Chapter Fourty One

  "Don't worry, Mom. Everything is well taken care of." Sakura said to her mother, while watching her friends have a water fight from her grandparents kitchen. "Okay, Sweetie, I'll leave you alone to have fun, but expect a call from me tomorrow, okay?"

She smiled as she saw Naruto pick up Hinata, before dragging her into the lake with him. "Okay, Mom. I love you." "I love you too, Sweetie."

They had arrived at her lake house just a few hours ago, all of her friends were more than ready to have fun for the weekend, before facing reality Monday morning. "Sakura, are you coming?" Kiba asked while opening the back door, with Sasuke trailing after him.

Looking into his onyx eyes, as his eyes finally made their way up from her bosom, she giggled cutely, "Yeah, in one second." She said before looking at Kiba. "Hinata and Naruto are leaving later, do you think you could help me convince the other's to go volunteer with me at the soup kitchen?"

"I'll try my best, but I will warn you that Ino and Temari just had a shotgunning contest." That made Sakura laugh, before both of the young men left. Sasuke and Sakura both gave each other a smile, as he walked out of the door.

His gaze gave her butterflies, and she sighed deeply with a smile on her face, and a blush on her cheeks, before leaving the kitchen. "My god, it's barely even noon." Sakura said while laughing, as she saw her that Ino and Temari had added TenTen to their chugging contest.

"They're gonna be drunk in thirty minutes." Neji groaned as she sat next to him, making her laugh even harder. "Sakura, wanna hike up to that rock with us? Naruto and Sasuke want to jump off."

Hinata said to her friend, with a hard seltzer in her hand. "Like now?" She nodded, "Yes, and if I go by myself I might just pee myself." She whispered, making Neji laugh from his lawn chair. "Okay, I will."

With a smile, Sakura interlocked their hands, making Hinata giggle cutely while playfully swinging them as they walked toward the young men. "They'd be a cuter couple than Hinata and I."

Naruto commented as his fiancée, and her best friend approached them with smiles on their faces. "I agree." Sasuke said, making them both chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Hinata asked while draping her arm around her boyfriends waist. "Nothing." He answered, while she brought her can to her lips.

"Come on, I wanna laugh too." Sakura teased, while playfully hitting Naruto on his arm. "We were saying how you two would be a cute couple." That made them laugh too, "You and Sasuke would be too." Hinata teased, making them laugh too.

"I agree." Sakura said, making Sasuke shake his head. "We fight too much." Sasuke said, and they all nodded in agreement. "True."

"Too bad we're straight, Hinata." Sakura teased, making Hinata laugh, "Right? Like imagine how cute our kids would be." The guys both laughed while shaking their heads, "Yeah, yeah, you know you want little Uzumaki's."

Hinata giggled before kissing his cheek delicately, "Yeah, besides after that one time, I doubt that things would actually work." A deep blush came to Sakura's face, because although she had briefly told Sasuke about the moment, she never planned on going into depth about it, at least not while sober.

"Oh god." She mumbled, making Sasuke laugh while draping his arm around Sakura's shoulders. "What one time? Actually, don't tell me if I'll get jealous. God, Princess have you slept with two of our friends?"

That made them all laugh, "I'm sorry. I was young." She said while finishing the rest of her drink. "Don't apologize. I'd just like a warning, you know?" Sakura rolled her eyes, "Then are you going to tell her how you and Sasuke kissed."

That made the both of them blush a deep red, "No way!" Hinata said with a surprised gasp, before shrugging, "That's hot." They couldn't help but laugh at that. "That's not remotely the same thing though, ours was on accident, and we were kids."

  Naruto explained while they walked up the side of the rock, almost to their destination. "Well I guess that's not the same thing, but it was months ago, and it didn't even get that far." Hinata tried to defend, "That's as far as it gets, Hinata." Sakura said, making her stick out her tongue at her playfully.

"Who topped?" Sasuke asked, making Sakura and Hinata laugh hysterically. "I'll leave that to your imagination." Sakura answered with a smile, before looking over the cliff down to the lake water.

  Though it was gross, she tried not to think about it. "Okay, Hinata, don't worry, I don't remember it being that deep at all." Sakura said, making Naruto nod in agreement, "We used to jump off all the time, don't worry, Princess."

That made her nod, before she looked down, "God, I'm gonna piss myself." Grabbing her by her waist, Naruto kissed her forehead gently and said, "Here, I'll jump first, that way I'll be down there waiting, okay?" She nodded, before kissing his lips.

"Be careful." She said softly, making him look over his shoulder, "Always." He said, before bringing his hand to his nose, and jumping off.

Though she hated cliffs, she peeked over the edge as he hit the water, just to make sure his head came back up. She had no real reason to worry, but she still let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, when you jump you want to plug your nose, and jump outward, so you don't scratch yourself on the rocks."

Sasuke warned, as the girl stood at the edge with Sakura. Her fiancé cheered her on from underneath her, but she still had intense butterflies in her stomach. "I promise it'll all be worth it once you hit the water. Just grab my hand."

Sasuke smiled at how supportive Sakura was, before counting down so that they could jump together. "Alright, three, two, one." When they jumped, he saw that Hinata surprisingly leaped first, and seemed to follow his instruction until they both hit the water.

He assumed they were both okay, as he heard his friend cheer dramatically. "Do a flip!" Sakura yelled from below as he stood on the cliff. With a smile, he got a running start, before doing as she wanted, right before his body hit the water. "Woohoo!" They screamed, "I wanna do a flip." Naruto mumbled, making Hinata laugh, "We're gonna have to leave soon if you want to make it before two."

  He nodded while saying, "You're right." "Well let's start swimming back." Sakura said, making them all nod in agreement, before doing so. Once they made it back to shore, Hinata said, "I bet that's the best to swim in at night."

A blush came to Sakura's face as she glanced at Sasuke subconsciously, "I-it is." As they walked back to their friends, Sakura could feel Sasuke's eyes on her, and it only put a smile on her face. ~  "Sorry if it's dusty, I haven't been back here in years." Naruto said before opening the door of his parents home. The place was still in tact, with dust and spider webs in corners, and on old furniture. "The boxed have things that I wanted to take with me eventually when I got the space, but I never got around to it." He explained, as he saw open one of them.

"Wow, thank you for bringing me here, it's really beautiful." Hinata said with a smile, as they saw pictures of his parents in the boxes full of dust. "God, she was so beautiful." She muttered, admiring a picture of her at what appeared to be someone's birthday party.

"Wasn't she?" Naruto said with a smile that mirrored hers. "You're a perfect mixture of both of them." Hinata mumbled, while gazing at his handsome face. "Jiraiya and Tsunade always said I had my mother's personality."

The smile on his face was contagious, and it made her kiss his cheek delicately. "I bet she was great. Both of them really, they look very kind." Naruto nodded while rummaging through more boxes.

"My mother was an orphan like me actually, and when she ran away from her foster home, my father took her in. I guess the rest was history." Hinata nodded before asking, "How old were they when they had you? They look incredibly young."

"You know, I'm not completely sure, but I now they married young, so maybe mid to early twenties?" She nodded, while looking at the baby picture of infant Naruto in his parents arms.

The other photos were pictures of him growing up throughout the years, only there were no guardians present, and it broke her heart. It hurt so much, because even though he didn't have anyone there for him, his beautiful smile stayed in tact.

She let one tear fall, before putting the pictures back, and looking up at him with a smile as he called her name. "This was my favorite toy. Name's Kurama. I used to take him everywhere." He said with a smile on his face, as he held up the stuffed animal.

"That's so adorable. It's a little fox." Hinata said with a giggle, before walking towards him. "Right? He was my emotional support." He said with a smile, and nostalgia washing over him.

"Let's take it with us." She said while resting her hand against his hip. "Good idea. When we move into a bigger place, we'll bring the rest." Hinata nodded in agreement, "Have you ever thought about revamping this place? It has a lot of potential."

She asked, while looking around the home. "I used to dream about settling down here, but then I moved to Konoha, and met you." That brought a cute blush to her face. "Well Konoha was a great place to grow up, but I wouldn't mind relocating, you know?"

A smile came to his face, and he brought his hand to the back of her neck, before kissing her forehead. "Sounds like we have a lot to talk about." He said softly, while gazing into her eyes.

"We do, and I can't wait to marry you, Naruto." "Remind me again why we're waiting?" Pausing for a moment, she giggled, "I genuinely can't think of one valid reason." A cute chuckle left his lips, before they met his fiancées. "I love you, Princess."

Their lips moved passionately against each other's, before she pulled away with a smile on her lips. "You amaze me, Naruto." She admitted, while the thumbs on his big hands caressed her soft face.

"I could say the same to you, Hinata." He said with a smile, "Show me more of this town. I want to know more about you." Nodding, he gazed into her loving eyes as he spoke with clear excitement, "Let's go get ramen." ~ "Love me, say that you love me!" Ino sang loudly, as the group of them enjoyed karaoke. "I don't care about anything, but you!" Everyone except Sasuke and Sakura were intoxicated, but they didn't mind as they saw their friends having such a great time.

After their morning of volunteering, stolen glances, and subtle flirting, they both hoped that the other would make a move, only it never happened.

"You're so beautiful, Sakura." Temari said with a smile, while resting her head against her friends shoulder. "I love you, Sweetie." Sakura said, making her friend sigh deeply. "At least someone does."

That made her chuckle, "Has he still not said it?" She nodded with a pout on her lips, "It's so annoying. Was he like this with Ino? Because I don't know if I can do this." In an attempt to make her feel better, Sakura said with a shrug, "He told Ino he loved her relatively quickly, but he also cheated on her, so I think that he's waiting until he actually knows, Temari. Don't worry."

Temari nodded in understanding while watching Shikamaru from across the room, "Yeah, I guess that I'd rather him say it and be sure." Sakura nodded while looking at Sasuke who sat next to him. "Yeah, you do, trust me." She reassured, before they were interrupted by a drunk Ino. "Let's do a duet?" Sakura laughed and nodded, "Okay, sure."

  As she stepped onto the stage, she saw the door of their private room open, "Naruto! Join us." Ino said through the microphone, making him laugh. Shrugging off his black jacket, he joined them without any hesitation.

"Where's Hinata?" She asked, "She wasn't feeling good, so she's resting back at the house." They nodded, "Was it a stomach ache or something?" He nodded, "Cramps." That made them both grimace as the song started, "Aw, I hope she feels better."

Once the song started, they laughed as they realized what song it was. "Ino, this song out of everything?" Sakura asked, "Yes, we used to love it." She whispered before singing the first verse, "To you, yes my love to you."

Unexpectedly Naruto took over, making them all laugh, "Watashi wa watashi, anata wa anata to." The trio sang with the song perfectly, while dancing in unison, appearing as if they had rehearsed for the impromptu performance.

Sai watched his girlfriend lovingly, with a blush on his face as he thought about how much he loved her, and her fun-spirit. A sigh of content left his lips as he brought his beer to his lips, wanting nothing more than to kiss her as she sang her heart out on the stage.

"Woo! Encore!" Lee shouted, making them all laugh at how noticeably intoxicated he was. "Okay, it's time for you to head home." TenTen said, as he fell from his chair. "I got him. You guys have your fun." Kiba said with a laugh, while picking him up from the floor.

Once they made sure Kiba was fine to drive home, and the young men left, the group continued having fun for another hour, until their night ended with a bang. "Ino, you're too drunk to know what you're saying right now."

TenTen warned her, as she realized that she was the only one paying attention to the conversation she was having with her boyfriend. Though she was the furthest thing from sober, Sakura and Sasuke were too focused on each other, while Naruto talked to Neji about Hinata.

"Shh, I need to tell him." Ino said to her friend, before looking Sai back into his eyes. TenTen shook her head, before they gained everyone's attention, because Sai became upset.

"What? You did what? Shikamaru did what?" He asked redundantly, before looking at his friend who sat across the table with a smile on his face, as he whispered into his girlfriends ear. "What did I do?" Without answering his question, Sai leaped over the table, spilling bottles and cups in the process.

"You son of a bitch!" He screamed, while taking him by his collar, and punching him hard in his face. Before anything else happened, Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto intervened. "What the hell is happening?" Neji asked them, only making Sai angrier.

"Tell them what you did, you son of a bitch! We were friends, Shikamaru! And you, Ino, fuck." He cursed, surprising them all because they hadn't ever heard him do that, let alone scream.

"Sai, she wanted to tell you, she just didn't know ho-" Sakura tried to mediate only to be cut off completely, as he groaned while asking, "God who all knows?" The four people who didn't know looked at each other with confusion written on their face, while Ino stood in front of her boyfriend with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I really needed support, a-and I couldn't tell you, Sai. I was so worried about how you'd react." She tried to explain, as he broke free from Naruto's hold, while trying to stay calm. "But you could tell him? And Sakura? Seriously, Ino I'm your boyfriend, and you didn't think to tell me that you were sleeping with him? Let alone the fact that this douche got you pregnant? What the fuck?"

That made Temari gasp in surprise, as she looked to Shikamaru for confirmation. He was still agitated as he felt his face throbbing with pain, but he tried his best to stay calm. "I'm sorry, Man, it just all happened so fast."

The mere sound of his voice triggered Sai, but before he could get through Neji, to attack him again, Ino cried tears of guilt while saying, "Sai, I'm so sorry, j-just let me explain, please." Though her tears would normally soften his heart, he didn't let it affect him, and he shrugged his friends off.

"Stop, get off! I'm fine." He said to them, making them take a step away. "Ino? I've never been second when it comes to him, and I'm not starting now. We're done." With that, he stormed out of the room. ~  "Kiba?" Hinata said to her friend, while stepping out onto the balcony of her room. "I'm sorry, were you about to sleep?" He asked, noticing that she only wore a t-shirt that fell to her mid thigh. "No, I was just doing some stuff until you guys got back. I thought you'd be with them actually, is everything okay?"

Kiba nodded, "Y-yeah, everything's fine. I just came back a little early, because I wanted to talk to you." She smiled at him politely and asked, "About?"

The way he looked down at his shoes, with his hands in his pockets informed her that he was definitely nervous. "I don't know how to say it." A cute giggle left her lips, and it made him look into her lavender eyes.

"You're not typically this shy, this must be something serious." Kiba laughed a little, and she took a step toward him. "Just tell me what's on your mind." Hinata said with a smile, with her hand against his bicep.

With a sigh, he finally decided to tell her what was on his mind. "Do you remember the first time we met?" He asked her with a smile, making her laugh and nod. "Of course I do, you stood up for me, and got beat up for it. Then I tended to your wounds."

They both laughed at the memory, "From that point on, you have always been so important to me, Hinata. You really are like a ray of sunshine." His words made her blush unintentionally, as she wasn't sure where he was going with any of it.

"Kiba, you're too kind." She said with a smile, "I don't want to put you in a tough position or anything, but Hinata, I-I have loved you since we were kids." The blush to her face only deepened, and she wasn't sure what to say.

"And I know we've had this conversation before, but sometimes, I don't know, I just think that you kind of feel the same way. Maybe I'm stupid, but I just want to be sure before you marry Naruto in a month, and I'm deployed."

Her eyes looked into his, and he couldn't read them like he used to. Honestly, she was sure that she loved Naruto, but she'd be lying if she didn't occasionally wonder what her life would be like with Kiba.

With Naruto, she envisioned a beautiful family, and the happy marriage she never got to see growing up. She had explained to him her trauma, and she knew that he understood it enough to not make all the mistakes her parents had, but with Kiba? Kiba had lived with her through it all, and he had been with her through it all.

Just a little over a year ago, when she couldn't sleep without dreaming of her abusive ex, or her deceased mother, she'd call Kiba, and they'd sit up all night, until he heard her light snoring on the other end of the line.

She was in the middle of two wonderful guys, and she thought she had made the right choice, but as she stood there in front of her childhood best friend, she started to second guess herself.

Her mind was going at a million thoughts a second, and she realized that a future with Kiba would've provided what their relationship always had: Stability, Security, and Love.

While Naruto? Their relationship would be full of: Spontaneity, Honesty, Love, and so much more. They weren't perfect, but she knew that they would be eventually, and when that day came, she hoped that she would finally stop loving Kiba the way she did. Her love for Kiba wasn't limitless like her love for Naruto, and he deserved better.

It was an insane thought to have, and she knew it as a sigh left her lips. Bringing her hands to her hair, she felt her heart beating erratically in her chest. "K-Kiba." Was all she could get out, before she leaned against the metal railing of the balcony with her face in the palm of her hands.

Immediately he felt bad, and as he parted his lips to apologize, she giggled nervously to keep from crying. "I-I always knew you had a crush on me, and I never got the chance to apologize, but I'm sorry for using you. It was horrible of me to do that to you." She said, as he stood behind her.

"N-no I'm sorry, I thought that I had taken advantage really." He said honestly, making her shake her head and finally look into his caring eyes, "No you didn't at all, but I really just wish we hadn't done that, because, Kiba? It really changed things between us, you know? Like you're not stupid, sometimes I do think about us, and what we could be, you know?" She admitted, making him blush, unsure of what she was going to say next.

"Sex changes a lot in any relationship, and before then, you were always that scrawny kid that I had my first kiss with." Hinata laughed at the memory of a young Kiba. "But you've grown into a great man, and I don't just mean physically, but mentally and emotionally. You have been there for me through all of my ups and downs, and I can't ever express how happy I am to have you in my life."

As she spoke, her voice started to crack, because she had tears in her eyes, and it brought tears to his own. "H-Hinata-" She cut him off with a smile on her face, as a tear fell from her left eye. "Please, let me finish." He nodded with a small smile, while leaning on the railing next to her.

"You both are incredible, and I can't believe how lucky I am to have been blessed with both of you guys love. But, Kiba? You deserve better." She said while taking one of the arms that she was resting on, and bringing her hand to cup his handsome face in her palm.

"You deserve to be treated as more than just an option, and with Naruto, he'll never be an option for me. The way I feel about him is just indescribable. H-he's the man I want to spend the rest of my life with." When she said that, a single tear fell from his eyes, making her chest ache.

"Come here." She said while standing up, and pulling him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Kiba." The soft whisper broke his heart even more, and as she felt his tears against the bare flesh of her neck, she couldn't stop herself from crying.

"N-No, I'm so sorry, I don't ever want to lose you, Hinata." He said to her, while pulling away slightly, making her grasp his face gently in her dainty hands. With her eyes red from crying, and a smile on her face, she shook her head while saying, "You're never going to lose me, Kiba."

When she said that, Kiba stared into her eyes, and he was drawn to her for a moment. Losing every ounce of self control in his body, he leaned in to kiss her, and when his lips met her's, he felt his heart break even more.

As they kissed for the last time, with tears falling from their closed eyelids, they both held nothing but love, and regret in their hearts. Kiba regretted not telling her how he felt earlier, because he felt that if he hadn't waited so long, then maybe it would've been him, instead of Naruto; Although, deep down, he knew that they just weren't meant to be.

Hinata on the other hand, regretted that she had managed to not be clear with him, because she knew that he loved her, and instead of getting his hopes up with their two weeks of heavy flirting, she knew that she should've just let him down gently.

After a moment, they pulled away from each other, and looked into the other's tear stained eyes. Even though he had just gotten his heart broken, his brown orbs were still full of love as he gazed into her lavender ones.

"Just promise me something, Hinata." Kiba said to her while staring into her eyes.

"Okay." She said, "Don't marry him without being sure. Naruto loves you with all of his being, and I don't want to see him hurt." A small smile came to her face at just the sound of his name, the same way it always had. "I'm sure, Kiba."

  A smile came to his face, and as he parted his lips to say that he was happy for her, they heard Sakura's voice followed by a knock on her door. "I should get that." He nodded as they pulled away from each other, "Y-yeah, I'll see you later?" She nodded with a smile, "See you, Kiba." With that, they both parted ways, oddly feeling a huge weight lifted off of both of their shoulders.

"What's up?" Hinata asked Sakura as she opened her door, before seeing Ino and the rest of their friends. "Woah, have you been crying?" She asked, and it only made Ino cry more.

"Come in, you guys." Hinata said, while ushering the four girls into her room. "What's going on?" Her question made them all sigh deeply, while Ino continued to cry into Sakura's shoulder.

"She told Sai, and it didn't go well." Her eyebrows rose in complete surprise, "W-what? Start from the beginning." She said, only making Ino cry more while saying, "He hates me!"