The war was finally over and everything was trying to be put back in motion. Naruto's glance turned away from the Hokage great stone faces to watch all the busy civilians scatter about, waving at him as they bustled about in their daily routine. He smiled lightly and waved back to them. The breeze caught his empty jacket sleeve and the pity poured off of the people in waves. His bright mood dimmed, they all pitied him because he only had one arm... every day since they had come back a week ago... the civilians saw his lack of arm and had offered their assistance out of pity.

Naruto only grinned and declined, saying he may only have one arm, but he could do it. They left it at that because despite his current handicap, he still did everything as he normally would. Even eating ramen the way he usually would, just minus one arm. Teuchi had been saddened and amused all the same as he had watched Naruto slightly struggle to snap apart the chop sticks. He had slammed them down once in aggravation, only to snap them apart, then grin and dig in as if nothing were wrong.

Naruto had occasionally tried to visit Tsunade, but he was unable to see her each time he tried. Tsunade was busy filling out paperwork designating Kakashi as her replacement, which Naruto held a great pride over. Although, Kakashi couldn't be any less ecstatic about it. He supposed the lazy copy nin wanted absolutely nothing to do with being Hokage, but he had no choice in the matter. He was in no position to decline, seeing as Tsunade was working on a special project that she refused to let anyone know about, saying it was a surprise.

Naruto didn't sweat it, he didn't mind Tsunade being all secretive like that. She needed her alone time just as everyone else did. And that was beside the point, her and the Raikage seemed to be getting a little more chummy than he figured they would. He withheld a snicker at this, he had seen them getting all close and comfortable at the last kage meeting. He had no issues with the two of them getting together, not like he was in any position to object anyways.

He had also tried to see how Sasuke was doing, but every day at the time Naruto had gotten around to see Sasuke, the raven haired male was stuck in those meetings with the Hokage and the elders. Sasuke was enduring his punishment and listening to his restrictions as of this very moment, to be frank... Naruto sighed, the raven haired male would vanish right after these meetings, which were completely unnecessary in all reality, everyone knew they were going to release him to do as he pleased for his assistance in saving the shinobi world anyways, so Naruto didn't understand why they even bothered...

He sighed and thought about his pink haired friend, whom he hadn't seen since they got back. Sakura was busy at the hospital with Shizune, making plans on upping the medical districts in all of the other villages as well. He shook his head in an exasperated manner. He didn't understand all the medical crap either way, so he wasn't going to bother with trying to join in on conversations with the two medics in any form or fashion.

Another sigh left his lips as he thought about his friends. He hasn't seen hide nor hair of half of his friends since they stepped got on the village... there was one person he was looking for in particular, but he couldn't find her either he supposed he should just leave it be, seeing as she had a funeral to set up... she did lose her brother in the war after all... He wished he could talk to her... it had been a week and the only glimpses he would get of her was a flash of her navy blue locks around a corner or a flicker of her lavender coat as she rushed to and fro gathering things for her father he supposed. His eyes became downcast and he shoved his one remaining hand into his pocket.

He sighed as he began to think about what happened to his right arm for the third time that day... Sasuke... he hoped his friend was faring well, despite his situation and lack of a left arm. Naruto sighed and looked up at the sky... a sullen look flashed through his eyes. Everyone had lost so much... he strolled past Ino's shop, backtracked a few steps and then came to a stop. He peered inside and saw that she lay across the counter, tears streaming down her face, her mother sitting in the back room her face in her hands. He could tell they were still mourning for Inoichi... a flurry of rapid footsteps caused him to look away from his blonde friend. Naruto turned to see Sai land beside him, give him a curt nod, then pull a scroll from his pouch and a bouquet of wildflowers which he supposed Sai had picked himself. Sai walked into the Yamanaka flower shop and stood before Ino, who wiped her eyes, straightened herself up, and dusted herself off before turning to Sai with a forced smile.

Naruto was confused as to what his emotionally confused friend was trying to do. Sai pulled out the scroll, unraveled it and set it out for Ino to see, then when she had gasped and held her hands over her mouth, he said something and handed her the flowers. Ino walked around the counter with tears in her eyes and hugged Sai tightly, who hugged her back without hesitation. It clicked in Naruto's mind what had just happened, and a smile broke out over his lips. He was proud of his friend, who had always been so confused, but now Naruto saw that Sao was no longer confused when it came to Ino.

Naruto had always seen how Sai watched Ino, he had tried to be secretive, but there was nothing secretive about his admiration of the lovely blonde woman. Sai had invited him over once, but had failed to hide his painting of Ino, that was when Naruto had figured out Sai was infatuated with the blonde... then he began noticing Sai's stares, the nickname he had picked for her, and the way Sai's mouth became slightly a little more filtered around the blonde girl.

Naruto smiled, then turned and walked out towards where he knew two of his friends would be, the barbeque place. He rounded the corner to see Shikamaru and Temari standing there, their hands intertwined. A slow smile resided on Shikamaru's lips, while Temari held a cocky smirk, Naruto couldn't help but smile at the two as he waved at them. They waved back mirroring his smile. "So I see you got over your fear of commitment." Naruto laughed lightly as he shoved his lone hand back into his pocket. Shikamaru ignored his remark and smiled at him, nonetheless.

The pitying glances they gave him as they stared at his stump of an arm, faltered his smile only minutely. "I have my brother back... so what if I lost a limb here and there... I have him back." He stated with a signature grin and they smiled at him once more. "I guess it would be worth it, having someone back whom you thought was lost." Shikamaru said and Temari nodded. An excited noise and a feminine laugh caught the attention of the three.

"Oh, Choji... this is that special friend you were telling us about? You scoundrel." Temari remarked, seeing the thin red haired woman with Choji. A surprised look crossed both Naruto and Shikamaru's faces. "Oh! Uzumaki!" The redhead greeted and Naruto waved. "You're not going to hit me again are you Karui?" Naruto asked with a grin and the redhead smirked. "Not unless you need it." She said and he laughed. "I guess I will be seeing y'all later, you seem to have plans." Naruto said and waved himself off. He shoved his hand in his pocket and trudged on once more. He slightly wondered, how all of his friend had found someone, while he was still alone...

He supposed it was because he had spent all his time chasing his pinkette comrade, and they had all spent their time chasing after one person and that person alone. He came along Lee and Tenten, who were chatting happily about whatever it was they were taking about, most likely Lee and how his training was going. Naruto blinked for a moment then realized that the same look Sai had always given Ino, Lee was giving Tenten. A small smile tugged at his lips, but his chest ached and his eyes held envy. He turned to face away from them and ended up running into someone.

He ruffled his hair and offered an apology, but Shino patted him on the shoulder with a frown. "No apologies needed. Come, follow me my friend..." Shino said and Naruto nodded. "They all make you envious, don't they?" He asked stiffly and Naruto nodded. "It makes me feel so alone..." Naruto whispered and Shino nodded. "Sometimes just going home and taking a nap helps. Don't worry Naruto... we will still find someone, it sometimes just takes a little longer for certain people." Shino said as they reached what used to be Naruto's home. It had burned down not long after the war had begun, leaving Naruto to reside in an apartment complex near the Hokage tower.

Naruto caught a glimpse of a small box sitting atop the ruins of his old home. It wasn't unusual for him to return to this place, everyone knew he missed his home. He picked up the small box and pulled off the top to reveal an address and a set of keys. He blinked and showed Shino who shrugged but followed his blonde companion, after the blonde had placed the keys within the pocket of his pants.. At the address on the paper he found yet another small box.

He opened the small box to find another note. This one told him to go see Sakura. He and Shino took to the rooftops, to avoid the commotion of the streets below. They jumped of the building next to the hospital and ran in. Shizune called out a greeting and they waved at her as they rushed past. Naruto skidded into Sakura's office, then he turned away from it with a blush. Shino stopped and turned to face away from the doorway as well.

Sakura sported a dark blush and a disheveled appearance. Sasuke on the other hand sported a smirk while sitting atop Sakura's desk in the same place Naruto and Shino had caught them in, although now he was propping himself up with his lone arm. "S-sorry Sakura-chan." Naruto managed, trying to hide his embarrassment. Sakura began straightening her clothes out with an embarrassed look. "That's my fault... I didn't lock my office door." She mumbled and Shino cleared his throat to try and stifle his own embarrassment.

"Anyways, was there anything specific you needed?" she asked, scratching her cheek with a pout. Naruto blinked then nodded rapidly, fishing around in his pocket for the note that read, "for the next clue, you need to go see Sakura-chan." He handed it to her and a grin crossed her lips as she dove over Sasuke, dumping him off of her desk and into the floor with a loud thump. Sasuke began muttering curses as he forced himself off of the floor.

"Hey Naruto, Shino." He greeted as the three watched Sakura throw papers into the air while searching for something that she had supposedly dubbed more important than Sasuke at the moment. "Naruto..." Shino began and the blonde turned to his bug wielding friend. "Sasuke met me only once and yet he called me by name... even with all the extra clothing, he recognized me..." Shino moped and Sasuke chuckled and shook his head.

Naruto glowered at him slightly for still being caught up on that incident. "CHA!" Sakura yelled, catching the three off guard as she jumped out of a pile of paperwork, holding a slightly larger box this time. Naruto's face broke out in a grin before Sakura handed it over to him. Sakura held the box while Naruto pulled the lid off of it. Inside lay a picture frame. He lifted it out of the box and his jaw trembled and he almost dropped the picture frame.

In the picture stood his mother, father, and Jiraiya. His lip trembled as he tried to withhold his emotions. Sakura smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "Someone obviously cares a lot, if they wanted you to have this." She said and Naruto nodded rubbing his eyes on his forearm. "Now... dobe..." Sasuke began and a smirk crossed his lips. "Go find the next item, dumbass." Sasuke added and held up the note, which read, 'it's a place you know well, with the smells and the memories, it would be hard for you not to go there, especially on an empty stomach.'

Naruto thought it over for only a second then bolted, Shino following behind swiftly. Sasuke chuckled as he shook his head. Sakura grinned at him as she set the now empty box on the desk. "Good thing he has Shino with him, he is going to have quite a bit to carry." She laughed. Sasuke cracked a smile and patted Sakura on the head. "I suppose we've done our good deed for the day... now... is it impolite to ask if we get back to what we were doing before?" he asked and Sakura flashed him a look

"Quite." She said and he grumbled but then he found himself in the floor. "I don't feel like doing work right now, so you're off the hook." She laughed. "You know... this whole one armed thing... sometimes I don't think I mind it very much... I kinda find it a bit... dominating for one in my position." She snorted and he gave her a dirty look. "I can still overpower you..." he said and her eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh can you now?" she asked, her voice thick with humor.

:-:-:-:

Naruto skidded into Teuchi's shop and the old man grinned. "I suppose you're here for something more than just ramen today huh?" the old man chuckled and Ayame smiled. Ayame pulled a larger box out of the back room of the shop, surprising Naruto. Shino stepped into the restaurant as well, only to take the large box from Ayame's grasp with a small noise of acknowledgement. Shino opened the box and tilted it to show Naruto what was within. Bright orange and blacks caught his eye and he chuckled. New clothes and a blanket.

"I can't-" Naruto began and Shino shook his head. "I know, as a friend, I will carry it for you." Shino said and Naruto smiled in gratitude. "Thank you..." he said and Shino nodded. Naruto grabbed the note from the side of the box. "There's a shop across the street from Choji's favorite snacking place. Walk in and tell the woman behind the counter "I'm here for the shipment for Naruto Uzumaki." She will understand, but was instructed to not say a word."

Naruto looked over at Shino, who nodded once he had read the new note. "Let us be going then, shall we?" he asked and Naruto nodded. His excitement was barely containable. There were so many nice things that he was getting, and he still had no idea what the keys were for... whoever was giving him all of these things, he was going to thank dearly. When his house had burned down after being rebuilt, he had lost everything he had ever had.

Pictures of his parents, of Jiraiya... pictures of all his friends... he had lost everything... he lived in a hotel now, so he still had nothing... he turned the corner and walked into the shop across from the BBQ place Choji adored. The store itself didn't appear to have anything inside or even sell anything... he had never been to this place before... so he didn't even know what this place was. There was an elderly woman behind the counter and she smiled at him.

"Hi... uh... my name is Naruto Uzumaki... I was told I had a shipment waiting..." Naruto said as he scanned around the place. She smiled and dug through a drawer. She pulled out the note and handed it to him. "Your shipment will be delivered to the given address... for now, you have other places to be." She said with a smile as he took the note. "Thank you." He said and they left. Naruto read over the note and furrowed his brow. He couldn't discern anything from it really...

"Let me see..." Shino said and Naruto showed him the note. "Ah, it is saying that the azure Daffodil has the next note." Shino said and Naruto gave him an odd look. "And you understand that there are a lot of daffodils... right?" Naruto asked and Shino chuckled but nodded. "It says the blue daffodil, not the yellow daffodils. It means Ino. She has the only blue daffodil in existence." He said and Naruto had a look of understanding cross his face.

"Oh! I see. Well then, let's go." Naruto said, once he placed his precious photo in the box. He and Shino took off towards Ino's shop and they slowed their run when they saw the store come into sight. Naruto treaded lightly as he entered her shop. "Ino-chan...?" he called out softly and he heard a movement in the back. She appeared around the corner and offered him a bright smile, no longer was she the tear stained woman she had been hours ago.

He grinned at her. "Sai brighten your day?" he asked and she nodded. "Very much so... thank you, Naruto... for dragging him along that day." She said and Naruto blushed and scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "In all reality... I brought him along so he would torment someone other than me for a while..." he said with a nervous chuckle and Ino laughed, a real laugh; and Naruto smiled at this. "Ne, ne Naruto-kun! I have something for you, actually a group of somethings." She said and pulled out a box, similar to the rest, but different all the same.

Ino opened the box, which had a blue daffodil printed on the outside of it. she pulled out a huge scrapbook. She flipped through the pages and Naruto smiled slowly. There were pictures of all of his friends in the book, whether they were from the leaf or not, there were pictures of them in there. There was even a picture of Sakura and Temujin, back when they had gone to assist the sand with the issue involving the rodent. There was even a picture of Kasumi, from the mugenjo... everyone he had met and even considered a friend, all of them resided within this book of memories.

Whoever was doing this for him really cared if they went back that far to get pictures to put in here for him... Naruto flipped through the pages, eyeing the pictures of all of his comrades with an awestruck gaze. "Naruto... you have plenty of time to reminisce later, don't you want to find the big surprise?" she asked and Naruto's head snapped up from the book and he nodded closing it softly and placing it in the box after receiving a nod from Shino.

Ino handed him yet another note and he read over it. The only thing written on there was that he had one more place to go. "Kurenai's house?" he asked and Shino shrugged. They made their way over to Kurenai's home and knocked on the door. The dark haired woman opened the door with a smile, her young son propped on her hip. "Naruto, you wouldn't mind holding little Asuma while I get it for you, would you?" she asked and he shook his head, taking the infant from his mother without hesitation.

Naruto could only hold the child to his side, but the sheer excitement of holding the infant made him want to do so much more. Naruto loved children and he wanted to give them a much better life than he had growing up. He bounced the child on his hip, causing the infant to giggle, which in turn made Naruto grin. Kurenai laughed lightly seeing the excitement in Naruto's eyes. Kurenai gently took her son from Naruto and handed him a small sheet of paper with a crude drawing of a building on it.

Naruto squinted and tried to discern what the image was but he gave up and flipped it over. "A door with a crest, a key to a lock, all it takes is just a turn of the knob."It read and Shino set the box down to take the paper from Naruto. He pulled a pen from his pocket and he darkened the main lines of the drawing. "This is the building we are looking for. Thank you Kurenai sensei." Shino said and she smiled and shook her head.

"No, I need to thank the both of you. Thank you. You're doing well, both of you." She said and Naruto's cheeks tinted red in embarrassment as she walked back into her home. Kikaichu buzzed around Shino and Naruto frowned. "It seems I am being summoned by my father. I will drop these off for you somewhere, for now, find the place here. Alright?" I will be back later." Shino said and picked up the box once more. "Alright man, thanks again." Naruto said and Shino nodded. "And again, no worries, I can handle this from here." Naruto said with his signature grin.

Shino nodded and vanished with the box in hand. Naruto looked at the drawing and grinned. "I can find this!" he said and took off across the rooftops. He began his search when the sun was closing in on the horizon, but it continued on late into the night. He sighed as his stomach growled, the streetlights flickering overhead. He was hungry and all of the places he liked to go eat were closed at this time of night. He sighed and rubbed his stomach with his hand, a defeated look on his face.

He was about ready to give up when something caught his eye. He had just strolled past the Hyuuga compound what felt like an hour ago before this little fence caught his eye. He scanned over the drawing once more, then a grin broke out over his lips. He rushed over and swung open the gate. He closed it quietly behind him and fumbled for the keys in his pocket as he walked up the sidewalk to the door. He pulled out the keys and took in a deep breath as he slid the key into the lock.

That was when his eyes caught sight of the crest on the door, it looked very familiar, but he couldn't place it. He shrugged and grinned when he heard the click of the lock. He pushed open the door softly and walked down the foyer and into the room at the end of the hall. A flicker of light in the dark house caught his eye and he walked over to it. He didn't quite feel right being in this house, he supposed it was because he felt like he wasn't the only one here.

He rounded the corner and he saw the flicker of light again, leading up the stairs this time. The smell of a burning candle found his nose and he reached along the wall to flick on the light. The room became illuminated and he saw there was a king sized bed in the center of the room in a accenting shade of dark grey to go with the black pillows and sheets, and the walls were a borderline blue, except much lighter as to not darken the room.

He caught sight of orange and black and he slid open the closet and saw all of his clothes hung up neatly. He also noticed that the fuzzy blanket that had been in the box with his clothes was folded neatly and placed on the dresser across the room. The house was well furnished, he noticed as well... he could never afford any of this furniture, even if he was getting paid a kage salary... he had ninja sandals in his size lining the bottom of the closet in the floor as well.

He made his way back downstairs, flicking on lights as he went, only to see pictures hung neatly along the walls. Pictures of all of his friends and their genin groups, as genin, then as chunnin as well, were lining the stairwell. He grinned and flicked on the living room light, to see nice comfortable looking couches and chairs furnishing the room, along with a nice sized tv, much bigger than any he had ever seen. "Whoa... I didn't know they made this this big..." he said with his jaw agape as he inspected his new tv.

He blinked and turned towards the last room, a kitchen... he rushed to the door and flicked on the light. He opened all of the cabinets, revealing not only instant ramen in the cabinets but dishes and other foods as well. He opened the fridge and it looked freshly stocked. He grinned as he pulled a note from the inside door of the fridge. "Welcome home." He read from the note and also heard from a voice behind him. He turned around to see Hinata standing there with a soft smile.

"You did all of this... for me?" he asked and she smiled brightly. "Yes, just for you." She said and was surprised when he collided with her his lone arm clutching her to him tightly. She was hesitant at first but then her arms wrapped around him as well. "Why would you do all this for me? it must have cost a fortune." He said and she heard the cracking in his voice, he sounded close to tears. She smiled softly. "Because Naruto... I've told you before... it's because I love you..." she said and he gripped her shoulder tightly.

"You have no idea how much this means to me... you risked your live to save me not once, but twice... you've always cheered me on silently, and tried to do your best even if you ended up hurt or in the hospital, just because I cheered you on... you've always given me that medical salve you made whenever I would get hurt... you cared for me... all this time... and I was always too dense to see it... I see now... that you... you're the one who means the most to me... whenever I see you hurting... something just... snaps... I never want to see you cry... I never want to see you in pain... so please... please never leave my side. This entire time of me searching from clue to clue... I had so deeply hoped it was you... and it was..." he said and Hinata felt his tears drip down over her cheeks from where they had fallen from his.

She pulled back the slightest bit and placed her hands on his cheeks and she smiled at him with tears shining in her eyes. "I promise you... Naruto Uzumaki... that through thick and thin..." she began and touched her forehead to his. "I will always be there for you..." she said and he grinned at her through his happy tears. "And I will always be there for you, lady Hinata Hyuuga." He chuckled and embraced her closer with his lone arm.

"Oh... Naruto-kun..." she began and he blinked at her. "Father would like for you to come to dinner, he wants to speak to you." She said softly and he grinned. "Don't worry, I'll be there... just for you." He said and she smiled brightly. "Oh... and Hinata..." he began and she smiled up at him. "All of our friends were in on this weren't they?" he asked and she giggled. "Well... there could be a possibility Shino and Kiba were in on it..." she said and Naruto rose a brow. "Kiba too?" he asked and she nodded sheepishly as a pure white puppy came running through the house.

"Kiba was definitely in on it." she laughed and Naruto chuckled as well. "I thought I smelled dog." He chuckled.