A True Love Never Dies

Yeah! A new story! Now, this one is Naru/Hina pairing, and they are so cute together! It’s like the whole yin and yang thing, loud and obnoxious vs. quiet and shy. They are just so cute!! ^^

Okay, just as a heads up, I know a little info was slightly changed and/or made up in this fic. So don’t come to me saying I’m wrong about a few facts because I deliberately made it like that to make everything flow better.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Long Ago -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The village was under fire. It wasn’t from an enemy shinobi village or missing-nins or even rogue ninjas. It was the Kyuubi. Many ninjas and civilians were killed already and a blonde-haired man knew one way to stop this madness. But first, he needed to see his love for one last time.

“Hikari!” called the Fourth Hokage, also known as the Yellow Flash. “Hikari!” He tore up the village to find the woman he loved, to see that she was safe and protected. He ran towards the Hyuuga compound, knowing that she’d try to protect the main house.

A woman with lavender-white eyes and auburn hair peeked out the compound doors at the sound of her name. She was one of the Hyuuga’s branch house member and right now, she had to protect a younger Hiashi Hyuuga and his very pregnant wife from danger. Seeing the Fourth, she ran to him, abdicating her duties.

“Hikari, I know how to stop it,” he panted.

“What? Stop what?” she frantically asked.

“I know how to stop the Kyuubi, but…I needed to see you one last time.” Hikari froze.

“What do you mean, you needed to see me? What are you-” she stopped in mid-sentence when she realized what he would do.

“No, you can’t!” she cried. “You can’t do that…you just can’t…”

“Don’t you see!? I have to! For the sake of the village!” he screamed.

“What about for the sake of me!?” she retorted. “I need you…don’t leave me…” The Fourth kissed the woman he loved so passionately and he reluctantly let go. “Just remember…I love you Hikari. This is why I’m doing this, so your life will be saved. So the village people will be saved.”

“Please don’t,” she begged. “Please, stay with me. We’ll defeat it together, somehow, just stay with me.” Tears leaked from her eyes and he kissed them away. Looking deep into her eyes, he said the words that were so hard to say.

“Goodbye Hikari.” He turned away from her and walked. He held his head up high, for he knew that he was doing the right thing. He was saving other lives. Most importantly, he was saving hers.

He disappeared and materialized in front of the Kyuubi. His only chance to destory the Kyuubi was to perform the Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Seal Death and the Eight Trigram Divination Seal Spell Formula. He had to in order to stop the beast terrorizing on the once-peaceful village. He was to seal the beast within himself. Knowing that he would instantly die, he would also be reborn at the same time. He began to perform both jutsus when a voice called out to him.

It was a woman. Not just any woman… it was Hikari! “Wait!” she cried. “Don’t do it yet!”

Seeing a new target to attack, the Kyuubi darted fire arrows at her. She was able to evade most of them but a few managed to get caught on the end of her ponytail. She quickly chopped off her long, silky hair with a kunai before it spread up the strands and to her head and she dashed into the Fourth’s arms.

“Please don’t do this,” she begged him again, “we’ll find a way to defeat the Kyuubi. Just stay with me…”

“No!” he yelled a little too forcibly. He had never yelled at her before so her eyes went wide with shock. “This must be done! This must be done to save the other ninjas and civilians! This must be done to save your life! There is no other way!”

Tears sprung from her eyes again and she sobbed into his shirt. Other ninjas were attacking the Kyuubi, holding it off for a bit but they weren’t doing much good; they were just annoying it further.

The Kyuubi was definitely annoyed now. An entire ANBU team had been wiped out with one flick of the demon fox’s tail. Seeing the team go down, he knew he had to act fast; with every second that went by, more people died at the hands (or paws) of the Kyuubi.

“Hikari, let go. You know I have to do this. Don’t try to convince me otherwise,” he said gently. Looking up at his face, she drank in his sight. This could be the last time she ever saw him again and the thought alone drilled a hole through her heart.

“I’ll let go if you promise me one thing. Promise me that…after all of this…you’ll come and find me.” He nodded and she reluctantly let go. She knew she’d see him again; he was never one to break an oath.

The Third Hokage arrived, fully dressed in armour, and flung himself at the Kyuubi. He had to protect this village because it was just as dear to him as it was to the Fourth. He had to try, despite his age. The Kyuubi sent him back where he came from with a swipe of its tail. The Fourth ran to help Sarutobi get up but the Kyuubi attacked him. Seeing her lover being attacked by the beast, Hikari threw herself in front of the demon’s tail which pierced her body and damaged several vital organs. She could feel a collapsed lung and a few broken ribs, not to mention the throbbing of a major artery threatening to burst.

“Hikari!” The Fourth rushed to her side after the tail extracted itself from her fragile body. She was near death, he knew it. How could he be so careless as to let his lover get injured? Propping her up onto his chest, her blood trickled down and soaked his shirt within seconds.

“Hikari! You fool!” he cried. “Why did you do that?” Tears began to leak out of his eyes while he watched his lover die. Even if he tried to save her, he knew it would be for a wasted effort. She even thought so too; she stopped him when he pressed his palms over her wound to heal it.

She tried to speak before her time ran out but she made a sputtering sound and spat out blood. Soon, she stringed along three parting words: “I love you.” She lifted her hand to caress his cheek one last time before her strength ran out. She was gone.

Tears trickled down his cheek while me mouthed, “I love you,” to her lifeless form. He caught her hand before it fell from his face and he tried to snuggle into it but he knew it was for a wasted effort. She was gone.

“I’ll be with you soon,” he whispered to her, “don’t leave me yet. In the next lifetime and the next, I won’t rest until I find you again.” Gently placing her down, he kissed her cold hands in a farewell. With newfound courage, he was reluctant to leave her, but now that she’s dead, he had no reason to stay alive much longer.

Boldly venturing into the Kyuubi’s path, he began to perform the jutsus until the demon beast was sealed within himself. At the end of the Sealing Jutsu, he needed to make a seal for the child form he was soon to take. He quickly created a spiralling seal made with the blood of his thumb and the chakra focused on the thumb. The demon fox was sucked into the seal after it had been weakened by the previous jutsu and all it needed now was an inhabitant to be sealed away in. Sacrificing his body, the Fourth groaned took one last look at Hikari before he disappeared into thin air. The demon fox was gone as was the Fourth.

“Sir!” called an ANBU captain. The man and his team as well as others searched the wrecked village for the Third Hokage. Sarutobi sat up and cringed in pain; he must be really out of shape if he couldn’t handle this kind of pain. A few scratches and bruises here and there, nothing major. Still, he hit his head pretty good.

“Ugh…” he groaned. He shook off the pain and looked around. There was peace, he noticed. True, everything was flattened but there wasn’t any more screaming of dying people. Now, there were screams from mothers, sisters, daughters and friends screaming in fear for their loved ones’ life. It felt like the storm had passed and now they needed to rebuild what was lost.

The ANBU captain had found him. “Sir!” he called. He dashed to Sarutobi’s side and helped him up.

“Sir, the demon fox is gone, as well as the Fourth Hokage,” went on the captain.

“Yes Ikki, I noticed that. Get your able-bodied men to scan the area and look for survivors. Take them to the Hyuuga compound on the other side of the town for treatment of any wounds. Count the casualties.”

Sarutobi made his way towards the Hyuuga compound to warn them of a possible overflow of wounded people in their home. However, as he got there, he heard a cry of grief. Hiashi’s young wife had just learned of her brother’s death. He tried to calm her down so the baby she was carrying wouldn’t be hurt.

During her hours of grief, men, women and children had been brought over to the compound. Sarutobi was watching everyone carefully, making sure that the children were as comfortable as possible while medics began to heal their parents. Most were civilians who had absolutely no ninja training and therefore, no defence against the demonic beast. However, some were ninja and they needed immediate care because most have already died; the village had a massive depletion of ninjas after the Kyuubi’s attack.

“Lord Hokage!” called a young Kakashi. Sarutobi spun around to see a young Kakashi, dressed in typical jonin clothing, holding something in his arms.

“Lord Hokage, Ikki told all the able-bodied ninjas to search for survivors as you told him to do and I came across this baby,” said Kakashi, holding out the infant for the Third to see.

“I didn’t know where this baby came from, I heard it cry and I rushed over to see him lying all by himself with no one around him,” continued Kakashi.

The infant had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as the Fourth. He also had a seal on his stomach, spiralling into the center. Whisker-like lines marked the boy’s face.

‘Remarkable,’ noted Sarutobi, ‘could this be the Yellow Flash’s reincarnation? Had he created this boy as a vessel for the Kyuubi? Had he fused himself with the Kyuubi and sealed it away in himself?’ As he continued to look over the child, he began to contemplate.

‘Should I kill this infant?’ he thought, not liking the answer his brain supplied him with. ‘This boy will be hated throughout the village for being the container of the demon. Should I be merciful and spare him of that discrimination?’

Sarutobi took the infant from Kakashi’s hands. “Very good Kakashi, you’ve done well. Continue to look for survivors.”

“Yes sir,” he replied and went off to look for more wounded people.

He handed the baby to a medic to look him over. She gasped. “Lord Hokage, the boy is fine, but he seems to have a massive amount of chakra within him. Could he be…?”

“Yes, he is the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox,” he answered her. “Go heal the other ninjas and civilians,” he said, pointing in the direction of more wounded people. The woman bowed her head and slinked away to heal the worst of the damage. Unknown to him, a little girl overheard the entire conversation.

After a few hours, most of the wounded civilians and ninjas were residing in the Hyuuga compound for the moment and he sent a team of 5 ANBU members to scour the entire village and look for more wounded people. The rest of the ANBU teams stayed here and tried to reassure the people who were left widowed and without a father or mother.

Sarutobi separated from the crowd to find a quiet spot to think. He didn’t want to kill the poor child but he knew that if he didn’t, the village did.

‘Maybe I can keep this quiet,’ he pondered silently, ‘There’s no need to alert the villagers of this possible threat and I’ll tell the boy when he’s older.’

Back in the section of the compound where the wounded reside, the little girl told her mother about the Third Hokage’s conversation with the medic. The people around the girl and her mother heard everything and began to murmur amongst themselves. Soon, the entire crowd heard of the Kyuubi and the boy. They wanted him dead. The ANBUs dismissed the rumour as absurd but the crowd demanded to see the boy’s body before them. They caused an uproar.

“Sir!” called Kakashi again. Sarutobi turned around to see the silver-haired boy before him.

“It’s the people, they seem to believe that the Kyuubi is still alive, it’s just contained in a baby. Please tell them that they’re wrong.” Sarutobi smiled sadly. “I can’t tell them that they’re wrong Kakashi, because they’re right. The Kyuubi still lives within an infant.” Shock covered his features but he quickly masked it. Gesturing that the Hokage himself should deliver the news, Sarutobi followed him.

Once he reached the crowd, men and women demanded the boy’s body before their feet. “That demon fox has killed far too many people and we’re not about to let it kill more through that boy’s body, right!?” shouted a man.

“YEAH!” was the crowd’s response. Everyone began to demand an explanation.

“Alright! Settle down! The Hokage is to speak!” shouted Ibiki Morino. Everyone shut up, afraid of the tactics he might use. That man was sadistic and the entire village knew.

“Yes, it’s true the Kyuubi is sealed within this boy,” he said, holding out the infant for all to see. “What may be a monster to you may also be our saviour.”

“He’s not a saviour; he’s a monster!” shouted a man.

“How can that child be a saviour? He has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him!” cried a woman.

“This boy may be used as our secret weapon against our enemies. He may seem like a monster to you, but what would the Fourth Hokage think? Surely he did not seal the demon fox in this boy,” ‘Or rather, himself,’ he didn’t say, “to be tormented. He most likely would have hoped that you would see him as a hero to contain such a demon in him.”

Everyone was quiet. So deadly quiet, you could hear the gentle, muffled sobs of Hiashi’s wife on the far side of the compound.

“This is why I decree that this boy shall live, not to be killed by any of our hands, and that nobody shall inform him of the demon contained in his body.”

Everyone grumbled, especially the men. The children didn’t understand the concept but some of the older children could feel the hatred their only living relatives had for the boy.

“That stupid boy is going to kill all of us one day,” grumbled a man. “He will finish what the Kyuubi started.”

Breaking away from the crowd once again, he slipped away to cradle the young boy. Asuma, his 15 year old son, followed him.

“Father? May I see the boy?” he asked tentatively. Smiling, Sarutobi held the infant out for him to see, and motioned for him to hold him in his arms.

Cradling it, Asuma asked the question the other ninjas and villagers had been dying to ask. “Father, why would you keep this baby alive if the Kyuubi is sealed inside?”

Sarutobi sighed. “Would you kill him Asuma? Would you kill a defenceless baby? He never asked to be sealed with the Kyuubi, it just happened to be. It would be the same as killing an innocent person.” Nodding understandingly, he gave the infant back to his father.

“What will you name him?”

Sarutobi paused for a moment; he hadn’t really figured out a name. He looked at that mesmerizing swirl of his seal and a thought came to him.

“Uzumaki,” he started slowly. “Naruto Uzumaki.”

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Couple of months later -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“AHHHH!!” The cries of Hiashi’s wife could be heard all over the village. She was in labour and she was bearing her first child. Hiashi waited outside of the birthing room with Hizashi and his nephew, a very young Neji, while the midwives tried to calm her down, help her with breathing as well as helping the doctors and nurses.

After the few hours that she’d been in the room, she stopped screaming. Worried, Hiashi burst into the room only to be greeted by a new sound: a baby’s cry. His tired wife held their first child in her arms, cradling it gently before she looked up to see her husband.

“It’s a girl,” she whispered. He glided to her side to see a sweet little girl yawn and cry, slight whispers of hair decorated on her head. She opened her eyes long enough for them to see her lavender-white eyes.

“It’s a girl,” repeated Hiashi, “my sweet little…Hinata.”

“Oh, did I miss it?” asked a comical voice. Everyone turned their head to see the Third Hokage with a slight grin. He’d come here himself to congratulate Hiashi and his newborn heir, or heiress he should say.

“Would you like to hold her?” offered Hiashi’s wife. Nodding, Sarutobi gently held the baby girl as he did with Naruto. Smiling down at the girl when she yawned, he returned her to her father.

“Congratulations, Hiashi, on your newborn heir. The Hyuuga clan should have a bright future with her in the main house.”

Hiashi felt a tug at his pants. Neji looked up at him with wide, pupil-less eyes. He stared at the baby in his arms. Hizashi tugged him back.

“Neji, don’t do that. Show respect to your uncle,” he firmly reprimanded.

“No, it’s alright Hizashi. I’m sure he’s eager to meet Hinata,” assured Hiashi. He bent down so Neji could look at her.

“Hi Hi-Na-Ta,” he enunciated slowly. Neji was certainly getting better at his speech. Eliciting a smile from his uncle, Neji waddled back to Hizashi’s side.

‘She will be the next Hyuuga heiress,’ thought Hiashi, ‘and she will be a great one.’

He had no idea how much of a disappointment she will be to him in the future.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, so what do you think? Not bad for a start huh? Well, tell me if I need to improve on things or whatever. And don’t grill me for the mistakes, some of them were deliberate. Please R&R!