Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Finally Found ❯ The Journey Home ( Chapter 7 )

[ A - All Readers ]

By: frib

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…

Chapter 7 - The Journey Home

They had been walking through the dark night for hours. No one had said a word since they bid farewell to Marashin. “This way.” Jiraya turned left off the path and stopped after about 100 meters in a small clearing. “You two get some sleep.” Jiraya's voice seemed sullen.

Naruto and Hinata unrolled their sleeping bags a few meters away from each other, neither looking at the other. They changed into their night clothes under their sleeping bags and laid down. After a quarter of an hour, no one had yet to close their eyes.

“Naruto, Hinata…” Jiraya was lying down with his back to both of them and knew that neither of them had fallen asleep. He spoke without raising his head. “If tonight's events bothered you then you have two choices.” Neither of them stirred in their sleeping bags but both were paying attention.

“You can get used to it or you can choose another path in life…” He paused slightly to let his words sink in. “A true ninja uses his strength to protect the innocent and those that are important to him by any means.”

Naruto did not know why Jiraya killing Matsu had hit him so hard. He had seen several people die at Kakashi and Jiraya's hands before and had even been forced to kill two people himself. Every time it happened though, it was a horrible feeling. Naruto was overcome with that same horrible feeling when he saw Matsu die, but something was different this time. He quickly realized what it was: the look on Hinata's face as Matsu sank. It was a look Naruto never wanted to see again.

Hinata had been on plenty of missions for a Kunoichi her age, but had never seen a death before that day. She had known that both of her old teammates, Kiba and Shino, had killed people on missions, but they had never done it in front of her. She knew the day would come when she would see a killing or, even worse, be forced to kill, but the shock of Jiraya killing Matsu right in front of her struck her harder then she thought it would.

Lying on her side with her back to Naruto and Jiraya, Hinata finally closed her eyes, but Matsu's sinking body was all she could think of. She opened them back up and turned onto her back to look up at the stars. She began to think over the last few days with Jiraya and Naruto. They were like something out of a dream for her, and she didn't want it to end. “But Jiraya is one of the Legendary Sannin,” she thought to herself. “He will be required to go on the most extreme missions and Naruto and I will be forced along. Can I handle this?” She began to doubt herself.

She closed her eyes and turned her body. When she opened her eyes, she saw Naruto meters away with his eyes on her. He had been watching her ever since he realized why he had felt so awkward. He wanted to say something to comfort her, something to keep her from leaving his side. He had said nothing, but his being there was enough for Hinata. She smiled at him and closed her eyes; her mind was made up. She fell asleep instantly, leaving Naruto awake.

Naruto had eventually fallen asleep after some time. When he first fell asleep his dreams were nothing but Matsu dying over and over while Naruto looked at Hinata's shocked and frightened face. After awhile, however, his dreams turned to the jutsu Jiraya had used to protect himself; Naruto had never seen the transperant blue field that came from his palms. When Naruto woke up he decided he would make Jiraya teach it to him. “ERO-SENNIN!” Naruto yelled when he arose.

“Naruto,” Jiraya was standing in front of Naruto's sleeping bag. “We don't have all day, let's go…” He turned around and started walking to the path. Naruto looked around for Hinata who was already waiting on the main path. He started to change, deciding to ask Jiraya on the way back to Konoha.

“Hinata,” Jiraya had reached the path. “Have you made your decision?” She looked at his face. This was not the kind, joking face Jiraya usually had, nor was it the face she had seen on him when he was serious with them. She thought that he looked like someone who was expecting bad news.

Hinata's eyes were not on Jiraya, but off to his left. She smiled. “Yes, Jiraya-sama…” her eyes went to Jiraya. “I made my decision a long time ago…” Jiraya looked back to where Hinata had been looking and saw Naruto running up to the path.

“I'm glad.” Jiraya looked at Hinata and smiled himself. He understood why she was staying and thought to himself, “this will make it easier.”

They had been walking for less then ten minutes when Jiraya spoke, “I have a surprise for you two.” They both looked at the back of his head as they were walk behind him. “I know the mission wasn't a success, but you two did very well and I think all of us deserve… a reward.” He turned over his shoulder and winked at Naruto.

Naruto ran in front of Jiraya and they all stopped. “Are you going to teach us the jutsu you used against Matsu?!” His eyes were huge with excitement.

“Oh,” Jiraya laughed. “I wasn't even thinking about that, but yes I will be teaching both of you,” he looked at Hinata and back to Naruto, “both levels of that jutsu. But that is not our reward.” He started walking past Naruto with a smile on his face and humming happily.

Naruto just stood there until Hinata had reached him. “Hinata, did he say `both levels'”? He had a confused look on his face. Hinata nodded. Naruto turned and started walking next to Hinata again. “Ero-sennin, what do you mean both levels of the jutsu?”

“Huh?” Jiraya's mind was occupied by their next destination. “Oh, yes…” his thoughts cleared. “There are two levels of that Jutsu, the Sheild and Shelter Jutsus. The one you two saw me use was the first level, the Shield Jutsu, where I form a small sheild to protect myself in close combat. I will be teaching this to both of you.”

Hinata was excited about learning a new jutsu, but Naruto started jumping up and down yelling, “ALL RIGHT! A NEW JUTSU! LET'S START NOW!”

“Ha ha ha… ok.” Jiraya was usually annoyed when Naruto demanded to learn a new jutsu, but he just laughed this time. He stopped and turned around to face the two behind him. He turned his palm face up and the small blue transparent shield formed inches from his hand. “Naruto, try to punch me as hard as you can.”

Naruto smiled almost evilly, “Ok Ero-sennin!” He threw a punch at Jiraya with all his strength. Jiraya held the shield up which connected with Naruto's fist, stopping it on impact. “What?” Naruto retracted his fist and stepped back.

“This shield,” Jiraya turned his palm face up in front of the two, “is made of very dense chakra. It not only stops regular close strikes, but if you make it dense enough you can even stop a high level chakra attack.”

“Wha…” Naruto looked dumbfounded. “You mean you can even stop the Rasengan!?” Naruto's mind raced; if Sasuke learned this jutsu he would be able stop it. Naruto grew worried.

“Ha ha… Naruto don't worry. You have a very high level of chakra and I doubt anyone could stop it.” The shield had disappeared and Jiraya was laughing to himself.

“BUT WHAT IF SASUKE KNO…”

Jiraya cut him off. His face grew serious, “Naruto, this is a defensive Jutsu that was taught to me and Tsunade by the Third himself after Orochimaru abandoned the village.” He looked at his palm as he remember the day well, ”he wanted to give us an edge on Orochimaru, a way to stop him if he came after us, but…” Jiraya looked disappointed in himself, “neither of us could ever master the second level, the Shelter Jutsu.”

The excitement inside of Naruto increased, but his face did not show it. He and Hinata both wore stunned looks. Jiraya noticed this, “But that is a story for later.”

The smiling look came back to Jiraya's face. “First off, you need to gather chakra in your hand… Well?” Jiraya looked down at the two standing there looking up at him awkwardly. “HEY!” The two woke from their daze and did as they were told. They were already well versed in gathering chakra in their hands; Naruto with his Rasengan, and Hinata with her Juken technique.

“Good. Now form a small shield in front of your hand and try to make the chakra as dense as possible.” They were surprised as they both immediately formed the small shield.”

“Ero-sennin, this is too easy…” Naruto was disappointed. It had taken him a long time to learn the rasengan and that was such a powerful move. This shield jutsu couldn't be that strong if he got it on the first try.

Jiraya looked at him. “Oh yeah Naruto?” He put one hand on each of the shields and pressed down. His hand went right though the shield and slapped the palms underneath. The shields disappeared as Naruto and Hinata looked to each other. “Easy you say?” Jiraya laughed and started walking back down the path.

He looked over his shoulder at the two standing there looking at their palms. “Hey you two let's go. You can practice while we walk.”

They continued to walk down the path back to Konoha practicing the new jutsu. They would form the shield in their hands and use their free hand test it. After several hours of walking, and many tries, both of their shields could only take very little pressure before vanishing. Jiraya stopped.

“This way you two.” They had reached a path that intersected with their path home. Jiraya turned left and started walking down the new path. “Oh yeah,” he said a smile on his face and a slight bounce to his step. Naruto and Hinata were both too interested mastering the jutsu to argue.

After a half an hour walk they arrived at the entrance to a small village. Jiraya led the way through the village, “Here's your reward.” He pointed to a large sign that read “HOT SPRING BATHS.”

Naruto looked at the sign, “Hey pervy sage, this isn't for your book is it?”

“Shut up Naruto!” Jiraya had said this was their reward, but it was really for all of them. Here he would be allowed to do more of his `research.' “You can stay here if you want. Hinata are you coming?” He looked over to her.

Hinata had rarely ever been to the hot springs in Konoha because her father greatly disapproved of them, but he was not here. She walked towards the entrance and called to Naruto happily, “Come on Naruto-kun… it will be fun…” He followed without another word.

The hot springs, much to Jiraya's dismay, was divided into male and female areas. After entering, the two men went off to the left hallway and Hinata took the right. In the springs everyone relaxed and tried to forget the events of the last few days. Naruto slid into the water leaned back against the bath wall and Jiraya got in next to him. “Naruto I wanted to talk to you…”

Naruto's head turned to face Jiraya. “What is it?”

“Well, I wanted to know how you felt about Hinata.” Naruto's jaw dropped. A sly smile grew on Jiraya's face and he put his arm around Naruto's shoulders. “Come on Naruto, I see the way you look at her. You can tell me…”

Naruto didn't know what to say; even Jiraya had noticed. “Well…” Naruto's eyes closed and an image of Hinata formed in his mind. A smile came to his face and he lost himself. “She's beautiful… I can't stop thinking of her… I want to be with her so much…” Naruto's eyes opened. He couldn't believe he had said all that to Jiraya. His face turned red.

“I knew it!” Jiraya laughed and squeezed Naruto's shoulders before letting him go. “Well, what are you gonna do?”

“Huh?” Naruto's eyes shot to Jiraya. “I don't know…” He had never really thought of telling her how he felt.

“Well why don't you…” for the next hour or so Jiraya tried giving Naruto some advice on what to do about Hinata. Naruto didn't want to listen, but Jiraya wouldn't stop. He finally got out of the springs when Jiraya suggested he look over the wooden fence at the female area to peek at Hinata. “YEAH! GO NARUTO!”

“Ero-sennin, I'm not gonna peek at Hinata I'm going to get dressed. He wrapped the towel around his lower body and, holding the towel around him, walked towards the dressing room.

“Ok ok…” Jiraya's face frowned, but almost instantly lit up in a smile again. “Hey Naruto...” he turned around. “Can you get me a towel? They're in the door on the left, right inside the dressing room.”

Naruto didn't even look back at him. “Yeah, ok.” He walked into the dressing room and saw the door Jiraya had mentioned. He opened the door with his free hand and stepped through the doorway. There were no towels there, instead he had stepped into the women's locker room. His jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes widened.

Hinata stood in front of him wearing nothing but a small towel and looking at herself in a mirror. The mirror was at an angle that she couldn't see him standing there. He was frozen in shock.

The wet towel clung tight to Hinata's entire body barely covering her breasts and her ass. Her hair was damp and dripping down her shoulders and back while her exposed arms and legs were still wet, the water glistening in the dim light of the dressing room. Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing. A strange, but good, feeling came over him. He felt very hot and tense inside, but a moment later his insides almost exploded.

Hinata removed the towel and started drying her hair; her naked body fully exposed. A very quiet gasp escaped Naruto's mouth, “Hi…na…” his hands went to his mouth in shock.

Hinata turned and froze; her hands still holding the towel to her hair. Her wide eyes were locked on Naruto who, in his shock, had let his towel fall to the floor and was standing fully naked in front of her. The two stood there in a complete silence for what seemed like hours, eyes locked on the other's body.

“Naruto-kun…” Hinata's body had finally moved as she covered herself quickly. Naruto, out of his daze, turned and ran out of the dressing room.

Jiraya was sitting on a bench in the dressing room; towel wrapped around his body. When Naruto reached him, Jiraya looked up at him and smiled, “So, how was it?” He noticed that, even thought Naruto was trying to hide it with his hands, something was sticking out under his towel. Jiraya's smile turned into an evil smirk. “That good huh?”

“ERO-SENNIN! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!” Naruto's voice got instantly very soft, “I saw… Hinata.” His face was bright red.

“That was the plan, genius.” Jiraya smiled at his own successful plan. “Now you two have to talk about it…”

“Talk about wh..” Naruto was confused, but he just stayed quiet.

The two guys got dressed and went out to the entrance of the hot springs. Hinata was already waiting for them. When Hinata and Naruto saw each other they both looked down in embarrassment. They all walked out of the village in silence, except for Jiraya who was humming to himself the whole time.

For the first time the whole mission Naruto and Hinata walked alongside Jiraya. He was walking between the two and could feel the tension growing. No one had said anything the since they had left the springs. Night had already fallen.

“We are only a few hours away from Konoha, so we'll be arriving sometime late tonight.” He had to say something to break the silence. A plan quickly formed in his head, “You two are to keep training on the Shield Jutsu until we arrive. Understood?” The two didn't respond, but they both started forming the shield and breaking it with their other hand.

Jiraya had been trying to find a way to get them to talk but they had stayed on opposite sides of him. He waited until they were fully focused on the shield jutsu and sped up his walking. Before long he was walking in front and they were side by side again.

After half an hour of walking Hinata yelled, “I did it!” Her free hand was on top of the shield and could not break through. Naruto looked at her in amazement.

“That's great Hinata!” He reached over and put his hand on her shield where it had stopped, unable to pass through. This caught Hinata off guard and she lost her concentration. The shield disappeared and Naruto's hand fell into hers. They both paused and looked at each other. Standing hand in hand, neither wanting to let go.

Hinata let go, “I'm… I'm sorry…. Naruto-kun…” Her eyes faced the floor and she continued walking. Naruto watched her walk away for a second and then caught up to her.

“Hinata…” Naruto had to tell her. “umm… about the springs…” Hinata's wide eyes shot to Naruto's and she braced for the worst.

-- He thought I was ugly…

“Hinata, I'm sorry…” He looked down to his own feet as they walked. “I didn't mean to…” he had to say something, anything. If he was going to do it now was the time. He didn't speak.

“Naruto-kun…” she whispered…

“You looked so beautiful.” He didn't mean to say it.

He had wanted to say something, but every time he wanted to say something to her he never did. Why was this time different? His eyes remained on the floor and Hinata's remained on him. “Naruto-kun…” she had not been looking at the floor and tripped over a root landing on her knees.

Naruto knelt down to her and helped her up. When she got to her feet her face was red in embarrassment. “Um… t-thank you… Na-na-naruto-kun…”

“Your welcome,” for a second he forgot what he had said, “I told you those things were dangerous.” He smiled and laughed at his own joke.

Hinata looked at him. She couldn't help but laugh as she looked down and dusted herself off. She was glad that they were laughing, so she didn't know why it slipped out.

“No… about…” she didn't realize she had said it until Naruto looked at her. Their eyes locked. “Um… thank you…”

Naruto understood. “Yeah… well… I meant it Hinata.” He started scratching the back of his head as they continued walking home.

They started training on the Shield Jutsu again. Hinata formed the shield and lowered her hand to it, but Naruto reached out and pressed his hand through. Surprised, Hinata looked at Naruto who was just smiling and forming his own shield. Hinata reached over and pressed her hand through Naruto's shield. They were both laughing.

They continued flirting the entire journey home with Naruto occasionally tripping and bumping into Hinata, “on accident.” Before too long, which was actually hours later, they reached the village. Both had managed to make the shield hold against a little pressure before disappearing.

When they entered the gates Jiraya turned to them, “I will go to Tsunade and explain what happened. You two go home and get some rest. Tomorrow morning we train.” He turned away and started walking towards the Hokage's office.

Naruto and Hinata remained standing in front of the gates. “Um… Hinata do you want me to walk you home?”

She looked at Naruto. She had spent the last few days with Naruto and didn't want it to end, especially after the last couple of hours of touching and flirting. “You don't have to Naruto-kun…”

Naruto looked into Hinata's eyes. He didn't want to leave her either. “Hinata… I want to walk you home.” They stood there for a second in silence before heading towards the Hyuuga complex.

It was the middle of the night and no one was out on the streets. The flirting that had been occurring for the past hours had created a slight tension. Neither had an excuse to touch the other, but they both wanted to. They didn't say a word until reached the Hyuuga complex.

They reached the Hyuuga complex and stood outside the gates. “Um… Hinata…” Naruto was nervous. He had wanted to touch her so bad but he couldn't say it. “Can I… um” he couldn't say it. Hinata grew a little nervous. He couldn't help it, he grabbed Hinata and wrapped his arms around her. Hinata was stunned. Lost in thought, she wrapped her arms around Naruto's shoulders. They stood there not wanting it to end.

After what seemed like forever their bodies unlocked. They stood there looking at each other, both not knowing what to say. Hinata walked backwards into the gates as Naruto remained outside. She stopped, she had been wanting to tell him since it happened.

- He told you… why can't you say it?

“Well, good night Hinata.” Naruto had turned around and started walking to his apartment.

“Naruto-kun…” she was still looking at him from inside the gates. He turned to face her. “Um… I never apologized to you…” she looked down to her feet.

“For what Hinata?” Naruto was confused. He didn't know what she had done wrong.

“Well…” she was obviously embarrassed. “I… I saw you too…” Naruto immediately remembered. When he had seen her naked in the dressing room she had seen his entire body as well. He started scratching the back of his head.

“Um… that's…” He didn't know what to say, “…that's ok Hinata.” His face became slightly pink.

She had started telling him and she told herself she had to finish. “Well… um… I thought…”

-- Just tell him!!!

Her eyes looked into his, “I thought you looked incredible.” Her eyes grew wide. She had said it. “Well, um… good night Naruto-kun…” she turned and walked towards her room quietly; she didn't want to wake anyone up.

Naruto just stood there. He couldn't believe what she had said. He watched Hinata disappear around a corner and started home. His dreams were going to be great tonight.