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quirrrky · 5 years

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gardenia

secret lovers (tumblr thread | fanfiction.net)

Chronological One-Shots / Blank Period / Pre-Last / Canon Compliant

After the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto was gradually falling in love with Hinata and the whole village of Konoha knows it…Well, aside from him.

entry thirteen

Prompt: It's his 18th birthday and a time to visit certain people.

/gardenia/ a dainty, white flower; a message of secret love

"Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

It was becoming a normal trend for his life now. He had been receiving a lot of presents from different people he never really knew.

When he was still Naruto the homeless demon-child or whatever, no one really even paid any attention to him. Ha! He was even an omen that must be avoided.

Before, shop owners would kick him out of their stores, saying that he was bringing bad luck to their profit.

Now, he got free stuff from them and they would even ask him to frequent their stores.

Before, the passersby and the bystanders would distance themselves away from him and would tell him just as how awful he was, a demon, a nuisance, society's basic garbage.

Now, they looked at him with such admiration. They even asked for his signature, and to have a photo with him. He was now being hailed as a hero, an inspiration and a role model for everyone to look up to.

Things drastically changed for him and the village ever since the war ended. And it was not that the he was being such a brat about his current status in their village, sincerely, Naruto was thankful above everything else.

He didn't condemn how the village saw him before from what he was presently. Instead, he saw those as stepping stones. They taught him humility, they taught him how it felt to be at the lowest ring of the society, that he never wanted anyone to ever experience what he had.

Whatever he was right now was all because of the trials, hardships and uphill mountains he had to face.

When he was still an annoying little boy, he thought that gaining the village's respect, was his ultimate goal-that it would make him feel fulfilled. And he already achieved that, even without being a Hokage. On top of that he was seen as a hero. It wasn't even part of his dream, but he exceeded the expectations.

Thankful. Yes, he was sincerely thankful.

However, amidst all the piled-up gifts and the prestige recognition, he was still Naruto and nothing really changed. His world still felt like a shallow sea, his home still didn't feel like a home and his heart was still half-filled.

Standing before the entrance of his apartment, he leaned on the door and exhaled heavily. He never desired solitude as much as how he did at this moment.

"Naruto," a voice came from the outside.

"Thank God! Someone I knew - ttebayo!" He hurriedly opened the door and saw his pale teammate.

"Well, since it's your birthday, I've been tasked to fetch you. We're going to your ramen place. "

As expected, he jumped and down in excitement. It had been a while. Kakashi-sensei was too busy being the "coy" Hokage, Sakura-chan was running around stuff at the hospital and Sai was always out on missions.

In no time, probably due to his excitement as well, they reached Ichiraku's. There he saw his team-the nearest thing he knew of family and he couldn't help but feel happy. Yamato-sensei was already seated, Sakura-chan was whispering something to Kakashi-sensei and there's a cake on top of the table.

"Woah! Is that cake for me?"

"Who else Naruto? " Sakura remarked in her usual bullying tone, but gladness was evident on her face. "Happy Birthday, idiot!"

"Happy Birthday Naruto!" The rest greeted as he expressed just how much he appreciated everything.

They caught up with each other as they waited for their bowls to be prepared. Talking about how busy yet boring their current routines had become and laughing off Naruto's perception about being a Hokage.

He still didn't get the cruel part yet. Kakashi thought to himself.

"Gahh! All the missions I was getting was fixing these darn paperworks in your office, Kakashi-hokage-sensei." Naruto complained that made the silver-haired man a bit embarrassed and waved-off,

"It's not really official yet."

"Eh? Oh kami, here we go again with this. You're still saying that Kakashi-sensei, although your face is already carved on the mountain." Sakura remarked with a sigh.

Sai, who had been contemplating all this time finally spoke, "Oh! Is Hina-"

Their pink-haired teammate immediately nudged him and went to whisper, "Still on a mission."

"Oh I see. I see. That's too bad." Sai acknowledged as Kakashi-sensei nodded in agreement.

With a tilted head, Naruto was about to ask what's going on until Teuchi broke in and announced, serving the blonde an extravagant bowl of ramen,

"For my favorite customer… There you go, my boy. A celebratory ramen for your 18th birthday!"

Naruto's mouth quickly watered at the sight of his celebratory ramen. Ribs! It was that especially dipped ribs this time!

"Thank you, ochan! I can't believe this!" He said ecstatically and started to munch down his favorite food.

Ramen, it was the only flavor his tasting palettes ever had when he was still considered a nobody in the village. It was ramen that filled his empty stomach, and he never thought that it would be ramen that will fill his then empty heart.

He ate it everyday, everytime. His heart knew no other food than ramen. Some may say it's irrational, but it was his first taste of ramen that he felt like he was just an ordinary child. It made him feel just like a normal boy, not a demon, not some catastrophe and not a monster. It was ramen, the first real food he actually ever had.

Most importantly, the wonderful memories he made in his life happened with a bowl of ramen. He could still remember the first sip of that warm broth, when he also first met ochan and Ayame-neechan. Then, the bowls he had with the original Team 7, with his comrades, with his newly gained friends and so much more! Naruto didn't have a formal home, but somehow in this ramen stand, his heart belonged.

Whenever he was tired and deflated from a very complicated mission, just the sight and aroma of ramen brought him back to life. That cute yet very tasty chasyu made him forget about the worries in life. Ramen energized him. It made him feel like he's home. How simple-minded of him isn't it? But it was his simplicity and child-heartedness that gave him the courage to smile, even at the toughest of times.

"Wow! I just couldn't believe it. You're 18 already. Who would've thought?" Teuchi said with nostalgic tears forming at the edge of his eyes.

"Ah! You're a young man now, Naruto. Which means…You'd soon be bringing here a girlfriend!" Ayame commented that nearly choked Naruto out.

"W-What the hell are you talking about?" The blonde asked quite weirded out.

Sakura was about to throw in something sharp, but she preferred to shut her mouth up instead, thinking that Naruto might use her as a scapegoat again to dodge the topic.

"Well, you know… You are now known as a hero, isn't it just right that the hero finally gets his princess, huh Naruto?" Ayame teased, to be followed by Teuchi,

"In speaking of princess, where is Hina-"

Sakura abruptly signaled the old man.

Hinata was supposed to go home last night, but due to certain changes, she might get back to the village a little late. Informing the birthday boy that something went quite wrong with the kunoichi's mission, may not be the best one to do, since everything was still under control.

Sakura awkwardly brought back the topic, "Okay, so a princess, huh? Let's just get back to it, Naruto."

The blonde stared at her for a while, keenly scanning her features. His eyes didn't miss every corner of her face, making her a bit uncomfortable and self-conscious.

"Meh, you're so far from being a princess, Sakura-chan."

Cha! You knucklehead! If it wasn't only your birthday, I would've!

Sakura swore. Naruto might be very dear to her, but she was sure as hell that she could destroy his face!

"So Naruto, what type of girls do you usually find attractive, huh? We have a lot of patrons here and you might not know, we could have found the perfect girl for you." Ayame asked slyly.

"Eh!? I just turned 18! What's the connection –ttebayo!?"

Aside from Sai, they all sighed exasperatedly, but the young brunette's spirit never wavered.

"Do you prefer shy girls with long hair and hime bangs? Or how about the timid, and innocent-looking ones with porcelain skin? Perhaps, a girl from a powerful clan? I'm pretty sure we know someone from those categories."

Naruto burped loudly. "Man, that was great! Thanks for that ochan! Now, let's go to the cake!"

They all sighed again, except for Sai who was counting how many of those did he have to watch out for. So far, apart from Sakura who already did thrice, they already sighed twice. Interesting.

Soon enough, the gathering was over. Kakashi-sensei brought Yamato-sensei with him back to the Hokage office to discuss some matters, while Sakura-chan was hurriedly called by someone from the hospital to do some necessary rounds.

Naruto couldn't help but feel thankful for the time they have imparted although he knew their lives were pretty much occupied unlike his. The loss of an arm made him not qualified yet to do his usual missions. Instead, he was stuck with Shikamaru and stack of paperworks.

"You don't seem happy, Naruto." Sai pointed out as they chose to traverse the less-crowded path.

The blonde immediately panicked at his question. He was about to deny, but he couldn't lie to himself.

"Well, the village treats me a lot better now. I supposed that makes me happy? "

"Based on what I've read, you can be thankful but not feel happy at the same time."

Thankful, but not happy? Was that what he was feeling right now?

He just sighed loudly at Sai's sharing, hinting his teammate that he needed to expound the idea.

"Well, it says there that you may truly appreciate everything you've been receiving in life, but you would still feel empty."

Naruto just scoffed. How would being thankful not enough to make you happy? Well, he's happy right? Is he?

"And by happy, what I meant is purely happy."

"Purely happy?"

"Well, yeah. The book came from Sakura, so there's a lot of embarrassing stuff in it. But it stated there, that being purely happy… It makes you feel like your heart is full. Like there's nothing in the world you could ever ask for."

The blonde fell silent for a while. Sai might be miscalculating a lot of things, but he surely hit the bullseye on this one. Naruto always felt that straight-up hollowness from within. He started to realize this when he saw his mom. He might get the success, the respect and the glory, but he still won't be able to piece himself altogether.

Unlike other people, Naruto knew that he couldn't complete himself alone. And that deep inside, he was still missing something else, but he didn't even know how to fill it, because he didn't even know what it was.

"I hope that clear things up."

"Yeah, thanks. It did, a bit. Hmm… by the way, where are the others? "

"Hmmm… I believe that Team 10 with Kiba and Shino just went out for a mission this early morning, while Shikamaru, Hinata-san and Ino are still out on a mission. In speaking of, I should head on to meet Shikamaru, they must return by now." Sai said as he made his way.

"See you around and thanks again!" Naruto bade as he ran off, deliberately choosing to take the empty streets.

Atop the Hokage monument, he went. And finally found peace just on top of his father's head. Like this, he felt so close to him, no wonder why this was his favorite spot after all. Although his birthday signified the end of the war as well, people of Konoha decided to not celebrate it as a festival. This was to honor the death of their loved ones who fell into their demise during the war. Rather, this day was being celebrated in solemnity and peace.

With a deep exhale, he closed his eyes and went Sage Mode, closely feeling his surroundings. It was just a shortwhile before he moved and identified his target.

He roamed the streets in a haste, avoiding the stare and attention of the people that might recognize him and would stop him along the way. He was planning to go somewhere else. It was not because it was his duty, but it was to pay his honor and earnest tribute.

He deactivated his Sage mode as soon as he reached the quiet haven-the sound of the green grass being swayed by the wind was playing like a calming song, matched with the clarity of the tranquil blue skies.

"Hinata," He called out with a humming voice.

"Oh," She looked at him and gave a vibrant smile.

"So I see… flowers." The blonde muttered, looking at the white Lilies as his heart jumped at the sight of it. Out of nowhere, he looked back and forth the white Lilies and Hinata, he didn't know but there's something about it…

"Well, that's one of Neji-niisan's favorite."

"Neji liked flowers?"

Hinata giggled softly and confirmed, "Yes. Secretly, he did." Slight sadness coated her voice, recalling how her Neji-niisan would love to sit at the balcony watching the flowers in their garden as he sipped tea. It was one of the few moments, when Hinata saw the gentleness in his face.

"Well, sorry about that Neji. I didn't know you liked flowers. But even if I did, I still find it weird that I will give you one. I know you will find it odd too -ttebayo."

The timid girl chuckled at his remarks. It felt like Neji-niisan was still with them by the way Naruto-kun talked to him.

"Hey! You know what Neji, Hinata here is super awesome dattebayo! You should see how amazing she is with Taijustu now. I know she is strong since then but I never truly experienced it firsthand until she air-palmed me in the face-"

"Tha-that was an accident, Naruto-kun! I'm sorry, I got carried awa-"

"Nah, don't be sorry, Hinata. Neji here is truly an effective teacher after all. Tsk! How much I would love to kick your as- Anyway, anyway, anyway. Do you know that I've already been inside the Hyuga compound? Damn! You guys didn't tell me that it was that cool there. However the people are a bit creepy, though aside from Hanabi, she was really fun although a bit bratty just like Konohamaru."

Hinata gave a faint laugh at his rumblings. Being with him like this with Neji-niisan, somehow made her feel like he's a part of their family.

They talked some more, with both of them trying as much as possible to infer how Neji would've reacted if he was still with them. It's heart-warming how the tears they poured the last time they've been here were replaced by light-hearted laughter and wishes.

They paused for some air.

Hinata felt deeply grateful and happy. She'd only wish that Neji-niisan already found his peace up above.

Naruto felt like he should be thanking Neji for something more. Not just for laying his life for him as a comrade, but also for something else he still could not fathom. In his head echoed his last words as he died in his arms.

Hinata-sama is willing to die for you…

They sat still in quietness for several minutes. Until, they both felt like it was time for them to go. He helped her get up, holding her hand in the process-she felt the strange electricity that came with it and reflexively pulled away immediately, her fingers started fiddling along the strap of her sling bag.

They stood by the grave, internally bidding him goodbye.

Neji, thank you. It's to you I'm very thankful of and I feel like I owe you more than just my life.

They started walking, wrapped around the peace and the quiet of the memorial park. Naruto kept at glancing Hinata's way, trying to measure her up.

"Uh, Hinata. Today is, uh... Today is… You know what today is right?" He asked her a bit sheepishly.

He felt so selfish to demand Hinata to remember his birthday, when he can even barely remember hers. Well, it was snowy during that evening, so that must be during the Winter.

December! It was December!

Hinata looked at him speculatively and gave out a cute laughter. "About that Naruto-kun… "

He raised his head and looked at her expectantly.

"Today was the day we won the war right?"

The blonde pouted and rubbed his nape, hiding his dismay. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Did she really forget about my-

"I was really supposed to be home last night, but something went a bit wrong with our mission-"

Instinctively, he grabbed her shoulder and examined her dramatically.

"Are you okay? Aren't you hurt? God! I was so stupid! I didn't even consider-"

She reassuringly took his hand away. "Naruto-kun, I'm fine. I'm fine. It's just that Shikamaru-kun and Temari-san had an encounter along the road."

He sighed in relief. Thank god. Thank god.

The shy girl just laughed at him sweetly. They strolled around quite awkwardly for a while, with Hinata waiting for his next words and Naruto trying to figure out a way to stretch time, until he remembered something.

"Oh Hinata!" He said as he took her hand and led her somewhere.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"I want you to meet them. I'm sure they'll like you dattebayo!"

Them? They'll like me?

She looked at their intertwined hands, remembering that moment during the war. Then her eyes landed on him. She noticed how she almost look up at him now. He got taller and the fit of his orange-collared, white shirt couldn't hide the breadth of his shoulders. He was also starting to lose certain chubs along his jaw.

She blushed.

He looked a bit stronger now than before. He was becoming a man.

She bit the inside of her cheek.

What was she thinking?

However, his tight grip on her hand was making her feel fuzzy. His hand-it was rough and callous, but it was warm and her hand felt so little against his.

They stopped by two graves. She looked at Naruto and he had with him a longing yet genuine smile.

"Touchan, kaachan, I want you to meet Hinata dattebayo!"

Her eyes widened for a short second and she instantaneously bowed down her head.

"Nice to meet you, uh, Minato-san, Kushina-san." She greeted reading the names carved on the stone plates.

Naruto couldn't prevent that light tickles in his chest. How wonderful it would be if his parents were actually alive to meet her?

He was certain that they will both like her. He was so much like his mom, so he was sure that she would greet Hinata ecstatically. She would bombard her with embarrassing questions and she would tell stories about him much to his humiliation. He could imagine his mom squeezing Hinata's cheeks, because she would find it a bit puffed. His dad, although not big on personality, would probably ask him how did he make friends with Hinata and will warmly welcome her.

"Ah, it's Kakashi-sensei's efforts that had their graves in here since touchan was his sensei. We were supposed to visit later, but I cannot wait to show you. Before, I didn't really get to know who my parents were. Now, I'm glad I could get to visit them even just through here."

"Naruto-kun," she murmured his name as few droplets of tears fell from her eyes.

"Anyway!" Naruto segued noticing that he was already making her cry. "See, Hinata here is a bit delicate. She cries easily, but that's just because she's really kind dattebayo!

"Ah, she's a bit quiet and calm just like touchan though, but she's very strong, just so you know. And it was also Hinata who saved me many, many times already. Plus, she was really smart!

"You must try her cooking as well. They are really great! Kaachan, you would definitely love to cook with her!

"She's a bit odd to explain, but if you ever get to meet her cousin, Neji, up there, I'm sure he can tell you how precious she is. So please watch over her, just as how she watched over me. Because Hinata here is always by my side."

He said, glancing down on their joined hands. Just like during the war. In his heart, that moment will always remain symbolical.

Her eyes widened and a blush never left her face, but she regained her stature at an instant.

"Minato-San, Kushina-san, I'm very pleased to have this opportunity with you. N-Naruto-kun grew up as a very strong person and he was getting even stronger everyday. And it wasn't because of his jutsus, it was all because of his spirit to never back down. Thank you for gifting him into this world. For me, he's more than just a hero, but he also became my inspiration. So there's no need to worry, we will be watching over him as well."

Even if Hinata had such a frail and silent voice, her message came vivid to Naruto. And just like before his fight with Neji and practically everytime he was around her, he felt revived, like nothing was ever above him and he can do everything.

A tear escaped his eye and he hurriedly looked away, concealing from the shy girl.

So not cool…

He swiftly wiped it away, letting go of her hand in the process.

Forget about her not remembering his birthday, her enlightenment alone was the best present ever!

They stood in comfort with Hinata trying to picture Naruto having his parents with him- a complete family, all in all a bittersweet dream. Naruto was internally telling his parents stories he was a bit embarrassed to let Hinata hear.

The air softly blew and a fragrant scent came across. His attention was caught by a beautiful white flower, swaying below his kaachan's grave. He watched as it broke from its stem and flew away. With no effort, he caught it. It looked elegant yet simple at the same time and it gave off a very calming scent.

Naruto looked at Hinata, whose attention was still on the graves.

"Hinata," he called out, with his arm a bit stretched, giving her the flower.

Her cheeks were tinted light pink. She flustered, not expecting him to be giving her a flower, asking herself where did he get it from.

"F-For me?"

With eyes pinched closed and a delighted grin etched on his face, he nodded in affirmation.

"T-Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Well, it's cute… kinda' reminds me of you."

He just grinned at her with that child-like grin.

She looked at him quite dumbfounded as he rubbed his cheek absent-mindedly. "Anyway!, We must get going. You must be hungry, it's getting late -ttebayo!"

He started walking, but she didn't move.

"Naruto-kun," she called him, "I-I well… "

He looked at her a bit puzzled, "What is it Hinata?"

She pulled a brown bag from her sling bag and slightly shoved it onto his chest. With a bowed-down head, she shyly greeted, "Happy Birthday Naruto-kun! I-I didn't forget… I-I was just teasing you, so… "

"Woah! Is that true? You remembered?! Hey… " His reaction turned mopey. "So you were teasing me all this time, huh Hinata! Tsk, I never thought you could be so mean like that. "

"I-I-I-"

"I'm just kidding - ttebayo! So what do we have in here-" He broke the paper bag in excitement and, on the grass, dropped a premium cup ramen. "Wait! Hell no! I can't believe this. Thank you so much Hinata!"

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun and happy birthday again."

Naruto kept on blabbering on how excited he was to try the imported ramen once he gets home. Hinata then offered to place the cup noodles for awhile,

"For safekeeping, Naruto-kun."

He happily obliged. "Let's protect my birthday ramen -ttebayo!"

They both laughed afterwards, while she placed the ramen back inside her sling bag.

The two walked back, enjoying the play of light as the sun began to set.

Before Hinata's eyes, flashed the memories she spent with her Neji-niisan. She couldn't really pull it off without crying. A bold step forward. Just like what he said and she will forever bear that in mind.

On one hand, Neji's last words still bothered Naruto. They said that a person's last words were their dying will. He knew that Neji stated such during the war to remind him of his responsibilities and the many lives he had at the weight of his shoulders. But he somehow felt that there was still something more…

Hinata-sama is willing to die for you…

He looked at her-her face radiating such purity and serenity like the lily on Neji's grave and the white flower she was holding, the one that swayed from his kaachan's grave, which he gave her. He gazed upon her hand.

How would it feel to hold it again?

Impulsively, he held her hand.

She gasped and suddenly looked at him.

He gulped at the sudden realization of what he just did.

"Well, uh, I just remembered the-the chakra transfer thing we did during the war and… I" He closed his eyes and composed himself, "I just want to know how it feels like again, since I was so focused to fight against Obito and Madara, I didn't really get to-"

"It's okay, Naruto-kun."

She calmed her beating heart and he was trying to figure out what he was doing.

"Na-Naruto-kun has… Back then, you have a very warm chakra. Even just by holding your hand like this it still feels…comforting."

He was quite taken aback by her, but soon a smile came across his face, "Same here, Hinata."

Naruto confidently walked beside her, recalling everything that transpired that afternoon and it was like there's nothing he could ever ask for.

The fog filled their views and they all gathered around for a Yakiniku. Tenten was solo in calming down Lee and Gai-sensei as she internally cursed Neji for leaving her alone in handling the two. Shino, with Shikamaru and Choji, was busy catching up with their former senseis. On one hand, Naruto was bickering with Kiba from their height up to how frequent they take a bath.

On a little spot at the corner of the room, was Sai sketching something or maybe someone.

"Hey, Sakura." Ino called out her friend in a whispering manner and pointed out her finger on Hinata, who was seated across Sai. "Has someone else been seeing Hinata lately?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Look at Sai's drawing and just look at her closely. She's holding a flower."

The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes widened as she saw the girl in question holding a beautiful white flower, while her dainty little fingers marvel its petals. Her eyes and smile showed tenderness and fondness.

"Being a florist myself, I knew what that flower means, Sakura. It's…" She came near her ear and whispered.

Suddenly, Sakura felt a bit nervous and sad at the same time. She looked back and forth at Naruto and Hinata with worried eyes. She turned into Ino and she knew that they were both getting the same hint…

They definitely need to act before it's too late.

#naruhina #naruhina fanfiction #fanfiction #naruto #hinata hyuga #the title is the flower guyth #slquikynovelist

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