I'm On My Way. (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty Nine

"Don't talk, Hime, just listen. Please." Naruto said to his girlfriend, as he stood in her room at two in the morning. It was lightly snowing outside and she was more than surprised to see him. Though they were supposed to celebrate her birthday, she couldn't help from sulking at the fact that it had to be the worst timing.
She was oddly filled with guilt as she realized that she had gotten a year older, as four wonderful people had died just the week before.
  It hurt her to know that Naruto was suffering, and she was glad that he went out last night, but she could just tell by the look in his eyes, that he wasn't doing as well as he said.

He had been staying with Hinata's family, because she didn't want him in his old home alone, and though it seemed to help that he was in a somewhat healthy atmosphere, it was alarming to her how he didn't have the same blue spark in his eyes as he had before. It broke her heart, and she knew she couldn't help him.
"For starters, Happy birthday, Hime."
Giving her a genuine smile, he kissed her lips, "Thank you, Naruto."
"I'm surprised you're back, did you have a good time?"
"Y-yeah. It wasn't bad." He said kissing her forehead lightly. Sighing he kissed her lips, "This is harder than I thought it would be."
She was more than confused, as she saw his eyes starting to tear up.

"What's wrong? Did you not have a good time with the guys?" She asked with her palm pressed against his cheek, as a single tear fell from his right eye. He laughed a little and shook his head, "N-no it was fine."
"Then what's wrong? You don't just cry for no apparent reason, Naruto." She said to him, making him shake his head again, as he felt his heart breaking within his chest. Grabbing her soft hand, he kissed her palm and said,
"I'm going to be living with Jiraiya for a little while. I need to get my mind right and start seeing the world differently. I have to grow up, Hime. This is going to be very selfish of me to say, but please. Wait for me."
Tears started to pool in her eyes as she tried to comprehend what he was professing to her, "W-what? How long?"

"I'll be gone for a while. Just know that I'm coming back to you, no matter what.
I'll be back for you, Hime." Leaning down, he kissed her sweetly. "Will you keep in touch? Can I call you?" He shook his head, "You can't. I'm sorry." Her tears fell, and her forehead scrunched as her heart broke.
"How will I even know that you're alive?"
"You'll just have to keep your faith in me.
You do have faith in me right?" She nodded while her fingers wiped her tears away,
"Of course I do. I-it's just this is all happening so fast." He held her face in his big hands, and caressed her cheeks. "I know, and I'm sorry for making this so sudden. If I had everything under control I'd spend the day showering you in gifts and love, instead of breaking your heart. I'm sorry. But I have to do this, Hime."

"Why do you have to do this? I know what you're going through is hard, but please just talk to me." She pleaded with him, making him kiss her forehead and pulling her closer.
On the way to her home, he contemplated what he was going to say, and rehearsed it in his head over and over. Now as he sat there in front of her, he couldn't stop his heart from breaking. He never thought he'd be the reason behind her tears, and now that he was, he felt even worse then he did just a few hours before.
"I don't have anything to talk about, I just need to get away. This has nothing to do with you, Hime, if it did I would be staying. It's just me. You're stronger than I am, when your mother died you could cope and I can't. I have to mature and become the best man my parents intended to raise. A man that deserves you."

A gut wrenching sob left her lips as he spoke, "B-but I could help you." Tears fell from his eyes as she said that, because they both knew that it wasn't true. Truthfully she thought that
Naruto's statement was very smart and mature. When her mother died, she started to self harm, and though everyone copes differently, she knew that it was a dark and scary time.
If Naruto needed to get away as his coping strategy, she knew she had to be there for him.
The pain of losing a parent was the type of pain Hinata wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.
The only downside was that she going to miss him, a lot. Feeling as if she was being extremely selfish, she sighed deeply before he wiped her clear tears, while she had to realize his mental health was more important than her missing him. He'd be back.

"When do you have to leave?" She asked, while his thumbs caressed her face. "An hour." Nodding, Hinata pulled him down to her and kissed his lips passionately. She didn't want to pull away, as her heart already aches for him.
"Stay with me until then? Please." Pulling off his shirt, he laid next to her in her bed, while she felt herself about to cry again.
"What if you leave and realize you don't want to come back to this boring old town?"
"Hime. Please, don't lose faith in me. I promise you that I'll be back in due time."

"I love you, Naruto. I really do, and I just don't want you to get hurt. How am I going to know that you're okay?" She asked, getting more and more anxious. "I promise that you don't have to worry about me, I'll be back in one piece."
She tried to smile, but couldn't muster it up as he laid on top of her and kissed her forehead.
"Promise me something, Naruto." He looked her in her lavender colored eyes, "Don't forget about us. Don't forget how much I love you, and will continue to love you when you find your way back to me."
"I could never." He said, before kissing her lips softly. "But, speaking of promises. I have your present." Moving off of her, he reached for his pants that sat on the floor. Pulling out a red flocked box from his pocket, he opened it while looking at her.

The beautiful diamond sparkled brightly, and it made her start to cry again.
"This, is a promise ring. I promise that we will one day be together again, and that when I finally find you, I will buy you an engagement ring. Will you accept my promise?"
Her vision got blurry as she nodded frantically, unable to form words. She sat up in her bed, and they both smiled brightly, before he slid the ring on her slim finger. "I love you so much, Naruto." Without even examining the ring, Hinata wanted to cry for sadness and joy.
Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him tightly, and he did the same.

Neither of them wanted to let go as the time of his departure neared. He didn't want to leave, and as the scent of her body engulfed him, he couldn't stop himself from second guessing his decisions. Pulling his face to her's, she kissed him passionately. "I'll be right here when you come back, Naruto. I love you."
With his hands on her lower back, he pulled her petite body underneath him and laid between her parted legs.
"I love you too, Hinata."
~
When Hinata woke up a few hours later, she immediately noticed how empty her queen sized bed was. Rolling over, to where Naruto once was, she felt her heart start to break, as she relived their last moments together from midnight. Gripping the sheets in her hands, she felt tears slip from her closed eyelids, before seeing the ring around her dainty finger. It was beautiful. It had a single diamond, as it was surrounded by small pearls. Though she felt extremely alone and anxious, she glanced around her room, and saw a picture of her and Naruto sleeping in her bed.

The picture portrayed the night that she had told him about her past and he held her so tight, that she felt as if she'd always be out of harms way. She knew that he worried about her, and he always held her as if she'd fall apart if he let her go. Now, he had let go, and unlike he thought, she wasn't falling apart.
Hinata wasn't the same girl from that picture, and she has Naruto to thank for that.
Naruto had helped her become the person she was today. She was strong, confident, and everything she wasn't before she had met him.

Though she was upset she was undeniably grateful for him. Frankly she felt almost blessed to have had days full of his handsome smile, and bright blue eyes. When she first started school in Konoha, she never would've thought that she'd end up where she was today.
She didn't even think she'd still be alive to see her eighteenth birthday.
Grabbing the frame from her nightstand she looked at it while her unoccupied hand wiped her tears.

Suddenly her door opened and her family walked in, with a cupcake in her father's hands. She pulled her blanket tighter around her naked body while wiping her tear stained face.
"Happy, Happy birthday. Today's your special day." Hanabi frowned slightly and they all stopped singing. "Aww why are you crying?" She asked while pulling her in for a hug.
"I just love you guys so much! Now can I blow out my candle?" Neji gave her a look, before her father gave her the cupcake. Bringing it close to her lips, she smiled as her sister said, "Make a wish, sweetheart." She made a wish while closing her eyelids, before blowing out the candle. "We'll leave you to get dressed and come down for breakfast whenever you're ready." Her father said while kissing her forehead, and she nodded as they left her bedroom.

With tears coming to her eyes, she looked down at the cupcake, with a sad smile on her face. Licking the tasty frosting, she tried to enjoy it, but her anxiety seemed to have other plans as she began nauseous. Putting on the shirt Naruto had left behind, she inhaled the scent deeply with a deep sigh leaving her lips.
"Oh, Naruto."