Memories {NaruHina}

{Chapter 11}

{Chapter 11}

Training was going smoothly. Whether it was because she was more confident in her skills or because she and Naruto worked well together, it didn't really matter to Hinata, because she was only happy to at last have slightly improved for the past couple of weeks of training. It was hard, though. No matter how many times she went over the same thing, it took her way too long to actually get it right. 

Why would she ever become a ninja to begin with? She clearly had no natural talent for it.

"Let's take a break, alright?" Naruto offered, and she had no objections. They sat by a the shade of a nearby tree, side by side. "You know... You've really improved these past few weeks. You'll be back to going on missions in no time!"

"You don't need to pretend for my sake. I know I'm terrible at this," Hinata sighed heavily. "And I can't help but question, what made me think I should be a shinobi in the first place? I'm clearly terrible at it."

"Well... You have never really been too keen about violence, if I'm honest. But if I had to guess... You never had much of a choice, really," Naruto said, making her raise an eyebrow. "You see... As the Hyuga Clan's firstborn heiress, it was always kind of expected of you."

"Really?" Hinata frowned for a few seconds, before continuing. "Please, Naruto. Tell me everything you know. I... I want to know."

"It's not really a pretty story. Besides, it's in the past, so..."

"Please?"

Naruto sighed heavily, evidently giving in to her pleading. "Well, okay. I only know some of it, but from what I know... You and your dad had somewhat of a rocky relationship for years. He was very hard on you. He was concerned that you wouldn't be able to lead the Clan after him."

"Because I was not a very good ninja?"

"Actually... I think he saw how gentle you are by nature. Being Head of a Clan isn't easy. You have to make many tough decisions, always putting the Clan's future first. Eventually, he appointed Hanabi as his successor, though."

"I see," Hinata said, and she'd be lying if she didn't feel slightly disappointed and hurt at what she heard. However, the man Naruto was describing didn't exactly fit with the person she'd been living with for the past month. Could the Hiashi she knew be nothing but a product of her imagination?

"But things changed. After Neji died in the war... Hiashi Hyuga really changed. The whole clan did. I never thought it would be possible, but he even gave us his blessing when we started dating," Naruto admitted, shyly scratching the back of his neck. "Which was unbelievable, because I'm pretty sure he hated me when I was younger. The whole village did."

"Well, the whole village was just being dumb. There's nothing bad about you," Hinata assured him with a smile. "Thank you for sharing this with me. But enough about my family. Can you tell me about yours? Do they like me? Have I even met them?"

"My... My family?" Naruto suddenly seemed nervous. "Well... They died the day I was born."

"Oh! I'm sorry! I--If I had known, I would've never--"

"It's alright. I got to know them, in a way."

"Really? What were they like?"

"My dad was the Fourth Hokage."

"Hokage? Like Lord Sixth?"

"Yeah. Actually, he was Kakashi-sensei's sensei. It's a bit of a long story, but he sealed the Nine Tails inside of me to save the village. My mom and him died protecting both the village and me. They were real heroes."