A/N: Thank you all for your patience. I could list all of the reasons why this chapter took several months to publish, but instead I'll simply say that I apologize for the wait and am sincerely grateful to every reader who supports this story.

Some of you have been asking about why Hinata's first fiance, Hiroto, broke off the relationship. I have not revealed that reason and the full reason will actually not be revealed for quite some time. This chapter though will offer a little more insight on Hiroto and his new wife Miaka, along with Hinata's relationship with each of them.

Enjoy!

"Lady Miaka, you look radiant tonight!"

Miaka Hyuga reacted by turning her head to get a better look at the way her lady-in-waiting had done her hair, admiring her beautiful appearance. She had decided to go with a more traditional style for the evening instead of wearing her hair long and loose like she normally did. She wore a bright purple kimono with white and pink flowers dotting throughout, all tied together with a bright red obi. Miaka always liked being the most stunning girl in the room, but tonight she had to be careful not to stand out too much.

Because tonight was all about Lady Hinata.

Miaka frowned at the thought of having to attend a formal dinner being held in honor of Hinata's engagement to that fox demon from Konoha. Despite the fact that Hinata was technically no longer the clan heiress, she was still being regarded in the highest honors for her part in sealing an alliance with Konoha, which was announced five weeks ago.

For as long as Miaka could remember, she was always compared to Hinata. Miaka's own mother in particular wanted nothing more than Miaka to be just like Hinata, possessing her grace, intelligence, and natural beauty. The constant pressure to be just like Hinata made Miaka grow to despise the other woman. Instead of trying to become like Hinata, Miaka sought to be better than the former heiress. Yet, no matter what she did, Hinata was always better: She was always kind-hearted and generous. She was intelligent enough to be the only woman in the Main House allowed to attend council meetings and diplomatic briefings. She didn't need make-up or elaborate kimonos to be beautiful. Hinata was even taught the basic concepts of their clan's esteemed Gentle Fist style. Miaka had learned a long time ago that she would never be at Hinata's level.

Miaka forged her own path instead, no longer caring about seeking her mother's approval. Miaka had an outgoing and charming personality, and she had learned to use that, in combination with her good looks, to her advantage to influence those around her. Many of the clan elders and high-ranking members of the Main House held Miaka in high regard, and thanks to events that transpired many months ago, several members even preferred her to Hinata.

"Ah, darling, you look beautiful!"

Miaka smiled and turned to greet her admirer. Standing there in the doorway was her handsome new husband: Hiroto Hyuga.

Ever since she was a young girl, Miaka had been desperately in love with Hiroto. To her dismay at the time, Miaka also learned that Hinata had been in love with him too. Given Hinata's rank within the clan, Miaka knew that the odds were in the heiress' favor to become Hiroto's beloved wife someday. No man in the Main House would be crazy enough to pass on the opportunity to marry the clan's heir and secure power for himself and his descendants.

Yet in the end, Hiroto chose Miaka over Lady Hinata.

Miaka stood up and walked over to her husband, greeting him with a passionate kiss on his lips, not caring that her embarrassed lady-in-waiting was still in the room.

Hiroto gently broke their kiss and placed his hands on his wife's shoulders, putting some space between them.

"Well, if you're ready we should get going so that we're not late," he said with a soft smile.

Miaka placed her fingertips around the hem of Hiroto's haori to straighten it and then looked up, giving him her coyest smile. "Whatever you say my love."

Mika could care less about what would become of Hinata and the honors her upcoming marriage would bring to the clan, because in Miaka's eyes she had already won the most coveted prize.

If Naruto had a choice between being in his present location, and being tortured by Ibiki from the Interrogation Force, Naruto would take the torture ten times over.

Currently he was attending what was supposedly an engagement dinner in honor of his and Hinata's impending wedding, which was only a week away. The reality though, was that this dinner was just a political event for the top leaders in Konoha and the Hyuga clan to come together.

Naruto had traveled to the Hyuga Mansion with Tsunade, the village elders, and several clan leaders, which had been incredibly uncomfortable and awkward given how much disdain Naruto knew each member of the party (with the exception of Tsunade) quietly had for him. He hadn't even been allowed to sit by his fiancée, which had been the only thing he had been looking forward to in all this. Instead, he was placed at the opposite end of the table from where Hinata was with her father, stuck sitting near that old goat, Danzo, along with several Hyuga he had never met before.

With them being officially engaged, Naruto thought that he was going to spend a lot more time with Hinata but the reverse became true. During most of his waking hours, Naruto was either running around the village carrying out errands for Tsunade, or he was under analysis with a specialized medical and psychological team at Konoha's Hospital. It was all part of an increased monitoring of the Kyuubi inside of him, which Naruto had agreed to as part of the concessions made for the alliance between Konoha and the Hyuga.

Naruto was only free to go to the Hyuga Compound once a week, but even then that wasn't to see Hinata. Instead, it was to take lessons from one of the Hyuga elders in learning about the clan's culture and traditions as part of his preparations to marry their former heiress. Between lessons however, Naruto always managed to track Hinata down to talk and spend time with her, even if it was just for a few minutes. He had come to really cherish those small moments as they were the only bright spots in his week.

Tonight's dinner had been drawn out for over two hours already and all Naruto wanted was to have a conversation with his betrothed. He kept looking down the table towards her throughout the evening, trying to compel her to look back.

She was incredibly beautiful tonight. Her hair had been styled in a traditional manner with a high chignon, held together with an ornate pearl comb and silk flower pins. She wore an elaborate, furisode ebony kimono patterned with white and red flowers, tied together with a golden obi. She was also wearing make-up, but only enough to highlight her rosy cheeks and brighten her wide, lavender eyes.

Yet, every time Naruto looked towards her, she never looked back at him. Instead, her eyes had been downcast for the whole evening and he didn't even see her take one bite of the many courses that had already been brought out to them. Even from this distance, Naruto could see that she was carrying a profound sadness about her and it deeply disturbed him.

As his gaze lingered on his fiancée, another course was brought out, briefly distracting the blonde's attention. He sighed as he looked down to see another small plate of a food he was unfamiliar with. Naruto was thankful that him and Hinata would not be living in the mansion after they were married; he would never get used to the type of fine food served to the Main House of the Hyuga clan in comparison to his beloved ramen.

"These dinners can be quite drawn out, can't they?"

Naruto looked across the table to see that the comment had come from a young man, holding a cordial smile across his face, who was obviously a Hyuga. The man was dressed in the formal robes that were typical for Main House members to wear on such occasions. He couldn't have been much older than Naruto himself, and the blonde had also noticed that the young man wore his black hair short and close to his neck, instead of long and down his back like most Hyuga men. Leaning on the man's shoulder was a young woman with dark brown hair, cooling herself with a silk hand fan and wearing an utterly bored expression on her face.

Sensing that the young man was being sincere in his comment, Naruto flashed him a friendly grin. "You can say that again! I've never even seen most of these foods before. It's something I'll have to get used to I guess."

The young man chuckled. "I'm sure you'll get accustomed soon, Lord Namikaze. My name is Hiroto by the way," he gestured to the bored woman next to him, "and this is my wife, Lady Miaka. It's an honor to finally meet you. Lord Hiashi has spoken very highly of you!"

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, Lord Hiashi gives me too much credit - I'm just another shinobi from Konahagakure, ya know?"

It was then that Naruto noticed that Lady Miaka was paying no mind to their conversation whatsoever. She hadn't even so much as glanced in Naruto's direction when Hiroto introduced her. Instead, the young woman just continued to fan herself, clearly not wanting to be there. Naruto shrugged her off as just another stuck-up Hyuga noblewoman (he was finding the Main House to be full of them) and continued on his conversation with Hiroto.

"By the way, you can just call me Naruto. I'm not one for formalities, ya know? Even if I am getting married to your clan's princess!"

At the reference to Hinata, Naruto thought he saw a brief flash of sadness in Hiroto's pale eyes, but the young man smiled politely at him once again. "Very well, Naruto! Please accept our sincerest congratulations in your engagement to Lady Hinata. I'm sure you'll find her to be a fine wife."

At that, Naruto observed Lady Miaka briefly stopping her fan and glaring maliciously at the table before her, but then the bored expression quickly came back and she resumed with fanning herself. Something about this woman was starting to bother Naruto and he couldn't figure out why.

"I know our customs are quite different from the world outside here," Hiroto continued, "so please let me know if there's anything I can ever assist you with as you make your transition into living amongst our clan, Naruto."

Feeling relieved that he had found a Hyuga, aside from Hinata and Hiashi, that sincerely seemed to accept him, Naruto smiled warmly at the young man across from him. "Thank you Hiroto, that means a lot!"

Naruto stole another glance to the opposite end of the table to check on Hinata but was surprised to no longer see her sitting at there. Mannerisms and traditions aside, the blonde couldn't let another moment pass by without checking on his fiancée.

He bowed respectively towards Hiroto, "Please excuse me, there's something I need to attend to."

Naruto then stood up and swiftly left the room in search of Hinata, ignoring everyone else's stares.

Naruto found Hinata in a nearby hallway leaning against the wall as if it were the only thing keeping her upright. He walked over to her, concerned and worried.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

It was then he noticed that she was panting and clutching the hem of her kimono over her chest, almost like she was just about to have a panic attack.

Without looking at him she answered, "I need some air."

Naruto nodded in understanding and offered his arm for her to hang onto. "Let's get the hell out of here, hime."

They made their escape from the stuffy Hyuga mansion and into the quiet courtyard just outside. The couple walked in silence for several minutes, enjoying the cool night air and the new flowers blossoming on the Hyuga estate grounds. They stopped when they came to Hinata's small garden.

"Feel better?" Naruto asked.

Hinata put on a small smile and nodded. "Much better, thank you!"

Naruto frowned, sensing that something was still bothering her. "What's wrong, Hinata?"

She looked up at him, surprised that he could sense the sadness that she was desperately trying to keep hidden.

He flashed a smile to her. "We're about to spend the rest of our lives together, so you can tell me anything, okay?"

Hinata reacted by turning her gaze away and tightening her grip around Naruto's arm, as she pondered how to answer him.

Ever since they had become officially engaged, Hinata had started to see her current world through a different lens. The mansion she had lived in all of her life, was now dank and confining. The clan elders and nobleman she worked so hard to please all these years, were now insignificant. Even the mansion gardens she used to admire now seemed too artificial and controlled. It was as if Hinata had slowly woken up over the past five weeks to the reality of her existence and she wanted nothing more than to run off through the gates of the compound to explore the vast, rich world that awaited her outside. All while being led by the hand of the young man with hair the color of sunlight and the warmest smile she had ever seen, who had slowly made a home inside her heart.

Hinata had been counting down the days to her wedding to Naruto, because she believed her life would finally begin.

Then she saw Hiroto sitting with his wife at the table of her and Naruto's engagement dinner, and her world spiraled down once again. Seeing him reminded her of the life she originally thought she was meant to have. A life that was predictable and one she had spent her whole existence preparing for. But seeing Lady Miaka was an abrupt reminder that life seldom turned out how you planned. It was all a stark reminder of what she had lost.

For the whole evening, Hinata struggled to suppress the overwhelming feelings of sadness and rejection that were stirred up by Hiroto and Miaka's presence, but she couldn't. She ignored the worried expression of her nearby father and sister, and didn't even glance in Naruto's direction for the whole dinner. She grew increasingly upset over the realization that she wasn't quite over what had occurred last summer between her and Hiroto.

And then when she finally did glance in Naruto's direction, she saw the two men speaking cordially with one another and something inside of her broke. There was something about seeing her past and her future colliding that brought about an overwhelming feeling she couldn't describe. Then she left without a word. Naruto found her shortly afterwards and now she was trying to figure out how to tell her fiancé what was wrong, when she didn't even fully understand it herself just yet.

"It's just…it's still difficult to be around them," she finally answered.

"Around who?"

"…Lord Hiroto and Lady Miaka."

Naruto scanned his brain trying to place the persons Hinata had just mentioned. "Oh, they were the couple sitting across from me at dinner. Why is it hard for you to be around them?" he asked sincerely.

Hinata didn't say anything and Naruto could read the sad expression on her face. It then clicked with him.

"So Hiroto…Was he your—?"

"Yes…" Hinata answered meekly.

Naruto's mind continued to process what was going on with his fiancée. She hadn't opened up much to him about her previous engagement; he didn't even know the name of her former fiancé until just now. But Hiroto was there with his wife, Miaka, tonight so that meant…

The blonde then understood why Hinata was so humiliated and hurt by the broken engagement, and that reason was dressed in a tacky purple kimono tonight. Naruto's chest ached at realizing the emotional pain Hinata must have been in and a quiet indignation rose inside of him. But he knew he couldn't just tell her that everything would be okay and that Hiroto was a jackass (despite it being true in Naruto's mind) for humiliating Hinata like that. There were no words he could offer to her to ease the pain of what she had been through and it hurt him to realize that.

He reached over and placed his left palm over Hinata's hands, which were still hooked around his right bicep, and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"We don't have to go back in there tonight, Hinata." He then flashed her that boyish grin of his. "We can go wherever you want! I'll stay out with you all night if needed."

Hinata gave him a small smile, her heart warmed by Naruto's support. "I'd like that but, I can't leave the Hyuga compound…"

"Ah, that's right. Well, this is still a pretty big place and I'm sure there's somewhere you would rather be than here that we could go to."

Hinata seemed to ponder this for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up. "Father told me that they're almost finished with our new house! Maybe we could walk by just to see it."

"New house?"

"Yes, it's part of my dowry…"

"Oh yeah, that's right! That sounds like a plan, lead the way, hime!"

The journey to what would be their new home soon, took nearly half an hour due to the long, furisode kimono Hinata was wearing. Each step she took had to be careful and slow so as not to ruin the fine garment, but Naruto was more than happy to oblige his fiancée's pace as it gave them a little more time to spend together.

"Here it is!" Hinata announced happily when the reached the end of the pathway, letting go of her grip on Naruto's arm.

Before them was a small cottage built in the traditional manner with dark wood frames and shoji doors and windows. The home was slightly raised off the earth as protection from the ground's dampness during rainy seasons. A small porch was attached to the front of the house and Naruto noticed that there were already garden boxes built around the home's perimeter.

The most distinguishing feature of their feature home however was its' location. From there one could see Konoha, the Hyuga Mansion, and the Branch House Village all at the same time. It was as if their home was meant to be the connecting point between all three worlds. Naruto wasn't sure if this was intentional, but he liked to think that Hiashi had picked this location with this idea in mind.

The blonde jonin sighed contently to himself. "I've never lived in a house before, ya know?"

Hinata looked over at her fiancé in surprise, "Really?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah…My dad and I lived in an apartment my whole childhood and then when I returned from my three-year training trip with the Pervy Sage, I moved straight into the barracks, which is where I've been ever since."

Hinata smiled, happy that Naruto seemed to be pleased with their soon-to-be home.

"I feel kinda bad though," Naruto commented as he rubbed the back of his neck. "This will be a step up for me but it'll be a big step down for you, right hime? I mean you grew up in a mansion and now you gotta come live with me in this tiny place!" he joked.

Not picking up on Naruto's humorous tone, Hinata slightly panicked. "N-no that's not true at all!" She then pushed her index fingers together nervously. "I'm actually looking forward to living here! It will be…a welcomed change…"

Naruto chuckled, "You can relax Hinata! I was just messing with you…well sorta. I do feel bad at times that I'm essentially turning your world upside down, so I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to living here…I'm looking forward to it too…"

The couple fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Hinata spoke up again.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it hime?"

She paused for a moment and resisted the urge to push her index fingers together once again to hide her nerves. "You told me that you were rejected by a girl that you cared about not that long ago…Is she someone you still think about?"

Naruto gazed at his fiancée for a moment wondering where the question had come from, but it was a valid question and one that deserved to be answered. He thought about it honestly before giving her his answer.

"I try not to," he said, "but there are times when it's hard, ya know? I've known her since I was a kid and we were also teammates. We went through a lot of tough battles and experiences with each other, so it's hard for me to forget about her completely. We were good friends…and it sucks that I've made things awkward between us because of the things I said to her all those months ago. Even now, I'm still sorting through what it was that I felt for her exactly…Why do you ask?"

Hinata didn't respond, instead she continued gazing at the ground quietly with that earlier sad expression in her eyes. Naruto sensed that this wasn't all just about what had happened between him and Sakura.

"Can I ask you something, Hinata?"

"Hm?"

"Does Hiroto still mean something to you?"

The question took her by surprise but when she looked into Naruto's eyes, she only saw someone who was genuinely concerned about her, and not a jealous, angry fiancé that was making accusations.

When she looked away and didn't say anything, Naruto probed her gently. "It's okay to be honest, you won't upset me with anything you say. It actually might help to talk about it, even if it hurts at first."

Things became quiet and Hinata remained still for a while. Naruto was starting to nervously wonder if he had gone too far with his question, but then his fiancée finally spoke.

"…I wanted to be just like him," she answered softly, "we grew up together and he was always a good friend to me." The Hyuga princess finally turned her gaze upwards towards the skyline as she continued speaking. "But most of all, he inspired me to be a better person. Seeing his kindness towards others, regardless of their rank and station within our clan, was encouraging to me. I started to develop real feelings for him when I was just eleven years old. I never had the courage to tell him of course, and I didn't see the point since I always knew that my marriage would be arranged anyway. Instead, I kept those feelings to myself and tried to be there for him as much as I could as his friend. It surprised me when he approached me last year, stating that he had always desired to marry me." Hinata then clutched the hem of her kimono, just above her heart. "But, for reasons I still don't understand, he broke it off just a few weeks later…and now I can't even be around him without feeling so much pain. It saddens me that the person I once considered to be one of my best friends, is now my greatest source of suffering…I wish I was already over what had happened last summer, but I'm not…it still hurts a lot."

Her voice trailed off and Naruto's heart ached for her as she tried to wipe away the tears that were slipping down her cheeks. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Hinata," he said, prompting his fiancée to finally turn her tear-filled gaze back towards him, "It's okay to still be hurt and sad over this, it just means you're human." He then gave her his signature smile. "I can't undo what's already happened, but I'll be here for you whenever you want to talk about it or even if you just need to cry about it if that will help you. That's a promise!"

Hinata then gave him what was her first real smile of the evening, even if it was small and weak.

"But let me tell you something," Naruto added in a more serious tone, "Hiroto is a coward. Maybe I'm biased since I'm the one who's actually marrying you, but he should have never promised you something he couldn't give you. If he was having doubts or wasn't asking you for the right reasons, he should have never proposed to you in the first place, even if he knew it would have disappointed you…That's just not what a man does and now look at how much pain he's caused you."

He gave her shoulder another reassuring squeeze before releasing his grip on her, smiling at her once more. "Something you should know about me, Hinata, is that I never go back on my word. If I made you a promise, I intend to follow though with it, ya know? I'm not going anywhere."

Hinata blinked back the last of her tears and smiled at her fiancé, touched by his genuine words.

"Thank you Naruto…That means so much to me…"

The jonin suddenly felt his cheeks grow hot at Hinata's tender tone. "Ah, don't mention it!" he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's getting late…" Hinata responded, "we should probably head back - OH!"

As she was speaking, Hinata had taken a step towards Naruto and tripped on the hem of her long kimono and found herself now buried in her fiancé's chest as he caught her.

Hinata's face felt warm and her heart pounded rapidly at the sudden close contact with Naruto. Her hands had inadvertently gripped his jacket and she felt his arms holding her firmly around her waist. The warmth of his body radiated through the cotton of his clothes, creating an aroma that Hinata knew to be strictly Naruto's, and for a brief moment, all of her senses became lost. Naruto must have felt something similar as she could feel his heart beating in his chest just as rapidly as hers.

The couple stayed that way for a moment, not sure how to react to their accidental embrace.

Naruto cleared his throat nervously, trying not to dwell on Hinata's sweet-scented perfume or how perfectly her petite frame fit into his lean chest.

"You okay, hime?"

Hinata carefully peeled herself away from Naruto's chest, now fully embarrassed at her clumsiness.

"Yes, I-I'm fine! I'm so sorry, I don't wear this long of a kimono very often and it's hard to walk in…"

Naruto steadied her and offered Hinata his arm once again, "No worries, you got me to lean on Hinata!" His fiancée visibly relaxed and placed her hands around the crook of his arm. "I better get you home now I guess," Naruto continued, "I don't want your dad threatening to kill me again."

"…What?"

"Ah nothing! Forget I said anything!"

Six days quickly passed and Naruto and Hinata's wedding was only one day away. Naruto's schedule during those days had still been packed and hectic but he breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the Hokage's office into the late afternoon air. He was officially done with all of his missions around the village as well as his monitoring at the hospital.

For the next week at least.

Tsunade was granting him the day off for his wedding obviously, plus a week afterwards to settle in with his new bride and their home on the Hyuga property. The blonde jinchuruki didn't have any major plans for his final evening as a bachelor, other than finishing up the packing of his barracks room and turning in early for a good nights rest, but first, a bowl or two of his favorite ramen from Ichiraku's was waiting for him.

As Naruto was making his way through the village towards his beloved ramen spot, he could hear a familiar rowdy laughter coming across the street from a small bar.

'Pervy Sage…?'

Despite the significance of the marriage, Hinata and Naruto's wedding was actually going to be a very small, intimate affair for both the ceremony and the reception. It meant that only close family members would be permitted to attend.

Since Naruto had no living blood relatives left, he invited the three individuals who were there for him all his life whom he considered just as close as family: Iruka, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. Iruka and Tsunade accepted with no hesitations, however Jiraiya declined the invitation citing that he would be away on another long-term mission. Naruto was disappointed Jiraiya couldn't attend, but he understood his sensei's reasons. A shinobi's life was not his own and personal sacrifices often had to be made for the sake of the village.

However, Naruto was under the impression that Jiraiya would be long gone by now so he was perplexed and bothered as to why the old pervert was still in the village. The blonde quickly made his way across the street and into the bar to investigate.

As he suspected, Jiraiya was there in the bar throwing back cups of sake and carousing happily with the other patrons. Naruto stood there in the doorway for several minutes, staring coldly at his former teacher before the older man finally realized he was there.

"Hey Naruto!" Jiraiya sloshed out, "I didn't think I'd get to see you before tomorrow, kid! Come sit here and have a drink on me! It's your last night of freedom after all!" he giggled.

Naruto remained in his spot by the door and placed his hands into his pockets. "I thought you were going to be out on a mission," he said cooly, making no move to accept Jiraiya's offer.

The Sannin drank another cup of sake before responding. "I don't leave until tomorrow afternoon."

Naruto took a deep breath. Ever since he became engaged to Hinata, the blonde was really working on keeping his short temper in check, but right now it was taking every ounce of self-control to not punch his former sensei in the face.

Jiraiya grinned once again, seemingly obvious to his pupil's anger, and patted the empty seat next to him. "Come on kid! Have a drink with me!"

Naruto finally gave in and begrudgingly took the empty seat next to his old teacher. He watched disinterestedly as a cup of sake was poured in front of him but made no move to touch it. The blonde sat there in silence as Jiraiya continued to laugh and joke with the small crowd inside the bar.

Despite the old man's many flaws, Naruto held Jiraiya in very high regard. They had formed a special bond during their three-year training journey and Jiraiya's views and teachings made a significant impact on Naruto as a shinobi. Jiraiya was important to both Naruto and Minato, and since his father was no longer alive to share in Naruto's life milestones, it was especially significant to Naruto for Jiraiya to be there tomorrow at his wedding.

The blonde jonin took another deep breath before speaking once again. "Hey, Sensei…"

Jiraiya turned towards Naruto curiously. He knew it was alway serious whenever the kid actually addressed him as "Sensei" instead of the "Pervy Sage".

"Listen…" Naruto continued, "I know you have a big mission to set out on tomorrow, but it would really mean a lot to me if you could come to the wedding. I'm sure Hiashi won't mind and you could just come to the ceremony. It starts at ten and should be over in less than an hour. You'll have plenty of time still—"

"I don't think that will be a good idea," Jiraiya interrupted. "Trust me, the Hyuga won't take very kindly to having a hungover old man like me at such an important event for them!"

Naruto continued to stare hard at his sake cup while he clenched his pant leg into his fist.

"Please Sensei…" Naruto rasped out.

The blonde's desperate tone finally made Jiraiya set his drink down as he carefully listened to his student's plea.

"Tomorrow is going to be a happy day for me," Naruto continued, "but it will also be a reminder that…he's not here anymore…and I need someone there for me that will understand that…"

A heavy silence fell between the two men as Naruto's words sunk in, the rambunctious laughter of the other patrons at the bar disappearing into the background.

"…I'm sorry, kid, but I can't be there for you tomorrow," Jiraiya finally answered.

"Why the hell not?" Naruto bit out, fed up with being calm and patient.

The Sannin looked back into Naruto's hard, angry gaze towards him, wishing he could have avoided this conversation all together to spare Naruto any further pain.

"I just can't. I'm sorry," Jiraiya answered plainly.

The other patrons in the bar moved to the opposite end of the room, sensing the mounting tension between the two men.

"Why?" Naruto demanded once again, "If you can't be there tomorrow then at least help me to understand why!"

Jiraiya quietly took a sip from his sake cup before answering. "I was originally not going to say anything out of respect for your feelings, Naruto, but if you're insisting on an answer than I'll be straight with you." Jiraiya set his sake cup down and turned towards his former pupil, staring hard at him. "I think you're making a mistake."

Naruto was taken aback and them immediately felt another hot, wave of anger rise up inside him. "And why's that?"

The older man took another sip of his sake. "You're in a very vulnerable stage of your life, Naruto," he answered cooly, "deciding to marry a girl you've only known for a couple of months is one of the last things you should be doing at this point."

Naruto stood up and slammed his palm onto the bar, getting directly in Jiraiya's face. "So you decide to tell me all this now just one day before my wedding?"

The Sannin scoffed. "Like I already told you, kid, I originally wasn't going to say anything but you kept insisting on the truth so I'm giving it to you like you asked."

Naruto stood there, his nostrils flaring and his hard blue stare unyielding.

Jiraiya continued, "Think about it Naruto. Your father died very suddenly and tragically. I know how close you two were and how devastating his death was for you. On top of that, rumors were flying around about you being imprisoned by the village elders due to your status as a jinchuruki. You must have felt desperate and alone, so you turned to a solution that would guarantee you would never be alone ever again."

Naruto slapped a couple of bills onto the bar to pay for his untouched drink and abruptly walked towards the exit.

"I've heard enough of this bullshit," the blonde muttered angrily.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Naruto stopped and glared over his shoulder. "I'm getting out of here before I say something to you that I'll regret long after you're dead, old man. Try not to get yourself killed on your mission." He then turned on his heel and left.

Jiraiya turned back towards his sake cup and finished it off. His earlier jubilant mood now dampened by the fact that he had yet again failed another one of his students.

Naruto strode angrily towards his barracks, trying to calm himself down. The Pervy Sage's words had riled him up so much that Naruto wasn't even hungry for his favorite ramen at Ichiraku's anymore. Yet, the things Jiraiya had said bothered Naruto and he couldn't deny that there was some truth in his sensei's words, which frustrated Naruto to no end.

He came by the Senju River and decided to sit down in a quiet spot near the bank to collect his thoughts. When he sat down on the ground, he hunched over with the heels of his palms over his eyes and took several deep, shaky breaths. He slowly lifted his head from his hands, gazing at his reflection in the river.

The jinchuruki didn't realize until then how much he still looked like a teenaged boy instead of the maturing, young man he was supposed to be. So much had happened in the past year…His best friend betrayed the village, he slaughtered hundreds of enemy shinobi with his own hands, his childhood crush rejected him, his father was killed, and starting tomorrow he would be someone's husband for the rest of his life. Staring at his rippled image in the water below him, Naruto felt as if he were standing at the threshold into a new existence, and once he stepped through he could never turn back.

He closed his eyes and sighed once more. That's all this was: He's going through a significant life change and it's only natural for him to feel a little anxious, especially after someone he looked up to told him that he was making a mistake.

He opened his eyes. One thing Jiraiya said was true for sure — Naruto was afraid to be alone. It was a fear he had all his life.

Growing up as a child with only one living parent was frightening at times, especially when said parent had such a dangerous occupation. Whenever his father was out of the village on missions or at the front lines of a war, Naruto would have nightmares of his father never returning for him. On top of that, many of the villagers despised him for containing the Kyuubi and didn't allow their children to play with Naruto, which made finding friends difficult for the longest time.

A cool breeze tickled the back of his neck and his thoughts then drifted to the woman he was marrying tomorrow. He smiled at the fond memories he already formed with her in the short time they had known each other. The way she delicately grazed the leaves of her garden plants as she explained each one to him. The glint in her lavender eyes when she tried a cinnamon roll for the first time. The passion in her voice as she spoke about the marginalized members of her clan and how she would even give up her own life to create a better future for each of them if that's what it took. Naruto couldn't say that he was in love with the Hyuga princess just yet…but the thought of spending the rest of his days with her at his side made him feel calm and peaceful inside.

Hinata was many things, but a mistake was not one of them.

Satisfied with that final thought, Naruto felt relaxed once again. If that old pervert didn't want to attend the wedding tomorrow for his own reasons, then so be it.

The jinchuruki gazed at his reflection in the water once again and ruffled his wild, blonde locks. His hair was starting to get long again, making the back of his neck feel scratchy all the time. Maybe it was time for a change…

The jonin stood up and brushed the loose grass from his pants. He planned on making a pit stop before retiring to the barracks for the night.

"Hey Big Bro!" Konohamaru greeted after Naruto arrived at the barracks, "I was starting to wonder when you were…"

The blonde jinchuruki stood there in confusion, wondering why his young friend trailed off. "What is it?"

"Oh uh, you just look different that's all."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Is it that bad?"

Before coming back to the barracks, Naruto had stopped for a hair cut. His longer wild, blonde locks were now gone and all that remained were short golden spikes.

Before Konohamaru could respond, they were accosted by the rambunctious bellows of four young men approaching from behind.

"NARUTO!" they greeted.

The blonde jonin looked behind his young friend and grinned at the sight of Kiba, Lee, Choji, and Shino all standing there.

"What are you guys doing here?" Naruto questioned gleefully, "I thought you all were out of the village still!"

"Dude, we've all been back for over two weeks!" Choji answered.

"What? Really?!" Naruto replied.

"Yeah, really! You've just been too busy being the Hokage's errand-boy to notice," Kiba responded, "and what the fuck happened to your hair?"

"Not you too Kiba…" Naruto sighed in defeat.

"I for one like Naruto's new look!" Lee chimed in with a thumbs up, "It makes him look very youthful and matured!"

"You know that statement just contradicted itself…" Kiba deadpanned.

Naruto chuckled at his friends' banter. "What are you guys up to tonight?"

"We were looking for you, Naruto," Shino answered cryptically from the back of the group, "the reason being, we are your friends and want to celebrate with you properly."

"Huh?"

"Yeah! You're getting married to a fucking princess tomorrow, man!" Kiba exclaimed, slapping Naruto on the shoulder. "We can't let you spend your last night as a bachelor doing nothing!"

"That's right, Big Bro! It was all my idea by the way!" Konohamaru proclaimed proudly.

"Shikamaru would have come too if he were still in the village, but he's currently in Suna with his new wife," Choji added.

Naruto stared at his group of friends, momentarily awestruck by their presence and the reminder of the life he used to have. A life where Team Seven still went on missions together and his father was the Hokage. A life where his evenings were spent chowing down bowls of ramen and staying up until the early morning hours playing cards and joking around with the guys. A life that was more carefree and not occupied with anxieties about the future. And just for one last night, Naruto could enjoy a taste of that old life with friends who had stuck by him through thick and thin.

Naruto then grinned so big, his eyes crinkled closed. "All right! Where to first?"

Immediately a loud growl emitted from Naruto's stomach, making the blonde chuckle sheepishly.

"Dude, you didn't even eat dinner yet?" Kiba quipped.

"Ah, no…"

"To Ichiraku's!" Choji announced, not needing to guess where the blonde wanted to go next.

"Yes! The flames of our youth will burn brightly throughout the night!" Lee exclaimed as he threw his arm around Naruto's shoulders.

"Let's go!" Naruto grinned.

The group of young men then set out on their night of fun in the village, their laughter and jokes carrying out into the clear, night sky.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter (and don't worry about Naruto and Jiraiya's argument too much ;) I'll be honest, I don't know when the next chapter will be done, but please be rest assured that I am still working on this story and knowing that this story has gained a fan base inspires me to keep going. Until next time!