Naruto and Hinata: Stories After "The Last"! (Bi-weekly Updates)

Memories: Part Five

~In Conclusion~

Hinata took strong strides into the street of the hidden lead village, deciding to walk and walk until she had found a place to be by herself. When, oh when would she remember herself, she wondered? Maybe never? Would she have to start over fresh, leaving the memories of her former self behind? It was too much to bare. She had put up a wall thus far for her friends and family, but her emotions had come to be too much for her.

Eventually, she found herself in the training fields, though she hadn't known the difference. All it was to her was a secluded area to sit by her lonesome. Though her issues weren't something so easily run away from; they followed her where ever she would go. She sat beneath a tree, hugging her legs to her chest. This was a horrible fate, she decided.

"Hinata Hyuga...the byakugan princess...."

Hinata's head flew upward with a soft, yet sharp inhale, as she heard her name come from somewhere behind her. Craning her neck to the side, she remained quiet, wondering if she had just been hearing things. But the low, raspy voice came again.

"Don't be afraid, Hinata...I know you better than you know yourself, after all."

She adjusted her seated position to peer into the darkness beyond – all that was visible was a pair of yellow eyes viewing her from behind some shrubbery. Hinata was cautious – was this just another person she'd come to forget? Or something more sinister? Either way, they clearly had known her.

"Wh-who are you?" she questioned, raising a hand to her chest, her face contorted into a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"Never mind that. The important thing is who you are, Hinata. And I can help you to remember."

"Why won't you show yourself?" she snapped back. He could help her to remember...? The offer was enticing to say the very least, but all too strange. Still...she waited to hear him out.

"You have to understand, my level of expertise pertaining to the brain and fine medicines combined with skillful chakra manipulation is highly sought after. I rarely show my face to help conceal my identity. But I will show myself to you, if you grant me your trust. I want to help you."

"I don't know..." she deliberated in her mind. It seemed like a deal too sweet to be true – and she hadn't had a shred of evidence that what he said was true. Then, suddenly, a hand clothed by a black glove, with long, lanky fingers, came through the bush to reveal a swirling ball of energy. Inside of the ball seemed to be images, playing like a movie – wait a minute – familiar images...

"Is that...me?" Hinata's eyes ogled the clips that appeared to be times in her life. She watched herself squaring up to the boy from the flier – her cousin, Neji. They were fighting one another. But why? Next, she faced a man with orange hair and rods protruding from his face, and body. Was this...Pain, the man Naruto had told her of? And finally...It was Naruto...his body was enveloped by glowing yellow light...he fought valiantly, the shinobi around him cheered for him, and had love for him...

Is Naruto...the real hero?

"I can reinstate all of these wonderful memories into your mind, but you must agree to follow me, back to the land of waves." He snatched the orb back in through the trees, leaving the kunoichi helplessly wondering. He did hold the key to her memories, after all. It was only the one thing she desired the most. Though there was a part of her that remained reluctant, she rose to her feet, just about to take a step forward toward the ominous voice, until....

"Hinata, there you are..."

Naruto had turned up behind her. It was him. She had learned that voice.