Chapter: 17

A New Beginning

Naruto's POV

I opened my eyes to the bright and cheery morning sun! Today was a new day, a time for change, and well-a time for ramen! I quickly got dressed and raced down to Ichiraku's for breakfast. The only problem was, that when I got there, it was in ruins! NO! Last nights invasion had made its impact here! I walked up closer and saw a sign on the boarded up entrance it read:

ICHIRAKU RAMEN CLOSED FOR REPAIRS

"Thank goodness it's not gone forever." I said aloud, scratching the back of my head. From behind me Shikamaru walked up.

"Yes," he agreed, "Its good our village is able to recouperate. If not, we'd have many self owned businesses closing all the time."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"All these attacks...they cause so much damage to the facilities here. You see, many other villages don't have enough money for reparations, and their industry suffers."

"Anyways," I continued, changing the subject, "Have you heard anything about the others in the hospital?"

"I've only been to see Ino, and she seems to be doing fairly well under her condition. She was stabbed in the stomach you know...how tedious..." he said. "Also, from what I've heard, Tsunade's made a very speedy recovery. That's not exactly surprising though, she is great with the medicinal and healing art."

"Well, I better get going Shikamaru. I'm going to go visit Hinata, I wonder what's going on with her brain and memory problems." I said.

"Yes that's probably a good idea, Tsunade will have all the answers. Also, I'm going to go take a nap..."

"Shouldn't you help people rebuild?" I asked.

"Hmmmmm...yea about that." he said walking away uncaringly.

Yea, wow. Leave it Shikamaru to skip out on hard work. Lazy bastard. Instead of searching for another breakfast place I decided to head straight to the overcrowded hospital. When I got to Hinata's room number, 432, I gently opened the door and saw her sleeping. She had those plastic tube things up her nose and everything. She looked real pathetic. It made me sad. I went over and sat down at the foot of her bed. She looked really tired, I wondered if she still couldn't remember anything. That was when Tsunade came in on a crutch.

"Hello Naruto." she greeted me.

"Hey granny," I said smirking at her, "what's gonna happen to Hinata?"

"Well, it's a long story. All the way back when that piece of wood hit her head at that party it did something more than I anticipated. I thought she only had a minor head wound but it was something more. I've hypothesized that the blow to her head affected the part of her brain where her personality lies. To make it simple, her personality was divided into two parts; the regular Hinata that's shy and lovable, and this new strong beast created from her inner anger that I'm presuming you witnessed at the Genin Ball."

"Really?" I gasped. "So that IS why she went so crazy!"

"Yes," Tsunade continued, " this new violent persona seemed to be triggered whenever she was brought to the peak of rage and could only be reversed by another hit to the head. However, whilst she was back in the normal persona because of a blow to the head from that damned Akita woman, she had a memory erasing jutsu placed on her. So, her regular side was practically eliminated. She couldn't remember who any of the people around her were, or even who she herself was."

"Yes, I remember. And then Sasuke and I dragged her to your manor to fight." I added in.

"Yep that seems to be the case. So as you can see, she is left with an irreversably erased memory in one persona, but also a beastly one that still contains all of her old memory in another persona. Her erased side seems to have her acurate personality and her angry side appears to have her memory. So..."

"Your going to try and combine them!" I asked happily.

"Yes Naruto, but I want you to know that this will be the most difficult surgical operation I have ever seen. It's going to be immensely hard for me to combine chakra and medical operations to alter her brain and fix it. So don't get your hopes up if it doesn't succeed. I'd also need to do it today, to get her out of this room as soon as possible so we can make more areas available to other injured ninja."

"Ok," my voiced dropped, "but I'll still hold on to the hope I have for her."

Tsunade pondered my statement for a moment and then exited the room. This was it. Hinata's fate, resting in the hands of Tsunade. After, I prayed atleast three times, to whoever might be up there! PLEASE, PLEASE LET HINATA BE OK! SAVE HER MIND! PLEASE! I rested one of my hands on Hinata's cool cheek. I stroked it gently and sighed. Wow, this is practically the farthest I've ever gone with a girl...AND SHE'S UNCONCSIOUS! Great! How manly of me, atleast I'm not like pervy sage though! That scumbag is always cozying on up to some sleeze.

Suddenly, I got an idea. I leaned in towards her tender face. I took time to examine her smooth skin. Wow...she had nice skin...ANYWAYS! I leaned in forwards, and rested my lips on top of hers. For a split second I felt what it was like to kiss. Kissing Hinata tasted like the most sweetest fruits, and smelled like the most beautiful flowers. That amaaaazing moment only lasted for a split second unfortunately. Her eyes jolted open. I had awoken her.

"NARUTO!" she yelled, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"

"Nothing! I was just-I..I can explain!"

"OUT...NOW..." she glared.

I stumbled backwards and exited the room. She was obviously still in beast form. All crazy and everything. When I reached for the door I realized it was already open. And Kiba was standing behind the small crack Watching! How much had he seen? I flung open the door and marched out, closing it behind me. I didn't want Hinata to notice him.

"Kiba!" I stammered.

"What!" he yelled back, blushing.

He must've been just as embarrassed as me! Being caught watching and all.

"I can explain what happened!" I said.

"It's alright Naruto, you don't have to. Hinata is all yours...as much as I hate to admit it."

"What? Really?" I was shocked.

"Yea, you see, Hinata really loves YOU. And only YOU. She really showed this at the Genin Ball. She may have had something screwy going on with her brain, but the undeniable truth did come out. And no matter how much I love her, that will never change. You have a great girl Naruto, the best."

"I know," I said, "And thank you Kiba. It means a bunch to me!"

With that, we both turned away and walked off in different directions. Just as I was about to turn around the corner Kiba called to me, "But Naruto! That doesn't mean I don't still hate you!"

The rest of the morning went by way too slowly. I mean really! Maybe it was because I was anxious about Hinata and all. I refused to let myself visit her again. If all I saw was her in beast form one more time, I'm afraid I'll picture her that way if her surgery doesn't work. And that's how I will remember her. But her surgery WILL WORK! I'm convinced. One-hundred percent sure! I know it. It...has to work...

Hinata was scheduled to begin operation at noon, and would remain on the operating table until about one-thirty to two o'clock. While I was waiting I hit up this funky looking restaurant that Chouji had recommended to me the week before. Woah was it weird looking! They had hanging snakes and rotating rodents! I couldn't recognize anything on the menu at all but I did spot neji, so I naturally sat next to him. Of course he'd be in a place like this.

"Hiya Neji!" I called.

He gave me a death stare.

"Right, the hot springs thing," I said, remembering how I embarassed him. "Well, you kinda got me back by duct taping me to that wall...but I'd like to apologize to you anyway."

He made a grunt of satisfaction. The snide bastard.

"Well, Naruto...I...accept your apology. I too am...sorry for duct taping you to that wall."

"Do you eat here often?" I asked awkwardly.

"All the time." he smirked.

"Hmmm...what would you recommend?"

"The Tai-leung special."

"Ok, I'll take your word. Have you heard about Hinata yet? She is your relative and all."

"She was shamed out of my family for her weak be a ninja. I don't speak of her." he said coldly.

"THAT"S ENOUGH!" I yelled, "What is it with you and disrespecting people who aren't as strong as you physically? HUH? Hinata risked her life for konoha last night along with everyone else! She's in major surgery right now and I just thought you'd like to know!"

"Calm down." he said, containing his rage. "I don't care for Hinata. She is nothing to me. But I can see she means so much to you that I won't speak her name."

I couldn't help but get flustered when he said how much Hinata meaned to me. It was because he was right that I blushed. After a few minutes I ordered my "Tai-leung special" and had it served. UGH. It was disgusting! It looked like a mix between squid tentacles and tarantula abdomens, smothered in rat puke! And it tasted accordingly! I couldn't believe Chouji and Neji actually liked this place! Before I could vomit I left the horrible place, not even leaving behind a tip.

I decided I would head back to the hospital and visit Sasuke. Maybe he could cheer me up with some good news, unlike Neji. The cold hearted twit. I walked down the hall of the hospital looking for room number 223 until I found it. Opening that door without knocking was a big mistake. A HUGE mistake. An embarrasing mistake...

Behind that door I saw Sakura practically on top of Sasuke! They were heavily kissing! It was so intimate that my eyes almost burned out of their sockets. Sasuke had his hands running through Sakura's pink silky hair. Sakura was seated beside Sasuke on the bed where he lay. Their lips constantly crashed and I swore I even saw Sasuke's...tongue!

"WHAT THE-" I shouted.

"-NARUTO!" yelled Sasuke, ceasing the kissing. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

Sasuke looked beet red humiliated and pissed off at the same time! Sakura just screamed and fell behind the bed in shame and for the second time that day I stumbled out of a hospital room backwards.

"I..um..I'm sorry! I just wanted to see how you were doing!" I stammered.

I shut the door of room 223 and tried to get that image out of my head. SCRAM! I shouted in my head more than once. But it was no use. I could still see Sakura leaning over Sasuke, kissing him, and then the surfacing of Sasuke's tongue! UGH! It just gave me chills! But were they...bad chills? I didn't know, but I was extremely shocked. I guess Sakura finally got through to Sasuke. Now I was afraid to visit any other hospital rooms. Afraid to find what might be lurking on the other side of those doors.

After a lengthy wait in the hospital lobby, the time to visit Hinata had finally come. it was two-thirty on the dot when I left to visit her. I was worried about what I might see. Would Hinata be Hinata? Or some other warped, volatile inner self? Would she remember me? Would she remember me kissing her? Would she...even be alive? Those questions raced through my head like a thousand trains, all about to crash when I opened her door. BAM. There was Hinata, laying asleep in her bed, as peaceful as ever. It was as if she had never left, or even had the operation. I sat down on the side of her bed.

"Hinata..." I whispered.

Her eyes gently opened. The lashes fluttered like the wings of a magnificent monarch butterfly. She had a spacey stare. Her face bore no clear expression. Did this mean she had no memory? That she was brain dead? My lip trembled.

"Do you remember who I am?" I shuddered.

"...Naruto?" she mumbled.

"HINATA! IT'S YOU!" I yelled.

Hinata's POV

It was weird. Definetly the strangest moment of my entire life. I woke up with memories that felt not like my own. It was like a bad dream. Had I said all those horrible things at the Genin Ball? My mind told me I had. I also remembered forgetting my memory, which is ironic, and being helpless. And here I am now, laying in a hospital bed, with a slight headache, and Naruto sitting by my side, like my night in shining armour. I managed a soft smile. I still felt weak.

"Of course I-I rem-remember you!" I stuttered.

"It's ok Hinata! You don't have to be nervous. I-I love you." he said to me.

He fell on top of me, giving me a big warm hug. I felt like nothing could go wrong in the world! Like all my hard work to be with Naruto had finally paid off. My heart thumped with joy! My happiness could no longer be contained, it burst from my eyes in the form of tears. Those tears turned into sobs and I hugged into this boy whom I knew would protect me and always be there for me.

"It's ok Hinata" he said stroking my head, "I'm here, and all the hard times are over. I'm here, and I always will be."

Those words rang through my head for the next half hour until it was time for me to leave the hospital. I was instructed to walk slowly and not turn my head abruptly, so as to protect my freshly vulnerable brain. I walked with Naruto down a cobble stone road in the leaf village. He held my hand tightly, which made me smile. All I can remember is walking and walking all evening and never wanting to stop. Our light conversations and closeness made me forget about the darker times. All I could see was our future together, burning brightly and magnificently, like the sun.

When the sky was setting, we sat on a bench overlooking the Gohaku river. My head rested on Naruto's shoulder as we watched the sky darken with peaceful colours. Ending with a glorious red, we waved the sun goodbye. The way the last bit of light glimmered on the rivers surface, in shiny ripples and waves, was simply breathtaking. I sighed in awe. We both looked at each other and then kissed right at the moment the sun dissappeared. And this was my greatest story of love.

-Hinata Hyuuga

Author's Note:

Thank you all faithful readers! This is the end! Thank you so much for reading my first ever fanfiction! If it weren't for you guys I don't think I would have been able to write the whole thing! Please review! PLEASE! And THANK YOU SO MUCH! It is the end T_T I really hope you enjoyed! All the best in the future everyone!