True words

A celebration was going to be set for the victory over Madara. And who made this possible? The Uzumaki. To honor him someone had to do a speech. Someone who was by his side his whole life, understood him and believed in him. Tsunade decided that Iruka, Naruto's old Sensei, was the perfect person for this job.
“Iruka, I want you to do this speech on the celebration.“
“Are you sure about that, Tsunade-sama?“, Iruka asked unsure about her decision.
“Absolutely. You are the one, who supported Naruto and believed in him from the very beginning. And you should know him the best from all the people out there. You have three days left until the celebration. Prepare yourself well.“
“Are you really sure that I'm the one who knows Naruto's true nature the best?“ Iruka was sure that there was someone who really knew the true Naruto. But if Tsunade insisted for him doing this speech then there was no way he could refuse this request.
Tsunade hesitated for a short moment. Now she wasn't so sure about her decision anymore. Who could he mean?
“You have to do work, Iruka. It's very important, so I'm expecting a lot.“
The academy sensei smiled and nodded. „You can count on me.“

Three days later on the evening while the sun was setting it was finally time.
Tsunade was standing behind the speaker's desk and said into the microphone: “Now follows a speech done by Iruka Umino to honor our best Ninja, Naruto Uzumaki, whom we are thankfull that we can stand here right now."
Tsunade left the stage and Iruka made his way to the speaker's desk. The people in front of him applauded for him. Until it was silent again Iruka started with his speech.
"Good evening ladys and getlemen. I hope you are all enyoing yourself on this wonderful evening. Just like our Hokage anounced before I have to do a speech for our hero Naruto..." Iruka hesitated a little bit. For a second he wasn't so sure if he should do it. But he was sure that it was the right thing to do and would give the people a totally different view over his precious student, which even he himself never had.
"But I won't do it.", he pronounced.
The people started to whisper around and asked why he said that and why he didn't want to do it.
Tsunade glanced confused to Iruka who looked at her, too. He  then only smiled assuring at her. She couldn't do anything than to trust him.
"I won't do this speech, because I believe that I'm not the right person for this... There is someone, who can  tell you more about our Naruto than I can. Significant and more deep things... I only know his pain route, since I went a similar path on my own. That's why I was able to understand him so good but in the end I wasn't more different than the others in the village at the beginning. But there is someone.... who was never like that... and that was Hyûga Hinata."
The audience starred at the young Hyûga princess, who was standing on the side of the whole crowd.
Hinata looked shocked and confused to the people. She wasn't prepared for that at all. What should she do now?
Kiba, who was standing right next to her just pushed her up to the stage. Iruka was on his way to leave it. He put a hand on her head and friendly smiled at her then he left the stage and joined to Tsunade, who only shooke her head with a smirk.
"You planned this from the very beginning, right?", she knowingly asked him.
"Yes, I did."
Tsunade smiled. "Poor girl."
Iruka smirked amused. "That's true. But I'm sure... she doesn't need preparation when it comes to this." He looked her in the eyes. "She will speak with her heart."
In her white dress Hinata was standing nervouse and frightened behind the speaker's desk starring at the people infront of her.
"A-are you sure, Iruka-sensei?", she asked into the microphone.
Iruka just nodded. Then she watched back to the people, who were standing there in silence.
"Good evening at first.", she nervously greeted all the people, who giggled after that.
"I-I'm not  very good when it comes do these kind of things and I'm not prepared for this at all that's why I can only tell... what I think." She breathed in and out to get some confidence. She didn't know how to start and what she should tell them about the Uzumaki. For a moment she closed her eyes and looked into her heart. to finde the answer. After that she gathered all of her courage together and all of a sudden the words flew right into her tounge.
"Naruto Uzumaki... Who is that? Some people know him as an impudent brat or as and loyal friend and ninja... Most of all people would say: In the past he wasn't the best... but i think... he was much more than that. Back then I've already said it to you what makes you so special... Naruto-kun."
Instantly the Uzumaki remembered the conversation he had with her before his battle against Neji in the Chûnin exams. "Even though you fail... you always have the courage and strength to stand up and keep going." How could he forget this conversation? That were the most beautiful words he has ever heard back then. They cheered him up and gave him new courage to keep going further.
"True strength doesn't lie on bulk... rather therein to have the power to stand up and go on even thought you failed... Well, that's how I see it. He was the only one, who had this kind of strength back then. And that's why I believed that one day... he will bring great things. I found it very incredible and admirable, because I also wanted to be like that. I also wanted to  have the power to always stand up. For some people it may sound weird but to me... he was always a wonderful role model. But not everyone saw what I saw in him. I saw honesty, courage, true strength and hope. If it wasn't because of him I wouldn't be there where I am today... I have learned and felt so many new things. More than pain and despair. Ich finally knew what it's like to have courage; be proude of youself; to fight; to have a goal." The Hyûga princess hesitated for a moment. "And most of all... to love." An "aww" came from the audience infront of her, what made the Hyûga to blush, but she didn't dare to become shy and embarrased. Her thoughts need to be told.
"Of course at that time I didn't know what was kept  inside of him. Back then I've always asked myself why he was condemned and detested so bad, because in my eyes he never looked like a dangerouse person, who seriously could endanger someone. Someday the truth wasn't hidden anymore from me... When I've learned about Naruto's..." She wasn't sure what she should call the Kyûbi. "Roommate...", she giggled, what made the people giggled, too. "I realised... how strong fear could be. My friends who were there at that moment, thought that it also happened to me, that I was fearing him, because I didn't say any word after I was told about the Kyûbi... But my silence had a very different reason."
Hinata's friends were curious now. Until this day they didn't know what was going on with her back then, when they've told her about the unpleasant truth about Naruto and the Kyûbi.

Hinata was sitting there in silence. No word came across her lips. Kiba and Shino looked worried at her. They thought that she was in a shock state, because she didn't give any reaction. Kiba gently put a hand on her shoulder and asked carefully: "Are you okay, Hinata?" Both guys weren't sure if she heard the question, but suddenly her lips formed a smile. "Of course, everything is alright, Kiba-kun." Kiba and Shino were unsure about that and asked for safety a secound time. "Are you sure? We can understand if you suddenly are-"
"Scared?", she cut the Inuzuka off.
Both nodded with their heads. But her smile still didn't disapear.
"I'm no scared."
For a moment it was silent. "How do you feel about that now since you know the truth now? Does that change anything?", Shino asked.
At first she didn't say anything. "Naruto is still Naruto. No matter if there's a demon inside him... or not."
That was her answer back then, but it didn't reveal a lot about her thoughts.

"I was rather speechless... I think that what I'm saying right now was in the sense of the Hokage, how everyone should have thought... Until this very moment from back then I've always thought... that Naruto Uzumaki was my life saviour and personal hero, who showed me the light in my dark tunnel and lead me to the right way... But how could I know that the Naruto Uzumaki, who today is celebrated as the world hero, was already a hero... from the moment he was born."
From the hundreds of people, who should have acknowledged him like that, there was only one who did that.  And that was her, Hyûga Hinata. From so many people it has to be the heir of the Hyûga clan, who had to make the people realise who Naruto really was from the beginning.
"I think from this moment on a lot of people will think in the same way like I do... because of his unwanted heroic deed a lot of people could still live and also be born... And today he also made the same thing possible... He saved life before he even knew it.... He was the light in the dark world from the beginning." Hinata waited for a litte moment  to let all of this sink into the people. "That's... how I see Naruto Uzumaki.", she finished her speech and bowed to thank all the people for listening to her. Then she left the stage as fast as possible and left the party. She was too confused to be able to stay there any longer. She needed a clear head and had to order her feelings.
The people stood silently in front of the stage and were starring after the Hyûga heir, who went away. A lot of people knew her and when someone would have told them back then that she could make a lot of pepole speechless, including the Ninja alliance, they would have laughed out loud. Hinata wasn't known for doing big speeches and saying wise words. But this was... unexpected.
Suddenly Iruka started to clap with a smile on his face, what initiated the other people to do so, too.
"Who would have thought that the little Hyûga heir would look like that at the people and the world.", the Hokage commented impressed.
Iruka nodded. "Ich always had the feeling that she was different." He should know it, since he was a part of her childhood and always could observe her.

Hinata was sitting on the Hokage mountain on a rock. She enjoyed the pleasant wind and admired the sunset in front of her. She kind of felt relieved, because she never gave so much information from herself and most of them were her thoughts about Naruto. But on the other side she felt fear and unsecurity, that creeped into her heart. What were the others thinking now about her? And most of all... what was he thinking? Now he knew how she was thinking about him and how she felt about him. The worst that was buzzing in her head was that he would claim her to be crazy and would avoid her because of it. But someday she had to face her fear. She just couldn't run away from her problems. That's what Naruto has taught her.
Another breez flew through her and she sighed troubled.
"What are you doing here?", she heard someone ask her.
Startled she instantly watched to the side and saw the person she expected the least at the moment. With pink cheeks she looked to the horizon and was thankfull that it was sunset right now so that her red cheeks weren't so conspicuous.
"Enjoying the sunset."
The Uzumaki sat next to her. "You're a very bad liar, ya know.", he said.
The Hyûga princess smiled caught.
"But that's what makes you special.", he added and glanced at her.
She looked surprised at him. She could see in his eyes that he already knew the real reason for her being here.
"I wanted to be a little bit alone.", she confessed and turned her face from him. "I have the feeling that I'm talking a little bit too much lately."
Naruto played that he would think for a moment. "Yeah, since you've mentioned it, it's definetly true... most of all it's about me you are talking.", he grinned cheekily.
Her cheeks turned again into a red colour and glanced shy over to him. "You're having fun, right?"
"Hell, yeah!", it bursted out of him.
She just smiled over his happiness right now, but after that she could only sigh. She told him so many things in such a short time. But this uncertainty how he thought about all of it an how his answer to it would be let her heart feel so much heavier than normaly. And she was scared that nothing will be the same anymore after he gave her some answers. That was her biggest fear.
Again a breez flew through them and made her long hair dance in it. Some wisps of her hair flew into her face which she needed to remove. But Naruto stopped her right in between the process by catching her hand with his one. Hinata looked wondered to the side and was catched by his eyes, which were looking seriouse into hers. She felt his hand gently tightening. /Does he suspect something?/, she asked herself. For some seconds she remembered the moment after Neji had left the world. He also held her hand and-
"Thank you.", she heard him whisper.
Embarrased she turned her gace from him.
"That newly... was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."
She still had her gace turned away from him but then she felt his other hand on her cheek. He forced her with soft power to turn her face to him. Now they were facing each other, but Hinata kept her eyes away from his gaze.
"Hinata... look at me."
She breathed in and than out. Slowly she looked up into his face and was instantly caught by his blue eyes, which always remembered her of the ocean. Suddenly a magical moment was built up between them that nobody could describe. She felt how his hand slowly glided into her neck and gently pushed her closer to him. Unconsciously  they were guided by the unknown magic and that pleasant sparkeling between them until their lips met for a tender first kiss. Her hand was squished a little bit more and she felt the gentle strokes in her neck which caused her goosebumps on her whole body. Some seconds the kiss remained like that until they parted from each other. Quietly and with red cheeks they leaned their foreheads on each other. The Uzumaki softly brushed his hand over her cheek and whispered: "You're the most precious person I've ever met... I don't want to lose my light, no matter what. So stay with me... forever."
She smiled happily. "I won't go anywhere... where you aren't."