For Those That Dare To Love..

It was just past sundown when naruto entered the hokages building. He had spent the last few days since waking up, with hinata. He had decided to take a small break in order to let both his body and mind fully rest before he took on any sort of mission.

He sent a small wave towards the secretary before he entered the old mans office with an eye smile." Hey old man!" He greeted cheerfully and was met with a small smile in return.

Hiruzen sat back in his chair." Naruto-kun, its good to see you." He replied with a small nod.

Naruto plopped down in one of the two chairs seated in front of the mans desk." Hows your arm feeling?" He asked as he motioned to the elder mans right arm. Said arm was bandaged and currently hanging in a sling.

When naruto had first seen the mans injured arm he had nearly had a heart attack. Turns out the third had destroyed the chakra points in his right arm during his battle with the previous hokage and despite tsunade doing everything she could to heal them, they just wouldn't fully heal. Naruto had obviously offered to heal the arm himself but hiruzen had refused countless times and naruto couldnt quite understand why.

"Bah!" Hiruzen waved the boys concern off." I cant even feel the pain anymore so no need to worry." He stated with a small smile.

Naruto frowned under his mask." Old man, you should just let me heal it for you." He stated." Seriously! It wont even hurt, i promise!" He told the man but hiruzen just waved him off.

"Naruto, i dont wish for it to be healed-"

"But why?" Naruto asked, cutting the man off." Youre the hokage and you have to be at full strength at all times!" Naruto pointed out." And you cant be at full strength if your arm doesn't work proper-"

"Im retiring naruto."

"...im sorry old man i dont think i heard you correctly."

Hiruzen let out a small sigh." Im hanging the hat up naruto." He repeated softly and he watched narutos demeanor change instantly. The boys shoulders slumped and despite having his mask on, hiruzen could see the utter devastation within the boys mismatched eyes.

"W-what?" Naruto asked softly as he stared at his surrogated grandfather." Why would you.." the blonds voice failed him.

Hiruzen let out a soft sight as he reached up to the kage hat that rested on his head. He pulled the hat off and laid it down on his desk between him and naruto.

"I've worn this hat for many years naruto." He began softly as he gazed down at the hat." I've led this village through two wars, I've sent shinobi out to save lives and I've also sent shinobi out to die for their homes." He explained softly, his aged eyes seemed to close briefly as if he was remembering the past." I gave this hat to your father and in but a few years time it was once again resting atop my head."

"Old man.." naruto spoke softly as he stared across the desk at the man.

Hiruzen gave the boy a small smile." Truth be told naruto im tired.. so tired." He admitted softly." If i was younger id have no problem with keeping this hat for a tad bit longer but my body isnt young anymore naruto." The elder man watched unshed tears well up in the boys eyes and he felt a rush of emotion run through him yet he held it in." Its time i give the hat up for good this time and rest." He finished with a small nod.

"B-but-" naruto began." Whos gonna be hokage then?" Naruto asked softly as he looked down at his hands which were lying in his lap." And who all knows about this?" He asked curiously." Have you told people yet?"

"I've informed both the fire lord and the council about my decision to retire for good this time." Hiruzen answered with a nod." As for who will take my place.. well theres only two people i could trust with this hat and my village.." he watched naruto stare down at his lap as he continued." The first would be tsunade." He told the boy." She's the granddaughter of the first hokage and the grandniece of lord second. Being hokage is practically in her blood. And the second.."

Naruto heard something slide across the desk towards him and looked up to see hiruzen gently pushing the hat towards him. His mismatched eyes widened slightly.

"The second is you naruto-kun." Hiruzen told the boy and he watched as narutos eyes lit up with utter shock." I've watched over you as you've grown naruto. Ive kept track of your progress throughout the years and i cant tell you how proud of you i am." His aged eyes softened." You've had to deal with things no one your aged should ever have to experience and I've seen how strong you've become because of it. Your will of fire burns brighter than even lord firsts naruto." Hiruzen explained softly." And ever since you took down the three tails, everyone in the village has begun to look up to you."

Naruto blushed lightly at that. It was indeed true. After the villagers and shinobi had found out that he had woken up they began to practically bombard him with kind words and applause whenever he was out in public, it was almost too much for the blond.

But he never let their praise go to his head as there was a little voice in the back of his mind reminding him about the fact that all it would take was one mess up and everyone could turn against him.

It happened to kakashis father, the white fang of konoha, after all...

"So i need to know naruto.." hiruzen spoke, causing naruto to snap out of his thoughts. The blond locked eyes with hiruzen and the aged man pushed the kages hat just a tad bit closer to naruto." Will you take my place and become the fifth hokage of our beloved village?" He asked in a soft yet serious tone.

Silence fell over them as narutos wide eyes continued to stare down at the hokages hat in front of him. He was currently racking his brain in order to give the man an answer yet he couldnt.

Ever since he was a small child he had wanted to be hokage. He wanted to be the person that everyone looked up to, he wanted to lead his home towards a prosperous future... but as he grew and became a ninja, that dream changed.

Dont get him wrong, he still wanted to be hokage but he didnt just want prosperity.. he wanted peace.

As he rose through the shinobi ranks he had seen the darkest parts of this world. He had seen how utterly evil humans could be and how dark the shadows of the shinobi world were, and for a time he was apart of those shadows.

He had killed far more people in his short thirteen years of life than he could count and it weighed heavily on his soul.

He didnt want his future children, or anyones future children, to deal with such darkness. He wanted to create peace between the hidden villages and end the bloodshed. He wanted a world of peace, but he had to ask himself if he could create that world by sitting behind a desk?

"I.." naruto began as he looked from the kages hat, up to hiruzens face." I need a few days.. to think.." and before hiruzen could respond, naruto vanished into thin air.

Hiruzen let out a small sigh as he stared at narutos empty chair. With a small smile on his face he picked his hat back up and rested it upon his head once more.

"You've already given me your answer naruto.." he stated softly.

• with naruto•

Naruto appeared right outside of kakashis apartment. His eyes were wide and unblinking as he quickly walked up the stairs and made his way to kakashis door.

Without even knocking the blond threw the door open and marched into kakashis living room, idly closing the door behind him.

"Kakashi I-" his words caught in his throat as he stared directly at kakashis.. who was lying completely naked on his couch.. not to mention anko.. who was sitting completely naked on top of kakashis lap.

Both adults stared at the blond with wide eyes as an awkward silence settled over everyone.

That is until anko spoke up.

"Hey there gaki!" She greeted with a big smile on her face.

Naruto stared at her blankly before speaking in a dead tone." The old man just offered me the hokages hat. And i think im gonna say no."

In the blink of an eyes both adults were up and completely dressed with kakashi giving naruto a wide eyed look.

"He offered you the position of hokage?" The grey haired jonin asked in quiet surprise.

"The hell would that old bat do that for?" Anko asked rather loudly." I mean sure, you're strong. But you're a little young dont you think?" She pointed out.

Naruto walked over to kakashis recliner before sitting down and burying his face in his hands." I think im gonna say no." He repeated softly.

Kakashis walked over and put a hand on the blonds right shoulder with a concerned look in his eye." But naruto, becoming hokages your dream." He reminded the blond." Why would you turn it down?" He asked.

Naruto rubbed his eyes before letting out a sigh. He then looked up at kakashi." Because i cant save the world from behind that desk." He admitted softly.

"This is some real heavy shit." Anko stated from her place directly behind kakashi.

Kakashi glanced back at her before looking back to naruto." Naruto." He spoke, his voice was calm yet firm. Said blond looked up at the man and waited for him to bestow some sort of guidance." I cant tell you to accept the hokages offer or not." He admitted." I can only tell you to think about it for a few days before coming to a decision." He stated." Weigh the pros and cons in your mind and then decide what you want to do." He reached down and ruffled the blonds hair with a smile on his face." Wether you become hokage or not, i will always be there next to you. You wont ever have to face the darkness of this world alone... thats a promise of a lifetime." He finished softly.

Naruto stood up and wrapped his arms around the man before hugging him with tears in his eyes." Thanks.. aniki.." he whispered out and kakashi rubbed the blond head with a small chuckle.

"No problem." Kakashi replied.

Naruto broke the hug and began walking towards the front door." I gotta go think about all this." The blond stated as he opened the door up before coming to a stop." And before i go.." he looked over his shoulder at them with an eye smile." Wear a condom. Im not ready to be an uncle yet!" With that said naruto dashed out of the apartment, slamming the door closed behind him, just in time too. As not a single second later there were three kunai sticking out of the wooden door, right where the blonds head would've been.

"That little brat." Kakashi grumbled lowly as he glared at the door, that is until anko stepped in front of him with a small grin on her face.

"Seeing you act all fatherly like that was kinda hot kashi-kun." Anko told him in a rather seductive tone.

Kakashi gave her a small grin." You think so anko-chan?" He asked curiously and the woman nodded her head. He leaned down and locked lips with her and anko wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Take me to bed." She ordered in a small whisper before yelping out a laugh as kakashi picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist before lunging forward and locking lips with the man once more.

• with naruto 2hrs later•

The blond quietly entered hinatas home and took his sandals off. The entire house was dark and he couldnt hear a single sound from within the home, telling him that everyone was asleep by now.

He quietly made his way to hinatas room and silently entered. His eyes softened as he saw his girlfriend sleeping peacefully, tucked comfortably under her covers. The only light in the room came from hinatas light purple nightlight that she had plugged into the wall next to her bed.

He slid the door shut behind him before slowly walking towards the bed, idly slipping his jonin vest off and quietly dropping it to the floor as he walked, not seconds later did both his mask and his headband land quietly atop said vest.

He made his way to hinatas bedside before sitting down. He stared down at hinata with soft eyes before reaching his hand over to gently run his fingers through her hair.

Hinata let out a sleepy moan as her eyes slowly slid open." Naruto-kun.. whats wrong?" She asked him softly.

Naruto let out a small chuckle." Why do you think somethings wrong love?" He asked her as he took his hand away from her hair. He quickly lifted her blankets before sliding into bed next to her.

Hinata immediately wrapped her arms around his midsection before lying the side of her head against his chest." You're worried, i can feel it." She told him quietly.

Naruto slid one arm under their pillows before wrapping the other around hinata. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head." Im not really worried, just confused." He admitted softly.

Hinata snuggled deeper into his chest before letting out a content sigh." Talk to me." She told him." Please." She added softly.

Narutos eyes softened." I've spent the last two hours sitting on top of the hokages mountain thinking about the future and in my mind, all i see is darkness." He told her sadly.

Hinatas eyes opened again and she leaned back before lifting herself up and resting her head atop her hand. She looking into his eyes and frowned softly when she saw him avoid eye contact with her. She used her other hand to run her fingers through his hair." Why do you see darkness?" She asked him curiously.

"There's something coming hinata-chan." He told her." Something bad and im not sure ill be able to stop it." He admitted." I know that i wont be alone, i know ill have my friends standing next to me but i dont think it'll be enough to win."

Hinata stared at him in silence as she saw something in his eyes that she had never seen there before.

Fear.

"You're scared, arent you?" She asked as she stopped playing with his hair. Her eyes softened when the blond looked away from her and nodded." Naruto-kun." She used her free hand to grab his face and forced him to look at her. She bent down and rested her forehead against his.

"I dont know whats gotten you so afraid, but i promise that we'll make it through it. Together." She told him with a soft smile." You're the strongest person i know." She admitted." And i know that when the time comes for you to face this darkness, you'll win. I just hope that ill be strong enough to be there standing by your side when you do." She finished with a small smile as she caressed his cheek.

Naruto didnt reply, instead he stared into her eyes as if he was searching for some kind of doubt, yet all he found was confidence and love. He felt all his fears seemingly wash away and his cluttered mind seemingly cleared up.

"I love you." He spoke in a soft whisper but it was loud enough for hinata to hear.

The girls eyes seemingly sparkled and her smile brightened." I love you too." She replied.

Naruto smiled at her before she pushed him onto his back. He blinked in surprise when he felt hinata straddle his waist. He looked up at her and found her smiling down at him, her cheeks were dusted a light red as she leaned down to kiss him.

Naruto leaned up to meet her half way, his right hand laid softly against the left side of her head as the two kissed softly.

The kiss, while soft and gentle, was enough to cause narutos beating heart to speed up. He felt his hormones rise and if hinatas racing pulse was anything to go by, she felt it as well.

Their kiss quickly began to heat up and in no time at all naruto found himself shirtless with hinata leaning back a bit, her hands reaching down to grip the hem of her shirt and naruto watched her, with nothing but love in his eyes, as she began to lift her shirt.

• cliffhanger for obvious reasons•