For all of you reading this story for the first time, welcome! For those who have been reading this story and noticed a new author's note, no worries you aren't missing anything if you don't read it but you are free to read if you like.

I just wanted to offer a slightly more in-depth summary than what fits into the one that shows when you are browsing stories. This story begins a year after the war and Naruto has not yet said anything to Hinata about her confession. Emotionally on edge around him, Hinata overhears something Naruto says on a mission and goes off on him. When they return, she is offered a diplomatic mission that will allow her to live in the other Elemental Nations and train for the next two years. She takes the opportunity to become stronger and get over Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto realizes he has made a mistake and becomes determined to win her over.

The first part of this story focuses on both Hinata and Naruto's emotional development as well as their growth as shinobi. It goes into the reasons Naruto never said anything (he's not a cad and I don't want to write him as such) and the growth of his feelings for her.

I was interested in writing a story that shows a Hinata who somewhat cracks emotionally when she thinks she hears something. She is always so understanding of Naruto and truly cares about him, but I think that going so long without hearing anything from him regarding her confession and being too afraid to bring it up herself would take a toll on her emotionally. That's the kind of place she's in in this first chapter and she'll later rethink what happens.

Anyway, now that I'm further into the story I felt like giving you guys a little more context for why this starts the way it does. Both main characters have a lot of growing ahead and it's been a joy to write thus far.


Hinata: Sweetheart of the Allied Nations

Chapter One: The Retrieval Mission

The Fourth Great Shinobi War had ended 12 months ago. Madara was dead (for good this time) and the threat of the Akatsuki was gone. In the Five Great Elemental nations, civilians and shinobi alike were picking their lives back up and adjusting to life without those lost in the war.

In Konoha, the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, looked at a report on her desk and sent her ANBU to summon three shinobi to her office. The first two arrived together, as they had both been working in the hospital when they were summoned. The first to walk into the room was the pink haired Haruno Sakura, esteemed apprentice of the blonde Sannin. The second was the shy, dark haired Hyuga Hinata, heiress of the prestigious Hyuga clan. These were two of the most beautiful and talented kunoichi in all of Konoha. They had become closer after the war as Hinata had decided to get some medical ninja training and Sakura had been eager to bring the kunoichi from the Konoha 12 closer together.

The war had really brought into perspective the value of friendship and Sakura had realized that she and Ino had not spent much time with Hinata and TenTen before the war. She thought it was a travesty and had quickly decided to rectify that situation once Hinata started with her medical training. The girls were discussing one of their patients as they walked into Tsunade's office.

Tsunade smiled as she saw the two girls talking comfortably with one another. The friendship between Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and TenTen had benefitted all four of the girls. Sakura still had a temper as legendary as her mentor's, but her time with Hinata had helped her learn to control it better, if only a little bit. Ino had always cherished her friendship with Sakura, but it was nice to have more girls to talk to whom she didn't also consider rivals. The presence of the other two helped keep their arguing to a minimum and she found herself closer to her best friend than ever before.

Hinata and TenTen had probably benefitted the most from this new friendship. Neither had really had any close female friends before and both had been devastated at the death of Neji. Although TenTen was still very serious about her career as a kunoichi, she now enjoyed spending some time doing things other than training. She was happy to relax and enjoy girl time every now and then. Besides, what better way to become a legendary kunoichi than by spending time with the other three most likely to become legendary kunoichi of their time?

Hinata had gained a little more confidence while fighting in the war, but her new friendships put an end to her stutter completely and drastically decreased her blushing. The now 18 year olds-or 19, in TenTen's case-were truly blossoming from talented teenagers into strong young women.

The three women did not have to wait more than ten minutes for the final team member to arrive. Naruto barged into the room with his usual boisterous greeting of, "Hey Baa-chan" and got knocked on the head simultaneously by Sakura and Tsunade. Hinata stifled a giggle at their antics, but had to suppress a blush when the noise drew her crush's attention to her. She still found old habits hard to break when his piercing blue eyes were trained on her.

After exchanging short greetings, Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto all turned to Tsunade while Naruto voiced the question on all their minds, "So, why did you call us here?"

Tsunade looked at them and smiled, happy to give them a mission she knew they had been looking forward to. "Well," she began, "I have been talking with the council and we decided that it is now time for you to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and bring him back to the village for good."

Uchiha Sasuke had come back to help his comrades from Konoha towards the end of the war, but once it was finished he decided to take some time away from the village to get used to the idea of returning. He had lived his life solely for the purpose of vengeance for so long that he knew he would not be able to go straight back once the war ended. He talked with Naruto and together they convinced Tsunade that it would be alright for him to take some time in a secluded part of the Fire Nation to adjust to the idea of coming back to Konoha. Apparently the council and Hokage had decided that a year was sufficient time and were ready to bring him back for good.

Sakura's eyes were wide and Hinata put her hand on her shoulder while shooting her friend a small, supportive smile. Ino had gotten over her infatuation with the last Uchiha, but Sakura was still hopelessly in love with him. She thought this past year would give her some time to get used to the idea that he was really coming back, but her nerves made her feel once again like that 13 year old girl who had offered her heart to the boy in an effort to get him to stay. Needless to say, she was very glad Hinata would be on this mission to support her. Naruto, on the other hand, was both excited and a little confused about his team.

"Woohoo!" shouted the blond, excited that his promise of a lifetime would finally be officially fulfilled. "But, why is Hinata coming with us instead of Sai?"

Hinata's head drooped and she looked at the ground. Her confidence had grown by leaps and bounds, but Naruto was still her kryptonite. Sakura noticed Hinata's change in attitude and promptly snapped herself out of her daze and smacked Naruto on the back of the head.

"Ow, what was that for?!"

"Baka! Why would you say that about Hinata? Is she not good enough for you?"

"No, no! That's not what I meant!" Naruto hastily replied, realizing his question had been misinterpreted. "It's just that this is kind of a Team 7 specific mission and Sai is part of Team 7 so it just seemed odd to replace him, that's all!"

Tsunade coughed, drawing their attention back to her. "To answer your question, Naruto, Sai was given another mission just this morning so he is unable to join you. Since we have the general area where Sasuke is staying, but not an exact location, I assigned you the best available tracker for searching wide areas quickly. Do you have any other objections I need to know about?"

Naruto could hear her taking a dangerous tone and figured she was not in the best of moods considering the meeting regarding this mission had been this morning and any council meeting regarding the last Uchiha was usually a rather heated one. Thus, he rightly decided to keep quiet and shook his head no.

"Good," said Tsunade. "In that case, I have a map with his general location as well as a couple of areas circled that make the most sense to search first as they are the most ideal for living conditions. It should take about two days to get there, one to two days to find him, and two days to get back. You leave in two hours. Dismissed!"

Hinata and Sakura made plans to meet for a quick lunch once they finished packing and all three shinobi left the Hokage's office to prepare for the mission ahead.


Three days had passed since the Konoha shinobi left the village to retrieve their comrade. All three had wondered if there would be some big confrontation once they found Sasuke. That perhaps they would find him, he would tell them he had decided not to come back after all, he and Naruto would fight it out in some epic battle, and Sakura would have to heal them enough to get them back.

Needless to say they were all a little on edge as they approached the tiny cabin that it seemed Sasuke had built for himself. The last thing they expected was to find him on the side of said cabin, kneeling in the dirt, weeding a garden. They stopped and stared at him until he sat back on his feet and looked at them as if to say, "What?" Instead what he actually said was, "Hn. It's time?" Sakura and Hinata nodded in response while Naruto smiled one of his brilliant smiles and said, "You bet! Team 7 will be reunited once again!" as he let out a loud "Whoop!"

Sasuke just stood up and walked towards the door of the cabin, and gestured for the others to follow him in. Inside was rather crowded with the four of them and the three who were not previously living there glanced around at their surroundings. It was a very modest one room cabin with a futon in one corner, a fire pit and makeshift stove in another corner, and a small table with a few shelves built over it along one of the walls.

There was an awkward silence inside the cabin that Naruto could not stand. "So... a garden?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation. Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Is that a problem?" before silence once again reigned. Realizing that they were likely in the way inside the small space and that Sasuke would not need much time to pack, they excused themselves and told him they would wait outside.

The last Uchiha finished within a half an hour and they were ready to go. Hinata, however, noticed Sasuke glancing at his garden and spoke up: "Uchiha-san, would you like to take some of your plants with you? Those tomato plants look very well taken care of and that way you wouldn't have to start from scratch when you get back." Sasuke quickly turned his head to look at her, a surprised expression flitting across his face before it returned to his usual impassive one. He hadn't realized that he had been so obvious. Honestly he hadn't been, but Hinata knew how to read people, especially emotionally repressed people.

"You can do that?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "If you have a scroll and some ink, I designed a special storage seal for transporting plants already rooted after a rare plant I had ordered was destroyed while I was on my way home from the Yamanaka flower shop. It's nothing fancy, just a regular storage seal adjusted to better suit the purpose. If you are willing to delay for an extra twenty minutes then I can draw it up and store some of your garden for the trip."

A little impressed, though not showing it, Sasuke reached inside his pack and handed Hinata the items she asked for. She thanked him and within the time she had expressed, she had finished and they were off.


The first day of travel was a little awkward. Sakura didn't seem to know what to say. She was no longer fawning over the Uchiha, she had grown out of that, but she still cared about him. Unfortunately, the last meeting where they really had much of a conversation was the time when she had tried to kill him and he had almost succeeded in killing her instead. When he had shown up to help in the war, there really wasn't time to chat. She had forgiven him for everything, but wasn't sure how to start a casual conversation. Hinata was her usual quiet self, partially because that's how she was, partially because she was still rather shy when Naruto was around, and partially because she felt that this was more of a time for Team 7 to get reacquainted and she did not want to intrude.

Naruto, however, was beyond excited to have his best friend back and he was talking enough for the four of them. He was telling Sasuke all about what had been happening since the war. Naruto assured him that he would show him all around the village when they got back, since the layout had changed from the reconstruction after the Pein attack.

Sakura heard this and reminded Naruto, "Remember, Tsunade-sama asked us to go to her office before anything else. She wants to set up a meeting to go over the circumstances of Sasuke's return and give him a couple of rules to follow until the meeting takes place." None of the four shinobi knew what exactly was in store for the raven haired Uchiha once they returned to the village and silence reigned once again as they all pondered what might happen.

They rested that night, then travelled the next day in much the same fashion. Around dinner time, they decided to set up camp for the night. Konoha was only about five hours away, but since they were still within the time constraints of their mission, there was no need to push it.

After dinner, the sun had set, and the night began to grow cooler. Fall was giving way to winter and the nights in Fire Country were becoming quite cold. Hinata offered to gather some more wood for the fire since her Byakugan would allow her to both find wood in the dark and look out for threats at the same time. Her companions accepted this and she quickly went about her task.

A few minutes later, Naruto continued to talk to Sasuke about all the things they would do once they got back to Konoha while Sasuke just sat there and listened. Sakura watched the two boys and wondered how two vastly different people could be such good friends. Although Sasuke wouldn't say it aloud, Sakura could tell he was happy to be back with his friend and rival.

As she pondered their strange relationship, Naruto's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Hey, Sakura-chan, you don't have to feel left out! I would be happy to take you out as well. It could be a date!" Naruto said, as he grinned cheekily.

Sakura groaned in annoyance and smacked Naruto in the head. "I told you. Never going to happen," she said as she stood up and went inside her tent. He was hopeless. And she couldn't help but get angrier and angrier every time he asked her out. Ever since she became friends with Hinata, she wanted to berate Naruto for treating her friend so callously. He knew he didn't have a chance with her, and as far as she knew he still had not responded to Hinata's confession. Plus, they had all witnessed the moment shared between Naruto and Hinata after Neji's death on the battlefield. Sakura could not fathom how he could go from moments such as that and Hinata's confession during Pein, to hardly speaking to the poor girl. However, her shy friend would not allow her to ask him about it so she just continued to wonder and hit him at every attempt to ask her out.

After Sakura closed the flap on her tent, Sasuke looked at Naruto and asked, "I guess some things never change. Why are you still trying? She has rejected you since before we even graduated the Academy." Naruto just shrugged and said, "Well, Sakura knows me. We've been on the same team for years. Plus, she's pretty." Naruto had long ago realized that he didn't exactly love Sakura. Sure, she was definitely pretty and strong and he would love it if she gave him a chance, but he couldn't honestly say he knew her well enough to truly be in love with her.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Is there no one in Konoha who wouldn't hit you if you asked them out?"

"Nah, it's just a bunch of fangirls. And they just want to date me because I'm now the 'Hero of the Leaf' and 'Son of the Fourth Hokage'."

Suddenly the boys heard a gasp and the sound of logs falling to the ground. They turned around to see Hinata, with a pained expression on her face. "J-just a bunch of fangirls? Is th-that what I am to you? A fangirl?"

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"I figured that you did not consider me a romantic interest. And I knew that it was possible that you might not consider me a friend, since we never really spend time together outside of missions. But I thought... I thought I was at least a trusted companion, a fellow member of the Konoha 12 and someone who has been behind you, rooting for you since the Academy days. When you were still the dead last and everyone made fun of you for wanting to be Hokage, I believed you could do it. I jumped in to save you when Pein had you pinned with his chakra rods, I jumped in front of that attack from the Ten-tails, I have willingly and purposefully risked my life for you twice, confessed my love for you, kept you from giving yourself over to Obito's plan, and you are grouping me in with your fangirls?!"

At this point Hinata had tears running down her face, but she stood strong and proud, waiting for his response. Naruto quickly jumped in, "No! No, Hinata, I don't think of you as a fangirl! I wasn't thinking of you at all when I said that!"

This time it was Hinata's eyes that went wide. He was asked about possible romantic interests and she didn't even cross his mind in the slightest. Suddenly all that time waiting for a response, all that time trying to quell her insecurities, and all that time hoping and praying that he would acknowledge her in some small way while doing her best not to let the disappointment get to her finally caught up and she snapped.

"Well, that's it isn't it." Hinata whispered harshly. "You weren't thinking of me at all. I wasn't even a consideration. You know, since I confessed during the Pein attack, I feared that your lack of response meant that you didn't even find me worthy of responding to. That I was nothing to you, not even worth the time it took to say 'Thank you' or 'I heard what you said, and I appreciate it'. And all of our friends - Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, the girls, Neji-niisan - they all assured me that that was not the case, that I meant something to you, that I was one of your precious people and that you would eventually say something, even if it was to let me down easily.

"I didn't expect you to come running to me after my confession. I didn't even expect to live after that confession. I just wanted to make sure that before I died, you knew that you were loved. But I did live. And because I did I thought - I mean I hoped you might at least say something. I tried to tell myself I was just letting my old insecurities act up again, but now I know it is true! I am actually nothing to you! Not even a thought in your mind unless we have to work together for a mission!

"You said you kept asking Sakura out because she knew you. That your fangirls only wanted to date you for superficial reasons. But there has to be something else you are looking for because I know you. I've watched you since our time at the Academy. I admired you when you were the dead last. I saw how long you trained, how hard you tried, and how you never gave up. You were the person I admired most. That's why I adopted your nindo. I wanted to be strong like you, strong enough to walk with you. But now I know your response. I suppose I should thank you for finally making it clear how you feel about me." Hinata's voice faltered.

With the little bit of strength she had left she said, "I hope it is alright if I take first watch tonight, Sasuke-kun. I do not think I would be able to sleep at the moment." Sasuke nodded and she began to walk off.

Naruto jumped up quickly and grabbed Hinata's wrist. "Wait," he begged, wanting to make things right. Hinata turned to him and Naruto almost took a step back, heart breaking at the anguish and hurt he saw in her eyes. Hinata blinked back tears, determined not to let him see her cry any more over him, and said, "Please release me, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto flinched at the change in address. Coming from Hinata, that was essentially a slap in the face. "But Hinata-" Suddenly he felt an arm on his and looked over to see Sasuke. "Naruto, let her go." Naruto started to argue, but the look on Sasuke's face made it clear he would not take no for an answer. He let go of Hinata's wrist and she disappeared quickly after sending Sasuke a look of gratitude. He just nodded and turned back to the campfire with Naruto trailing behind.

"What the hell, Sasuke, I wanted to talk to her!"

"You're an idiot."

"What?! She said all that and I'm an idiot for wanting to talk to her?"

"What were you going to say to her, then?"

"Um... I'm not sure, but I would have figured something out!"

"Idiot."

"Damnit, Sasuke, stop calling me an idiot!"

"No."

"Why?!"

"She sacrificed herself to save you, told you she loved you back when Pein attacked, and you never said anything?" Sasuke knew she had feelings for his blonde teammate, but he hadn't known about all that. It was shocking to hear the timid girl had gone so far. And his teammate's reaction to all of it was even more dumbfounding. He wasn't usually one to get involved, but his curiosity was piqued.

"Well, not exactly."

"You did or you didn't. And from her reaction earlier, it seems to me that you did not."

"What's your point? You knocked Sakura-chan out after she confessed to you before you left the village."

"Hn. At least I thanked her first. Besides, this is about you, not me."

"You were the one who stopped me from talking to her just now."

"That's because I knew you didn't know what you were going to say to her. You can't just run into this without thinking like you usually do. This is a delicate matter and she deserves better. She's obviously very hurt so you need to figure out what you are going to say and do before you actually do it."

Naruto hung his head, a little weirded out at his friend sounding so sensitive for once. "You're right. I need to figure out how to explain. And how to make it up to her."

"Hn."

"What, did you use up all the words you allowed yourself for the day? Why do you care so much about this anyway? It's not really like you. And it's not like you know her."

Sasuke just shrugged and said, "She helped me."

"Is that all I get?"

"Hn."

Flashback

It was the first night on their way back to Konoha. Hinata woke up for her watch shift and went out to relieve Sasuke. She found him staring absently into the fire. His face was blank, but his body was tense.

"Uchiha-san, you can go to bed now. It's time for my watch."

"Hn."

When he didn't move from his spot she walked closer and sat next to him.

"Uchiha-san?"

"Hn."

"Is something on your mind?"

Sasuke turned to look at Hinata. She was looking at him, head tilted to the side in curiosity. His brow furrowed a little. Why was she asking? He did not know this girl. Sure, they had been in the same class in the Academy, but they had really never talked before.

Hinata took his furrowed brow as a sign that she'd angered him and quickly began to apologize.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to intrude. I just thought... Nevermind! Sorry for bothering you, Uchiha-san."

He looked at her, even more confused. She was way too nice. He'd pretty much ignored her question and instead of calling him out for being rude, she apologized to him. He felt bad for making her nervous. She had helped him out with his garden after all.

"Sasuke," he said.

"W-what?" Hinata looked at him, confused.

"I never liked formalities that much. Call me Sasuke."

Hinata's eyes widened a little before she relaxed and smiled slightly.

"Okay, Sasuke-kun."

It was quiet for a few more minutes and Hinata glanced over at him again. He still looked deep in thought and his body was still tense. She didn't want to anger him, but she couldn't stop herself from trying to help. It was just who she was.

"Um, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"You look thoughtful."

"Hn."

Realizing she wasn't getting anywhere indirectly, she decided to be a little more direct than usual. "Your body is tense. Is there something you are worried about?"

Sasuke looked at her again, startled. He wasn't used to company. And he definitely wasn't used to company that could read him. Even Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo were too wary of him to try to figure him out. Aside from Karin's attempts to seduce him, they usually just let him be.

"Sorry," she said, "I just wanted to help. I can stop bothering you."

"No, it's fine. It's just... why are you trying to help me? You don't know me. It's strange."

Hinata just smiled softly before responding, "You are a comrade, right? That makes you precious. And I like to help my precious people."

"I betrayed Konoha. I ran away, nearly killed Naruto on multiple occasions, and not long ago I wanted to kill you and all of your precious people in the village. Why are you so quick to make me a precious person? You shouldn't trust me so fast. What if I took advantage and hurt you?"

"You wouldn't do that."

"How do you know? How can you just trust me like that?" Sasuke was utterly bewildered at this point. He was not a nice person. And he had done some really nasty things. And here was this girl wanting to help him. She called him precious. What. the. hell.

Hinata was quiet for a moment. "Do you remember Neji?" she finally asked.

Sasuke didn't know where this was going, but he decided he wouldn't get any answers just ignoring her so he figured he would play along. "Yes. He was your cousin, wasn't he? He was strong."

Hinata smiled. "Yes, he was. Very strong. Do you remember the first Chunin exams we all took?"

"Yes."

"Neji tried to kill me during our fight. He said I was weak. He was angry at me for being in the main branch. I said something to him during the fight that made him so angry he charged at me to kill me. The only reason he didn't was because the Jonin instructors restrained him just in time."

Sasuke waited, not sure what this had to do with anything.

"He died in the war, you know."

"I did not know that."

"He died to save me. There was an attack heading for Naruto-kun and neither he nor anyone around him had the strength left to block it. So I jumped in front of it, intending to take it for him. The world could survive without me, but this world needs Naruto-kun. As I prepared myself for death, Neji jumped in front of me to take the attack for both of us. He did not survive."

Hinata's voice had gotten even softer, though Sasuke was unsure how that was even possible. Still, he thought he was starting to understand what she was trying to say.

"So, he ended up saving your life? You're saying you were able to forgive him because of that?"

"Not quite. I had forgiven him long before that. I was honestly not even angry about his attempt to kill me to begin with."

Sasuke was incredulous at this point. Her cousin had pretty much said anything terrible about her he could come up with, beat her down continuously, then tried to end her life. And she is saying she wasn't even mad?

"He had his reasons, but that's besides the point. He really changed after his fight with Naruto-kun in the Chunin finals. It took him a little bit to warm up, but he became a caring cousin. He helped me train. He looked out for me. It was like having an older brother. I cherished our bond."

Sasuke winced, thinking about his own older brother and the disaster that their relationship had turned into. He was brought back when Hinata began to speak again.

"My point is, no matter what someone has done in the past, they can change. Yes, you left the village. Yes, you trained under Orochimaru and yes, you wanted at one point to destroy Konoha. But now, you are coming back to serve Konoha. So, you are a comrade, a new precious person. That is why I want to help."

"You still shouldn't trust me."

"Why not? Naruto-kun does."

"Hn. He's an idiot."

"He sees the good in people."

"You like him."

It wasn't a question and Hinata blushed furiously and turned her head so that Sasuke could not see her face. He did, however, see her red ears and decided to end her misery.

"Fine, so you are going to trust me whether or not I think it's a good idea."

She nodded.

"And you want to help?"

She nodded again. The last Uchiha felt strange. He thought his blonde friend was the only one strange enough to care about him. Even Sakura had been unusually quiet this whole trip. He remembered back to when he had almost killed her and inwardly flinched. She probably thinks he's a terrible person. He was disheartened by the idea. Sakura had once loved him and he had thrown everything away for revenge against a person who didn't even deserve it.

Hinata glanced back over at Sasuke, who had gone quiet. He looked more and more troubled as the minutes went by. She decided to try one last time.

"You want to talk about it?"

He sighed. It seemed like she wasn't going to give up.

"I don't think the village is going to think like you and Naruto do."

"What do you mean?"

"You are so quick to forgive and forget. The village will not be like that."

Hinata shook her head. "I have not forgotten. I know who you are and what you've done."

Sasuke flinched. He should have known.

She began speaking again. "We cannot undo what we have already done. However, we can grow from our mistakes and do things differently. I know it is impossible to start over, but it is not impossible to change. You just have to do things in the future that show people who you want to be and soon they will see you as that person instead."

"Hn."

She smiled slightly at his response and took it to mean he would take her words under consideration.

After another few minutes passed, he spoke again. "Not many people in the village think like you. They are not going to be so forgiving."

"That may be true. However, I will be there. And you have Naruto-kun. And Sakura. It's not much, but that number will grow little by little and before you know it, you'll have friends and comrades. I'm not saying it'll be immediate, but you have people to turn to while it's hard."

Sasuke tensed again at the mention of Sakura. "I think you are mistaken about Sakura. She seems wary of me. I can't really blame her. The last time we spoke was not much of a rekindled friendship as much as us trying to kill each other."

"You're wrong. Sakura loves you."

His eyes widened in shock.

"She is quiet because she does not know what to say, not because she does not want to. She has grown into such a strong kunoichi. She told me that after you left she knew she needed to do something drastic. So, she asked Tsunade-sama to train her. She wanted to be strong for you like I wanted to be strong for him. She wants to show you she has changed, but doesn't know how to approach you without you thinking she is just coming on to you like the old fangirl Sakura. Just give her time and trust me when I say that you have a friend in her."

Sasuke smiled almost imperceptibly. He knew it wouldn't be easy to return, but three friends was not a bad start. He felt more relaxed than he had in a long time and finally stood up.

"Thank you, Hyuga-san," he said as he began to walk toward the tent he was sharing with Naruto.

She smiled. "Please, no need to be formal with me if I am not to do so with you."

He nodded and went inside the tent for the night.

End Flashback

"Shit," said Naruto.

"What?" asked Sasuke.

"You're right. I'm an idiot."

"Hn."

"I need to make things right with Hinata. She's always been there for me, even before the war and the Pein attack. In our first Chunin exams she offered to let me cheat off of her when she saw I didn't have any answers. She gave me ointment after I fought her teammate. And get this, she handmade this ointment! It's the best stuff I've ever used, just don't tell Sakura-chan I said so. And then before my fight with Neji, I was actually feeling like giving up. My confidence was at an all time low. And then she gives me this small speech about being a proud failure and true strength and I went and kicked his ass! I couldn't have done that without her..."

"You care about her."

Naruto blushed slightly. "Well, yeah. I mean she has been there for me more than most. And the things she says to me... it's like she can look inside me and know exactly what I need to hear. Like she knows me better than I know myself. She was the first person to tell me that they loved me. How could I not care about her?"

"Oh. So obviously that means you wouldn't address her feelings. Makes sense."

"Oi! Don't be such a sarcastic bastard."

"I wouldn't have to be if you weren't such an idiot. And you still haven't told me why you haven't said anything to her."

"I didn't know what to say."

"That's it? That's the worst excuse I ever heard."

"...That's just what it boils down to. I didn't know what to say. After she told me she loved me and I thought Pein killed her, I was so angry I went six tails of Kurama immediately. I almost transformed completely. And then later when I felt her chakra, I was so relieved knowing she had survived. And then I got back to the village and got caught up in finally being recognized by the other villagers. It was one of my dreams come true. Then we were so busy rebuilding and then I heard what you did and tried to go convince the Raikage not to kill you. Then I actually saw you again and we had to fight. After that, I did special tailed beast training and then it was the war...

"Once we got back and things were peaceful I saw her one day and realized I hadn't said anything. I almost went up to her, but I panicked. I didn't know what I was supposed to say! I didn't know how I felt about her or how I was supposed to respond. And it had been so long, I didn't know if she hated me for not responding or had stopped loving me. I was afraid. I didn't want to say something about her feelings and then look stupid because she didn't have those feelings for me anymore. And the longer I waited to say something, the more nervous I got and I just never said anything. And now I've messed everything up."

"Yeah."

"Really? All you have for me after that is 'Yeah'? You're no help!"

"What more do you need me to say? She deserves an explanation. And you need to make amends. I already told you what to do. It's up to you to figure out how."

Naruto became quiet and sat there thinking for a while. He knew Sasuke was right, but he still had no idea how to fix things. He decided to go to bed and see how Hinata was in the morning. He would figure out what he would do to make it up to her from there.


The rest of the journey back to Konoha was an awkward one. Sakura had overheard what happened the night before and was now ignoring both Sasuke and Naruto (one out of nervousness and one out of exasperated anger). Hinata looked like she had fallen asleep crying, if she had slept at all, and her pearly eyes were tinged with red and had bags underneath them.

Naruto had been planning to ask how she was feeling, but seeing her in that state, he realized he didn't yet have anything good to say and spent the whole way home trying to think of what he could do to make it up to her. Between Sakura's moodiness, Sasuke's tension, Hinata's depressed exhaustion, and Naruto's silence, all four shinobi were ready to get away from the awkwardness. Thus, when the gates of Konoha became visible, all four breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the pace to get to Tsunade's office as quickly as possible.

Once in Tsunade's office, the blonde hokage did not know what to make of the odd mood surrounding her shinobi. She expected this mission debriefing to practically be a party with a loud and happy Naruto, a smiling Sakura, and a blushing Hinata. Instead, the parties in front of her looked solemn and you could cut the tension in the office with a kunai.

The scariest thing for Tsunade was the silent blonde in front of her. Sakura and Hinata took turns giving the mission report, flawless as usual, and Sasuke stood off to the side looking unemotional as ever. Tsunade did not miss the angry glares Sakura shot occasionally at Naruto and Naruto's regretful looks toward Hinata. She also did not miss the horrible emotional state that the dark-haired kunoichi was in. Hinata looked paler than usual and her eyes looked tired from either crying or holding back tears. Considering the looks she saw between the group, she assumed something had happened on the mission between the blonde and the quiet girl.

Meanwhile, Naruto was wracking his brain trying to figure out what to say to the sweet girl. He was frustrated that she was always so easily able to snap him out of any bad state and he was standing there unable to think of anything to help. He resolved to ignore Sasuke's advice and attempt to talk to her after the meeting. Improvising was always his forte, anyway, and he couldn't leave this unresolved. Not when she looked like that.

Once the debriefing was finished and a meeting time was set up for Sasuke, Tsunade dismissed the four shinobi. As they were on their way out her door, however, she changed her mind and called Hinata back to her. She had a mission to talk to her about and was originally going to give her the day to recuperate before bringing it up, but she was curious about what happened to depress the girl and figured she'd kill two birds with one stone.

"Hinata, come back for a minute. I have something I wanted to discuss with you."

"Okay, Lady Tsunade," Hinata replied as she turned and headed back to the Hokage's desk. She was relieved that she wouldn't have to walk out of the building with Naruto. She could tell he wanted to say something, and she was not ready to hear it. He had broken her heart and she was utterly devastated. It was going to take some time for her to get over the hurt and she didn't think she could face him until it had faded somewhat.

Naruto scowled that an opportunity to talk with Hinata had been taken from him. He didn't want to wait for her to finish with Tsunade because he knew Sasuke would know what he was waiting for and would disapprove. He usually didn't mind opposing Sasuke, but he knew his friend would ask questions he wasn't ready to answer and really wanted to avoid that for now. Sighing, he decided to accompany Sasuke to what was left of the Uchiha district and promised himself he would find Hinata later.

Meanwhile, Tsunade gestured for Hinata to take a seat and the dark haired kunoichi obliged. "Well, I guess I should let you know why I called you back here. I had planned to give you a little time to recuperate before telling you about this mission, but telling you now will give you more time to decide whether or not you choose to accept it."

Hinata's curiosity was piqued at this point as she wondered what kind of mission involved giving her a choice on whether or not she wanted to do it. It was very rare to receive an optional mission so she was eager to hear what the Hokage had to say. She nodded, letting Tsunade know she was listening.

"Well, as you know, the Five Great Elemental Nations originally became the Allied Nations solely for the purpose of defeating Madara in the Fourth Shinobi War. When the war ended, we extended the treaty for the following year so that we would all be able to focus on rebuilding."

Hinata nodded again, wondering if this was going where she thought it was.

"Now that the year is up, we have all decided that this alliance has benefitted everyone greatly and plan to draw up a new agreement for the next ten years. As part of this agreement, Konoha has volunteered to send one of our shinobi around to live for a while in the other nations. Many of you made names for yourselves in the war and you have all gained even more notoriety in the year since. In taking this mission, you will not only represent Konoha to all of the other nations, but you yourself will become an integral part of our diplomatic relations. Are you interested in hearing more details?"

"I am... very flattered that you are considering me for this mission, but are you sure you want me? I feel like Shikamaru might be better suited for something like this..."

"Oh, don't give me that, Hinata. You are perfect for this and you know it. Thanks to your training as the Hyuuga heiress, you have the etiquette and mediation skills as well as the political knowhow that is needed. Not to mention your natural sweetness and gentle nature makes everyone like you and will ensure that none of the other political figures feel too threatened, despite your reputation as a powerful kunoichi. All in all, you were my first and only choice, though I wanted to give you the opportunity to refuse since I know you have been very involved in clan matters since the war and this means being away from your family and friends for two years."

Hinata's eyes widened at this. Two years? That was a long time. It would be hard to be away from her precious people for so long, but this might be the perfect thing to get her blonde haired, blue eyed crush out of her head for good. And she couldn't deny that this was a great honor as well as a golden opportunity for her and her clan.

"Please let me know what this will entail."

Tsunade smirked, glad that Hinata wasn't going to refuse outright because of some idiotic sense of not being good enough. She truly thought Hinata was perfect for this and was glad she was confident enough in herself to consider the opportunity.

"As I stated previously, this mission will be for two years. You will spend six months living in each nation, beginning with Suna, then on to Iwa, Kiri, and finally Kumo. In each nation you will stay in their ninja village and work closely with their Kages and the top political figures. You will learn about their way of doing things, tell them about the way that we do things, and exchange advice. You will mingle with the various clans in the other nations and hopefully gain Konoha and your clan more trust and personal alliances from them.

"Finally, I would like this to be a training opportunity for you. You have become fearsome with the Gentle Fist and have shown yourself to be interested in branching out, as evidenced recently by your learning medical ninjutsu. This would be a golden opportunity for you in your training. You will be working constantly with some of the most powerful people in this world. I believe you have much to gain in your fighting skills if you decide to take this.

"I know that this is a lot to take in and that you will want some time to consider and make preparations. I would like your answer within three days and if you decide you would like to go, you will leave anytime you wish within the next two weeks."

Hinata was taken aback at this perfect opportunity. Tsunade was right, Hinata had been trying new things in her training and was working on branching out her skills. If she was going to be a good leader of her clan then she wanted to bring some new moves to the table and this was a once in a lifetime chance to train with and get to know the most powerful people in their world. Yes, it would be hard to be away for so long, but she could not pass this up. This would be beneficial for her and her clan and she could use the time away to heal and finally get over the love that she had wasted over half of her life on.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Tsunade-sama. You said I could leave anytime in the next two weeks once I make my decision?"

"That's right."

"Great. I'll leave tomorrow."