"Wait, before we talk, let's go to my bedroom. It must be freezing just standing there outside!" said Hinata,

Akito nodded, closed the door and followed Hinata through the corridor and up the stairs until they reached her bedroom.

"Have a seat," invited Hinata as she gestured to the bed.

Hinata's room was plain but eye-catching. In one corner was the bed and in another was a big bookshelf. A table was to the back of the room along with her wardrobe. The scent of her room was tart and fresh, just the way Akito preferred.

"Hinata, as I said before, I have something to request of you..."

Hinata smiled at him sweetly. Akito could hold back no longer.

"Hinata, can I kiss you?"

Hinata widened her eyes in a mixture of shock and surprise. She knew Akito was blunt but she never expected him to be this blunt.

Kiss. The word was so unbeknownst to her, so foreign and strange yet so close.

Akito stared at her intensely. The feeling, she liked it. Hinata was sure of something — her love for Akito was definitely confirmed now.

"You know Akito...your way of saying 'I love you' is so unusual but...so cute..."

Akito's eyes sparkled with hope. Was this a sign?

"Akito...you...about your request...it can be granted..." said Hinata shyly, blushing and looking away from Akito.

Akito held back a gasp. Hinata, Hinata the girl he liked, no loved, felt the same way about him. It wasn't a whimsical desire. It was real, passionate love. Slowly, he inched towards Hinata who stared at him nervously.

Those lovely pale lavender eyes were so beautiful, so captivating. Hinata was manipulating him with an uncontrollable desire.

Akito reached out and took a strand of Hinata's long dark violet hair and tucked it behind her ears. He cupped her face lovingly. Slowly, he lowered his head down, his lips nearing Hinata's plump rosy lips.

Then...The feeling was unbelievable. It was slow, so full of passion and love, Hinata gave a little squeak which Akito found adorable. Hinata, sweet sweet Hinata was all his now. This was perfect.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hinata stared nervously in the mirror. Just hours ago, she had agreed to date someone for the first time — Akito — and now she was going on a date.

It was an hour before they were planning to meet at one of Konoha's fanciest restaurants.

Hinata couldn't wait but she was also worried: what if Akito didn't like her after all? What if Akito's confession was a joke? What is he was just playing with her feelings? What if she wasn't pretty enough for him? Akito was handsome after all. What if she wasn't wearing appropriate clothing?

A white blouse with bell sleeves, a black knee-length skirt and a pair of black flats, would Akito find it appealing? She had even asked Hanabi to choose something for all, albeit that caused a lot of teasing.

Only time could tell.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Holy, Hinata..." thought Akito as he saw Hinata at their meet-up point.

Akito wasn't dressed to badly himself: he wore a white dress shirt that he rolled up to his elbows, black chinos, a black leather belt and black sneakers. Sure he was handsome, but Hinata was dressed to a whole other level. She even had her hair curled, parted to one side.

"Akito, he's so handsome..." thought Hinata, blushing heavily.

They had a few minutes admiring each other but at last, Akito boldly but awkwardly made a move. He took Hinata's hands and led her into the restaurant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Your food will be here shortly," said the waitress as she walked off to serve another table, leaving Akito and Hinata staring at each other in silence. What was there to say to each other?

Eventually, their food had arrived but they were still sitting in silence. Suddenly, the door swung open and when Hinata and Akito looked up, they could not believe their eyes: it was Naruto and Akira, along with the rest of the Rookie 12 and their respective partners.

When Naruto caught sight on Akito sitting with Hinata, he winked at them and held back a laugh.

"Excuse me, but may I request that our tables are moved right next to the red-haired and purple-haired couple near the window?" asked Naruto as the waitress nodded and changed their reservation table.

Akito paled as he saw Naruto approaching the two large tables that were right next to him.

"Hello, Akito, I see you have made your bold move," smirked Naruto.

Akito punched him playfully. "I could have said that to you three years ago."

Naruto laughed heartily. "Oh well, how funny we're all dating now. Akira and I, you and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura, Shikamaru and Temari, Sai and Ino, Choji and Karui and Kiba and Tamaki. Well, almost all of us. Poor Lee and Shino."

Akito did not trust himself to speak. He stared urgently at Hinata but it was clear that she was not going to deal with the situation. She was blushing heavily and looking down at her meal absent-mindedly, half pouting. Akito was overcome with an urge to lean over the table and kiss her, but that wouldn't be apt so he reluctantly restrained himself.

"So..." started Akito awkwardly as Naruto and the others nonchalantly sat down, flicking through the menu.

"Chill Akito. We know that you want to have your fun time with Hinata and 'alone' date-time but come on multiple dates, please?"

"Uh, n-no, it's not that it's—"

"Awww! I get it! My baby Akito is just shy and awkward that he's embarrassed! Don't worry! You're surrounded by other couples so it's fine!"

Akito stared blankly at Naruto while he laughed. Akito's face was just priceless! The whole meal was just the other couples talking about their relationships and how they got together. Akito and Hinata were also heavily teased for being the newest but also the youngest couple.

"Shikamaru actually confessed first, surprisingly. You would have thought he was too lazy!"

"Ino told me that I was dense and said something about feelings not getting through but I think the only reason I'm just getting dumber is because I see dickless and his stupidity."

"Well, at least my girlfriend is better than yours!"

"Mhmm, better in the forehead size you mean."

"Hey! Don't insult her like that, Sai! She's my best friend! Like a soul sister."

"Yeah, Sasuke, don't bad talk Ino."

"Why is your love so complicated? Such a drag!"

"Says the one! Temari probably has to nag you all the time!"

"Funny thing is, Neji also nags!"

"What?! Really?! Ahaha, it's funny but not too surprising, Neji is orderly that's why."

"TenTen, please don't expose me like that, especially not in front of everyone!"

"It's fine, Brother Neji, your just caring."

"Ahhh sweet sweet Hinata. Tell me about your relationship with Akito though."

"Um...ah...so..."

"Then Akito, you can tell us?"

"You can find out for yourself! It's a secret!"

"Not for any longer," laughed Akira. "So, I noticed Akito becoming more strange recently. He was always in a daze and he couldn't fully concentrate on things so I asked Naru is there was anything wrong with him and Naruto told me that he had a gut feeling that Akito was head over heels for Hinata.

I confronted him about it and he didn't deny it and asked me about how to confess which was ironic because Naruto confessed to me, not vice versa. Anyway, I gave him some advice and soon after, he told me about how Hinata accepted and that is probably the first and only time you will ever see Akito not being snarky or playful. He was so shy, it was kind of cute, something I'll never see again, probably."

"Awww! So cute! Your love story is so interesting and romantic! I just found Choji cute and how he shared my passion for food!"

"That is cute, Karui-chan! Kiba and I got together because funny thing was that I like cats and he liked dogs and one day, Akamaru pushed me and cat over and that's from then on we took an interest in each other, despite having formidable pets who are still quite hostile to each other but they are civil."

"Haha, Tamaki. That's really ironic, but there's one thing I'm really curious about though. When did Sasuke and Sakura confess to each other? You guys were really sudden."

"Well...Sasuke, he actually confessed to me, in a really Sasuke-like way you know, because it's Sasuke, basically, when I was on the way home from the hospital, he stopped me in my tracks and then one thing went to another and yeah...we started dating..."

"Oh my gosh! Sakura! Why didn't you tell me this?! That is sooooo cute!

"Ehhh, stop it Ino!"

"Why though? I like making it established that you are mine."

"Damnnnn, why you have to be so possessive, Sasuke?"

"Who cares about that. I want to know how Naruto and Akira got together. Now that's a story to tell."

"W-wait, hang on a second! You can't just skip to my love life with Kira! That's not right. What about—"

"Akira, spill, now."

"NO!"

"Then I'll do it as you did to me," smirked Akito evilly. "Akira fell in love with Naruto's charm but he confessed first!"

"OMG! Really?! Damn, I never knew Naruto was like that!"

"S-stop it!"

"Awwww! Shy Naruto! How cute!"

As Naruto heavily blushed, he couldn't help but think that his life was perfect. It was all he had ever wanted. Akira was by his side, he had his old friends, everything was just so in place. It seemed like heaven...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Naruto approached the jonin shack wearily. It had been so long since he had last been. Eight whole years he had gone without seeing his beloved and first friends. He could hear them cheering and shouting in joy. It seemed like the whole lot was here.

He was nervous. What would they say? He had come back so suddenly and they didn't know that he was the Uzukage at all. Maybe this was the wrong idea? Maybe he didn't matter to them anymore? But then Akira's words flashed through his head.

"Real friends care, no matter the circumstance."

Mustering up his courage, he stepped into the shack...All activity stopped. Everyone stopped talking, no one drank their beers, it was so quiet. Silent.

Then Kakashi spoke up: "N-Naruto...is that you?"

Naruto stood there, and nodded, looking down at his feet.

Kakashi exploded. He jumped up to his feet and flung his arms around Naruto's neck, which was easy now since Naruto had grown much in the last eight years.

Naruto was shocked by the affection though. He hadn't expected it. Kakashi, in general, wasn't a fond person. He had only started opening up a lot more when he had started dating Shizune. Everyone else in the room were also shocked: to them, Kakashi was a respectable leader. Not even Anko could come up with a snide remark.

The rest of the night, the jonins had the biggest surprise of their lives. Naruto, once again, explained his lineage and his journey and what he had become when he was banished from Konoha. All he could say was that he was happy to be back. Now, everything, absolutely everything, was perfect in his life.

Just before they were going to leave, Anko made a toast: "Naru-chan, we have missed you and know that now you are a fully-fledged twenty-one-year-old, a whole year pass the drinking age, I invite you wholeheartedly to at last have your first drink with us. To Naru-chan!"

"Cheers!" exclaimed everyone as they lifted their glass to Naruto who felt extremely shy but happy.

Everyone was finishing their drink, wishing Naruto a hearty goodbye and starting to leave, Naruto noticed Kakashi sitting down, looking troubled. They were the only ones in the shack.

"Kakashi, are you thinking about Obito?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi sighed. It was obvious he hadn't digested the fact that Obito was still alive and well.

"You know, Kakashi, he isn't mad at you, you know? When I told him to break his childish persona, and he did, we talked about everything, and...you"

"Wh-What? W-why? I killed Rin and you said he saw it and how he hated me for killing her and—"

"Kakashi. Stop and take a deep breath. Obito is a kind and empathetic person. Sure he might have been annoying and bratty when you were on the same team as him but did he ever ostracise you? Obito loves you, and it hasn't changed.

Not even when you killed Rin. Do you know what he wanted when he found out about her death? He wanted to create a new world, where there was no suffering and where you guys could reunite. Kakashi, Obito gives you such love. So beautiful and free...unconditional love."

The Kakashi realised. Obito was the true epitome of a proud leaf shinobi and he was just an arrogant brat. All these years he had been living in lies. Sacrifice was the price.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hey reader-chans! Sorry for updating a day later, but, I have a surprise for you! Double updates! Which means the book will officially finish today! Yayayayay! I'm so happy right now!

I hoped you liked this chapter! This is the romantic development to Hinata and Akito! Isn't cute? I felt so fuzzy after editing the story between those fluffballs. They're sooooo cute!

See you in the last chapter!