🌻 Sakura has been less grumpy, but she still refused to talk Kakashi and I. She and Sasuke had been on each other's side ever since last night. Aside from Naruto's nonsense, the journey back to our village was uneventful; the tension between us was heavy, almost suffocating. Perhaps I was the only one who felt that way, Sakura smiled along with Sasuke as they conversed silently.

On the other hand, Naruto has been keeping an eye on me.

"Hinata.." He suddenly whispered after cutting short his story about ramen.

"What?" I whispered in response.

"Don't be sad! I'm always here for you and I always will be!" He grinned widely.

A blissful warmth filled my chest as I heard those words.

"Thank you.. Naruto....." I smiled sincerely.

"YAY!!! HINATA-CHAN SMILED!" He hopped around enthusiastically.

I giggled at his overreacting antiques and admired his cheery attitude from afar.

"Hinata-chan smiled~~"

"Hinata-chan smiled~~~~~!"

He sang and hopped around in happiness I can never understand. I sighed and shook my head at this unbelievable guy.

🌸 The moment Naruto shouted, I was going to punch him 700 feet into the ground, but I did not; the reason was simple:

Because he makes her happy.

Her expression whenever she was with Naruto and her reaction when Naruto just burst out with enthusiasm when she smiled to him did not go unseen.

Clearly, Naruto has successfully planted a seedling into her heart and it's starting to grow.

When the flower blooms, I hope she won't be too late.

Finally, the large gates of Konoha came into view. In front of the gates stood three figures waiting for our arrival. Two of them were Naruto's parents who waved hysterically in excitement. Another woman stood patiently with a gentle smile plastered on her face as she gestured Sasuke to come forward.

How nice it is to have loving parents...

Sasuke's lips immediately curved into a big wide smile. He left me behind and ran towards his mother to give her a big hug, then she pat his head. Naruto followed suit and jumped into his parents' awaiting arms. Mikoto gave me a warm smile before leaving with Naruto's parents for us to report our mission and also...

To find out about the truth. Of course, they do not know about that.

🌻 We travelled through the halls, on the purple carpet and headed for the door to the Hokage's office. We adjusted our eyesights to the brightly lit room which was illuminated by the sunlight shining through the window where the Hokage always stood at and look down upon the village with a noble heart to protect with his life. The aged man turned around to greet us with a smile.

"Ah.. Welcome back." His raspy voice passed through our ears.

~~~~~

Sakura impatiently waited as Kakashi reported the mission and included how it was apparently a B-ranked mission. Kakashi also emphasised on Sakura's ability which she kept a secret. The Hokage then was told that she will only answer after she learns about the truth behind her birth.

The Hokage sighed and blew out a puff of grey smoke.

"This.. Involves Naruto too. No one should be told about this as it is strictly confidential; therefore, the Uchiha must leave." He ordered.

Sakura, Naruto and I gasped at what the Hokage said.

Naruto is involved too?!

I glanced at Naruto and saw the obvious shock in his eyes.

He doesn't know about this too..?

Sasuke reluctantly leave, but the flash of sadness in his eyes did not go unseen. By the look of sympathy on both of my remaining teammates' faces, I could tell they saw what I did. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows with her fists clenched tight.

He must have felt left out and unbelonging.

"You can talk now?" She spoke with much harshness in her voice.

🌸 "I shall start from the beginning where all these begun, so listen carefully. Questions come after, understand?"

"Hai!" Hinata answered sternly.

"Understood."

"Got it, old man!" A tick appeared on the Hokage's forehead but was quickly brushed off.

"Kakashi, you may leave now." Instantly after that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Right. I'll repeat this again. What I'm going to tell you must not leave this room, am I understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Both Hinata and I said simultaneously.

"Get on with it, old- OW!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" I punched him on his head.

The Hokage sighed before starting.

"Years ago when the Fourth Hokage still ruled, a nine tailed beast attacked our village. I'm sure all of you know how he was sacrificed along with his wife?"

All of us nodded.

"Actually, they have a son by the name of Naruto Namikaze; however, they insisted on using his mother's name instead which is Uzumaki." All of us gasped and stared at Naruto. His mouth hung agape and could do nothing but stare mindlessly at the Hokage.

"The reason why he did not have his father's name is because there are people out there who wishes to steal the power sealed within him. And the power is.. The power of the nine tailed fox."

Our eyes widened in shock as we looked at Naruto to see how he was coping with all these unexpected informations.

So his parents.. They aren't real too..? He's just like me...

My eyes softened.

But at least.. They truly loved him and cared for him as their own child.

Hinata held his hand and squeezed it to comfort him to show that he was not alone in this. He managed to give her a grin, but we could all see how fake was it. We are teammates after all.

"Before the nine tailed beast was sealed within Naruto, it killed the lives of many; thus, most of the villagers despise the beast with passion. Because his parents could not bear their son being treated this way, they begged me to send him to be cared by a family which they will treat him like their own. Due to the incident with the nine tailed beast, no one dared to accept him which leads me to no choice.. I went to the hospital and switched Naruto with a newborn baby."

He heaved a deep sigh and released a string of smoke,"The parents of the newborn baby had similar features as Naruto, so she was chosen to be sacrificed."

My heart skipped a beat as I sucked in a breath. Glimmers of hope sparkled in my large, emerald green orbs and tears pricked my eyes.

"The newborn baby is.."

Thump!

"A baby with.."

Thump! Thump!

"Cherry blossom pink hair and.."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"....Emerald green eyes."

Tears flowed down my pale cheeks as a breath I held was exhaled.

My parents.. My parents are alive..!

"After that, the Head of the Hyuga clan called for me. His request...was to swap his soon-to-be-born baby with the newborn baby. For what reason, we weren't told of it. However, I came with the conclusion that he knew his clan was in danger. In order to ensure the next generation of the Hyuga clan, he needed his heiress to remain unknown."

So I..

"I suppose you can understand his actions."

Tears continued to fall and drip onto the floor. Hinata and Naruto looked at me with pity. Hinata reached for my shoulders, but I slapped it away and ran out of the building.

I ran..

I ran..

I ran..

By the time I got exhausted, I realised I have ran into the woods at the outskirts of Konoha. My legs trembled and dropped onto the ground. I sobbed with my hands covering my face, embarrassed to be in such a pathetic state.

"Now that you have learned the truth..." A voice spoke and a figure emerged from the woods.

🍁🍂🍁🍂

Dedicated to Heathen_xoxo for your votes on this story!

Since this is a Fanfiction, I'll just play around with the dates of birth ^^ The dates aren't fixed since it's not important, but you have to know that Naruto is older than Sakura and Sakura is older than Hinata. They are all older by a few days. Sasuke will remain the same.

Thank you for reading~

~Joelle Au

Published: April 2015
Edited: 6 May 2017