Behind the Waterfall

#45 Princess

Walking through the village, Naruto couldn't help but feel a slight tug at his heart. It had taken weeks for him to accept the fact that Hawk still harbored feelings for him, Kim having confessed them to him a few days after the fight against the Konoha group. Fuu knew as well, since she had been in the room, although she had taken it surprisingly lightly, seeing as she knew about Naruto's former relationship with the woman. Even when he told her that he was going to meet with Hawk today, she didn't even ask to come with him. She simply smiled at him and mused what she was going to do while he was out.

It made Naruto happy knowing that she placed so much trust in him, not that he would ever think about betraying her like that. Even if he still held the same feelings as he had before he was committed to Fuu and would never start something while in a relationship.

It still hurt him, knowing how Kim felt about him and how it would hurt her when he told her that there was no chance for her and that she needed to move on.

"She will have to learn to get over it." Kurama's voice echoed through his mind.

"I guess so, still it will hurt and I don't like seeing my friends hurting." Naruto replied in his thoughts as he made his way towards the small park where he had told Hawk to meet him.

"It will all work out in the end, she is strong." The fox stated as the brunette came into view already waiting for the blonde with a small smile on her face. Surprising to Naruto, she had opted to wear civilian clothes, namely a pair of black leggings and a red dress. She looked beautiful, he was not ashamed to admit.

"Hi." She greeted him, obviously not sure what gesture she should go for as she stood there awkwardly.

"Hi, you look great." Naruto replied, voicing the compliment that was on his mind. He quickly brought her into a hug, defusing the awkwardness of the situation a bit.

"Thank you. You look good as always." Kim replied, gladly accepting the hug.

"I'm surprised Fuu isn't with you." She continued as they separated again. Earning a small laugh from Naruto.

"I was surprised as well that she didn't want to come, but in the end this has nothing to do with her, since it is between us." He replied, earning a confused look from the girl.

"Let's sit down somewhere first." The blonde offered, as they were still standing in the middle of the path through the park. Hawk nodded and they made their way to a small shaded area on the grass, below a tree.

"So why do you say that this has nothing to do with her?" The brunette asked, the two sitting across from each other.

"Listen, I like you, really I do. And I never want to see anyone I consider a friend hurting, but sometimes there are things that we can not control. I like you, but not how I love Fuu, I like you as a good friend, almost like a sibling. Fuu knows that, she also knows that even if I did love you, I would never do something to sabotage our relationship. That is why she trusts me enough to not worry about us meeting alone." He could see her eyes lose the light in them, as she processed what he said. He also saw the tears forming. Smiling sadly he took out a small handkerchief, handing it to her. It took a few moments for her to find her voice as she was trying to not break down.

"Did you always feel like that?" She asked, her voice weak.

"I don't know. I never loved you how I love Fuu, although I can't say how my feelings would have developed if we had stayed together." He admitted.

"Unfortunate events, huh?" The bitterness in her voice made him frown.

"We weren't meant to be. It isn't anyone's fault, in another world maybe it would have worked out." He didn't want to imagine what the girl in front of him felt at the moment. Naruto watched as the girl fiddled with her hands, her eyes fixated on the sky.

"I-I..." She tried to formulate a sentence but stopped, as tears began to flow down her cheeks. She finally lowered her head, casting a quick glance at Naruto before putting her hands up to cover her face as she silently cried.

The blonde couldn't take it, scooting over to her and wrapping her up in a hug, trying to comfort the crying girl.

It took a few moments for Hawk to stop crying, as she buried her head into Naruto's shoulder gladly accepting the hug.

"I just don't know what to do." She muttered, tears still flowing from her face.

"What do you mean?" The blonde asked, the girl slowly sitting up again.

"Lion and the others don't trust me anymore. They told me that I should let them leave without me. I have nothing left now." Hawk stated, her voice still weak, as she wiped some tears from her eyes.

"You have me. Maybe not as a partner, but as a friend." Naruto smiled, as the brunette scoffed before smiling weakly.

"I guess. It's just not easy to see a path ahead at the moment." Naruto was about to respond when he felt someone approaching them. Turning around, he saw a man coming up to them, wearing a forehead protector that showed half a sun. He had seen the sign a few times around the village, apparently there was a small force of shinobi that were employed by the villages leaders, however he had not spoken with any of them.

"Naruto Namikaze?" He asked, looking at the blonde with a small smile.

"Yes, what is it?" The teen asked, not sure who the guy was.

"Our princess wants you to meet her." Naruto looked at Hawk with an apologetic smile.

"We will talk later." He said, earning a nod and a small smile from the girl as he stood.

"Let's go." With that the man placed a hand on his shoulder and they disappeared.

A moment later the two men reappeared in a big office. Looking around the room, Naruto was surprised to see Fuu already there, although in hindsight it had to have been her that told the man where to find him. There was only one other person in the room, a slender and tall woman, her white hair hanging almost down to her knees, contrasting the black dress she was wearing. Naruto noticed that the man that had brought him here was bowing next to him, so he also bowed, although not particularly low.

"Hello Naruto. I am glad we get to meet." The woman greeted him as he stepped next to Fuu, his hand ghosting over hers in a silent greeting.

"Hello princess." He replied.

"Kyouki, Kyouki Horuna." The princess said, her smile widening.

"Why are we here?" Naruto asked, although he was sure that it had something to do with the battle a few weeks ago.

"Your battle two weeks ago put quite a spotlight on you and my village. I already talked with Fuu about what happened there. However she insisted that you should be present if we were to talk about anything regarding the future." The white haired woman stated. Naruto shot Fuu a questioning glance at that.

"She asked if we had thought about maybe settling down here and joining her forces." The green haired girl explained, earning a slow nod from her boyfriend.