainted."

"Oh." She blushed. Obviously, her memory had returned to her.

"Hey, Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"I think Sasuke might be right."

"About what?" Her tone was slightly hopeful, and Naruto took courage.

"About…about liking you."

Her face went blank, and her eyes began to roll back into her head. Naruto grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Wait, wait wait! No, don't faint! Fight it, Hinata! I don't think I'll be able to say this again!"

There was a moment of silent struggle, but Hinata slowly regained consciousness. Naruto sighed in relief. "Good. You okay, Hinata?"

She was staring at him. "I…I didn't faint! I've never not-fainted before!"

"Really?" He stared at her. "You've never done it, or you've never tried?"

"Never done it!" She was smiling giddily, hugging herself and swaying slightly. "This is so exciting for me!"

Naruto grinned at her, but then remembered what he'd been about to say and flushed.

"Uh, Hinata?"

"Yeah?"

"In case you couldn't tell, before? That was…kinda a confession."

Her eyes widened, and she blinked rapidly, remembering. "…Oh."

"So?" He shifted anxiously. "Are you gonna answer?"

"Oh!" Her face cherry-red, she bowed multiple times. "Sorry, sorry! That was so rude of me; I really should have answered right away! It's just…it's so unexpected, I always thought…and then with Sakura…and you, with your Hokage goal and all…"

She trailed off, apparently still mentally listing all the reasons she'd been sure this wouldn't happen. He sighed. "Hi-na-ta!"

She snapped out of it and blushed again. "Sorry, sorry! My answer is yes, most definitely, assuredly, without a doubt, yes!"

"Really?"

She nodded, her cheeks a bright pink. He grinned, then laughed, grabbing her hands and twirling the two of them around in some sort of insane happy-dance. "That's great! That's fantastic!"

She couldn't help but start laughing with him, and gradually the spinning slowed, and they stood, panting, forehead-to-forehead.

"So," he said softly, his breath warm on her face. "Am I allowed to kiss you now?"

She squeaked, but slowly nodded her head.

So he lowered his lips to hers, and she sighed as her eyes slipped closed.

Hey, check it out – someone's singing. Naruto thought absently. And are those harps? Weird. Those flowers starting to bloom around us are pretty cool, though. But those guys over there with the black auras are totally ruining the mood.

…Wait a minute. What was that?

Hesitantly, Naruto brought his eyes back to the dark patch, and gulped audibly, quickly drawing away from Hinata. Looking confused, she opened her eyes. She instantly froze.

"Eep!"

"Hello, Naruto. Hinata-sama." Neji commented calmly, his voice not matching the utter fury in his eyes. Hiashi, who stood at his left, activated his Byakugan. Kiba, on his right, had his hackles up and was growling, with Akamaru at his side licking his chops. Shino stood behind them all with a small army of bugs gathered around him buzzing angrily. And last, and possibly least, Gai and Lee suddenly popped up. "Oh!" Gai rubbed his hands together excitedly. "A youthful battle! Yosh! Lee, my youthful student, I think we should join in this most youthful of tests to our skills!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei! That is exactly what I was thinking! This youthful fight will test our youthful skills and make them stronger! Yosh!"

"Why me?" Naruto asked the sky, and then ran for his life. But not before snatching one final kiss.

The End

Authoress Note:

I was really surprised! Seven reviews in, what, three days? Thanks, you guys! :D.

I'm sorry if some of you are upset with me for not making Sasuke be the evil guy. At least, not completely. But I can't write battle scenes to save my life, and, I'm sorry to say, one of my friends really, really likes him, and I think she's swaying me. Thanks a lot, 'Tenshi -glares-.

Anyway, Meiyuu is finished! Cookies for everyone - especially Naruto and Hinata, 'cause they're just so cute. Well, except for Naruto's dead, so he can't have any. Annnnnnd...Hinata's being punished and can't come out of her room ever again. Oh, well, more for us, right?

Review, please! But flamers shall be attacked by Akamaru and Shino's Bugs of Doom. -cackles wickedly-