NaruHina: Endymion

Endymion

Hooray for Naruto!

The cheers echoed around him and the world swirled as he was lifted up by the excited crowd. He felt his stomach plunge with the next drop but he was, for once, caught by reassuring arms of random villagers and was lifted up again.

The Hero of Konoha!

When the villagers finally put him down, he stood on his own two feet and saw Sakura coming towards him with tears in her eyes.

The hug she gave him surprised him.

"Thank you, Naruto," she whispered. "But you went and did something so reckless again! And all by yourself!"

The sniffle she tried to hide revealed all the worry she'd kept at bay when she'd seen his fight with Pain—afar, and narrated by Lady Katsuyu who'd hidden inside his pocket.

But he only had one thought in his mind when the medic-nin finally looked him in the eye. "Sakura, where's Hinata? Is she okay?"

Sakura quickly wiped away her tears and nodded, called back to work. "She's badly hurt but alive. She's at the hospital, Naruto. Before you go, I need to check your injuries first just to make sure you're really fine. Were you—"

But he was already gone, leaving her and the rest of the shinobi staring at him in surprise.

"Should we go after him, Kakashi-sensei? How bad are his wounds?" Sakura asked when he came to stand next to her and they both watched Naruto running towards the hospital.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, Sakura. He's fully recovered from his fight with Pain. Let him go. I think he just needs reassurance that Hinata will be fine, all thanks to you."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "Yeah, she needs it, too."

***

Pain. Hate. Death. War.

His conversation with Nagato was still fresh in his mind as Naruto ran towards the hospital.

But there was also light behind Nagato's words.

This path he'd chosen, this road against hate, was long and hard—but he didn't have to go through everything alone.

Hinata had known this when she'd jumped in earlier to try to help him. She'd told him and she'd tried to show him with her words and actions.

She hadn't wanted Naruto to fight Pain all by himself.

And Naruto was finally understanding what it all meant—for him and for her.

When he got to the hospital, Neji and the rest of the Hyuugas were standing by the door to Hinata's room. All of them were in deep conversation.

Naruto's heart beat a little more worriedly.

Why was everybody looking so grave and serious?

"Neji! I thought Sakura said Hinata was fine?!" he burst out, unable to hold in his anxiety.

Neji looked at him. "She's alive, but it's going to take a while for her body to recover. We're just trying to figure out how to help her."

"I want to help!"

Neji smiled briefly. "Oh, don't worry, Naruto. We were going to recruit you for that specific reason. She needs lots of chakra infusions. Luckily, you've got lots to spare."

But Naruto was only half-listening, ignoring Neji and the rest of her family when he'd walked the few steps towards the window of Hinata's room. His eyes were pressed against the glass but he still couldn't see her. His view was blocked by the doctors and the medical staff busy running around checking machines and tubes.