It was a really pretty night, he co

It was a really pretty night, he concluded, shortly before he slung his untied bowtie over his shoulder and sat on the cool grass.

"Not a cloud in the sky, the stars are shining, it's a bright full moon… nice. Why am I talking to myself?" Vivid blue eyes scanned the horizon, looking for anything that could possibly keep his thoughts from running away and scattering in every direction. It had been a long night.

And a happy one, he thought.

"I can't believe the bastard actually did it, and before me, too! Stupid Sasuke!" He grinned ever so slightly. "But I'm still happy for him… for them."

'Before me' was an understatement, he realized, and rather bitterly too. Everything else was going so well for him, but he still felt it… he didn't like feeling it, and he told himself on a number of occasions that he didn't need to feel it, but he felt it all the same.

Loneliness.

'Why should I feel lonely,' he wondered. After all, he was Naruto. Maybe ten years ago he had an excuse to feel lonely, but not any longer. He had everyone that he had become so close to.

Iruka… Kakashi… Sakura… Sasuke… Tsunade… Jiraiya… Shikamaru… Chouji… Shizune… Konahamaru… Neji… Fuzzy Eyebrows… Hinata…

Clearly, his "Precious People" list went on and on, and that was just a portion of his very first precious people. He now had his pupils, his students, the young genin he would give his life for as their Sensei and friend. He had all of the steadfast companions he had made from his leadership in an ANBU squad. He'd be reciting names all night if he started to think of all the comrades and acquaintances he had in the Hidden Village of Sand. He was fast friends with Gaara, their beloved Kazekage, after all.

He figured he had no excuse for being lonely. He was just being a baka.

"I'm the next Hokage, for crying out loud!" Although he liked the way it sounded, that proclamation didn't cheer him up too much at the moment.

His lifelong dream accomplished, he now felt somewhat empty deep in his guts. Tsunade, Konoha's precious Godaime Hokage, was to step down in a little over three months.

Three months prior, Tsunade had announced that her successor. Konaha's Rokudaime, was to be none other than Naruto. With much fanfare and approval from the citizens of Konaha, he had accepted her appointment. He had lived for that moment, the moment where everybody realized that he was strong and capable of leading them, not a weak person with a terrible demon inside of him. He was accepted, he was loved, and he was going to be the best Hokage Konaha had ever seen.

But he was still lonely.

"Dammit!" he said bitterly, his head hanging low. It was rare for him to feel this low, and it was bugging the hell out of him.

"I should be happy for them… I'm being a selfish bastard!"

He felt the need to kick some ass; he would have kicked his own ass, of course… for being the selfish idiot that he thought he was, but he would have a hard time explaining that one to Tsunade in the hospital. He saw a hapless large tree standing proudly to his left. That tree was ripe for an ass kicking.

Yelling loudly at nothing in particular, he concentrated on spinning two balls of chakra in each hand, as he had done hundreds of times before. With two powerful Rasengans swirling angrily in his palms, he approached the tree with much gusto, slamming the supercharged balls of Chakra on each side of it.

The tree didn't stand a chance.

He backed away from what was left of the tree a little bit, his small contribution to Konaha's deforestation problem complete, and sat roughly on the ground again. He was startled by a tiny voice behind him.

"Naruto-kun…"

Naruto looked sharply behind him, trying to figure out who it was. His lips curved upward in a little smile, and his heart skipped a beat after he realized the identity of the perpetrator.

"Hinata-chan."

The young kunoichi walked briskly over to Naruto, sitting next to him. Hinata smiled a little when she saw the tree.

"Did it make you mad?"

Naruto looked puzzled at Hinata's question. "Huh?"

"The tree, Naruto-kun… did it make you angry?"

Naruto's eyes lit up in understanding, and he laughed softly at her little quip. "I'm afraid that I'm a S-Class tree murderer, Hinata-chan." He bowed his head in mock shame in Hinata's direction. "Please don't tell… I still want to be Hokage!"

Hinata giggled at the perky blond. Although most things change with time, some things never do. Naruto's silliness would always be in the latter category.

"It was beautiful, wasn't it Naruto-kun? The ceremony, that is?" Naruto looked at her, smiling widely.

"You're beautiful," he thought wryly. He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts. Just where the hell had that come from? Hinata once again giggled at his actions, oblivious to the meaning behind them.

"Yes it was… I can't believe that they finally did it. To think that they even did it before Shikamaru and Ino!"

Hinata nodded vigorously in reply. "I know… Sakura-chan was such a beautiful bride. And Sasuke-kun was very handsome." She thought for a moment before continuing, the darkness of the night hiding her cherry red cheeks. "And you were a very handsome best man."

Naruto gulped slightly, trying to think of a way to change the subject and not be too suspicious of it. She was just trying to be nice, after all.

Right?

"Ahh, Hinata-chan! I'm really sorry about not seeing you at the reception!" he said loudly, hoping to ease the unease her previous comment had brought him. "I really wanted to dance with you, because… umm, y-you… I mean." Naruto gulped again, positive that she heard him this time. He fidgeted and tried to look at her.

"Because you looked, err, look p-pretty too!" Naruto said quickly, almost too quickly for Hinata to understand.

Almost.

Hinata concluded that her blush was freaking palpable.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

There were a few moments of awkward silence, and Naruto took the time to remember when he had become so nervous around the white-eyed girl.

"Maybe it was when she became a freakin' hottie!" an evil voice proclaimed in the back of his mind. He would have liked to blame Kyuubi for that comment, but he knew it was his own hormonal thoughts plaguing him. Naruto once again shook his head fiercely, but didn't hear a giggle from Hinata this time.

It really did take some effort on Naruto's part to remember when and how he had become this way around Hinata. By the time their ANBU days were over, which was only about seven months prior, she was the best, most reliable, most kick-ass ANBU ninja under his command. Having been there with him from when he first took command, they worked with flawless accuracy and teamwork together. She was a top notch fighter, had an amazing head on her shoulders, and was an extremely capable medic ninja to boot. He knew that with the purple-haired kunoichi under his command, they could accomplish anything.

And they did.

With the cooperation of Neji's and Naruto's ANBU squads, they had rescued Sasuke from the darkness that Orochimaru had trapped him in, kicking all kinds of Sound Village ass in the process. The snake Sannin didn't live to see the next day, and in one night, the Sound was no longer a threat to the Leaf.

One and a half years later, Naruto's ANBU squad, with Sasuke, finally decimated Akatsuki's ranks, its survivors scattering to the four corners of the earth. Naruto helped Sasuke complete his revenge, the two of them taking Itachi down together. All the time they were fighting Itachi, Hinata was there to coordinate his squad's attack on the other Akatsuki members. Needless to say, she performed flawlessly.

The village of Konoha had never seen such peace since before the great ninja wars, and they were eternally grateful for the tranquility that Naruto had bestowed upon the leaf. His actions and deeds had truly earned him the right to become Konaha's next Hokage.

With the two of them spending so much time together on his ANBU squad, they had turned into fast friends, and it was a sad time for Naruto when they parted ways. With their ANBU responsibilities done, and with the peace that they had brought to Konoha, Hinata turned her attention over to her clan.

No longer the shy, timid girl that Naruto knew as a child, she had taken over the Hyuuga clan at the age of 21, roughly six months ago. With his ANBU squad taking a much needed permanent leave, Naruto took on his students as Hinata took on the responsibilities of overseeing her clan.

And with each having such responsibilities, they saw each other less and less. It had been over six months, he realized, since he had last seen her. He had an epiphany of sorts as he sat in the grass with Hinata.

He missed her terribly.

He also realized, not long after Hinata left to run her clan, that he felt strange around her. Of course, she had grown incredibly beautiful over the years, her dark purple hair long and shining, with every curve on her body in the right place. She had filled out beautifully. Naruto knew this all to well, having to constantly look at her face as opposed to other parts of her body when he saw her.

"Naruto-kun…"

But it wasn't just the way she looked, far from it. On the inside, Naruto thought, Hinata was the most beautiful person he had ever met. In their ANBU days, she was always there for him. When times were tough, she always had some words of encouragement and a gentle hug to calm him and reassure him. Oh, how he missed those hugs!

She had made him forget about Sakura quickly with those hugs, which was a good thing. Sasuke and Sakura had quickly become an item after his return. They were beautiful together, and Sakura was really the perfect person for Sasuke. Naruto was truly happy to see them united in marriage earlier that afternoon.

"Naruto-kun…"

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Itu adalah malam benar-benar cantik, dia menyimpulkan, tak lama sebelum ia tersandang di bahu bowtie membuka nya dan duduk di rumput keren."Tidak awan di langit, bintang-bintang bersinar, itu adalah terang purnama... bagus. Mengapa aku berbicara untuk diri sendiri?" Mata biru tajam mengamati horizon, mencari sesuatu yang mungkin bisa menjaga pikirannya berjalan jauh dan tersebar di setiap arah. Sudah malam yang panjang.Dan salah satu yang bahagia, pikirnya."Aku tidak percaya bajingan itu benar-benar melakukannya, dan sebelum saya, terlalu! Bodoh Sasuke!" Dia menyeringai pernah jadi sedikit. "Tetapi aku masih bahagia untuknya... bagi mereka."'Sebelum aku' adalah sebuah pernyataan, ia menyadari, dan agak pahit terlalu. Segala sesuatu yang lain akan sangat baik baginya, tetapi dia masih merasa itu... dia tidak menyukai perasaan itu, dan katanya pada diri sendiri pada sejumlah kesempatan bahwa dia tidak perlu merasa itu, tetapi ia merasa semua sama.Kesepian.'Kenapa aku harus merasa kesepian,' ia bertanya-tanya. Setelah semua, dia adalah Naruto. Mungkin sepuluh tahun yang lalu dia punya alasan untuk merasa kesepian, tapi tidak lebih lama. Ia memiliki semua orang bahwa dia begitu dekat untuk menjadi.Iruka... Kakashi... Sakura... Sasuke... Tsunade... Jiraiya... Shikamaru... Chouji... Shizune... Konahamaru... Neji... Fuzzy alis... Hinata...Jelas, "Berharga orang" daftar terus berlanjut, dan itu hanya sebagian dari umatnya berharga pertama. Sekarang ia murid, murid-muridnya, Naruto muda yang ia akan memberikan hidupnya untuk sebagai Sensei dan teman mereka. Ia memiliki semua sahabat-sahabat setia yang dibuatnya dari kepemimpinannya di skuad Prabu Padjajaran. Ia akan menjadi melafalkan nama sepanjang malam jika ia mulai berpikir tentang semua teman-teman dan kenalan yang ia telah di desa tersembunyi pasir. Dia adalah teman-teman yang cepat dengan Gaara, Kazekage kekasih mereka, setelah semua.Dia pikir dia punya alasan untuk menjadi kesepian. Dia hanya menjadi baka."Aku Hokage berikutnya, menangis dengan suara keras!" Meskipun dia menyukai cara itu terdengar, proklamasi yang tidak menghiburnya terlalu banyak saat ini.Menjadi impian seumur hidup yang dicapai, dia sekarang merasa agak kosong dalam keberanian. Tsunade, Konoha yang mulia Godaime Hokage, adalah untuk mundur sedikit selama tiga bulan.Tiga bulan sebelumnya, Tsunade telah mengumumkan bahwa penggantinya. Konaha di Rokudaime, itu akan tidak lain dari Naruto. Dengan banyak gembar-gembor dan persetujuan dari warga Konaha, ia telah menerima pengangkatan-nya. Dia telah hidup untuk saat itu, saat dimana semua orang menyadari bahwa ia adalah kuat dan mampu memimpin mereka, bukan orang yang lemah dengan setan yang mengerikan dalam dirinya. Dia diterima, ia dicintai, dan ia akan menjadi yang terbaik Hokage Konaha yang pernah dilihat.Tapi ia masih sepi."Sialan!" katanya pahit, kepala menggantung rendah. Jarang bagi dia merasa rendah ini, dan itu adalah mengganggu neraka keluar dari padanya."Aku harus bahagia untuk mereka... Aku menjadi egois bajingan!"Ia merasa perlu untuk menendang beberapa keledai; ia pasti akan menendang pantatnya sendiri, tentu saja... untuk menjadi egois idiot yang ia sudah, tapi dia akan memiliki waktu sulit menjelaskan bahwa salah satu ke Tsunade di rumah sakit. Dia melihat sebuah pohon besar Malang berdiri bangga kirinya. Pohon itu adalah matang untuk keledai menendang.Berteriak keras tidak secara khusus, ia berkonsentrasi pada berputar dua bola Chakra di setiap sisi, seperti yang dia lakukan ratusan kali sebelumnya. Dengan dua Rasengans kuat yang berputar-putar dengan marah di palms nya, dia mendekati pohon dengan semangat banyak, membanting bola supercharged Chakra pada setiap sisi itu.Pohon tidak berdiri kesempatan.Ia mundur dari apa yang tersisa dari pohon sedikit, kontribusi kecil untuk Konaha's deforestasi masalah lengkap, dan duduk kira-kira pada tanah lagi. Ia dikejutkan oleh suara kecil di belakangnya."Naruto-kun..."Naruto tampak tajam belakangnya, mencoba untuk mencari tahu siapa orang itu. Bibirnya melengkung ke atas di senyum kecil, dan hatinya berdetak kencang setelah ia menyadari identitas pelaku."Hinata-chan."Kunoichi muda berjalan cepat ke Naruto, duduk di sebelahnya. Hinata tersenyum sedikit ketika dia melihat pohon."Apakah itu membuat Anda gila?"Naruto tampak bingung Hinata di pertanyaan. "Ya?""Pohon, Naruto-kun... Apakah itu membuat Anda marah?"Naruto mata menyala dalam pemahaman, dan ia tertawa lembut di menyindir nya sedikit. "Aku takut bahwa aku seorang pembunuh pohon S-Class, Hinata-chan." Ia menundukkan kepalanya di Pura-Pura shame Hinata di arah. "Tolong jangan katakan... Aku masih ingin menjadi Hokage!"Hinata terkikik di pirang keren. Meskipun kebanyakan hal berubah dengan waktu, beberapa hal tidak pernah melakukan. Naruto kekonyolan akan selalu berada dalam kategori yang terakhir."Itu adalah indah, bukan Naruto-kun? Upacara, itulah?" Naruto memandang dia, tersenyum banyak."Kau cantik," pikirnya kecut. Ia menggelengkan kepala, berusaha untuk membersihkan pikiran. Hanya mana neraka yang datang dari? Hinata sekali lagi terkikik di tindakannya, tidak menyadari makna di balik mereka."Ya itu adalah... Aku tidak percaya bahwa mereka akhirnya melakukannya. Untuk berpikir bahwa mereka bahkan melakukannya sebelum Shikamaru dan Ino!"Hinata mengangguk keras dalam menjawab. "Aku tahu... Sakura-chan adalah seorang pengantin indah. Dan Sasuke-kun adalah sangat tampan. Dia berpikir sejenak sebelum melanjutkan, kegelapan malam bersembunyi pipi merah ceri. "Dan kau seorang laki-laki terbaik yang sangat tampan."Naruto menelan sedikit, berusaha memikirkan cara untuk mengubah subjek dan tidak akan terlalu curiga itu. Dia hanya berusaha bersikap baik, setelah semua.Kan?"Ahh, Hinata-chan! Saya sangat menyesal tentang tidak melihat Anda di resepsi!"Dia berkata keras, berharap untuk mengurangi kegelisahan yang komentar sebelumnya telah membawanya. "Aku benar-benar ingin berdansa dengan Anda, karena... um, y-Anda... Maksudku." Naruto menelan lagi, positif bahwa dia mendengar dia saat ini. Dia fidgeted dan mencoba untuk melihat dia."Karena Anda melihat, err, terlihat p-cantik juga!" Naruto mengatakan cepat, hampir terlalu cepat untuk Hinata untuk memahami.Hampir.Hinata menyimpulkan bahwa blush dia panik teraba."Terima kasih, Naruto-kun."Ada beberapa saat canggung keheningan, dan Naruto mengambil waktu untuk ingat ketika dia menjadi sangat gugup di sekitar si cewek white-eyed."Mungkin itu adalah ketika dia menjadi seorang cowok keren freakin '!" suara jahat menyatakan belakang pikirannya. Dia akan menyukai untuk menyalahkan Kyuubi untuk komentar, tapi ia tahu itu sendiri pikiran hormon yang mengganggu dia. Naruto sekali lagi menggelengkan kepala keras, tetapi tidak mendengar tawa dari Hinata saat ini.Itu benar-benar tidak mengambil beberapa upaya pada bagian Naruto ingat kapan dan bagaimana dia menjadi cara ini di sekitar Hinata. Pada saat hari-hari Dariputra mereka sudah berakhir, yang hanya sekitar tujuh bulan sebelumnya, dia adalah yang terbaik, paling dapat diandalkan, paling kick ass Dariputra ninja bawah komandonya. Berada di sana dengan dia dari ketika dia pertama kali mengambil perintah, mereka bekerja dengan sempurna akurasi dan kerja sama bersama-sama. Dia adalah seorang pejuang kedudukan, memiliki kepala biasa di bahunya, dan sangat mampu medic ninja untuk boot. Dia tahu bahwa dengan kunoichi berambut ungu dibawah perintahNya, mereka bisa mencapai apa-apa.Dan mereka lakukan.Dengan kerjasama Neji's dan Naruto skuad Prabu Padjajaran, mereka telah menyelamatkan Sasuke dari gelap bahwa Orochimaru telah terjebak padanya dalam, menendang semua jenis suara desa pantat dalam proses. Ular Sannin tidak hidup untuk melihat hari berikutnya, dan dalam satu malam, suara itu tidak lagi sebuah ancaman bagi daun.Satu setengah tahun kemudian, Prabu Padjajaran Naruto skuad, dengan Sasuke, akhirnya hancur Akatsuki peringkat, para korban yang menyebar ke empat penjuru bumi. Naruto membantu Sasuke menyelesaikan balas dendam, dua dari mereka mengambil Itachi bersama. Sepanjang waktu mereka berjuang Itachi, Hinata ada di sana untuk mengkoordinasikan serangan skuad nya yang lain Akatsuki anggota. Tak perlu dikatakan, dia dilakukan flawlessly.Desa Konoha belum pernah kedamaian sejak sebelum perang ninja yang hebat, dan mereka berterima kasih untuk ketenangan yang Naruto telah diberikan kepada daun. Tindakan dan perbuatan telah benar-benar memberinya hak untuk menjadi Hokage berikutnya di Konaha.Dengan dua dari mereka menghabiskan begitu banyak waktu bersama di skuad Dariputra nya, mereka telah menjadi teman cepat, dan itu adalah waktu yang menyedihkan untuk Naruto ketika mereka berpisah. Dengan tanggung-jawab Dariputra mereka dilakukan, dan kedamaian yang mereka bawa ke Konoha, Hinata mengalihkan perhatiannya klan nya.Tidak lagi gadis pemalu, pemalu yang tahu Naruto sebagai seorang anak, dia telah mengambil alih klan Hyuuga pada usia 21, kira-kira enam bulan yang lalu. Dengan Dariputra nya skuad mengambil yang jauh diperlukan meninggalkan permanen, Naruto mengambil pada murid-muridnya sebagai Hinata mengambil tanggung jawab mengawasi klan nya.Dan dengan masing-masing mempunyai tanggung-jawab seperti itu, mereka melihat satu sama lain kurang dan kurang. Sudah lebih dari enam bulan, ia menyadari, karena ia telah melihat dia terakhir. Dia punya epifani macam saat dia duduk di rumput dengan Hinata.He missed her terribly.He also realized, not long after Hinata left to run her clan, that he felt strange around her. Of course, she had grown incredibly beautiful over the years, her dark purple hair long and shining, with every curve on her body in the right place. She had filled out beautifully. Naruto knew this all to well, having to constantly look at her face as opposed to other parts of her body when he saw her."Naruto-kun…"But it wasn't just the way she looked, far from it. On the inside, Naruto thought, Hinata was the most beautiful person he had ever met. In their ANBU days, she was always there for him. When times were tough, she always had some words of encouragement and a gentle hug to calm him and reassure him. Oh, how he missed those hugs!She had made him forget about Sakura quickly with those hugs, which was a good thing. Sasuke and Sakura had quickly become an item after his return. They were beautiful together, and Sakura was really the perfect person for Sasuke. Naruto was truly happy to see them united in marriage earlier that afternoon."Naruto-kun…"