A Bright Future {Naruto x Reader}

Chapter 31

(Y/N)'s POV:

Studying for the Jōnin exam was definitely worth it once we did the actual exam. Naruto has done the Chunin exam before, so he had an idea of how things could go, and he, of course, told me all about them.

When Kakashi said it would take us two years to really be ready to become Jōnin, I thought he was pulling our leg or trying to motivate us to work harder. But now... Two years later, having passed our exam and gotten promoted. We know it's a good thing we did all that preparation before.

Naruto was beyond ecstatic about this promotion! He always felt like he was behind all of his friends since they got promoted before him when he was training with Jiraiya. Then, he concentrated on getting Sasuke back and the war; he never had the time to focus on himself.

With his new Jōnin title, he's one step closer to becoming Hokage, and he couldn't be happier.

Sakura and I invited all our friends out to celebrate Naruto. Even though it's been a while since we've become Jōnin, this is the first night that everyone is free to hang out and stay up as long as we want to.

"Since when do you want to eat barbeque for dinner?" Naruto asks me as I take him to the restaurant. "Since tonight, it's special, so I thought we would do something a little different." I tell him a small lie. He doesn't know that everyone is going to be there. "I could think of a different way to make tonight special, mm?" he grabs me by my waist and spins me around. "I don't know why tonight is special, but how about we celebrate it alone, at home? Just us." he leans in and starts leaving small pecks all over my neck in the softest ways. "N-Naruto, we have-"

"How about you leave all that mushy stuff till you guys are behind doors? Seriously, get a room." Kiba bumps into Naruto's shoulder. "Kiba, Hinata, how are you, guys?" Naruto leans back but keeps one hand around my waist. "Hello, Naruto. Thank you for the invite (Y/N)." Hinata smiles and gets closer to Kiba.

Hinata and I are somehow friends now. It was a bit awkward at first whenever we bumped into each other, and I was with Naruto. But recently, it seems she doesn't mind us anymore, which is why we somehow got closer. "Of course, it wouldn't be the same without everyone." I tell her.

"What invite? Everyone? What's going on?" Naruto is confused, and that makes Kiba laugh. "Come on." I start walking, and Naruto follows to keep his hand around. We get to the restaurant, and everyone is already there, sitting and ready to greet the man of the hour.

"What? What are you guys doing here?" Naruto asks, but he's already happy. "Well, these two thought we could have a night to celebrate you getting closer to your goal. Congrats on becoming Jōnin, Naruto." Ino points to Sakura and me and goes to hug Naruto.

Everyone gets up in turn to congratulate him, and poor Naruto gets flustered and doesn't know what to say. We all take our seats, "Thank you guys, but it really wasn't necessary." he scratches the back of his neck. "I mean, (Y/N) also became Jōnin. So, I shouldn't be the only one celebrated." he pokes me.

"Well, I'm not aiming to be Hokage. I only took the exam because you told me it would be fun. Just accept the party." I poke him back, and he blushes again. "T-Thanks, guys, really." he tells everyone, and they all start teasing him. "Oh, then we can celebrate you becoming Captain of your own Jōnin team!" Naruto remembers and insists that I get celebrated as well.

The night starts off great, we enjoy all our food and drinks, and we start sharing stories of our recent missions or anything interesting that happened in our days. Once things began to calm down and we were just chatting and hanging out, I started to notice things that were hidden when things were loud...

Kiba and Hinata are sitting next to each other, and they seem to be lost in their own conversations most of the night. They are both smiling and laughing at whatever the other is saying. Could it be? I didn't know something like this was even possible.