30 Wating for End 2 (1/2)
You damned brat!”
Naruto yelped as he felt Tsunade rap him on the side of the head. Feeling the welt forming and healing over, the man muttered, ”I'm sorry, I'm sorry!”
Huffing as she blew a stand of hair out of her face, Tsunade glared balefully, ”First, you damage my arm for no damned reason. Then, you run off? Just what the hell has gotten into you brat?”
”I don't know.” Naruto answered honestly.
Tsunade's glare subsided. Sitting down next to him, her expression softened considerably as she said, ”Sakura tells me you're having a hard time remembering things, that you think she's supposed to be dead. Mind explaining that?”
”This…all of this, it can't be real.”
”Why?”
”Because if it is, then what was the point?” Naruto demanded.
The former Hokage's frown deepened, ”The point of what?”
”I mourned for you. All of you. I know that. I lost everything. I've done my best to move on, and for the most part I have. But…look, this can't be real.” Naruto reasoned firmly, refusing to look Tsunade in the eye.
”And what's so appealing about this…other reality, that this here has to be a dream, or an illusion? What makes that more real than this?” Tsunade wondered.
”I went to another planet. I met people, friends. I loved some of those people, I've mourned for some of those people. Things might not have been perfect, but it was real. It wasn't an illusion, or – OW!”
Naruto's hand shot back as Tsunade pricked it with a senbon, ”You feel that?” She demanded.
”Yeah?” The man answered as he shook off the pain.
”Then this isn't an illusion. This isn't a dream Naruto. What's wrong with that? You didn't mourn for nothing, because you didn't mourn at all. That life you think you had, it wasn't a life. This is. Be happy for that, Naruto. Your life could be a hell of a whole lot worse-”
”Exactly!” Naruto yelled, pleading for her to understand, ”This is too perfect! This can't be my life.”
Tsunade sat for a moment, taking that in, ”Have you ever thought that maybe that's the problem, right there?”
”What?” Naruto demanded.
”Your life used to be hell, brat.” Seeing Naruto give her a look, she said, ”I read your file the second I took the hat and sat in the seat. Sarutobi did a bang-up job looking after you, but he couldn't protect you from how people perceived you, how they treated you. You were alone and hated. But now, here you are with everything you'd ever wanted. You have a family, friends, people who love you, Naruto. Your life has become that fantasy I'm sure you'd had on some exceptionally lonely nights. But maybe, just maybe, you're consumed by that identity, that image of a harsh kid with an even harsher life. So much so, that when you have this dream, this visceral escape of loneliness and loss, you wake up, and that is somehow more appealing to you than reality. Reality has become too much of a fantasy to you.”
Naruto blinked, swallowing the lump in his throat, ”Then why don't I remember?”
Tsunade grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly, ”We're gonna find out, and I'm gonna fix it. I promise.”
Forcing a smile, Naruto gripped back, ”Promise of a lifetime?”
The older woman chuckled, ”Promise of a lifetime.”
-x-
”Mama, I'm bored.”
Hinata forced a smile, ”Just a little longer, okay?”
Boruto gave a childish grunt, ”When's Dad gonna stop talking to Granny Tsunade anyways?”
Sakura, who was standing next to Kakashi as they waited, leaned down next to the little boy, ”How would you like to go play with Sarada downstairs? She's down in the daycare, I'm sure she'd love to play with you and your sister for a while.”
The little boy gave her a wary look, ”Are there toys?”
”Lots of toys.” Sakura answered charmingly.
”Okay.” Boruto answered joyfully, getting up from his chair with a happy jump.
Hinata gave Sakura a thankful smile as she handed Himawari off to her. Sakura returned it, taking the doe eyed girl in her arms, ”Miko's working today, I'm sure she'll love to have them for a bit.” The pink haired woman said.
”Miko?” Boruto whined, ”But she's so lame.”
”Hey now, that's no way to talk. She's a very nice lady, and you're not gonna give her any trouble.” Sakura said, as she and the kids turning the corner.
As their voices began to fade, Hinata put her face into her hands. Seeing this, Kakashi sat down next to her. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he said gently, ”Everything will be fine, Hinata. He's strong.”
”I know.” Hinata mumbled through her hands. Looking up, she said, ”You should've seen him, Kakashi-sensei. The way he looked at me, the way he looked at our children…”
”He's having a…difficult time with things, Hinata. He thinks a dream he had was reality, and apparently, he doesn't remember anything past his fight with Kaguya. That's a large gap. We have to be patient.”
The Hyuga shook her head, ”What if there are things he can't remember? I don't ever want our children to see that look on his face ever again.”
”Will it make you love him any less?” Kakashi wondered softly.
”Never.”
”Then everything will be fine.” The man said confidently, leaning back in his chair as Tsunade walked out of the room, ”What's the verdict?”
Tsunade sat down on the other side of Hinata, turning to her as she answered, ”He's entered a bit of a psychosis. There's a large gap of memory that seems to have been replaced with a rather vivid dream he had. He believes that this dream is reality, and that we are a fiction brought on by an illusion. His fictitious reality seems to revolve around the fact that he failed in his fight with Kaguya and was sent to an entirely different planet during the bought. According to him he lived there long enough to have established relationships with several different people and had essentially managed to move on with his life. As far as he's concerned, we've been dead for seven years.”
”What can we do?” Hinata asked, ”How long will he be like this? How did this happen?” She fired off.
”We'll try and coax his memories out of him, and hopefully that will replace whatever it is that's wormed its way in. It could take a few weeks, or months…maybe even years to fully restore his memory. As for the how, well its safe to say that it's not an illusion. We'd have detected it by now. Has he been stressed about anything recently? Acting strangely?” Tsunade asked, ”Has anything come about that might've been able to make him highly emotional?”
”Well…Kakashi told him that he was planning to step down from the Hokage's position within the next year.” Hinata answered, ”Naruto told me that he had been selected as the incumbent.”
Kakashi nodded, ”I told him yesterday after he got back from Suna. Do you honestly think that might've been the cause?”
The older woman rested her hand under her chin, ”Perhaps. It's something he's wanted for as long as any of us have known him. Maybe the stress of that pushed him to subconsciously seek out this delusion.”
”Can I talk to him?” Hinata asked, hopeful.
”Of course.” Tsunade answered immediately, ”But, I'd like to monitor him for the next few days. After everything, I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone.”
Stepping out of her seat, Hinata slowly crept towards the door. Hesitantly, she knocked.
”Come in.”
Turning the knob with trepidation, she peeked her head in, ”Naruto?”
Naruto couldn't help the smile that came to his face, ”You don't have to knock, Hinata.”
Stepping fully into the room, she said softly, ”I'm sorry, I didn't-”
”You don't have to apologize either.” Naruto said, ”If anyone should be sorry, it's me.”
Sitting down next to him on the bed, Hinata took his hand in hers, ”Do you…do you really not think I'm real?”
”I don't know what to think anymore.”
”Well…well, I want you to know that I love you. No matter what happens. You could forget I ever existed, and I'd love you till the day I died.” Hinata stated, surprising Naruto with her firmness.
Naruto smiled at that, ”I could never forget about you.”
”So, what doyou remember?”
”I remember you not being this talkative.” Naruto answered lightly.
Hinata blushed, ”It was hard to talk to you back then.”
”I remember what you did for me, during the war.” As she looked at him in shock, he continued, ”And how you sacrificed yourself for me, what you told me when Pain had me at his feet. I remember how you would always faint when I'd talk to you, or blush when I'd look at you. I remember how you helped patch up my wounds during the Chunin Exams, even though I'd gotten them from fighting your teammate. I remember how brave you were when you fought Neji, and how angry I was at the way he treated you. I remember in the academy how you were the only girl who didn't think Sasuke was hot shit, and I'll admit it now and say that I thought that that was really cool.”
Hinata smiled, barely holding back tears as the memories came flooding back to her, ”You thought I was cool?”
Naruto's smile grew a little more fox like, ”Well, if I'm being honest, I thought you were a little weird.”
Hinata's smiled faltered, looking away as she mumbled, ”Well you weren't any less weird yourself.”
The blonde laughed. Hinata wiped her eyes as she joined him.
Gripping her hand tighter, he said, ”I missed talking to you, Hinata. Even with how little we did, I still missed it.”
”You don't have to miss it anymore.” She said back, returning the grip.
Naruto chuckled. Looking over to the window, he smiled at the view of Konoha standing strong in the summer heat, ”Maybe I've been going about it all wrong.”
”Hm?”
”If this is a dream…then I want to enjoy it for as long as I can.”
Hinata's smile was strained now, ”Oh.”
Turning to her, his face grew excited, ”Say, who's all in the village right now? Is everyone here, everyone we graduated with and stuff?”
”Well, um…yes, I think everyone's here. I believe I saw Shikamaru returning with Temari from Suna this morning, so that should be everyone.” She said after some thought.
”Then let's get everyone together!” Naruto said animatedly, ”Let's throw a party.”
”A party for what…exactly?”
”I don't know, we'll think of something.” He insisted, his growing excitement at seeing his old friends now palpable.
”Well…you did tell me last night that Kakashi is stepping down sometime next year.” Hinata conceded, unable to fight off his infectious mood.
”Stepping down?” Naruto wondered, before it suddenly hit him, ”Oh.”
Hinata got up from the bed, ”I'll make the rounds, get everyone together. This'll be fun. Maybe it'll help jog your memory.”
Naruto didn't miss the hope in her voice, his excitement dipping slightly, ”Yeah…maybe.”
After hesitating a moment, Hinata dipped in towards him. Naruto, who didn't expect it, wasn't able to avoid the kiss she planted on his lips. It lasted a few moments, not that Naruto minded, as Hinata poured as much love into it as she could. Their lips finally breaking, she pressed her forehead against his before taking a step back.
She eyed him for a second of scrutiny, before walking out of the room.
-x-
”Do you really think a party is appropriate?”
Hinata shifted under Tsunade's scrutiny, ”It's what he wants-”
”I don't care what he wants!” Tsunade hissed, ”Your husband is not fit to be in that kind of environment. You, of all people, should want him to stay here where he can recover. Why would you want otherwise-”
”Because it was the first time he acted like himself all day!” Hinata stated firmly, taking Tsunade aback.
Kakashi got up from his seat, ”I think a party is a wonderful idea. I'll spread the word.”
He began to depart, tossing a wave before Tsunade could say otherwise. Turning to Hinata, Tsunade shared a look with the young woman. Placing her hand on her temple, she mumbled, ”There better be something to drink at this party.”
The Uzumaki housewife gave a thankful smile, ”Of course, Lady Tsunade.”
Said woman began to walk away, ”I'm going to leave him to you, Hinata. If he starts acting strange, bring him back here immediately.”
Hinata bowed to the departing medic, ”Will do, Tsunade-sensei.”
Hinata, who'd had a clone run home and get Naruto some clothes, quickly got the blonde signed out of the hospital. Naruto, who was now dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans combo, walked through the halls of the hospital's first floor.
”Where're we going?” Naruto wondered, walking behind Hinata.
”We're picking up the children.”
Naruto paused at that, before quickly continuing, ”Oh, uh okay.”
It was Hinata who paused, stopping in the hallway to turn to her husband, ”I…I don't think it would be a good idea for them to know what's happening.”
Looking down at her, the blonde could tell that she was uncomfortable. Nodding, he gave a reassuring smile, ”I can do that, I think.”
Hinata smiled back, ”Okay.”
Stepping through several pairs of doors, with Hinata giving the occasional nod to nurses and doctors doing their rounds, the two eventually found themselves in front of the door they wanted. Plastered parallel with the eye, sat a sign that read, 'Konoha Hospital Children's Center.
”What's her name?”
Her hand on the doorknob, Hinata stopped, Looking up at the blonde, she spotted his nervous tick. Putting up a reassuring face, she answered, ”Himawari.”
”Sunflower?”
Hinata nodded, ”We named her after my mother.”
Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, ”What are they like? Are they…Boruto is he…”
”He's like you.” Hinata's answer was quiet but sweet, ”He reminds me of you every day. He's wild, joyful, loud. But there's a sweetness to him, and a softness. And he wants to prove himself. He walks around, and he sees how people revere you, hears them talk about how strong you are, feels the love they have for you. He's proud to be your son. And he wants you to be proud of him.”
”What about her? Himawari?”
”You'd be hard pressed to find a girl who loves her father as much as her.” Hinata stated lightly, ”She's young, Naruto. If you're worried she'll be like I was, she has plenty of time-”
”I want her to be like you.” Naruto said firmly.
Hinata couldn't fight back her smile. Opening the door, she said, ”Well then-”
”Papa!”
Naruto's eyebrows shot up as Himawari trotted up to him, wrapping herself around his leg. Naruto looked down, stunned. Himawari looked up, her face alit.