A True Love Never Dies

Awesome!! A new chapter! Thanks for your continuing support guys! Without you, this story would be a lot crappier. BTW, the “Present time” is post-time skip. And hopefully you guys won’t care about the super fluffiness in this story because I am such a sucker for those super-sweet stories that make you get cavities after. =^_^=

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Naruto jerked awake. ‘Damn, that stupid dream again!’

Ever since he could remember, he’s been haunted by that dream. The dream of a woman crying for him to stay with her. A woman with pupil-less and lavender-white eyes.

‘Who is she?’ he pondered. ‘I must know her if I dream about her all the time.’

This time, the dream was a little more extended. He could see his home village, Konoha, destroyed to bits. What’s more, he could see Konoha being destroyed by the monster inside of him.

He grimaced. Ever since that fateful day in the forest after he’d taken that scroll, Mizuki told him about the demon fox sealed away inside of him. He understood why the villagers hated him so much. The Kyuubi inside of him must have killed countless people and taken them away from everyone they loved.

His thoughts went back to the dream. He replayed it back in his mind. This dream was a little more vivid than the rest he’s had in the past. They were like flashbacks of memories he’d never experience until he reached the destruction of Konoha. That part was more like a movie than a flashback.

He saw the woman smiling happily, holding his hand, snuggling up to him and kissing him. He saw the love in her eyes; the love for him. Then he saw her running to him as if he was doing something that would kill himself. She begged him to stay with her, and no matter how much Naruto wanted to say he would, he had no control over himself. After that, he saw her with blood in her mouth, whispering the words he’d never heard all of his life.

“I love you.”

That moment, she had died in his arms because of the Kyuubi’s attack.

He had never heard anyone say that to him. Ever. He never really had parents, (other than Iruka who was like a father figure to him) and the villagers hated him and have always known him as the “Kyuubi Brat”.

In the years of his life, Naruto had resented himself. He hated himself for being the Kyuubi’s container. He felt so used and misunderstood; surely the village people understood that he didn’t want the Kyuubi contained within him. This was the main reason for trying to become Hokage: he wanted respect.

His thoughts went back to the dream yet again. He could vividly remember the woman’s face but he had no idea what her name was. Some parts of speech had been cut off, as if someone pushed the mute button on the remote. Her face had been etched into his memory even though he had no idea who she is or what she meant to him. Had he killed her? Had the Kyuubi killed this woman who said she loved him so?

Based on her pupil-less eyes, he deducted that she was a Hyuuga. She looked somewhat similar to Hinata save for the hair. Their bone structure was fairly similar and that glow of their skin, not to mention their eyes. But then again, all Hyuugas had white eyes without pupils.

Every few days, he would follow the branch house members of the Hyuuga clan and wait to see if any of them were the woman in his dream. They were women going out only to get groceries. None of them looked like the woman in his dream. Hinata was the one that resembled her the most.

Naruto looked at the clock on the wall. 5:37 AM; too early to be up, too late to go back to bed. Damn it all.

He leapt out of bed and put on his clothes: a similar version of what he wore when he was 12. Now, it was black and orange, the best colours for an upcoming Hokage. He figured he would train. Maybe the increased blood flow to his brain could help him figure things out. Grabbing his forehead protector, he ran out the door and slammed it shut.

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Hinata woke up with a start. She, too, had a dream that seemed too real to be just a dream. Since she was a child, she dreamt of a man who claimed to love her; something that she hasn’t heard from her own father since she started to train as a ninja. She was weak in his eyes and even Hanabi, her younger sister, was stronger.

The man in her dream looked like Naruto, she noticed. He had that unruly blonde hair and those azure, blue eyes. The only differences were that the man in her dreams didn’t have the whisker marks like Naruto did and he seemed more…mature. Not that Naruto wasn’t mature or anything, just a little dense. He was charming and determined like Naruto; he wanted to protect those he loved.

‘Who is he?’ she wondered. Why has she been dreaming about this mystery man? Hinata felt frustrated. What did he mean to her? It felt like she had amnesia and the memories she had with this man (if she ever had any) were locked up in her head somewhere.

Her dream was like a slideshow gone out of control. She didn’t even know the man and she was dreaming about him.

In her dream, the man that looked like Naruto said that he loved her. Who was she supposed to be in that dream? She knew she was his lover, but who was she? What was her identity? Was she another Hyuuga or some other ninja? Was she even a ninja or was she a civilian? Questions about the dream plagued her mind.

Another moment she remembered clearly was when the village was in shambles and the man stood over her…no, he was looking down at her with tears in his eyes. Was she in his arms? Was she dying? His tears trickled down the side of his face and her hand reached up to catch them before they hit the ground and that was the moment she woke up. What had happened to them? Why was she having these dreams?

She laid back in bed and tried to coax herself back to sleep but her mind wouldn’t shut off. She wanted to return to the dream and investigate, especially now because it was clearer than the other dreams she had which were similar. This was the first dream she had about the whole thing where nothing was like a shadow; she was certain about everything that happened in the dream.

Looking at a clock, it was 5:52. She knew she couldn’t fall back asleep so she quickly dressed in her blue and white jacket which were a little tighter than what she wore in her genin days. They defined her hips beautifully and her breasts actually stick out now. Quickly combing through her hair, she made a dash out the door, knowing her father wouldn’t care.

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At the training grounds, Naruto was slightly panting. He created shadow clones of himself and began to spar with them, knowing full well that his friends would kill him if he woke them up at this ungodly hour to train. He had just beaten off five of his clones.

‘Heh…they can’t beat the real thing,’ he thought cockily. Another four popped out of nowhere and attacked him but he had the upper hand. Naruto used Jiraiya’s jutsu for spying on women in the baths and he became invisible. Of course, he masked his chakra so the others wouldn’t sense him.

With a demonic-sized shuriken, he launched four at all targets and they hit them dead-on. The clones disappeared, leaving Naruto one more clone to deal with.

‘Okay, where’s the last one hiding?’ He looked around the forest, scanning over the trees until he felt a massive energy come right at him from behind. His clone counterpart tried to slash his back, but Naruto dodged it enough so he ouldn't hit the back. Naruto didn't dodge the attack enough and the clone slashed his arm, right through his clothes. Blood seeped out from his wound.

They were both at hand to hand combat now, both were weary and tired but kept on fighting. They hadn’t even noticed another presence in the area.

Hinata was walking around, something she usually did seeing that she had a lot of time to waste. She liked to go on walks and train until she felt sore. She saw shadows dancing in the trees. She didn’t even mask her chakra and she went to check it out.

The form of Naruto (the real one) was visible but something that seemed like a shadow was attacking him. Gasping, she quickly withdrew a few kunais and shurikens and threw them at the attacker.

The last clone was gaining the advantage. He was effectively wearing down the last of Naruto’s strength and he was sure that he would have to admit defeat to his clone. Naruto tripped over a tree root and he was at a complete disadvantage now. He raised his arms in his last hopes of defending himself when the whiz of shurikens and kunais could be heard, along with the sound of the clone disappearing and the solid thunk of the weapons being wedged into a tree.

Instantly, Naruto was on the defensive and he was about to attack the intruder. He smiled and put down his weapons when he saw it was just Hinata.

“Hey! Hinata!” he called. “Whaddya doing out here!?” Wiping away the last of the blood off of his cheek, he walked towards her.

“Well, I,” she started. “I was just going on a morning walk as I usually do.”

“Really?” he asked, “you’d take a morning walk at 6 AM? That’s too early for me to be up, but I couldn‘t sleep so I decided to train.”

“Oh, you’re hurt,” she said, noticing the huge cut on his left arm.

“Yeah, my clones got a few lucky hits, but nothing serious,” he said breezily, as if he was just commenting on the mild weather. Blood oozed out of the wound and it looked very serious.

“Here.” She pulled out a medical ointment and spread it over his arm. As she applied it to his arm, he stared at her face the entire time and a small blush appeared on his face. He was sure that if she saw it, she’d mistake it for his flushed skin after sparring with his clones.

‘God, she looks like that girl in my dream. Was I dreaming of Hinata this entire time?’

It began to heal and after a few minutes, the wound vanished. He quickly schooled over his expressions of confusion, wonder and…lust? He felt lust? How could that be? It was Hinata! She was that weird girl who always blushed and looked away when he looked at her. But she did look awfully pretty…

Masking his expressions, he slapped on his trademark grin and started to say his goodbyes.

“Thanks Hinata, I couldn’t live without you. You’re always around to give me medicine and I’d die if you weren’t here,” he said boisterously. “Well, I’m gonna go find something to eat now, I’ll see ya later!”

Leaving Hinata in the middle of the training field, his words echoed through her head.

“I couldn’t live without you.”

A small blush crept up to her cheeks. After all these years, he’s still oblivious to her love. She had her little crush since she was a little girl, a 12 year old genin and she liked him for his courage and determination. Now she was a 19 year old woman with the body to prove it.

With a smile on her face, she got up, dusted herself off and skipped home like a happy little girl.

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It was still a bit early in the morning, just before 8, and Naruto was waiting for the Ichiraku Ramen Stand to open. He would eat ramen all day and he’d gain a lot of weight because he got slightly chubby from said ramen and turn that little flab of fat into muscle that was heavier than its original fatty form.

He waited outside for awhile, sitting upright against the side of the bar, lost in his thoughts.

‘Maybe I should tell Hinata about my dreams. Should I? What if she gets scared? What if she takes it the wrong way and thinks that I was having dirty dreams about her?’ He shifted his position slightly so he’d be sitting up straighter.

‘Nah, I won’t tell her. I don’t wanna scare her away. She’s one of the few who don’t see me as the Kyuubi brat and I’m gonna keep it that way.’

“Hey Naruto! How’s my best customer doing nowadays?” asked a cheerful voice. Naruto turned his head to see a man standing at the store, popping a key into a lock and opening up the shop.

“Hey shopkeeper. I’m doing good, thank you,” he said politely, “but I wouldn’t mind something to eat right now,” he added happily.

“Sure! Anything for you.”

“Great! I want some pork ramen with extra meat and don’t forget the egg, and I want vegetable ramen and I want…”

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As Naruto ate the morning away, he was soon joined by an old friend.

“Hey Naruto!” called Iruka from 10 feet away. Naruto looked up and waved him over.

“Hey Iruka-sensei! Come and eat!” Happily taking a seat next to his almost-son, he ordered one bowl of beef ramen.

“So Naruto,” began Iruka, trying to make conversation while his order was being made, “how are you doing nowadays?”

“Oh, I’m doing good,” replied Naruto, taking a big slurp of noodles after he finished his sentence. “It’s really going great. I’ve been training a lot more and I think I can match Sakura’s monster strength.”

Iruka barked out a laugh. “Naruto, that’s great to hear.”

Iruka was really proud of his students. Sakura was blossoming into a lovely young lady (who has been catching the eyes of many men nowadays) who is the third best medic in all of Konoha, next to the Hokage herself and Shizune.

Naruto was under intensive training to thwart off the Akatsuki since they’ve turned their attention to him. Just in case they approach him while he was alone, he would have the strength and power to fight them off without aid. Iruka didn’t approve of Naruto’s sensei, but Jiraiya’s training had made Naruto grow stronger in the past few years.

Sasuke…he died during the retrieval. Sakura took it really hard but she always masked it and put on a brave face day after day. She had a will of iron when she wanted his affection and attention and she applied it to her emotions; she could bring herself back from being on the verge of tears. Sasuke had the most potential out of the three but he chose to betray his village to seek power and destroy his brother. He had died in vain. The detail was too graphic for anyone (other than Kakashi) and anyone who tried to remember would want a bucket next to them in case they wanted to retch. Sasuke died a bloody death and he died trying to do something that was practically impossible.

Iruka was brought out of his thoughts when the shopkeeper pushed his order in front of him.

“Eat while it’s hot!”

“Thank you,” he said and dug into his food while Naruto polished off his seventh bowl.

“Hey, can I get some shrimp ramen with extra lemon? Thanks!” piped in Naruto. Iruka shook his head. When it came to ramen, this boy was a bottomless well.

“Hey Naruto, you’re a little quiet today,” remarked Iruka. Come to think of it, Naruto only spoke when he was spoken to, something that would never stop the boy’s speech. He would ramble on, non-stop, but today was a little off. “Is something the matter?”

“No,” he sighed, “just thinking about something.” Now that was new. Naruto sighing. He was always hyperactive and bouncy, and the thought of Sakura wanting Sasuke instead of him wouldn’t make him sigh; it would make him angry.

“Want to talk about it?” If Iruka had foreseen the future, he might have kept his mouth shut. Those words were they key to unlocking Naruto’s mouth and he let loose.

“Well, see, I’ve been having these dreams lately and I don’t know what they mean. There’s this girl in my dream and she’s a Hyuuga because she has these eyes and she looks a lot like Hinata and in my dreams, we were kissing and hugging and then she died when the Kyuubi attacked the village and I don’t know who she is or where she came from and I don’t think I’ve ever met her before, even when I was a kid,” he said in one big breath.

“Whoa there! Slow down so I can understand what you’re saying,” said Iruka. He recalled parts of Naruto’s speech.

“So you’ve had these dreams?”

“Uh huh,” said Naruto, punctuating it with a nod.

“And she’s a Hyuuga girl who looks like Hinata?”

“Well, Hinata resembles her the most, so yeah,” Naruto said sheepishly. If word got out that he was dreaming of a Hyuuga, he’d be lying face down in a river somewhere. It would be because they would never allow him, the Kyuubi Brat, to associate with a Hyuuga, the most prestigious family in Konoha since the fall of the Uchiha clan. Now, all that’s left of said clan was a missing-nin listed in the Bingo Book.

“And in your dream, you were hugging and kissing this girl?” Iruka inquired. Naruto blushed as he responded.

“Well…we weren’t exactly kissing or hugging but we were holding hands and it looked like we were in…love,” he said, whispering the last word. He never really had anyone to love him and Iruka knew that. The only person that did love him was Hinata but Naruto was oblivious to that. Iruka loved him too, he supposed, as a father would a son.

“And she died,” said Iruka sadly. In the dream, they may have been in love but she died. Whoever this woman was must have some sort of effect on the poor boy to make him go all quiet.

“Yeah, she did. I-it was my fault. The Kyuubi…” Naruto trailed off.

“It wasn’t your fault,” said Iruka seriously. “It wasn’t. It was the Kyuubi. It killed my parents but I don’t hate you Naruto.” Naruto gave him a sad smile.

“So, you’ve never met her before,” continued Iruka, “and yet, you have. Through Hinata,” he explained.

“Yeah, so I guess that must mean I’ve met her lots of times!” said Naruto, his usual grin appearing on his face now. They both shared a laugh and continued to eat.

After a few more bowls of ramen, Naruto had nothing else to do so he decided to take off and get some more sleep (if possible). Iruka had a class to teach. Naruto pulled out his frog purse and looked inside.

“Damn it…” he growled.

“What?” asked Iruka.

“Hehe…I’m a little short on cash.”

“Well, that’s okay,” said Iruka with a big smile on his face, “I’ll pay for the remaining bowls.”

“Really!? Thanks Iruka-sensei!” said Naruto. He dumped his money onto the counter and sped off.

“Gotta go! Need lots of sleeping! Bye!”

Iruka looked at the money Naruto plopped onto the counter and shook his head.

‘Not even enough for half a bowl.’ A small smile spread across his face.

‘Naruto may finally be in love, even if he doesn’t know it at the moment.’ Iruka was brought out of his reverie when the shopkeeper cleared his throat. Iruka turned towards the source of the sound to see the shopkeeper with an outstretched hand, surrounded by piles of bowls.

That smile slid off of his face.

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Naruto walked down the village streets and drank in the sight. Peace reigned over the streets of Konoha when it wasn’t being attacked. He decided to walk because it was a nice change of pace for him. He was always vigorously training with the perverted author. Right now, he was here doing “research” and had said that Naruto could relax for a little while until said research was over and had figured out a new plot for his book.

Looking around, Naruto felt a slight pang of jealousy. There were couples every now and then who were holding hands or hugging and kissing. There were even couples that had slept together, seeing how obvious the guy wanted to take her in the grocery shop or in the park and even out in the open. Naruto thought about his own bed, lonely and cold. He kept walking, but the lack of the bounce in his step was evident.

Nobody loved him and never will. That was a fate he was sure he accepted, but apparently, he hasn’t.

He continued to walk towards his small apartment, still envying the couples that was in his path.

‘Those bastards don’t know what it’s like to be me. To be repelled because of this stupid demon inside of me.’

He kept walking and walked straight into an armful of groceries. They both fell on their butts.

“Ah…hey, watch where you’re--- oh, hey Hinata! I’m sorry! I didn’t see you!” He quickly picked up her groceries and put them bag into the slightly torn bag. Hinata picked up a few rolling oranges.

“Here, let me help you up,” he said, putting down the groceries before reaching out for her hand. She gripped onto it tightly and they were both thrown into the dream they both had last night.

In this scene, the Fourth and Hikari were holding hands at the bridge where Team 7 had formed under a blanket of night with bright stars and a full moon. The big difference was that the Fourth and Hikari were replaced with Naruto and Hinata. They had stared deeply into each other’s eyes and they both leaned forward. Naruto tilted his head down while Hinata tilted hers up and their lips met in a soft, shy kiss.

Coming out of their reverie, Naruto had pulled Hinata up onto her feet and handed her the groceries. Hinata had a crimson blush cover her face and Naruto began to stammer.

“H-here Hinata. I-I gotta g-go.” Making a quick exit, Naruto left her standing in the street with a dazed look. He made a dash towards his apartment and shut the door shut. He leaned against the door and sank down. He panted, but it wasn’t from the running he made from that spot on the street back to his home. No, he panted because that dream of him and Hinata made him feel something he never felt before…and it felt scary.

‘What the hell just happened there?’

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Whew! It took awhile but it’s done! I will get around to finishing Sacred Flower sometime, but I don’t wanna end it so soon! >__<

Thanx for reading and keep reviewing!