Naruto's Mission

9 and A Christmas Message

*Sorry had to fix a few things so it made chronological sense

A message before you head into the chapter! I just wanna say:

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! I hope you've all had a great day... (or going to have a great one if your day has just started) and I wish to you all a relaxing holiday and a happy new year!

Naruto left the Hyuga compound thoroughly confused. He had assumed the elders were there to enforce some more 'well thought decisions' onto him but instead, they relieved him of his duty.
"Oh my god it's Naruto!" A bunch of girls squealed as they saw him walk down the street. What the hell? Naruto thought when he saw posters all over the street. He went up to one and almost fell back in shock. It was him. It was a poster of him. It detailed him as "the hero of Konoha!" and "the guy who defeated various threats to the village" etc etc. Naruto noted that it did not say 'killed'. He would have bet anything that had it said 'killed' instead of 'defeated', then they would look at him in fear rather than admiration. Naruto sighed. He knew it would be a looooong day. All of a sudden, everyone was stopping their work and moving towards the Hokage building. He decided to follow the citizens, but everything was beginning to get blurry. He couldn't see probably, but he could hear someone shouting at him from what seemed like the sky.
"Naruto-kun!"

-----

Naruto jolted upwards. He was in a hospital bed. It took him a few seconds to actually get is bearing.
"What happened? Where am I?" Naruto asked. He saw his team there and also Hinata. Kakashi stood up from the chair where he was reading his orange book.
"You fainted the moment we got to Konoha. It must have been poison that was circulating your body. It's been a day and we have yet to report to the Hokage regarding our mission success." Kakashi said. Naruto stared at him in confusion.
"But... I... we... " Naruto struggled to speak.
"Tsunade said that you've been in a dream like state for the past day. Naruto inwardly sighed in relief. So I'm still an ANBU? And I didn't kiss Hinata? He was thinking.
"That's right you fool!" Naruto heard the voice of the Fox in his head and he winced at the volume. Naruto shook his head slightly. Wait why am I thinking about Hinata! And why the hell was I dreaming about her!? He thought. There was a loud chuckle in his mind.
"I'll let you figure that one out on your own..." the Fox said again before Naruto focused back onto the people next to him.
"I'm fine..." he said as he got out of the hospital bed, noticing that someone had covered his ANBU tattoo strategically with a bandage. Granny Tsunade... he thought with a smile.
"Let's go report to the Hokage then..." Kakashi said as he stood up, followed by Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto briefly wondered why Sasuke was there. He noticed Sakura was glaring at Hinata for some reason.
"Hinata." Naruto said, making Sakura turn her attention to him. "Let's go." He reiterated, pulling Hinata protectively along with him. Her lavender scent filled the air around him and it calmed him down. Suffice to say, it for some reason sped up his heart rate. But Naruto found that he did not care. Sakura was so annoying to him, and he couldn't bare to see Hinata hurt.
"Yo kid..." Kurama's voice sounded in Naruto's mind.
"What's up Kurama?" Naruto replied as he continued to walk with Hinata out of the hospital.
"A masked ninja came in the middle of night when you were unconscious. It happened right after Kakashi carried you into the hospital."
"Go on..."
"Everything that happened to you the moment you fainted at the gates of Konoha wasn't real. I'm guessing that masked ninja put you into a genjutsu world... but I managed to bring you out of it. Also... you might want to tell the old geezer... it was the same ninja that controlled me all those years ago." Kurama's voice faded away into the background when Naruto heard Hinata wince. He'd been subconsciously tightening his grip on Hinata as he'd listened to the news. A genjutsu world huh... Naruto thought.
"N-Naruto kun... you're hurting me..." he heard Hinata say and he let go of her immediately.
"I'm so sorry Hinata." He gave her a goofy grin. "I was thinking about some stuff..." Hinata gave him a smile.
"I understand..." she said quietly. Naruto thought for a moment before he decided something. He turned to Hinata.
"S-say Hinata... do you w-want to go and eat with me?" He asked, stuttering slightly. Why the hell am I stuttering? It's just lunch jeez.
"... and I thought you were intelligent..." came Kurama's sarcastic reply which he ignored. Naruto noticed that Hinata had turned completely red.
"Hinata?" He asked. Hinata jumped.
"Yes!" She squeaked out, completely red.