Determined Love

©: Naruto Character belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story is fan based and is no associated with Masashi Kishimoto nor will any profit be gained by it.

Naruto had no idea how he had ended up on the girls side of the bath house. Well, he could guess. Tomorrow would be a very big day for him, the most important mission in his life. Tomorrow he and Sakura would be getting Sasuke back. Having that on his mind and stressed as he was, he had come to bathe at the local onsen, but temptation became too much to bear and he eventually climbed the wall to peek on the girls side, thinking he had heard Sakura’s voice. When he saw no one, not one single pretty girl bathing, he began to climb back down, only to slip and land in the water on the girls side, very ungracefully.

Grumbling and very much upset that he couldn‘t peek at anyone, Naruto was about to climb back up and over to the men’s side when the door opened. If it was Sakura, she would kill him, or close to it. Not thi nking of anything else at the moment and panicked as he was, he used his ninjitsu, and henge’d into a random female before he came into the girl’s view. Of course if the girl was a ninja, she would see right through his disguise, and most likely since it was Konoha, the girl would be a ninja. Being on the edge of his seat, he tried to act normally as he could in the water. Out of curiosity, he glanced over at the girl, sliding into the water beside him. What he saw almost made his nose overflow with blood. There, not too far from him, was Hinata, still wrapped in a towel, though her breasts were slightly sticking out.

Naruto also noticed Hinata’s eyes were looking at the water, her face set in depression. Obviously Hinata’s thoughts were else where, because she didn’t see through his disguise. Oddly, before he could really think, he felt himself move closer to Hinata. He wondered why she had come here, surely the Hyuuga’s home had a nice onsen within their compound. Again Naruto looked at her face, and concern for her well being suddenly became more important then him escaping his dangerous predicament.

Nervous, he spoke with a feminine voice, “Y-you’re Hyuuga Hinata, right?” Naruto finally sat next to her in the bath, careful not to make any odd movements or stare at her chest.

Surprised, Hinata looked up to see she wasn’t alone. Blushing, she replyed, “Yes, I’m Hyuuga Hinata.”

Still on edge Naruto spoke again, “Why aren’t you home in the Hyuuga’s onsen?” Looking at her odd expression, he realized he was being rude, and quickly tried to rectify the mishap, “Ah, not that you can’t come here, or that your not welcomed…no, I mean you’re welcomed here but I was curious…”

Hinata looked down at the water again, the steam softly lifting to her face was comforting, if not the only thing to fill the quick silence. Naruto felt defeated, his concern only seemed to worsen the situation. But after a moment Hinata spoke, “I wanted to get away from my family for a little bit.”

Thinking perhaps he had another chance, Naruto continued the odd conversation. “What happened with your family?” Again, realizing he was being rude, he added, “Not that it’s any of my business…”

Hinata shook her head, with her quiet voice she spoke, “No, it’s alright. It’s not really them at the moment, it’s just…just…” Looking away from the woman who was really Naruto, she blushed again, “Tomorrow is an important day for someone I-I love and I haven’t been able to tell him how I feel.”

Naruto looked at her, wide eyed and amazed. He never knew Hinata was in love with someone. That she was unable to express it seemed to hurt her so much. She wanted that person to acknowledge her…just like…

“Naruto-kun….” hearing her call his name quickly frightened him, thinking he had been caught, but looking back at Hinata, her eyes now looking at the darkening sky, he could tell. Hinata was thinking about him, which made his heart skip a beat, he couldn‘t be the person she likes, could he? “I wish I could be confident like Naruto-Kun.” Naruto felt slightly disappointed, Hinata was only thinking about him in regards to his confidence, he was mistaken to think he might be Hinata’s love interest.

Nodding, Naruto knew he wanted to help, no matter who she loved. Hinata was a friend and a person he really liked. He didn’t want to see her sad like this. In fact, Naruto was now determined that he would make sure Hinata was with the person she loved no matter what. Before he could say anything to her, the door opened once again, and Naruto heard the voice Saukra and Ino, chatting away merrily. Looking back to Hinata, his nervousness was clear to her.

“Nice talking to you Hinata!” Was all he could say before he ran out of the onsen, and zoomed by Sakura and Ino. All three girls just stared, speechless at the strange woman running out of the bath house nude. Their dumbfounded expressions was quickly replaced by disinterest, obviously the woman was nuts, and Sakura and Ino joined Hinata in the hot and refreshing water.

**********

Hinata, dressed and feeling only slightly better stepped out onto the road from the bath house. She was stronger and more confident in battle, her father was even thinking slightly higher of her recently. But she was still weak in the matters of the heart. Tomorrow Naruto would go on a very dangerous mission, and if the absolute worst happened, she may never see him again. Though Hinata admired Naruto’s strength, she knew that even the strongest ninja’s could die. Luckily Tsunade-sama was allowing some teams to go with team 7 during the mission, including her own. But when the mission starts, she knew it wouldn’t be appropriate to mention something so selfish to Naruto. No, she couldn’t tell him then, and she wasn’t ready to tell him now either. Sighing, she started to make her way home, when, abruptly, the man she loved, whom had her thoughts for most of this day, stepped in front of her, with his hands on his side and a big grin on his face.

“Hey Hinata!”

Blushing and stepping away from him, she could hardly reply, “N-naruto-kun!”

“Sorry to scare you.” Naruto said through his grin while scratching the back of his head.

Regaining her composure, Hinata looked at him, maintaining the blush on her face. She could feel her heart beating fast. “No, it’s ok.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m going to treat you to Ichiraku Ramen!” Without saying much more, and much to Hinata’s surprise and embarrassment, Naruto quickly put his arm around her shoulder and quickly began to walk.

“W-why are you doing this?” Hinata said with a much courage as she could.

“Hehe, I saw you a little down, so I thought I would cheer you up!”

“Thank you, Naruto-Kun.”

“No problem, no problem. Let’s go get some ramen!”

With that, the two made their way to Naruto’s favorite ramen shop. Hinata was trying her best to keep from fainting, she had never been so close to Naruto before for so long. And she was enjoying listening to him talk. Though he talked a lot about himself, it was enjoyable to be able to spend time with someone she loved from the bottom of her heart.

Once they got there, and sat down, the sun had set. After ordering, Naruto continued to tell her about his missions and other stories. She would occasionally talk about her own missions, but through most of their meal, Hinata just listened. Her thoughts of course, would wonder from time to time. She would think about the first time she saw Naruto, and how over the years her feelings for him became so strong. At first, she admired him, almost idolizing him. But as the years continued on, her admiration turned to a crush and that crush became love. She was determined to tell him how she felt, though she still did not feel ready. When she heard her name being called by Naruto, she quickly looked at him.

“That’s right, huh Hinata? You like someone right, right?”

Taken very aback by his observation, and turning a deep shade of red, Hinata could only blink once before stuttering, “Y-y-yes.”

“I knew it!” Looking at her with a half serious expression, his tone changed to match his face, “You should tell him, I’m sure he would be happy. If a girl told me she liked me, I would be the happiest guy in the world, especially if she was really pretty.”

Still uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going, Hinata answered as best as she could, “I can’t do that, I don’t have the confidence.”

Looking at Hinata, Naruto’s expression turned into a serious determination. Looking down at the two empty bowls of Ramen, Naruto knew what he had to do! And he wouldn’t take no for an answer!

“OK, then let’s go train!”

“Huh?” Was all Hinata could say before Naruto quickly paid and grabbed her hand, taking off for the training grounds. As they ran together, hand in hand, Hinata’s heart beat felt as if it would pop from her chest. “But Naruto-kun, isn’t it too late to train?”

Looking back at her as they both ran, though very foolish, Naruto grinned at her, “It’s never too late to train.” And then, after looking forward again, he ran faster, half dragging Hinata behind him, though he refused to let her hand go. Before the food cramps could catch up, both Hinata and Naruto arrived at a place very dear to both of them. It was the training grounds in which they first became genin, so many years ago. It was both nostalgic and slightly saddening, to come here again, when so many things had changed.

The night sky was bright with stars. Breathing in the cool air, Naruto let Hinata’s hand go and turned to stand beside her. Hinata, slightly sad that his warm hand had let hers go, couldn’t even fathom what kind of training he brought her here for, but she would believe in Naruto. He kept his smile, though she could tell he was sad, she knew he was worried for Sasuke. His smile was for her, she could feel that much, and she was very grateful for that.

“Ok, Hinata, let’s start our training! Now, do you trust me?” His face continued to search the stars as he spoke.

“Yes.” Hinata could only look at Naruto.

“Alight, now, repeat after me, and as loudly as you can, ‘I’M THE BEST NINJA IN THE WORLD!’”

Flabbergasted and utterly surprised at his instructions, Hinata blushed again and shook her head, “I-I can’t do that! What of someone hears…”

In a stern voice Naruto spoke to Hinata with a caring but serious expression, “Hinata, you said you trusted me right? Let all your fears go, and yell at the top of your lungs!”

Looking left then right, Hinata then gave him a small nod. Satisfied, Naruto looked back to the stars and yelled, “I’M THE BEST NINJA IN THE WORLD!”

Taking a deep breath, Hinata gathered all her courage, and tried to do the same. “I’m the best ninja in the world!” Her voice was still small and quiet.

“No, no try again! That was no good.” Naruto said, but with a smile he added, “I know you can do it, you’re really strong. I bet you could even beat Neji now.”

Naruto’s added encouragement did wonders for Hinata. She gazed at him for a moment before trying again. “I’M THE BEST NINJA IN THE WORLD!”

Naruto looked back to her, and grinned, “Ok, again!”

After an hour of Hinata screaming the phrase, she kneeled gracefully on the ground, slightly giggling, almost completely exhausted from the odd training Naruto was putting her though. Though she had to admit something felt different about her. Letting her inhibitions go, and screaming, yelling the phrase Naruto wanted her to say was quite refreshing. She could feel herself gaining, if only a little bit, some confidence she knew she was missing.

Naruto held out his hand for her to stand, grinning at her again, “So how does that feel?”

Smiling, she looked up at Naruto, feeling her emotions for him double within her, “Good… I’ve never felt this way before.”

As she took his hand, Naruto lifted Hinata up. Oddly she tripped and quickly Naruto caught her. They gazed at each other, slightly shocked at their abrupt closeness, both couldn’t help but to blush. In an odd embrace, Naruto tried to claim the uneasiness he felt in the air. “They village doesn’t call me a loud mouth for nothing.” His grin grew slightly somber, his memories from before slightly touching his heart with sadness.

“Naruto-kun…” Hinata couldn’t help but feel for him. If only she was stronger, if only she could have been there for him back then.

“I guess I could learn a thing or two from you too…you know, like, how I should probably keep my mouth shut at times.”

Hinata was quick to combat his words, “No, that’s not it Naruto-kun. You’ve always been able to speak your mind. I think that gives you character, that it makes you strong. If only I could be able to do that, I think I could do a lot more for my friends and family, like you Naruto-kun.”

Turning around, Naruto didn’t want Hinata to see the slight tear in his eye, nor the sad smile that came to his face. He Hadn’t seemed to be able to help Sasuke. Scratching the back of his head, he thought about another time Hinata encouraged him. “This reminds me of that time before I fought Neji, when you gave me back my determination and courage to fight Neji.” Grinning again, trying to forget his troubles so he could help Hinata, Naruto turned to face her again. “All right, let’s start round 2 of ‘Hinata’s Courage Training!’”

“Ok.” Hinata said with a smile, though she was a little apprehensive.

Walking closer to Hinata, Naruto thought for a moment, “Alright Hinata, pretend I’m the person you like, and confess to me.”

Breathing in deeply and holding her breath Hinata frooze.

“Come one Hinata, I’m not that bad to confess to!” Naruto of course misunderstood her reaction.

“I-I can’t do something like that.”

“Sure you can. I know you can do it Hinata!” Using the same words on her reminded Hinata why she was here and why Naruto was helping her. “All you have to say is, ‘I like you’ or ‘I love you’ or something like that, you don’t have to say my name. Oh, and I won’t turn you down. The person you like would be a fool to turn a pretty girl like you down.”

Blushing yet again, Hinata nodded. “I-I-I like you.”

“Good, good, now say it again.”

“I-I love you.”

“Alright, you said love, ok again.”

“I…” Hinata paused, and looked Naruto in the eyes. Breathing deep, she let her heart into her words. “I love you.”

“Wow, you got it pretty fast Hinata. I think we-” Naruto wasn’t able to finish his sentence, Hinata had cut him off.

“I love you Naruto-kun!”

“Hey, not so fast Hinata, we have lots of time to practice-” Again he was cut off.

“No, Naruto-kun. I love you. I have felt this way about you for the longest time. Ever since the Academy.” Quickly she looked to the floor, her eyes, full of fear and uncertainty. It had taken everything in her heart to say what she just had to say. Every time she had ever thought about confessing, she would always envision a rejection. But this night, with Naruto being so kind to her, trying to help her do what she just did, Hinata had to let her feelings be known. It didn’t matter now if he didn’t feel the same. At least she had finally been able to admit this to him at last.

Naruto was more then just surprised. He was shocked speechless. Wide eyed, he could only look at Hinata, who was obviously waiting for him to reject her. How could he have missed this? All this time, the way she acted towards him was because she felt this way? He had never really looked at Hinata like that, he had always looked at Sakura. But Sakura…thinking back, he knew where her heart laid.

“To me his is a precious friend and teammate. I love him dearly…” With fire set in her eyes, Sakura looked at Yamato. “But, I am in love with Sasuke. I am going to rescue the one I love together with Naruto no matter what!”

Hinata was the same, she wanted Naruto to acknowledge her, but more then that. Hinata wanted to love Naruto. It was the type of love he had always wanted but never received. And it didn’t seem to matter that she knew he had the kyubi within him. Most of his friends knew now. But Hinata still loved him, she wanted to walk beside him. Perhaps he could finally have what he has always wanted. Trying to form the right sentence in his mind he leaned closer to Hinata.

Scratching his head, and looking down, Naruto spoke “I’ve never thought of you that way Hinata.”

Immediately tears formed in Hinata’s eyes. But Naruto stepped closer to her, his hands going to her sides, but not touching her, he continued, “I’ve always felt a certain way about another person, but…I think I want to try to think of you that way.”

Hinata’s tears seemed to dry at that moment, and she looked up at him. “Naruto-kun…”

“I think it will be easy for me to be able to think of you like that. You are pretty and I like your way of ninja.” Leaning even closer to Hinata, Naruto placed his hand in hers. “Hey, Hinata-chan, can I walk you home?”

Immediately Hinata’s heart grew light. She never thought she could ever feel this way. Naruto wanted to be able to feel the same way about her as she felt about him. And now that he gave her some confidence with his odd training, she was determined make sure he fell head over heels for her.

“Um” Hinata couldn’t say anything more, but she smiled, and gave him a single nod.

Together, during the cool night with the sky filled with stars, they walked to Hinata’s home. It was only a matter of time now before both of them would change, each filling the spaces that were missing in their lives. In time Hinata would gain the courage she needed, and Naruto would gain the love and acknowledgement he has always yearned for. This night, they were walking into a future that was as bright as the sun.

La Fin