Chapter Fourteen

"Meeting the Clan Head"

"Oi, Sai! What am I gonna do?" Naruto said wearing a crying face.

"Let's check in my book," Sai replied.

Naruto did not know what to do after asking Hinata's hand back in the hospital. Like his usual problem, he had no idea about marriage or what should be done before the wedding.

"According to what's written here, you should go see the woman's family and formally ask her hand from them especially from her father," Sai stated.

"Meeting the family? Talking to the father? You mean to Lord Hia--" Naruto did not finish his sentence. The thought of meeting Hiashi made his knees tremble. He was hopeless.

"Naruto, act like a real man and face Lord Hiashi, or else he wouldn't let you marry Hinata." Sai threatened him.

"Is that so...?" He said still wearing a crying face.

Suddenly, Naruto fixed himself and sat properly on the bench. Sai gazed at him for seconds. He was confused by Naruto's sudden change of expression.

"Do you think I need to go look for someone to ask for advice?" Naruto said.

"That is better," Sai replied.

"But..." Naruto paused. Sai stared at him.

"Who would that be?" Naruto murmured and held his chin.

"You can ask a married man or a married woman," Sai replied.

"Hmm. Kakashi-sensei is single and is the Hokage so I can't ask him about these things. Iruka-sensei is single too so it's a no, no. Guy-sensei is a no, either. What am I gonna do?" Naruto said while grabbing both his cheeks.

"Calm down," Sai said. Naruto was still fussing about it.

"What should I do? What should I do?" He kept blabbering.

"You're hopeless," Sai muttered.

"Oi, Naruto..." Sai called out for him.

"Yeah, what?" He asked.

"Did you know Shikamaru went off to see Temari?" Sai asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"You don't feel like losing to him, right? He might end up marrying Temari first before you could have asked Hinata's hand from Lord Hiashi." Sai said.

"Sai!!!" Naruto screamed.

"Are you..?!" Naruto asked while giving him a mad look.

"I'm just saying," Sai said. Naruto calmed down and sat on the bench again.

"I think I need to go grab something to eat," Naruto said and left Sai behind. Sai stared at his back until it fades away.

He was walking down the village streets. Everyone he bumped into greeted him with a smile. He stopped at a very familiar store.

"Yo, Naruto!" An old man greeted him serving a bowl to his customer. He went to his favorite spot in the village, the Ichiraku Ramen.

"Yo, old man!" He replied.

"You're all alone. Got a day off?" The old man asked him.

"Sort of." He replied while rubbing his nose. He sat on the vacant chair.

"So, what's your order?" Old man, Teuchi asked.

"One extra-large misu." He said.

"Alright! One extra large misu is coming!" He said with a cheerful tone.

"Hey, Naruto!" A light brown-haired woman called out for him.

"Ayame-san." He muttered.

"It's been a while, Naruto. How have you been?" She asked him.

"As usual, 'ya know. Went on missions, come here for a bite, and got some day-offs." He said.

"Pretty cool." She said while smiling.

"I just noticed that lots of people come here lately."  He said.

"Well, that's true and it's all thanks to you," Ayame said.

Naruto blushed at her statement.

"Wha-what?! M-me?" He said while pointing to himself. Ayame nodded while smiling at him.

"Well, look at that." She said while pointing to his right. Naruto was shocked after seeing a poster of him while eating ramen.

"Wait, why did you pin a poster of me on there?!" He screamed in his surprise.

"Father acknowledges you as the hero of the war. Since you love Ichiraku Ramen, he decided to put that poster. And you know what Naruto? People coming here always wear a smile every time they see you on that poster." Ayame was so proud to tell Naruto about the poster. Naruto was a bit shy.

"Re-really?" He was slightly blushing.

"You became an instant celebrity, you know? You are popular to the kids and to the ladies in the village." She revealed. Naruto's face turned red. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Here you go! Here's an extra-large misu for Naruto!" Teuchi said and served hot ramen in front of Naruto.

"Thank you so much, old man," Naruto muttered.

"No problem." He said and gave him a thumbs up.

"Thanks for the food." He said and started eating.

"By the way, how was Hinata?" Ayame asked. Naruto tilted his head.

"She's doing fine," Naruto replied.

"I see. It's been a long time since you eat here together." She said.

"Yeah. That's true." Naruto replied.

"Bring her here again sometime," Teuchi said. Naruto then suddenly stopped eating and stared at the bowl for seconds.

"What's wrong Naruto?" A worried Ayame asked him.

"Ahh... Ha-ha-ha. Nothing. Sorry if I make you worry." Naruto said giving them an awkward laugh.

"Eh... You can tell us Naruto." Ayame said and winked at him.

Naruto suddenly became sad. Ayame was worried about him even Teuchi had a furrowed forehead.

"I don't know what to do..." he started.

"About what?" Ayame asked.

Naruto started talking about it. The two kept listening to him. Ayame and her father looked at each other.

"So you're problem is how to approach Lord Hiashi?" Teuchi asked.

"That's quite tough since Lord Hiashi is known to be strict and hard. Well, that's the hardest part talking to the woman's father and asked her hand from him. There is a possibility that he doesn't like you for Hinata." Ayame added.

"Ayame, I think that's too much for Naruto." Teuchi interrupted his daughter.

"I was telling him the possibilities and he must be ready for it if it happens," Ayame said while pouting.

"Naruto..." Teuchi muttered.

Naruto looked at him with sad eyes.

"Cheer up boy. You're not the type who is easy to give up. The first test is to have the courage to talk to him. Always remember that a father has always a soft spot for his children. All you need to do is to have a tough and strong heart to prove that you are worthy of his trust. Hinata isn't just an ordinary girl of this village, so Lord Hiashi could not entrust his daughter to whoever desires to marry her it is too risky in his part as a father." Teuchi explained.

Naruto was enlightened.

"I know it because I am a father myself." He added.

Naruto came to realize it. He knew he was right.

I should not let my heart be moved or shattered. He thought.

"Thank you old man, Ayame-san," Naruto said and sipped the last drop of ramen in his bowl. He waved goodbye to them and headed his way to the Hyuga's.

"Naruto..." Hinata murmured while touching the ring on her finger.

"So you are getting married?" Hanabi said who was sitting in front of her.

Hinata slightly blushed and bent her head.

"He asked me back in the hospital," Hinata replied like she was whispering.

"So when does he plan on talking about it to father?" Hanabi asked while she was playing with the tip of her hair.

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it yet." Hinata muttered.

"Big brother Naruto must be scared of father." Hanabi chuckled.

"I think so too." Hinata smiled.

"Lady Hinata..." a woman interrupted their conversation.

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

"Naruto-san is outside and looking for you." She stated.

"Naruto?!" Hinata said with a surprised look on her face. She immediately stood up and ran towards the entrance.

"Naruto?" Hinata muttered.

"Hinata, yo!" He greeted her.

"Please come in." Hinata invited him. Naruto followed her into the living room.

"Hinata..." Naruto called out for her.

"Yes?" Hinata replied.

"I wanted to talk to Lord Hiashi," Naruto revealed. Hinata's face brightened. Hinata smiled at him.

"Please wait here, I'll go tell him," Hinata said and went to tell her father.

"Big brother Naruto please have some tea." Hanabi offered him.

"Thanks, Hanabi." He said and sat down on the chair.

"I bet you want to talk to father?" Hanabi started.

"Ahm.. Ummm. Yeah.." he replied.

"Perfect timing. He's around today." She said. Naruto took a sip of tea. He was slightly nervous. He was feeling cold too.

"Naruto, he was waiting in his room," Hinata said when she arrived.

"Y-Yes. Thank you, Hinata." He said and stood up from his seat. He followed Hinata and both of them stopped in front of Hiashi's room.

"I think he wanted you two to be alone for a while," Hinata said while looking at Naruto's eyes. He smiled at her.

"Yeah but," Naruto was a bit worried. Hinata held his hands.

"It will be fine." She said and smiled at him.

"I feel like powered up a bit. Thanks, Hinata." Naruto said and kissed her on the forehead.

"I think I should be going in now," Naruto said and let go of her. Hinata nodded and walked away from him. Naruto slowly opened the door. Once he had opened it he found a sitting Hiashi in front of a table with cups of tea on it while his eyes closed. Naruto stepped closer to him, he kneeled and bowed his head while spouting "Good morning" to him. As he raised his head Hiashi spoke.

"Have some tea." Naruto became pale. This was the first time he was talking to Hiashi all by himself.

"I have some earlier. Thank you." He politely replied.

"What do you want to talk about?" Hiashi asked still his eyes were closed. Naruto swallowed all the saliva he had in his mouth. He was nervous. He took a deep breath and seriously stared at Hiashi's face.

"I wanted to ask Hinata's hand from you, Lord Hiashi," Naruto said and bowed his head.

I did it. He thought.

"I already knew about it," Hiashi replied. Naruto immediately raised his head and looked at Hiashi with a puzzled face.

He already knew about it? He thought.

"Did Hinata tell you?" He asked.

"Nope." He replied.

"But how?" He asked. Hiashi suddenly opened his eyes while activating his Byakugan. Naruto was so frightened and moved away from the table.

"S-so... it's the Byakugan huh?" He said while acting like a scaredy-cat. Naruto slowly moved closer to the table using his knees. Hiashi then deactivated his Byakugan.

"I'm sorry if I scare you," Hiashi said. Naruto gave him an awful laugh.

"It's fine..." he replied.

"All I want for my daughters now is happiness," Hiashi said. Naruto was a bit surprised and looked at his face.

"I was so strict being the head of the main family and not realizing my daughters were suffering from it." He continued. Naruto kept on listening to him.

"I was inconsiderate of their feelings, especially with Hinata. Both she and Hanabi never experienced a normal life like the others. Since they were kids all they did was train and fight to become the heiress of the clan. I was so selfish. I did not even think of the welfare of my children or if they were happy with the life they have." Hiashi said with a gloomy face. He was staring at the floor and looked awfully sad.

"Did I ever thank you for changing the clan?" He asked. Naruto was surprised.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Back in the Chunin Exams where you fought Neji and won against him, you made me realize so many things." He continued.

"When Hinata faced Pain to protect you, and when she was willing to give up her life to protect you in the war made me realize that you mean a lot to her." He revealed. Naruto did not believe what he was hearing from Hiashi.

"I deemed her weak and a disgrace to the clan so I let Kurenai take care of her. After becoming a ninja, she became who she is right now that I failed to see as her father. She had changed after being away from this place. She became stronger and makes friends. She got the confidence in herself, she found power and confidence in kindness..." Hiashi continued.

"I came to realize that you two are so alike. Hinata always looks up to you and she tried her best to make herself stronger. Even Neji noticed that too..." he added.

He reminisced the time when he was talking to Neji while Hinata was training.

"Naruto... I failed as a father." Hiashi said.

"That's not true..." Naruto said. Hiashi looked at his eyes.

"Hmm..." Hiashi murmured.

"Hinata always wanted to be kind like her mother and strong like her father. That's what she always tells me. She always looks up to you as her father and she is always grateful to you." Naruto revealed. Hiashi was surprised and his eyes became cloudy. Grain of tears wanted to let out from his eyes but he tried not to let them out.

"Thank you for letting me know," Hiashi told him.

"Ahh... it's not a big deal, 'ya know." He said while laughing awkwardly.

"I know you can give her the happiness that I failed to give her. Naruto, can I make a request?" He asked.

"Yes sure..." Naruto replied.

"Please make Hinata happy. Give her the best family that you both never had. Both of you be good parents to your children. Don't let them experience the hardships you have experienced in this world." Hiashi said. Naruto's face brightened.

My chest... It's so heavy. I feel like crying. He thought.

He bowed his head and told him...

"Don't worry. I promise you, I will make Hinata happy." Hiashi smiled at him. It was a genuine smile.

"Father..." Hinata murmured as she heard everything from the outside. Tears were flowing on her cheeks.