Chapter 12

We left Sunagakure two days later. It's kind of tragic that we all have gone through this trauma and likely won't get so many thanks, but that's not why we did it anyway. Leaving some of our friends behind was bittersweet because they weren't ready for travel yet.

Kiba joined Naruto and me as we drove back, but Matsuri was flown by helicopter to the hospital in Konoha, and Gaara stayed with her. Kankuro and Temari stayed behind to pack all of their clothes and belongings, Matsuri's included, and will drive it all to the Uchiha compound in Konoha afterward. The girl didn't wake up after being taken off the medicine and officially became categorized as comatose. When Tsunade gave him the news, Gaara's face was like a punch to the gut.

Ino, Sasuke, Sai, and Sakura also stayed behind because the pink-haired girl's still recuperating. We finally visited her, and she seemed just as exhausted as I thought she'd be after all she'd gone through. Ino assured me when we were saying our goodbyes that it'd likely only be a few more days before they followed us.

If Hanabi and Sinzo weren't waiting for me, I would've stayed so we could all be together.

Traveling was so much smoother since we didn't have to scrounge for vehicles or fuel, so after an eleven-hour drive, we arrived back in Konoha. We will stay in the compound with the others until I can figure out what is going on with my childhood home.

Kiba bid us a short-term farewell when we dropped him off at his parents' house, who sprinted outside to greet him. Tears threatened to well up when the Inuzuka man hugged them without restraint.

Then, I drove Naruto and me to Inaka Village, a two-hour drive to the opposite side of my large hometown. The car remained silent as I kept my eyes on the road. It was already after ten at night, but it seemed counterproductive to stop anywhere to rest. The closer we got to my mother's house, the more I became anxious. Naruto was fast asleep in the passenger seat, and for that, I was grateful. I love him to the moon and back, but he might ask me to talk about my nervousness if he was awake, and I really don't want to.

When we finally arrived, I was stunned to see Neji and Hanabi sitting side by side on the house's front steps. It looked like they were casually talking. Even if she immediately referred to him as her brother, she doesn't warm up to others easily.

They took notice of our arrival but likely didn't know who we were because it was so dark. I softly patted Naruto's thigh, and he stirred, stretching slightly as he looked around. Realization met his bright blue eyes, and he gave me a small smile before gesturing for me to get out so I'd know he'll follow. Taking a strengthening breath, I unbuckled my seatbelt, turned the car off, and stepped out.

"Hinata!"

I looked up in time to see my little sister sprinting out of the gate to throw her arms around me. A slight sound of surprise passed my lips as I accepted her embrace, wincing as she'd accidentally bumped the cast on my arm.

Once my shock passed, I couldn't stop crying as I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed tightly, burying my face in her shoulder, "It's over, Hanabi." She pulled away after a moment, and we both wiped at our tears, laughing awkwardly.

I hugged Neji when he approached much more calmly, and he donned his usual blush, "Do you guys want to crash for the night?" I glanced at Naruto, and he nodded. His bright blue eyes still have dark bags under them from all the trauma of getting shot and nearly dying.

"I heard what happened. I'm so glad you're alright!" Hanabi hugged Naruto tightly, surprising every one of us. The blonde winced but patted her back with a stunned expression.

I reached out to my little sister, "Hanabi, he's injured. You can't-"

"It's alright, Hina."

Hanabi was still crying. I glanced at Neji with a confused look, and he shook his head with a warm, knowing glint in his eye. Once our heartfelt reunion was complete, Neji let Naruto and I sleep in his bed while he went over to sleep at Tenten's house, threatening to murder us both if he found out we did anything inappropriate.

Naruto fell asleep almost instantly, laying on his back with an arm under my head since laying on his side was still a bit uncomfortable for him. I stared at his relaxed face in the moonlight with thankful emotions rising strongly in my chest. He almost died. He was nearly taken away forever but somehow managed to survive, and I'm so grateful to him for fighting.

"Hinata, can I come to sleep with you guys?" I rolled onto my back to look at the doorway and saw Hanabi with a red face. Understanding that Neji likely explained how close Naruto and I came to dying in Suna, she's probably been terrified that we wouldn't come back at all.

I lifted the blanket and reached over for her, and she grabbed my hand before crawling between Naruto and me, snuggling into my chest with a frown. After fixing the covers, I wrapped my arm around her and relaxed my head on the pillow.

For some reason, I needed to say something and whispered, "Thank you for waiting here. I know it wasn't easy."

She grumbled under her breath, "I'll forgive you on one condition." I made some sort of sound that told her to continue, and when she did, her voice was even quieter and laced with bashfulness, "Naruto has to move in with us. Neji said he doesn't think he has any family, and that's not right."

We both jumped slightly when the man in question spoke, voice husky with sleep, "I've always wanted an annoying little sister." A grin tugged at my lips when he turned his head to meet my eye, and I felt his emotions flow over. Hearing Hanabi say she wanted him around made him so incredibly happy and relieved.

In the morning, Tenten woke us by jumping across the bed while sobbing loudly as she tried to hug the three of us all at once, "I'm so happy to see you guys!" She and Hanabi ended up playfully wrestling until Neji and Konohamaru arrived to see why they were being so loud.

Yua made breakfast for us, and I awkwardly ate before escaping to Tenten's parents' house to see baby Sinzo. He appeared to be doing very well. Tenten's mother offered a million times to babysit anytime we needed a break from the infant in the future.

After thanking everyone involved for watching over my little brother and sister, Naruto, Konohamaru, Hanabi, Sinzo, and I piled into the car with our belongings stuffed into the trunk.

"Do you want us to take you home yet? We can't keep you hidden forever, or the Hokage's likely to start a manhunt," Naruto joked from the driver seat, glancing momentarily at Konohamaru in the rearview mirror.

The boy frowned with a very slight blush, "Yeah, take me home. I don't want you guys to get in trouble."

I told him how we met his aunt and uncle and how worried they were about him. That convinced him to swallow his pride and return to his family. He's undoubtedly embarrassed at having run away for seemingly less-than-trivial reasons after all we've just gone through. None of us are judging him because he's just a few years younger than us. Everyone makes stupid mistakes.

To my utter disbelief, my sister got out of the car to hug him when we arrived at Asuma's house. Naruto and I shared a look before actively trying to stifle our grins when Hanabi climbed back into the car. The two must've bonded a bit while we were gone.

We pulled up to the Uchiha compound an hour later and entered the passcode Sai gave us before heading inside. We were the first people to arrive from our group, but they told us to pick one of the first four houses because they were all empty. We'll only be using it for a bit, but that makes me feel guilty enough.

After parking at the first one on the right, we unloaded the car and went in to check the place out. Besides needing a very good dusting from being uninhabited for so long, the home was fully furnished and well-maintained. Hanabi called dibs on the one bedroom downstairs, which worked perfectly so Sinzo's temporary room could be next to Naruto, and I's upstairs.

Over the next few days, we made multiple trips to the house Madara and Masumi constructed to retrieve everything we'll need until we relocated.

Kankuro and Temari arrived four days after us and told us as we helped them unload their moving truck that Matsuri's condition hadn't changed, and Gaara still won't leave her side. They also said everyone else should arrive within the week, Shikamaru included. That little bit of news surprised me.

The rest of us sticking together wasn't surprising because of what we went through during The Program. Nothing brings people together like trauma. Not only that, but almost every single one of us has no parents or at least nowhere to go, Kiba, Sakura, and Ino excluded.

The difference is that Shikamaru has more than a few people to come home to his parents, his colleagues from ANBU, not to mention the dozens of friends who traveled all the way to Suna to fight for him.

The bashful look on Temari's face when Kankuro teased her about it was so out of character that I had to blink a few times to ensure I wasn't dreaming. She said he has some loose ends to tie up with Kakashi, his squad's leader, but promised he was joining her one way or another.

You fall hard when you fall during what can pretty much be considered a mini-apocalypse.