Becoming

Part 5

            Naruto avoided looking at Neji and Hinata the minute they came into view. He stopped walking and stood still stubbornly, but of course, the freakishly strong Hokage was able to get him to move. He was roughly shoved every foot or so until they all, him, Tsunade and Jiraiya, stood in front of the two cousins. They all purposely ignored Kiba and Sasuke, but Naruto could feel their eyes on them.
"Neji, Hinata, it seems these two don't have a place to stay. They're lacking the money to stay in a hotel during their stay, so I was wondering if you two could let him stay with you for a while." Tsunade smiled at them sweetly and shoved Naruto towards them. He began grumbling, and every now and then they could hear him mutter something about "that stupid Hokage" "telling me what to do" "I'm staying somewhere else" and "stupid Konoha".
Naruto had made it obvious he didn't want to go, hoping that Neji and Hinata would disagree, but of course, he couldn't expect them disobey their Hokage.
"Yes, of course," Neji said, smirking as Naruto glared at him. "We have more than enough space for the two of you." The pale eyed boy turned to his cousin and they began discussing something while Naruto turned to Tsunade.
"Why are you doing this to me?" he growled. He half expected her to say "What?" innocently, from the look on her face, but suddenly, her expression softened.
"Payback for the work you're putting me through," she winked at him, then whispered the last part. "There's something I need you to see."
"What? What do you need me to see?" Naruto questioned. Tsunade shook her head and put a hand on his back.
"You need to realize it yourself. It'll be pointless if I tell you now. But please do something for me. Pay attention to people's reactions when they remember you." She shoved him forward again and he caught himself just as he would have hit Hinata and Neji.
"You forgot the 'if they remember who I am', Tsunade!" Naruto yelled. He slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized Sasuke and Kiba were still there, staring holes into him. Of course they had heard him. And of course, they would be trying to figure out who he is.
"Come on, let's go," Neji said eventually, saving Naruto. The blond looked over at them gratefully, and he and Jiraiya followed them to their home. Memories flooded through Naruto's head as he remembered going there as a child. If he was honest, the Hyuga's was his favorite place to go when he would meet up with his 'friends'. The place was huge, peaceful and calming, plus Neji was a good sparring partner.
"Naruto," Neji said, breaking the blond from his thoughts. "You'll be staying in my room. Jiraiya, your room is the one down there." The older man nodded his thanks and disappeared into his room, leaving Naruto standing awkwardly by the two Hyuga's.
"Well, I should go tell my father you'll be staying here," Hinata said, preparing to turn and leave. Neji put a hand out to stop her.
"No, I'll go." He left no room for the girl to object. The two remaining people stood across from each other, looking anywhere but at the other. Naruto glanced at the girl, and saw a light blush spread across her face. He didn't know why, but he had an urge to comfort her discomfort.
"Um, thanks for letting us stay here," he said finally. Hinata began sputtering that it was nothing before they were again in an awkward silence. Naruto managed to catch a glimpse of white at the door Jiraiya had disappeared to and suddenly felt like he was being watched. He sighed and rubbed his head.
"Look, I didn't thank you before, but thank you for what you said earlier. You've been the only person outside of my 'family' to not call me a monster." He grabbed Hinata's hand and squeezed it appreciatively.
Hinata's face didn't immediately go red as Naruto thought it might. It took a moment, but the pink did spread, but that wasn't really what he noticed. What he saw first was the huge smile that covered her face. It said so many things, told so many emotions. There was relief, thankfulness. Some he couldn't read, others were as obvious to him as something could be. Hinata held no hate for him. Naruto felt emotional; something he wasn't used to. He laughed at the weirdness of it, and then scratched his head, feeling silly for wanting to cry. He wasn't a girl. Girls cried; guys didn't really.
"About time you said that," a voice said, startling both Hinata and Naruto. They turned and spotted Neji watching them from around the corner. Naruto saw Jiraiya poking his head out a crack in his door too. The blond chuckled and shook his head.
"Nosy people," Naruto muttered. But he wouldn't complain. He liked these nosy people just fine.

I don't mean anything offensive by the crying part, ok? It's true-girls cry a whole lot more than guys do. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and sorry updates are so slow. Thanks for reading! Oh, and thanks so much for the votes and comments!