Shadows of the Past
folder
Naruto › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
14
Views:
1,152
Reviews:
8
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
14
Views:
1,152
Reviews:
8
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The True Meaning of Courage
Sorry for the wait, I kind of sent my Beta alot this last time and had to wait for her to get the chapters back to me. I think you'll agree that it was worth the wait. Enjoy and please remember to R&R.
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Tsunade had been correct when she upgraded the mission to Special S-Rank status. Though Raven had successfully completed the mission and got the Ambassador to his meeting safely he had suffered serious injuries in the process. By the time he had left the Ambassador in the capable hands of Kankuro’s team he barely had enough chakra left to shadow walk himself to the Hokage’s office before he collapsed.
After classes had ended for the day Hinata had raced over to the hospital to see Raven. All Shikamaru had told her was that Raven had collapsed in Tsunade’s office and that he was now in the hospital. That had been nearly three hours ago and she had to force herself to continue with her class and not rush over there the second she heard the news.
When she arrived, Sakura greeted her at the receptionist’s desk and took her to Raven’s room. “He’s doing fine though Tsunade-sama wants to keep him here for the next three days so that his body has time to recover. There’s a chair already waiting for you and Shizune has gone to your house to get a few of your things.”
Hinata blushed as the pink haired kunoichi reminded her of her behavior the last time Raven had been hospitalized over eight months ago. “Arigato Sakura-chan,” she said as the other girl opened the door before leaving to return to her medical studies.
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Raven was sitting up in his bed when Hinata walks into the room. After nearly a month of not being able to see each other Hinata rushes towards him and gives Raven a big hug causing the Jounin to groan in pain as his still bruised ribs scream in protest at the sudden squeeze of the kunoichi’s arms. “I-I’m sorry Raven-kun I-I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she says suddenly pulling away.
“It’s okay Hinata-chan,” he reassures her forcing a smile through the pain. “They were a lot worst before Hokage-sama healed them. He scoots over making room for her to sit on the bed beside him. “Tsunade-sama says I’ll be back to fighting form in a few days.”
“Then you’ll-then you’ll be going on missions again?” She asks looking down at her lap.
He reaches out and gently takes hold of her chin. Guiding her face back towards his he gives her a warm smile. “I won’t be accepting any missions for awhile,” he tells her. “As of this moment I’m on leave for the next month.”
“A-a whole-a whole month?” Hinata asks unable to believe her ears. As he nods her face lights up with joy as she once again throws herself at him giving him another painful hug.
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Three days later Raven is released from the hospital with a clean bill of health. As he makes his way towards the Academy to speak with Hinata’s class he stops at a local candy shop to pick up treats for the children. A short while later he is standing in front of the class of eager children enjoying the sea of smiling faces before him.
Hinata soon gets the class to pay attention as she introduces him. “Class this is Raven Hiroku,” she says with a barely noticeable pink tint to her cheeks. “Raven-sama is a Jounin and has agreed to answer any questions that you might have about being a shinobi. Who would like to begin?”
In an instant nearly every hand in the class shot up as children, eager to have their question answered first, vied for his attention. Raven’s eyes soon fell on the timid face of a little girl sitting in the front row. He walks over towards her and squats in front of her desk. “How about you?” He asks offering her a warm smile. “What question would you like me to answer?”
“Do-do you-do you ever get scared?” She stutters softly.
“That’s a stupid question,” a boy in the back laughs. “Jounin are elite ninja of course they never get scared.”
“Actually,” Raven says standing up while looking at the boy. “There have been plenty of missions that have scared me.” He notices that his admission gets their attention as they all sit quietly waiting for him to explain.
He removes sunglasses so that they can all see the honesty of his words. “I’ve seen my teammates battered and bloodied on the ground around me as they’ve fought to stay alive until a medic nin could arrive. I’ve seen shinobi face an enemy ninja far stronger then themselves to protect complete strangers when every thing in them told them to run.
“The word courageous is often used to describe such shinobi but being courageous does not mean that you aren’t scared. The truly courageous do what they know is right even though they are afraid.” Raven spends the rest of the school day answering all of the children’s questions and by the time class lets out for the day Hinata has a new respect for the young man.
As Raven walks her home Hinata looks up at him. “Thank you for stopping by today,” she says softly. “It meant a lot to the children.”
“Any time,” he smiles. “I actually enjoyed talking to them.” As they near the Hyuga compound Raven slows his pace as he looks at her. “Hinata-chan about dinner tomorrow night,” he says as he stops in the center of the courtyard. “I won’t be able to make it.”
“Why not?” she asks momentarily worried that his leave had been revoked and that he would have to go off on another mission.
“Fei-sensei and the other Jounin invited me to go out with them,” he tells her. “They said that since I never got a chance to celebrate my promotion with them earlier that not only was I over due but that I had eight months of what they called ‘meetings’ to make up for.”
Hinata laughs as she kisses him on the cheek. “It’s okay,” she replies. “You go and have fun with them and we’ll just go out another night.” Raven says his good-byes as she opens the door to the main mansion and watches for a moment as he fades out of sight. ‘Kami-sama what is this I‘m feeling? He only just left and yet already I miss him.’
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A/N: This chapter might not seem like much to some of you, but it was vital to the rest of the story. Not only did it give the students and insight into the life of a shinobi it also gave Hinata an insight into a side of Raven very few ever get to see.
===============================
Tsunade had been correct when she upgraded the mission to Special S-Rank status. Though Raven had successfully completed the mission and got the Ambassador to his meeting safely he had suffered serious injuries in the process. By the time he had left the Ambassador in the capable hands of Kankuro’s team he barely had enough chakra left to shadow walk himself to the Hokage’s office before he collapsed.
After classes had ended for the day Hinata had raced over to the hospital to see Raven. All Shikamaru had told her was that Raven had collapsed in Tsunade’s office and that he was now in the hospital. That had been nearly three hours ago and she had to force herself to continue with her class and not rush over there the second she heard the news.
When she arrived, Sakura greeted her at the receptionist’s desk and took her to Raven’s room. “He’s doing fine though Tsunade-sama wants to keep him here for the next three days so that his body has time to recover. There’s a chair already waiting for you and Shizune has gone to your house to get a few of your things.”
Hinata blushed as the pink haired kunoichi reminded her of her behavior the last time Raven had been hospitalized over eight months ago. “Arigato Sakura-chan,” she said as the other girl opened the door before leaving to return to her medical studies.
==============================
Raven was sitting up in his bed when Hinata walks into the room. After nearly a month of not being able to see each other Hinata rushes towards him and gives Raven a big hug causing the Jounin to groan in pain as his still bruised ribs scream in protest at the sudden squeeze of the kunoichi’s arms. “I-I’m sorry Raven-kun I-I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she says suddenly pulling away.
“It’s okay Hinata-chan,” he reassures her forcing a smile through the pain. “They were a lot worst before Hokage-sama healed them. He scoots over making room for her to sit on the bed beside him. “Tsunade-sama says I’ll be back to fighting form in a few days.”
“Then you’ll-then you’ll be going on missions again?” She asks looking down at her lap.
He reaches out and gently takes hold of her chin. Guiding her face back towards his he gives her a warm smile. “I won’t be accepting any missions for awhile,” he tells her. “As of this moment I’m on leave for the next month.”
“A-a whole-a whole month?” Hinata asks unable to believe her ears. As he nods her face lights up with joy as she once again throws herself at him giving him another painful hug.
=============================
Three days later Raven is released from the hospital with a clean bill of health. As he makes his way towards the Academy to speak with Hinata’s class he stops at a local candy shop to pick up treats for the children. A short while later he is standing in front of the class of eager children enjoying the sea of smiling faces before him.
Hinata soon gets the class to pay attention as she introduces him. “Class this is Raven Hiroku,” she says with a barely noticeable pink tint to her cheeks. “Raven-sama is a Jounin and has agreed to answer any questions that you might have about being a shinobi. Who would like to begin?”
In an instant nearly every hand in the class shot up as children, eager to have their question answered first, vied for his attention. Raven’s eyes soon fell on the timid face of a little girl sitting in the front row. He walks over towards her and squats in front of her desk. “How about you?” He asks offering her a warm smile. “What question would you like me to answer?”
“Do-do you-do you ever get scared?” She stutters softly.
“That’s a stupid question,” a boy in the back laughs. “Jounin are elite ninja of course they never get scared.”
“Actually,” Raven says standing up while looking at the boy. “There have been plenty of missions that have scared me.” He notices that his admission gets their attention as they all sit quietly waiting for him to explain.
He removes sunglasses so that they can all see the honesty of his words. “I’ve seen my teammates battered and bloodied on the ground around me as they’ve fought to stay alive until a medic nin could arrive. I’ve seen shinobi face an enemy ninja far stronger then themselves to protect complete strangers when every thing in them told them to run.
“The word courageous is often used to describe such shinobi but being courageous does not mean that you aren’t scared. The truly courageous do what they know is right even though they are afraid.” Raven spends the rest of the school day answering all of the children’s questions and by the time class lets out for the day Hinata has a new respect for the young man.
As Raven walks her home Hinata looks up at him. “Thank you for stopping by today,” she says softly. “It meant a lot to the children.”
“Any time,” he smiles. “I actually enjoyed talking to them.” As they near the Hyuga compound Raven slows his pace as he looks at her. “Hinata-chan about dinner tomorrow night,” he says as he stops in the center of the courtyard. “I won’t be able to make it.”
“Why not?” she asks momentarily worried that his leave had been revoked and that he would have to go off on another mission.
“Fei-sensei and the other Jounin invited me to go out with them,” he tells her. “They said that since I never got a chance to celebrate my promotion with them earlier that not only was I over due but that I had eight months of what they called ‘meetings’ to make up for.”
Hinata laughs as she kisses him on the cheek. “It’s okay,” she replies. “You go and have fun with them and we’ll just go out another night.” Raven says his good-byes as she opens the door to the main mansion and watches for a moment as he fades out of sight. ‘Kami-sama what is this I‘m feeling? He only just left and yet already I miss him.’
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A/N: This chapter might not seem like much to some of you, but it was vital to the rest of the story. Not only did it give the students and insight into the life of a shinobi it also gave Hinata an insight into a side of Raven very few ever get to see.