A/N: Chapter two is here. Thank you to my reviewers, your feedback has been very helpful. Some thanks and stuff to some of my reviewers: Xoni Newcomer: About the viewpoints: Yeah, I should keep to one, shouldn't I. I fixed the timeline problem, when I looked at my notebook, it seems I just switched them around from page to type. And, all will be explained in due time, especially the whole "instant love" Sasuke stuff. Dragon Man 180: You seem to be a NaruHina fan, ne? Sweet. Cccsss: Yeah, this'll be going on for a while, and the chapters will get longer. I just wanted to post this here to test the waters. Kitsune-Itai: Well, sorry about your hate of flashbacks, but it's the only tool that will explain all the stuff in detail. It's a vital part of my story. Sorry man. Now, To the story! Then, of course, she looked up. She never had expected to see the love of her pre-adolescent life standing in front of her, especially at the height of her lonely depression. But, she did love him, didn't she? She hadn't thought of love since Hiashi-sama had threatened her with disownment. Hiashi-sama had always thought of Hinata as useless. He constantly made her aware of it, a condescending look here, a snide remark there. Hinata loathed it, loathed it with a passion. She had improved greatly. Kurenai-sensei had been helping her more, and so had Neji nii-san. He had been very patient teacher, surprisingly, and her skill in Jyuuken had increased drastically. Neji even had said, offhandedly, that the speed of her hands almost rivaled his. However, when Neji wanted to, his hands were invisible. None of his opponents had seen his hands disappear and lived through it. Hinata now excelled in genjutsu, and her taijutsu was much better, though Neji was still more than a match for her. And yet, her father didn't notice. He was too caught up in Hanabi, in her training to care about Hinata. Hinata inwardly smirked. She was so much better than her sister. So much stronger, now. If only Hiashi would give her another damn chance! It was trial enough to get this good, let alone not being acknowledged for it. And now, all those thoughts of love, those thoughts of Naruto-kun came flooding back to her, the things she had been suppressing all these years, in a torrent of words and actions, those she had seen, and those she had heard about... "I think you are strong, Naruto-Kun. You learn from your mistakes…" Naruto stood over an unconcious Hinata. He put his hand in her blood, raised it up, and yelled, "Neji, I'll beat you up!" She remembered the faint tinge of red that had accosted her cheeks at the sight of him. It was one of those things that just happened, and Naruto thought she had recurring heat stroke problems. She mentally smiled at his ignorance. Oh he was a dense one. But, he believed in her. He made her feel special inside, and she wanted, oh so much to do the same to him. It ate her up inside that the village hated him, and the fact that they couldn't give a reason. God damn, she hated them. Naruto had done nothing to them, except for the occasional prank or two. He was an outcast still, after three years of absence. She now wondered if anything would change. And, now, three years later, here he stood. Suddenly, her mind went blank, and her fingers flew towards each other, pushing up against themselves in a habit she thought she had broken. The tinge of red had once again taken residence in her cheeks, and her mind worked furiously to put any two words together. Her inner self was fuming at this relapse into her old habits. And, finally, a word came unbidden from her mouth. "N-NARUTO-KUN!" She leapt forward and seized him in a tight hug, whose power belied her small frame. Her Naruto-kun had come back, and with him, her hope. Naruto's POV Naruto was stunned at the sight of his old companions. They went back to the days before everything was flipped upside down by Orochimaru. The damn Sannin was such a malicious fuck, everything he did was bent on his own ego-fueled power trip. If I had half the chance, I'd drive a Rasengan through that bastard's face. It had been at least 3 years since he had seen them, barring Sasuke, who Naruto was still pissed at. He barely knew Tenten and Neji, having only fought Neji in the Chuunin Exam finals. Tenten, he saw only once, again during the Chuunin exam. His eyes lingered on Sakura and Sasuke. Boy, he thought, Sasuke has changed. Never thought I'd see his arm around Sakura. Not that I care anymore. Wait…what? I don't care anymore? Naruto's expression did flip-flops at the thought of this. The voices in his head had a conference: Hold on a sec! This is so weird! I always liked Sakura-Chan! Wait a second! Who did you think about whenever you were training! Who was always on your mind! Was it Sakura? No, but, it's so weird! I spent so much of my life after her. I feel guilty just giving her up like this. Let me make two things clear for you! Even if you didn't want to give her up, she's with Sasuke-teme now. And, you didn't answer my first question. If it wasn't Sakura you were thinking about, then who was it, god damnit? Who! Well, you know who it was! It was- All thoughts prior were knocked from his head as Hinata barreled into him, locking him in a hug that knocked out his wind. Wow, she's grown since I last saw her. I can't believe it. She used to be shy and quiet, but so caring. Oh god, she cared about me. And I didn't realize it until that stupid day... I am so stupid. Flashback Jiraiya stood over Naruto's bruised body, breathing lightly. The perverted hermit's features were graced with an angry scowl, and his face was red. "Naruto," he yelled, "You are not concentrating! What the hell is up with you today!" Naruto grimaced, and rubbed his head. "Gomen, Ero-Senni-" "I told you never to call me that again! Naruto-baka, you will never learn, will you! What is it with you today? You aren't concentrating!" "I had my head in the clouds Er-Jiraiya-sensei." "Thinking about that girl again, huh. Well, I'll tell you. Sakura is a damn hot chick, and I'd do her any day!" Naruto stood up and whacked Jiraiya. "Pervert! She would never do...THAT to you, of all people. And besides, it isn't Sakura-chan I'm thinking about! It was-" "Whatever, it doesn't matter! You still aren't concentrating. Now, back to work, Naruto-Baka." End Flashback Naruto suddenly remembered that he couldn't breathe. And, if he couldn't breathe, that three year training period would most definitely go to waist. "Hina..ta-Chan, can't… breathe… air… need…" Hinata yelped and released him. "Gomen, N-Naruto-kun." Naruto flashed his trademark grin, which had grown from mischevious to soft in three years time. "It's ok, Hinata." He missed them all, especially Hinata. Naruto got himself reacquainted with everybody, and upon reaching Sasuke, smirked at the way his hands lay lovingly on Sakura's shoulder. They were fawning over each other once again, and Naruto let them continue for a moment before clearing his throat. Neji, Tenten, and Hinata looked on, Tenten making a slight gagging noise. Sasuke and Sakura blushed, forgetting where they were. Naruto grinned, then spoke. "So, Sasuke-teme, I showed you true strength there, eh?" Sasuke growled in reply, and said, "You got lucky, Mr. Dead Last, so be quiet about it! It won't happen again! I didn't need you to drag me back, there was nothing for me there!" However, his eyes told the truth, and Sakura hit his arm, rather hard. "And what about me, Mr. I'm-so-good-I-don't-need-anyone-because-I'm-an-arrogant-bastard?" Sasuke cursed inwardly as he replied, "Of course, I meant 'except you'. You should know that, shouldn't you?" And so, the fawning continued. Neji muttered something to Tenten and Hinata about getting a room, and Hinata giggled. The sound made Naruto's heart flutter, and, coincidentally, his stomach growled. He forgot that he had skipped breakfast. "Hey, guys, can we get some food, like at Ichiraku's? I'm starving." The group laughed, and Sakura said, "Ramen as usual? That'll never change, will it, Naruto?" They poked fun at him for a while, but revelled in his company, glad to have one of their own back in the fold. As the gang approached Ichiraku's, Naruto noticed Ayame staring at him for some reason. He just shook it off as something stupid, and waved, yelling, "Ohayo, Ayame! Remember me?" Ayame's POV Ayame frowned at the lack of customers occupying the stools in front of her father's restaurant. Stupid mourning day taking away stupid business because stupid people are fasting. I hate these stupid traditions. Then, she looked up, and gasped. Was that, N-Naruto? When did he come back? When did he get so hot? What happened to the twelve year old little kid who once was our regular? And when did he get that sculpted body? Jesus, he loo- Naruto's shout for ramen broke her little dirty daydream, and she blushed furiously. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the red tinge that had set up shop in her cheeks. She bustled around, hiding her face behind the counter. Such dirty thoughts, Ayame! What happened to sweet and innocent ramen girl! Hinata's POV As Hinata, Naruto, and the gang sat down to wait for their ramen, Hinata could not help but notice how much Naruto had grown, and she wondered... "Naruto-Kun, do you m-mind telling me what happened during your training?" Naruto smiled ruefully and said, "A lot of pain, a lot of growing, more pain, and... yeah, that's about all I remember. Hinata laughed, and said, "Oh, Naruto-kun, we've missed you so much." Sakura, momentarily out of fawn-for-Sasuke mode, and said, "Yeah, we have, especially Hinata!" She winked, and Sasuke smirked and placed a kiss on her forehead. Naruto's POV Naruto's eyes went cold, and he looked away to the kitchen, where the ramen had just been brought out. Those two are so lucky to have found love... I wish I could hold Hi-someone like that... Naruto-baka! Stop beating around your feelings! They won't go the fuck away just because you don't say them out loud! You know exactly what I'm thinking, so what does it matter to you! If you beat around the bush like this, you'll only make yourself more depressed. You know what, say it to me! Say what? That you like Hinata! Like, out loud? No! She'd hear me! Not out loud, you stupid lout, just to me. Fine, all right already! I like Hinata, ok? Happy? Quite./ Naruto looked down at his ramen, and voiced something out loud. "Where's Shikamaru?" He said. Sakura, always the one to be in on these types of things, laughed, and said, "In the woods, hiding from Ino. Chouji says that he's been trying to tell her about his feelings for a long time, but whenever he tries, she comes up with some other reason to interrupt him, and he can't take it anymore! Oh, he's so whipped!" Naruto smiled slightly. "He's a Nara, what do you expect!" The entire group laughed, and, as Naruto looked at Hinata, he noticed her laughter was pure and piercing. is expression turned gloomy at what he thought was his unrequited love, and looked towards his ramen for solace. Shikamaru's POV Shikamaru lay on a thick tree bough, staring at the puffy white clouds above, thinking of his troublesome life. And no matter how smart I am, the curse of the Nara family continues. Even if she does notice me, and even if she does tell me what I've been trying to tell her, I'll be like Dad. Damnit, we men are so whipped. Shikamaru sighed once more as he looked up, sleep threatening to overtake him. He yawned softly, and uttered, "Mendokuse." Live was so troublesome, especially this. A/N: Yeah, finals are coming up in my school, so the next chapter might not come out for a while. Please don't hurt me... whimpers