Disclaimer: I don't own bleach, I only use it for laundry and I'm terribly sorry for all the typos you might find.

Well, without further ado, ENJOY.

Naruto sighed as he flipped through page after page of history books on the shinobi clans and the second great shinobi war. He has never liked libraries but he really wanted to know more about his apparently fabled clan and their destruction but to his disappointment, all the books talked about was what Amina had already told him.

There was nothing new, but apparently they did emphasis on the close relationship between Uzu and Konoha, even going in detail to explain why Konoha put the Uzumaki emblem on their uniforms and even built some temples to honor the lost clan.

All of this did make Naruto wonder just why Konoha didn't try to help Uzugakure in their time of need if they valued the clan so highly. This was something that he really needed to check into, there was so much that still remained hidden, Naruto could feel it in his bones.

He also wondered why the academy never taught them anything about 'the Uzumaki clan and their village', was that a deliberate move on Konoha's part? He didn't know. Then again, it was also possible that they did teach something about them and he just wasn't paying attention, he was never a good student after all. But if they did, it would have been common knowledge in the village that he belonged to a clan and tracing his parentage would have become easier to do.

He took out another book and flipped through more pages but all he found was a detailed description of the battles Konoha had against Kumo and Iwa throughout the second shinobi war.

'This isn't taking me anywhere' the blonde decided putting all the books back on the shelves before walking out of the library, skillfully ignoring the receptionist as he passed through the door.

'You're not the first, lady…' he thought recognizing the cold look in her eyes. She wasn't glaring at him outright, but he would never miss the hate and disgust in her eyes.

If these people weren't held back by the third hokage's law, they would have surely tried to burn him or perform some kind of exorcism on him by now. Thinking of people that wanted to hurt him, the blonde couldn't help but frown as he thought about his new teammate…

Sai

Flashback

"So… what are we going to do to him?" he asked Amina looking directly at the unconscious pale teenager on his couch.

"I don't know. That depends solely on you" Amina responded as she opened the root agent's mouth to further inspect the seal on his tongue.

"Well, what options do I have? "Naruto asked again not knowing what to do.

He has never held a captive in his entire life, much less one from his own village so it was quiet clear how clueless he was with dealing with these kind of situations. But one thing was clear though, freeing Sai was out of the question, the boy already knew too much.

"Well… I could remove the seal on him and make him talk about who sent him but like I said before, this seal is connected to his chakra pathways so removing it recklessly could have some nasty consequences for his health." She said taking off Sai's shirt to inspect if he had any other seals on him.

"Another option is that I could erase his memories of tonight but it could also raise some suspicions if whoever sent him finds out that he cannot remember anything from his mission" Amina flipped him gently making Sai lay on his stomach as she inspected his back while Naruto simply watched on with interest.

"But I think the best option is to put a counter-seal on top of the one in his mouth and control his movements from now on" she said as she took off his black pants leaving Sai in only boxers. She was about to remove those ones as well before Naruto abruptly stood up holding Amina's arms and gently pushed her away from Sai with a big blush donning his face all the while.

"Whoa, whoa… I think we have established that he has no other seals on his body" the blond said standing between the unconscious Sai and the privacy-invading redhead Uzumaki.

"How would you know?" she countered

"I'm pretty sure no one is insane enough to put a seal on their balls alright" he responded though he couldn't really help but wonder, are there?

It seemed that was Amina's thoughts as well because she outright laughed at his response clutching her stomach in the process.

"Man, I really can't wait for you to meet some of our clan members Naruto-kun" she laughed harder when she saw he's baffled look.

Eventually he did smile as well, despite the fact that he had yet to come to a decision, he could still admit that he was really interested to meet the rest of his clan.

"So… how does the counter-seal work anyway?"

"Well, since he has already seen me, it's quiet obvious that he'll tell whosoever has sent him but with the counter-seal we control what he reports and we could also gain an ally, albeit a puppet"

"Wait a minute… what do you mean 'puppet'?" that word did not sit right with him, it felt like something Orochimaru would do.

"We're not going to micromanage everything he does Naruto-kun, the seal is going to activate when your life is threatened and he'll be forced to tell you that's all" Amina responded folding her hands across her bust.

"Oh… and a single seal can do all this?" Naruto asked curiously though he had a good idea of what the answer was.

Amina simply sighed disappointedly giving him a sad smile, "You have really been cheated you know that?" she said as she took out a scroll and a small paint brush and started drawing symbols. "Yes, Naruto-kun. A single seal can do that and you can do much much more if you're really good at fuinjutsu"

End Flashback

She was right, he really was cheated none of his teachers have ever talked to him about fuinjutsu or even hinted at it and what was worse was that both of them had a respectable level of mastery over the sealing arts.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he reached his destination, he entered the Yamanaka flower shop quietly hoping not to arouse any attention but was forced to bite back a curse when heard the doorbell sound off signaling his entrance.

He was about to turn around and walk out but then realized that there was no other customer in the store but the store owner, a blonde woman who looked at be in her late thirties-early forties.

'That must be Ino's mom' he thought though still didn't move any closer, he had never met the woman before but it was also no secret that he's friends' parents had told their children to stay away from him so he wanted to see how she would react to his presence in her shop before saying anything.

Said woman seemed to be engrossed in some magazine but then did look up to him when she heard the bell ring.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop. How can I help you?" she said immediately with a welcoming smile on her face.

For a brief moment, Naruto found that he had no idea what to do or say so kept still for moment.

Seeing her customer unresponsiveness, the woman got a bit worried but then got up from her stool and went around the counter to encourage him in, of course she knew who and what he was but if her daughter and husband's stories about him were true then she had no problem with him whatsoever, perhaps he was standing there because he thought she would chase her out.

"Well come on in Naruto-kun, don't be shy" she said as she put her hand across his as she led him into the store.

"You know me?" Naruto asked but immediately felt like slapping himself once he asked the question.

'Of course she knows you, idiot, who doesn't know you in this damned village'

"Why of course I do. So, how can I help you dear?"

"…uh… I wanted to buy some flowers" he responded a bit meekly not used to being so warmly welcomed in any Konoha store other than Ichiraku.

"Really? I thought you were here to ask for Ino's hand in marriage" the woman responded with a tease giving him a sly smile.

"What? I… what?"

The blond woman giggled as she gave the blushing teenage boy a light a slap on the back.

"I'm only kidding Naruto-kun, seriously though you really need to lighten up. So tell me, what kind of flowers do you want?"

"Well I, uh…

"Mom, I'm going to the hospital, my shift is up!" they heard familiar voice shout as the person approached the flower shop.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Ino stopped in her tracks when she spotted the blonde.

"He's come to buy some flowers dear. You know what, maybe you should tend to him before you go since he seems to be rather shy with me"

No she shouldn't.

"Sure thing mom" with that, the older gave him a smile as she went back around the counter to her magazine leaving the jinchurikki with her now smirking daughter.

Great.

"So, who are the flowers for?" she asked with that damnable smirk of hers still plastered on her face. "Sakura?" she whispered.

"There are not for Sakura" Naruto responded all too quickly

"Really who are they for then?"

None of your damned business

He was really tempted to say that he had bought them for her just to see how she would react but then thought better of it.

"They're for the third hokage and another dead friend of mine" Naruto lied smoothly, he was actually buying the flowers for his mother and father but she didn't need to know that.

"Oh…" Ino simply said a bit shocked that Naruto would buy flowers for the dead kage, then again, she did notice that he was closer to the old man than any of her friends so perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising.

She cleared her throat before speaking, "Okay, so what kind of flowers would you like?"

"I don't know; I was hoping perhaps you would pick out the best flowers to put on their graves"

Ino gave him a happy smile at that, talking about flowers was one her favorite things to do. She grabbed Naruto's hand and took him to where all the flowers were found, showing him different types of flowers and their meanings. She showed him the Hydrangea which apparently symbolized 'honesty, gratitude, amends and understanding', the Red rose which symbolized 'love and affection', the orchid, the sunflower, yellow roses and many more. By the end of it Naruto felt rater overwhelmed with the variety of flowers available, all he wanted was to buy some special flowers for his but now he felt like he was a chunin exam test.

Seeing the confused look on Naruto's face, Ino took out some orchids, yellow and roses and gave it to him in two separate bouquets.

"Thanks" he said as he paid for the flowers, he gave a thankful nod to Ino's mother who waved back at him before walking out but then realized that Ino was walking right beside him.

"Your mom seems a like good person" he said making some idle chit-chat.

"Mmh… You're just lucky she likes you, otherwise you've been saying something different right now" Ino responded with a shrug

"Likes me? What have I done to deserve her 'liking of me'?" he asked curiously

"Well… a lot of the times when teenage guys come into our shop its usually because most of them are trying to hit on me, I mean admittedly it was amusing at first but now it's just annoying. And since you genially wanted to buy flowers with no ulterior motives, you've officially earned yourself a 'like' in mom's book" Ino responded offhandedly

"I see…so she likes me because I'm not trying to date you huh?" Naruto said finding himself amused with the situation.

Ino looked at him with a pouty face answering, "I don't know how to feel about that you know. And no, asking me out on a date is not the problem, but what most guys want from me on those 'dates' is"

She decided to elaborate further when he gave her a scrunched up his face giving her a confused look

"When you look at me, what kind of impression do you get from my personality and the way I dress?"

He had to stop walking to fully think about what her question, to him she wasn't much different from most girls he knew. Her dressing was normal, well, as normal as it could be for a kunoichi. Sure she exposed her midriff and her top was more of a pushup bra than an actual top but it was nothing over the top. In fact, it showed him that she was quiet confident with who she was and how she looked. Her personality had nothing stood out or seemed out of place, she was cute, confident, a bit bossy, competitive and a bit of a tease.

"Uh well… I think you're confident with who are and it reflects to your appearance as well" he finally responded truthfully and got smile from her.

"Thanks but unfortunately, a lot of dumbasses out there take my teasing and dressing to mean that I'm some slut who's ready to get hot and heavy with whatever cute guy that flashes his teeth at me or maybe some prize that he can show off to his friends like a damned trophy" the Yamanaka said with annoyance dripping in her tone

"Huh" was all Naruto could say, he would have never guessed. And a part of him could also admit that he had once imagined himself in a rather suggestive position with his fellow blonde. Men were all the same after all.

"I'm guessing that Miko from last night is one of your admirers then" he tried to suppress a scowl, he really didn't want to remember anything from last night because he knew that it would further remind him of he's rather undesirable situation in the village.

"Urgh… honestly don't get me started on that one." The Yamanaka put her hands on her temple almost like she was trying to resist an incoming migraine. "That fool is this close to becoming a stalker"

Despite himself, Naruto actually laughed causing an irritated look from the Yamanaka

"What the hell is so funny?" she asked hotly

"Nothing really, it's just… now you know how Sasuke must have felt all those years ago huh" he said to which Ino blushed with embrassement.

"What? I wasn't that bad… Was I?" the question only seemed to make him laugh harder as he remembered all those times Sasuke had to carefully plan his route home just to avoid his obsessed fan-girls.

Ino playfully punched him in the shoulder with a scowl on her face, "Sure you're the one to laugh. Last I checked you were going after Sakura like a dog in heat"

That got him to shut up. She gave him a victorious smirk when he looked away with a blush of his own.

Yeah, choke on that Uzumaki.

Though she would never admit it out loud, Ino had often wondered what it was about Sakura that made Naruto, hell even Lee constantly go after her, over and over again, knowing that it would end in failure every time or even get a beating for his troubles.

That had slightly contributed to her insecurities causing her to do stupid things like going on diets. Of course she had admirers of her own, but none of them were ever as dedicated as the blonde Uzumaki was to Sakura and most of them were just lousy perverts.

"Okay, but that was a long time ago and we were quiet young"

And really really stupid.

"Hmm… Well then, lets agree to never speak of that period again Uzumaki" she stopped walking, took one of the bouquets from his right hand and extended hers towards him. "… Young and stupid…"

Well they were still young and a lot of people would say that he was still stupid but hey, what the hell

"Young and Stupid" he agreed shaking her in the process.

The continued walking in comfortable silence until Naruto noticed that His fellow blonde was still looking at him.

"What?"

"I like your new wardrobe, it really suits you unlike that hideous attire that made you look like a ripe carrot"

Ino complimented him but he still couldn't help but scowl at everybody's distain for his normal clothing, it didn't matter what anybody else thought though, Orange was an awesome color and his jumpsuit suited him just fine. The only reason he was even wearing different clothing now was because Amina had given them to him as a gift and she had also threatened to burn his orange jumpsuits if he doesn't give them a rest.

He had a different fashion sense than everyone else, what was the big deal about it? Anyways, he decided that wearing different clothes when he was in the village would not matter but on mission he would definitely go back to his favorite color.

And thus he was in the black shinobi pants and the light blue long sleeved shirt that apparently complimented his 'eyes'.

"Thanks… I guess. So, you're a medic now huh?"

That was honestly the biggest surprising change he had found so far, he would have never imagined the Yamanaka as a medic, sure he knew from her rather embarrassing fight with Sakura three years ago that she wasn't much of a fighter but he would have expected her to just train harder or train as an interrogator like her father, but to change course and go the medical route, he honestly didn't see that coming.

Then again, kakashi had always praised Sakura's perfect chakra control and stated countless times that she would make for an excellent genjutsu type shinobi but she also switched to medical ninjutsu, all of this proved to Naruto just how little he knew his friends.

"Yeah, quiet interesting huh, even I couldn't picture myself as a medic but you know how life goes. Besides, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing while forehead was busy saving people you know" she responded, he could sense the pride she had at her decision in her tone.

"Do you like working there?" Naruto asked generally curious.

"The hospital? Yes, I do. I mean, it's not always the best. There are some days that can get really hectic and even...emotional, but for the most part, it's pretty humbling."

"I see." He paused. He appeared to be debating something and then added: "What do you mean emotional?"

Ino's eyes widened slightly, and she could feel a pleasant tug on her lips. He wanted to know more. He wanted to hear more about her. There was something so pure and simple about that. It made her understand just how quickly she judged the uzumaki in her younger years.

He wasn't loud and overbearing because he wanted to, the world around him made him like that, talking with friends or anyone who was willing was the only way he would feel less lonely.

Unlike any of her friends, he didn't have anyone to confide in or who someone who would hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be alright during his childhood but that still doesn't stop him from lending a sympathetic ear to a friend and giving them encouragement when they needed it.

"Well, sometimes," she started, "you get a patient that you sympathize with. Like a child or a mother or someone you feel doesn't deserve to be there."

"Could you give me an example?" he inquired politely.

Ino studied his expression. His eyebrows were low, and his tone was sincere. Her trusting nature was slipping in, unheeded and burdened with worn practice.

"There was a little girl once," she said. "She had suffered a terrible head injury. Normally, another specialist would have handled this case, but we were short-staffed that night and I had just been officially cleared by lady Tsunade to be a full-fledged medic." Ino felt her stomach flip a little at the memory.

"Sakura and I spent hours operating on her. She was in critical condition for too long before she had even been brought to us and from a medical point-of-view, there was a very low chance of survival from the beginning. But We didn't really care about statistical advantage back then."

"Of course," Naruto commented tenderly.

Ino smiled sadly, thankful for his attention. "We just kept thinking about how grateful that little girl would feel if we succeeded. We mean, even if she didn't know it, she was putting all her trust in the two of us. If we could save her life, then she would see us as her savior. That thought kept us going, really going, I think. I probably wouldn't have accomplished as much as I did if it wasn't for that thought...yet…"

She paused and remained quiet for a while. Naruto seemed to want to say something, but the uncertainty in her eyes must have kept him silent.

After finding the comfort level dropped too much for her not to continue, Ino said: "But it wasn't enough."

A few minutes past in silence before Naruto finally spoke, "I'm sorry"

Ino averted her eyes from him and fixed them to the ground, this was the first time she had told anyone that story, not even her mother knew of her shame. "It's okay. I'm fine now so…"

It was then that Naruto's eyes softened, and he shook his head unhappily. "I don't believe you," he remarked.

Her focus darted back to him in a frenzied manner, she wanted to feel angered by his claim—to act as if it was asinine and not worth considering at all. Yet all she could manage to say was: "What?"

"I don't believe you," he repeated. "It's all over your face, Ino. Did you know you looked so sad?"

Ino widened her eyes at that. She obviously had not expected to be called on her lie so easily. This was all new to her, her mother was a therapist and her father an interrogator, but she has never felt this open before, she could easily keep secrets from anyone but all the sudden it felt like all her problems laid bare in front of him, that no matter how much she tried he could see those dark emotions that she wanted to hide. She couldn't stand that. She didn't want people to see all that, especially him, especially a person who's was much much worse than her own petty problems but still didn't break.

"I...I wasn't aware," she eventually replied.

Ino rubbed her shoulder gingerly. "I don't see how that matters anyway. I'm just complaining, of course." She feigned a laugh. "It's not like my problems are anything like yours were. You were actually isolated and scorned by everybody." Her tone carried some shame and deep regret in it.

Naruto frowned. "That's my point, Ino; you're belittling it." He really didn't want to think about his childhood right now, especially after the bullshit week he's been having.

Her eyes widened. "What? No, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to. I'm saying the opposite. You went through something far worse than I am—"

"No, it wasn't," he stated firmly. "You can't compare it. My pain is my own and it's nothing like yours, but that doesn't mean it's any less important. It's very important."

Ino was perplexed. She hadn't heard a claim like this before. From what Sakura had told her, Naruto's childhood had been such a very miserable affair that she clearly understood that she couldn't possibly relate to it. But now he was saying that was somehow good—that her pain really did matter, even if it may have seemed trivial in the grand scheme of things.

As Ino was caught in her stupor, Naruto leaned forward. "You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt, you know. I found that to matter a lot in the past."

Ino's eyes brightened as she gathered what he was saying. "How so?"

Naruto stopped walking for a bit, as if collecting his words was a challenge. "Well, the more I tried to hide my feelings of loneliness and anger as a kid, the more I felt as if I was distancing myself. But the fact was that I had been so angry, and I was for a long time, still am. But I had to take a deep look at myself to realize what I had been doing, and that was when I saw everything for what it was. I had left that part unchecked, and it had felt abandoned, even now I can honestly say that I still do it sometimes, perhaps as a defense mechanism or for something else… I don't know" A thoughtful and genuine smile spread throughout his lips. "So now I try not hide anything from myself, if I'm upset or mad, then I don't deny it to myself. And that's made a lot of difference, really."

He put his free hand on her and gave her a comforting squeeze. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… you should stop denying it, too, Ino. Don't pretend or run from your own feelings anymore, that is what makes us who we are after all"

Ino was left speechless by Naruto's words, this was a side of him she had never seen before. Sure Sakura had told her some stories but it was quiet different seeing it for yourself. Ino had honestly expected an 'everything will be alright' kind of speech but this… she felt a little overwhelmed to tell the truth but more than that, she was happy to have a friend like him, someone who didn't brush off and disregard another person's pain no matter how little or insignificant it was.

She gave him a genuinely happy and thankful smile saying, "Thank you Naruto-kun, really, you have no idea just how much I appreciate that"

"It's okay, happy I could be of help" the Uzumaki replied with a small blush adorning his cheeks. He hadn't really paid much attention to it, but the Yamanaka was quiet beautiful.

The two continued walking in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes but the Yamanaka spoke, "Damn, who would have thought you could be so deep. You really have grown a lot eh"

Her tone was teasing but he wondered how she would react if he said 'he could go even deeper if she allowed him'.

Jiraiya vibes.

"Well, it was bound to happen. Besides I hear some girls like guys who are like that" he chose to say instead finishing his sentence with a smirk of his own

"They do, especially warm yet mysterious boys with intriguing personalities. Yep a lot of girls would most definitely fall for that" she said with an emphasizing nod

"Mysterious and intriguing eh?" Naruto said adorning a contemplative look on his face, "I guess I'll have to work on that"

"Don't worry about it, some girls would say 'you're perfect just the way you are', in fact, they would even prove it to you if it wasn't for the fact that this was a public place" Ino whispered standing so close to him that he easily smell her scent.

Seeing his entire face practically pink brought a giggle out of Ino, the Uzumaki was just too easy.

"Anyways, it's been fun talking to you Uzumaki but I have to break off now" she said pointing at the Konoha hospital at the side of the road.

Right.

He had almost forgotten that they had different destinations, he took back the bouquet and gave her a smile. Despite his earlier thoughts of the Yamanaka he found her to be quiet fun to be around.

"Cool, good luck on your shift"

"Thanks" she said about to turn towards the hospital but then stopped and looked back at him, "Oh and Naruto…"

"Hmm"

"I know you and I weren't really close friends when we were young and I do shamefully admit that I didn't really treat you well at all… I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry" she said sincerely with a small bow.

It caught Naruto so off guarded that even he was momentarily rendered speechless. Never had ever pictured any one apologizing to him for their earlier attitude towards him, much less Ino Yamanaka of all people.

While it was true that they weren't really close in their earlier years, the blonde didn't deem it necessary to care much about what the Yamanaka's attitude towards him as she was in the same group of children who were told to stay away from him by their parents.

But to hear her lament and apologize to him was just surreal for him. For a moment he wondered if he was slowly but surely getting through to the people of the village but he shook those thoughts away as soon as they came.

"Uh… don't worry about it Ino, that's water under the bridge now." Naruto sincerely said with a small smile.

"Great, then how about we start over…" Ino said with a happy smile, she cleared her throat and continued, "Hi I'm Ino Yamanaka and I would really like to be your friend"

"Eh, I'm Naruto and I accept your friendship" he responded with a smile of his own.

"Excellent. Well Naruto, as much as I would like to stay and chat with you I'm afraid duty calls now, but if you wouldn't mind, I would like to hang out with you one of these days"

"I would like that as well; we'll make time"

"Well then…" she lightly punched him on his shoulder and gave him a teasing smile, "until next time Uzumaki."

And with that, she turn around and hurried off for her shift.

As he watched her leave, Naruto's earlier dilemma resurfaced in his mind.

It reminded him of what he'll be leaving behind if he chose to go with Amina; his friends, his dreams, his village.

Despite the fact that things were not going really well at this moment, Naruto has always been a strong believer of 'a light at the end of the tunnel'. He wanted to believe that with enough hard work and perseverance things would always work out in the end.

But a realistic part was really questioning those beliefs; what will he have to do for this village to finally accept him? How long that take? Will they ever allow him to be happy and maybe have a family of his own or will they treat his children the same way they treat him? What about his long lost clan? Ever since he was born he has always dreamt of belonging to a family, a place where he didn't feel out of place or unwanted, a place he could call home.

And that was exactly what Amina was offering to him now only he would have to leave behind everything he knew to get it.

With a deep sigh, the blonde Uzumaki continued on his way, it didn't take long before he reached his destination.

The Konoha cemetery.

It didn't take long for the blonde to find the tombstone he was looking for. There it was… it was one of the biggest, if not the biggest tombstone in the cemetery, placed next to four others just like it, the name inscribed on it made him feel proud and the title below it even more so.

Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage.

He had so much to say and yet as he opened his mouth, no words came out. He had been shook to the core when he found out who his parents where and truth be told, he still was.

This man was everything Naruto ever wanted to be in life; a war-hero, hokage, genius legendary shinobi and the most loved and respected person throughout the entire village.

And as it turned out, this man was he's own father. How ironic that he idolized he's own father and didn't even know it.

"Hi father" he said awkwardly.

"I don't know if you know me but… I'm Naruto Uzumaki, your son. I… I would have loved to have a chance to speak with You ya know, even just one chance. I have so much to say to both you and mom."

A small bitter laugh came out of him.

He had searched the entire cemetery for a tombstone that read 'Kushina Uzumaki" but there wasn't any.

The blonde felt annoyed that despite all she did for this village; she wasn't even honored with a bloody tombstone. I mean, sure he understood that if people saw her Uzumaki surname they would have easily linked her to him and since a good number of people knew that she was married to Minato, they would have easily discovered who really he was.

But still, it didn't make him feel any better, all records of Kushina were removed from history as if she never even existed.

"Speaking of mom, it turns out her clan is not really extinct after all, they survived the war. Now they want to reclaim their home and their place in the place in the world back and they want me to help them"

Silence was his answer, not that he expected anything more.

"I would love nothing more than to help them, to be with them. Can you imagine? My own clan, my family. But I just…"

Naruto bit his lip so that he felt a bit of blood coming out, he didn't ask for any of this shit.

With a deep sigh, the blond run his hands.

"I really wish either one of you was alive right now, I could really use some guidance here."

I would never dare talk about this with either his friends or even his teacher, he didn't need to be genius to know that their advice would only be biased. He wouldn't even dare let it slip especially at a time like this when it seemed like all his friends were somehow keeping an eye on him.

"This is all very confusing to me ya know" he said to the silent grave, at this point he was hoping for anything, any sign that that he's parents were listening, any sign of some genuine advice, but obviously none ever came.

After another tired sigh, the uzumaki sat down in front of the grave and placed his hand on where his father's name was engraved.

"I'm sorry… here I am putting all my problems on you without even properly introducing myself" he said with a sad smile

"So, like I said and as you probably already know, I'm your son and it's been over 16 years since my birth and your death. From the pictures I've seen, it seems I also inherited your looks but I can't say the same about the talent. I mean, the history books say you were one of the most talented shinobi ever, hell you won an entire war by yourself. I, on the other hand barely even managed to pass the damn graduation test at the academy." He gave a mirthless chuckle at that.

"Anyway, as you probably remember, you turned me into a jinchurikki the day of my birth and that has royally fucked me up so now I just want you to know that if we should ever meet under any circumstances, I'm going to slug you for that. I mean, you trusted Jiraiya of all people to look after me, he can barely look after himself. He's a drunk irresponsible pervert who is yet to even tell me that he's my godfather and the way things are looking now, it seems like he would rather die than ever have the guts to look me in the eye and tell me that he'd rather chase after whores than…"

No, this wasn't taking him anywhere. He quickly took a couple of breaths in the hopes of calming himself down.

"As I was saying, my childhood wasn't really ideal or even a happy one but I still meet some good people, like Ichiraku-san and his daughter Ayame" a small smile came upon his lips when he thought of those two, he couldn't even imagine what he's life would be like if they had never been so kind to him.

" You know, I can still remember the first time I met them…

LATER THAT NIGHT

Naruto was leisurely walking back as he reflected on his day, it seemed reminiscing and contemplations were now his new hobbies. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even register the presence of another person in front of his apartment until she called out to him effectively startling him out of his wits.

"Hello Naruto-kun"

It took a couple of seconds for the blonde to fully register who was talking to him.

A dark-blue haired kunoichi with lavender eyes wearing a loose fitting, lavender and cream hooded jacket, navy blue pants and black, low heeled scandals.

"Eh… hello Hinata" he responded awkwardly

To say she was the last person he ever expected to be at his front door would be an understatement. Even more peculiar was the time at which she was there, this was well past 9pm.

Well, maybe she was here because they had a mission?

"Do we have a mission" he immediately voiced his thoughts.

"No, I… I just wanted to talk to you, I hope you don't mind. Considering the time." She replied

"Not at all" the blonde replied briskly, taking out his keys from his pockets and opening the door to his apartment.

He hesitated a bit in fear that Amina might be inside, though after a quick survey he let out a small sigh of relief when he didn't find any trace of her chakra or presence in the apartment. He guessed maybe she was at her own apartment or maybe she sensed Hinata's presence and quickly shunshined herself away.

'Thank goodness for that, otherwise it would have been one hell of a rather awkward conversation' he thought mildly before letting her in.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Just some tea please" Hinata said.

"Coming right up," Naruto said pulling the kettle out.

When it was ready he handed her a cup sitting next to her on his modest couch. Hinata stared into the tea for a while and Naruto gave her the time to think. Finally, he asked, "Why did you come here? Eh, I mean… not that you're not welcome here or anything, it's just a little surprising considering you and I rarely talk"

She slightly winced at that but didn't say anything to dispute his claim.

"Well, I came to personally welcome you back to the village, with everything I didn't have a proper chance" she said with a shy smile at him.

She might not be as confident as she wanted to be, she was really trying.

She really was.

"Thanks Hinata, I really appreciate that" the blonde responded with a small smile of his own whilst scratching the back of his head, he briefly wondered what she would think if he told her that he might be leaving the village very soon, possibly forever.

"I'm sure that the other members of my team would like tell you as well but I didn't tell them I was coming here"

"No problem" Naruto said, "besides I already know what they're going to say anyway, Kiba would probably say some dumb retarded shit like how he is still going to become hokage before me and Shino would speak in his usual monotone voice with all those bugs living inside of him. I'm sorry to say, but that guy does creep me out a bit."

Hinata giggled saying, "Shino-kun would sulk for the rest of the year if he heard you saying that Naruto-kun"

"Yeah, well then, let's keep that between the two of us eh?" he said with a small smile leaning closer to her

She gave him a shy smile in response, god how she missed this person, his fiery determination, his mischief, and outspoken kindness.

"I missed you so much" she whispered but then quickly placed one hand on her mouth whilst blushing furiously as she realized that Naruto had heard her statement and was currently looking at her with bewilderment.

"I'm… I'm sorry" she said in panic but Naruto quickly put her mind at ease

"It's okay, I'm just a little bit surprised that's all" he said, hell not even Sakura or Kakashi-sensei said that to him.

She nodded and looked at her cup then looked back at him, "But its truth though" she said quietly putting the cup on the table and focusing fully on him.

With a shaky hand, she slowly cupped his cheek and met his eyes saying, "I'm sure all of our friends missed you Naruto-kun. We'd be really sad if you left us"

Left? What was she talking about?

Confusion marred his features for a second before it finally donned on him.

She knows. Oh No.

With wide disbelieving eyes, the jinchurikki abruptly stood up not knowing how to react to all of this.

"You know?" he exclaimed though it was more of a statement than a question.

She nodded softly and he run his hands through his hair, "Fuck me sideways!" he swore

OH NO NO NO NO NO NO!

This was not what he ever expected. how was it even possible? Since when? Wait a minute, if Hinata knows about this then how many more people also knew? What if Tsunade also knew? This was turning into a really big mess.

"I'm the only one who knows, well as far as I'm concerned" she said seemly having read his thoughts.

He looked at her for a minute with panic before he adopted a look of silent relief.

"How did you know? When?" he asked quietly, he could practically hear his heart beating inside his chest.

"I… um, I was there when she appeared before you" she replied looking away from him.

A quick look at him confirmed to her that the jinchurikki was confused by her response and so clarified, saying; "That night, I came here to properly welcome you back to the village because our first encounter didn't go as well as I would have like." She bit her lip out of her own frustration. Oh how she hated being so weak and timid in front of him.

"Anyway, before I climbed the stairs to your apartment, I used my Byakugan to make sure that you were home and well, I saw that woman talking to you and it made to be rather uncomfortable. You face was showing some negative emotions so I used the Byakugan to read your lips and find out what you were to talking about-

"You were spying on me?" he cut her off with annoyance dripping in his tone. The hell was wrong with the people in this village?

"I'm sorry" she apologized quickly, she knew that her spying tendencies would catch up to her one day so she wasn't really surprised with his reaction.

"It's just… I've never seen that woman before and well from the looks of it, neither did you and you also seemed to be getting angry with what she was telling you. I… I wasn't trying to invade your privacy"

Well, technically it was true, even during all those times she stalked him she wasn't deliberately trying invade his privacy. There was just something about the Uzumaki that attracted her to him so much that she couldn't stay away no matter how much she tried.

Naruto merely scowled in response, he didn't know how react to all of this. On one hand he understood the urge to want to protect your friends no matter how unconventional it might seem but he also wasn't thrilled with people engaging themselves in his own private business, I mean, first Sai now this.

"I know what she said Naruto-kun and I also know what you told her" she said causing him to look away.

A couple of minutes passed in silence as the tension escalated in the small apartment.

The Hyuga princess looked at him trying to discern what he was thinking but the blonde's eyes refused to meet hers.

Finally, after what felt like hours she asked, "Are you planning to go?" causing the jinchurikki to wince.

Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, she stepped closer to him and cupped his cheek making him look at her.

"Are you Naruto-kun" she whispered her voiced sounding shaky

"I… I don't know ok" he finally responded.

He could practically see her expression turning from hopeful to one of heartbreak.

"But… what about your dream to become hokage? Your team? your friends?" she said desperately trying to convince him to stay.

"Hinata… it's not just that ok… "he wanted to say more but quickly bit his tongue.

Sensing this, the Hyuga prompted him "Tell me, talk to me Naruto-kun"

"I'm sick and tired of living like this ok, I'm sick of people looking at me like I'm some demon who was sent to ruin their precious lives. I'm sick of being made to feel like I should feel lucky that I'm breathing the same air as them. I'm sick and tired of just wanting to fit in and being hated for it. Yes, I know that if I live then I'm abandoning my dream of being hokage but you know, I've dreamt of having a family longer than I have of being hokage. I wanted to find a place where I belong, where I can call home longer than I could ever remember ok" the blond finally explained, he couldn't tell why but it felt really good to get off his chest. it felt like a great weight was being lifted off his shoulders.

Hinata kept quiet carefully absorbing what her crush was saying, if following him around all those days taught her anything; it was that these feelings were not new. She saw him countless times trying to act happy but was always miserable when alone.

She understood that, but still…

"What proof do have that things will be better if you go with her?" she asked him after a couple of minutes of silence

She didn't allow him to answer before she asked him another question, "what proof has she given you to show you that your clan still exists? She could be one of those guys hunting you down for we know"

Naruto blinked a couple of times at that, come to think of it Amina didn't really anything as proof to show that the Uzumaki clan was still alive, he didn't even ask for any. He only took her stories as face value information without even asking for a picture or anything as evidence. Hinata was actually right, without evidence Amina's stories didn't hold much weight, hell she really could be just another member of Akatsuki trying to lure him out of the village.

The jinchurikki groaned inwardly, he was finally understanding why he was often called an idiot. But still, he knew in his heart that Amina was telling the truth. Maybe it was just his naivety talking or his desperation in wanting a family so bad but he could tell that she wasn't lying to him.

"I had not thought about that" he admitted, "but still, I think… I think I want to go"

He had been wrestling with this idea all week but now that he was having this conversation with someone other than Amina, he felt like his answer was becoming clearer and clearer.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, her voice almost broken and her eye glassy. "Please don't go"

"And why not?" he fired back almost viciously

"Because we can make this a home for you, a lot of our friends, myself included, never understood why you were so isolated from everyone else until Sakura-san told us why 1 year ago. I can't apologize enough for not befriending you all those years ago Naruto-kun, I wanted to I swear but I was too much of a coward. But if you give us another chance I swear that we'll stand with you Naruto-kun. We'll sure that you feel so alone again… please Naruto-kun"

Naruto was momentarily stunned by Hinata's plea; this was not the Hinata that he remembered. He would have expected to have this kind of conversation with either Sakura or Kakashi or even Jiraiya but not the Hyuga. Be that as it may, it was now too little too late.

"I'm sorry Hinata, but I can't stay" he said watching as tears started to flow from her eyes

"You… you promised that you would not give up until you became hokage" she said sniffing, "You said you would fight until the people acknowledged you, you also promised to fight to bring Sasuke back to the village and most of all you promised to never go back on your word. Remember that" she spoke hoping to see what the jinchurikki would do if he left which resulted in Naruto scowling at that, he obviously didn't like having his own beliefs used against him.

"Damn it, why do you even care so much anyway?!" he yelled at her in frustration

"Because I love you!" she yelled back tears still flowing

Everything seemed to stop when he heard those words, he looked blankly at her thinking that maybe, just maybe he heard her wrong.

"What… did you just say?"

"I love you" she whispered stepping closer to him, her hand on her chest almost like she was trying to mechanically stop it from beating so fast.

She looked at Naruto's shell-shocked face knowing just how crazy it must have sounded to him. This wasn't the appropriate love confession she would have wanted but right now it seemed to be her only hope.

"Since the I met you when you saved me from those bullies, I admired you Naruto-kun. You were everything I wanted to be, you are strong, confident and kind. Most of all you didn't allow people to tell who you could or couldn't be. When you yelled at the whole class that you would be hokage one day, I believed in you Naruto-kun because I knew that no matter what you would not give up until you made it." She stated unveiling all her 'hidden' feelings to him.

"I nearly…I nearly went the wrong way. For a long time; I believed I was worthless, but Naruto…you had it so much worse but kept smiling. Your… your smile it saved me, helped move me in the right direction. You have no idea just how much I wanted to tell you just how much I cared, to befriend you. Even when I was fighting against Neji-nisan during the chunin exams, I was still thinking of you, wanting you to acknowledge me. I kept fighting because I knew that's what you would have done. When you left with Jiraiya-sama, I thought about you everyday wondering when you would come back and now…"

Now you want to leave forever.

Naruto felt like he was in a dream at that moment, he's whole world stopped as he kept replaying what she had just told him over and over in his mind. How long had he wanted to hear those words from someone, anyone really.

None of the people he was ever close to had ever said those words, not the third hokage, Iruka, team seven or Jiraiya had ever even hinted at it. And yet, here he was hearing them from someone he had never even imagined held those kind of feelings for him but then maybe I explained all those times she acted weird in his presence, he always noticed that she didn't act that way with any other boy except him but he always brushed it off as her just being weird.

But god damn it, was he really so stupid?

He placed his right hand on his heart feeling overwhelmed with all of this. First Amina now this? He felt like he wanted to cry.

Once again, the Hyuga heiress cupped his cheek stepping closer to him, "I know this is a lot to take in and I didn't mean to tell you this way but I just want you to see you're not alone anymore. Just give me one chance and I'll show you that it will get better, you can be happy here Naruto-kun. You can still achieve your dreams here, let me help you" she pleaded wrapping her arms around his waist as she silently wept.

For the first time in his entire life, Naruto could honestly admit to being speechless. He could barely wrap his head around the fact this was the soft spoken and shy Hinata that was pouring her heart out to him. He could clearly see now that he knew nothing of love, seeing her face and watching her hopeful, pleading expression just proved it further to him. He briefly wondered if this how Sakura felt when Sasuke left.

"I'm sorry Hinata" he said apologetically, "I can't stay"

"you can. You don't know what's out there. You don't know if things are as good as she makes it out to be."

"Hinata, you don't know…"

"I do…" she shot back, "I know that it hurts Naruto-kun. I know the pain, the misery, the desire to just want to fit in and I know that you don't have to abandon everyone and everything you know to get there"

"So what would you have me do then?" he asked

"Endure Naruto-kun"

she whispered as the tears continued falling, maybe she was just being selfish but she just couldn't handle the idea of Naruto leaving with a practical stranger to who knows where.

The entire week she had struggled with the idea of whether to tell her friends about what the redhead told Naruto but she convinced herself not to thinking that the blonde would refuse her request but as the week passed, she could tell that something was changing within the blonde Uzumaki. He was longer as enthusiastic as he once was about becoming hokage, he didn't spend as much time as he usually did with his friends and during all that time, she saw as he slowly warmed up to her.

she watched as he's face softened and turned hopeful as she told him countless stories of her home making each tale sound like heaven on earth and then she finally understood that she needed to talk to him.

She chose to talk to him first before even thinking of talking to any of her friends because she knew that word would undoubtedly reach lady Tsunade and Naruto would have a 'flight risk' marker placed on him.

She really beginning to wonder if she had made the right decision.

"You have to endure. We can help you, all of our friends can" He watched in silence as she broke down in front of him before her sobs filled the silent apartment. Wordlessly he tugged on her arm and pulled her into a warm embrace. He guided her head to his shoulder and lightly ran his fingers through her long hair. Naruto savored the moment taking in a deep breath, inhaling her scent of lavender before he began to untangle himself from her.

"I've endured enough…"

With that said Naruto pulled himself away from her but stopped at the soft, almost pleading tug on his arm. Looking down he saw her fingers intertwined with his. Lifting his gaze to her face, he saw her tearful red eyes shining with that same emotion that he couldn't identify.

"Please." Hinata pleaded softly, "Stay." Naruto slowly shook his head at her. His hand lifted to her face to dry away her tears.

"I can't."

"Then take me with you..." She whispered.

His eyes widened a bit at her plea but he wasn't given the chance to respond she slowly raised her shaky hand and softly stroked the lines on his cheek and leaned in closer to him placing her lips on his.

Naruto didn't pull back as he felt her soft lips on his, he didn't know that this was possible but he could feel all the emotions she was trying to convey in that simple kiss. He didn't know that something as simple as a kiss could possess such overwhelming emotions and he was slowly feeling himself drowning in them and so he simply placed his hand underneath her shirt touching her caress her skin directly when he deepened the kiss.

END CHAPTER

Before some of you start bitching at me, I would like to say, "NO! this is NOT, I repeat; NOT, a NaruHina fanfic. But that doesn't mean I will ignore Hinata's feelings for our favorite knucklehead.

I really tried to make this a good chapter, but a lot of times, I just find myself not writing out scenes as well as I would like to. It was so bad that some of them made me cringe just from reading them out.

I hope the last scene did come off as forced, but I really tried to make seem believable and in character (though I may have failed with Hinata's stuttering speech).

Anyway, tell me what you guys think.

SARAVAN OUT!

BTW, what do you guys think of a crossover game of thrones fic with Itachi in it? Only itachi, no jutsu or sharingan but just having Itachi's character and storyline infused into game of thrones.