AN: I'm starting a 30 day writing challenge with Naruto characters. I'm in love with Shikatema and Naruhina, so that's what they'll probably be mostly about, but I dunno. Anyways, I have a lot of homework so they'll probably be short and not proofed, but that's fine. I wouldn't expect a chapter a day, either, but I'll try my best. Here's a link to the challenge, if anyone cares to look. pin/304485624785750544/

Day 1: Hero

That's what they called him. The Hidden Leaf's Hero. The conqueror of Pain.

Naruto frowned, unable to reconcile the village's open embrace with the reality of their situation. Yeah, he managed to talk Pain down and return the souls of those defeated. But he let the entire village get destroyed, because he was off with the old toads, and wasn't there when his village needed him the most.

He walked down a narrow dirt path, not really caring where he was going. Most of this section of the village hadn't been rebuilt yet, so the ruins we're all the company he had, reminding him of his failures, how close he'd come to letting everyone down.

At least, he thought he was alone, until he heard a stifled cry. Frowning, he followed the noise, his feet crunching the ruined wood below him.

"Hello?" Naruto called out, "Is someone here?"

He passed a broken building, and paused by the stone steps jagging out from the ground. A familiar figure was there, sitting mournfully on the floor, surrounded by what had once been a beautiful forest, but was now only dust and destruction.

"Oh, it's Hinata-chan", Naruto spoke, walking towards the girl.

"Na- Naruto," Hinata blushed. She wiped her tears with her sleeve, hiding her face. "What are you doing here?"

His face clouded over, and Naruto plopped himself on the floor besides her. "Nothing."

He looked over at Hinata. "What about you?"

"Oh," she looked down at her hands, "I was just looking at the forest close to our old academy. It used to be so beautiful…" Hinata trailed off with a sigh.

"I didn't know this place meant so much to you,"

Hinata smiled up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time. "It does. You probably don't remember it anymore, but here was the first time you saved me." She took Naruto's silence as an invitation to continue. "One day, before we entered the academy, I had run away from my caregiver, and a group of boys found me in these woods."

"They pushed me to the floor. Then you came. You tried to fight them all on your own."

"Oh yeah," Naruto smiled, "I remember that. It really meant that much to you, Hinata?"

"Yes." She blushed, and looked away from his gaze, "You were my hero."

Naruto grinned, rubbing his neck. "Back then, I was just an angry kid with no talent. I wasn't a hero. I wasn't anyone, really. Just an orphan with no future."

Hinata looked stunned. "You were never that, Naruto. When the whole village stared you down, you glared right back at them. You don't know how much you inspired me, Naruto. You stood up for me without even hesitating. I always wanted that courage, to stand up for myself and for those precious to me. And, thanks to you, I gained it. You truly deserve to be called Konoha's Savior."

Hinata laid down on the earth. In her hand, she held a tiny object, lifting it to the sky. "But, really, I have no reason to be crying right now. This right here is proof of rebirth, that we will come back stronger than ever. The floor is covered with them. Our forest will grow back."

She handed Naruto the object. He observed it for a moment. It was an acorn, a tiny seed, not even as big as the chunks of pork from Ichiraku Ramen.

"It's hard to imagine this tiny thing turning into a forest," Naruto noted skeptically.

"But when it does, it will grow back, stronger than ever."

The raven haired girl suddenly realized how close she had gravitated to her idol, so she recoiled immediately, blushing furiously. "Anyways, Naruto-kun. I have to go."

The blond waved as she disappeared. He sat, pondering. Maybe the village would be all right, after all.