x-x-x-x-x-x

Hinata's Decision: At Winter's End

x-x-x-x-x-x

It didn't hurt the way she expected. She expected…a shattering of glass. A crushing pressure on her chest, mercilessly squeezing her heart into itty bitty pieces before falling away like cracked diamonds. She waited for the ache to throb in the empty space.

But a broken heart was funny like that.

If she could compare it to anything, it was like she had collapsed in a puddle of mud. Rain pouring over her as she curled into herself and gazed past her hands–gazed through the empty spaces between her fingers and into the indented holes the rain pounded in the mud. It was obvious that she needed to stand up, go home, or at the very least leave. But she rooted herself to the spot and allowed waves and waves of nothing to wash over her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the wooden plank boards above her. Eyes unblinking, lips parting open, and nose inhaling a quiet breath. Yes, this time it was reality. This was how it would always be forever and always. Waking up in the tranquility of the Hyūga compound in her very own room. Alone.

Or at the very least, she would never wake up in Naruto's empty apartment again— bundled in blankets that coated her with his rustic, earthy scent and tinged with the lightest salt of sweat. Unconsciously, her hand reached for the drawer in her nightstand and she fumbled around for a scrawled note.

Hi Hinata! I hope you're feeling better this morning! I cooked some red bean soup for you in the kitchen, just reheat it and it's good to go. Make yourself at home! I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. There's something I needed to do…. something super duper important.

-Naruto

Her traitorous heart warmed. She shut her eyes tightly and took in a shallow breath. No Hinata, stop it! She knew that she read far too deeply into every line and every word. Naruto's kindness extended to everyone, and just because he acted so sweetly didn't mean he returned her affections, or even wanted her affections. Hinata abruptly sat up and ran a hand through her tousled hair.

Memories and images from two nights ago throttled back to the forefront of her mind. The innocent dare. The burning sensation of everyone's eyes on her–sympathetically watching her as if she would break like a porcelain doll before them. The hesitance and discomfort and panic clear as day on Naruto's face as the options jumbled in his head.

The way he chose Sakura.

In one rigid movement Hinata ripped the note in half. Then again, she ripped it to fourths. Ripped the little piece of paper again and again until it became tattered shreds.

She pulled her legs into her chest and dropped her head onto her knees. What…what was she doing? Should she really have been so surprised? How could she have expected Naruto to love her the same way she unconditionally loved him? Even after all this time, he somehow brought her back to Square One with one night and one answer.

"Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry," she repeated the mantra to herself in a voice barely above a whisper. Yesterday was his last chance, she had told herself. But she hadn't seen a single glimpse of him, and whatever was "super duper important to him," clearly wasn't her.

"Stop it, Hinata," she chided herself.

It wasn't his fault that he didn't like her. He didn't owe anything to her. As long as Naruto was happy…she was happy. Her heart rate slowed down, beating to a dull thrum, and she propped her chin onto her knees. Yes…Naruto deserved to be happy. If she truly believed in his happiness, earnestly said the truth when she told Shino and Kiba her wishes, then it was time to have her heart follow suit.

Hinata swung her legs to the side of her bed and stood up, prim, proper, and with her head held high. Today was the day. A fork in the path had arisen, and today, she chose the one that lead to where she would no longer love Uzumaki Naruto.

She forced herself to smile, and when her lips slipped into a thin line, forced herself to smile even harder.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hinata, is everything alright?"

She paused in swinging her arm back and turned towards her teammate. "Of course it is. Why do you ask, Shino-kun?"

Shino didn't respond, standing stiffly with his hands in his pockets. Hinata furrowed her brow.

"Shino-kun?" She prodded.

"Nothing really," he calmly spoke as if the lull in the conversation hadn't existed, "something just seems off about you."

"Off about me?" Hinata repeated the words slowly. Arteries and veins bulged from the side of her eyes as she activated her Byakugan and stared ahead. "I don't believe so? I've been hitting the target with every kunai, right at the center of their hearts. What do you mean, Shino-kun?"

Shino shrugged with one shoulder, but carefully observed how Hinata tightly clutched the kunai in her hand. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

Hinata pursed her lips, but before she could say anything, Kiba and Akamaru bounded up to them.

"Alright, me and Akamaru are all warmed up and ready to take you down Shino!" Kiba exclaimed, wearing a cocky grin as he pointed at the bug-user.

Shino clicked his tongue. "You mustn't be so arrogant. Why? Because it will only increase your embarrassment when you are defeated."

If anything, Kiba's grin only became more feral. "Oh yeah? Good thing that's not going to happen because me and Akamaru are gonna win!"

A nearly inaudible huff spilled out of Shino's lips. "What did I just say? Battle must be won with a level head. Why? Because–"

"HINATA!"

Hinata blinked, then brought a hand up to the shell of her ear. "I must be hearing things…." She muttered.

"No. I heard it too," Shino replied, shifting towards the training ground's entrance.

"W-What? But why?" Hinata stuttered, far more flustered than she wanted to be.

"HINATA!" The voice blared again, followed by boisterous calls of, "KIBA! SHINO!"

"And I see it too," Kiba chimed in, squinting his eyes into the distance. "Yo Naruto! What are you doing here?"

"Visiting of course!" He shouted back.

Hinata glanced back to see Naruto– sticking out like an orange flame in the grass and cheerfully waving at them– before herding Kiba and Shino into a huddle.

"Do either of you two have a mission with him today?" She asked in a hushed tone.

Both of her teammates shook their heads from side to side. Hinata bit her lip.

"What about lunch plans? You two occasionally eat lunch with him, right?"

Kiba scratched at his cheek. "Nah, I didn't see him at all yesterday. Unless I made plans that night and I can't remember…"

"You talked to him that night?" White eyes widened and she released a small gasp. "By any chance, did you say anything to Naruto-kun at Ino-san's party? About me," she clarified tentatively.

"Uhh…" Kiba trailed off, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I honestly don't know. I don't think so?"

"You did not say anything Kiba," Shino supplied.

"I see. Okay," Hinata exhaled a sigh of relief.

Crossing his arms under his chest, Kiba jutted out his lower lip. "But if I was sober you bet that I woulda! Honestly Hinata, there's only so much we can watch! If you won't get mad at him then I'll do it for you."

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata admonished immediately. "Someone…sober and irritated…" Her eyes curiously traveled to her other teammate. She opened her mouth, a hunch–larger than an inkling but far from a conclusive deduction– pieced together in her head. As she grappled with finding the right words, she failed to notice the tall shadow hovering over her.

"So…why are we all whispering?" A low and husky voice joined in.

Hinata squeaked, straightening so suddenly that the person behind her toppled to the ground and landed with a hard thud.

"Ow…" he groaned, brushing dirt off his pants.

Despite his allegiances, a smile played at Kiba's lips. "You're still as clumsy as ever, Naruto."

"Me?!" Naruto pouted.

"I'm so sorry Naruto-kun! Are you okay?" Hinata blurted out. Mortification paled her skin as she cupped the lower half of her face with both hands.

Naruto lightly chuckled, "Don't worry I'm totally fine, not even a scratch! Sorry, it's my fault for standing so close to you."

"Tryin' to act all cool in front of Hinata huh?" Kiba drawled.

Maybe Hinata had overused her Byakugan and needed to rest her eyes; she didn't know what else could explain the faint blush rising onto Naruto's cheeks.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata chastised, furtively elbowing him in the ribs.

Akamaru appeared from behind Kiba and barreled into Naruto, tackling him to the ground.

"Hey!" Naruto laughed as Akamaru's fuzzy tongue licked the whiskers on his cheek. "Long time no see buddy!"

"Oi, oi Akamaru, we're training!" Kiba reminded, taking a step towards his companion. Akamaru halted in tumbling on the grass with Naruto and slowly padded back to him. Sad puppy dog eyes quivered. His owner sighed, "Oh come on, don't give me that look…"

"Yeah Kiba, let us play longer!" Naruto added, blinking innocently at Kiba.

A shiver ran up and down Kiba's spine. "Eesh. Do not look at me like…like that," he motioned his hand in vague circles.

Naruto stuck his tongue out, but then let his eyes drift to a spot above Kiba's head. A large oak tree towered over them, aged yet sturdy, and with a list of numbers engraved on its trunk. "Hey…you beat my record. When'd that happen?" His voice lilted in surprise.

"Record?" Kiba followed his line of vision and craned his neck up. He thrust a thumb towards the tree behind him and smirked. "You bet. Your time of 3:33 was no challenge at all."

"Pft." Naruto pointed at the newest race time carved onto the bark. "Like your time of 2:58 was much better. If I could do 3:33 when I was 10 years old, then I'm way faster than 2:58 now."

The corner of Kiba's eye twitched. "Is that a challenge I'm hearing?"

"Maybe it is," Naruto returned back with a smirk.

It didn't take long for the two of them to agree on a pathway–artfully drawn with a stick in dirt– and the two shinobi took off like two hares in a race.

From the sidelines, Shino shook his head. "Kiba is not approaching this with a level head. He always fails to heed my warnings," he grumbled the latter quietly to himself.

Hinata said nothing.

The two stood as quietly as graves, and it wasn't that Shino was unaccustomed to silence…but.

"What is wrong," Shino stated, firmly, though not unkindly.

"Nothing."

"Please inform me."

"Nothing that's important," she nearly clipped. She stared down at her shoes, at the blades of grass flattened underneath her sandals, and wished that the Hyūga clan had made it a habit to wear dark sunglasses and she could conceal her stupid, expressive eyes.

"Please inform me," Shino repeated. "Why? Because we are friends. And everything is important to your friends."

She was okay. More than okay. This was not a big deal. Definitely not a big enough deal to be discussed, yet somehow she found herself saying, "It's strange, but I feel…relieved that Kiba-kun is distracting Naruto-kun."

"Why is that?" Shino questioned.

Hinata hesitated, but the unyielding attention past Shino's glasses caused her to relent. "It's just that…I decided this morning that I no longer want to be in love with Naruto-kun."

She took a deep breath and fidgeted with her hands nervously. Telling someone about her choice somehow…solidified her decision. The cold pit that hollowed in her chest when she said it out loud would soon fade away. All in a matter of time. "I guess I…don't feel prepared to see him quite so soon," she admitted.

Shino said nothing, though his eyebrows had knit together.

When Shino made no indication to speak, Hinata continued, "Shino-kun, if I may ask…did you happen to say anything to Naruto-kun? About me," she politely inquired, tone light and casual.

A stretch of silence filled the space between them. Then a calm reply, like a pebble rippling into a pond, "Perhaps."

"Shino-kun!" Hinata cried. "What, um, what did you say?"

Shino turned towards her. "I provided him with another perspective. I wished for Naruto to understand that his actions have consequences. Certain negative consequences on a precious friend of mine."

Her eyes softened. "Oh Shino-kun, I appreciate your concern for me, I do. It's just…" she brought one arm up to grasp at the opposite elbow and looked down at her shoes again.

"Go ahead, Hinata," Shino encouraged.

She sighed, and mumbled, "You promised me that you would leave Naruto-kun alone…twice."

"Once," Shino clarified. "The second time Ino made the incorrect presumption that we all had agreed to your request."

"Alright, once," Hinata conceded. "Even so, one promise is still a promise."

"I apologize," Shino stated, bowing his head towards her.

"It's okay. Well, I'm okay. I–"

"However, I do not regret my decision."

Her shoulders tensed. "Shino-kun, you told me that you'd remain impartial. And you told me you wanted me to be happy, correct?" Hinata said kindly, but even she could hear the strain in her voice.

"Yes, I did."

"So…it'd make me happy if you could...please leave Naruto-kun alone. Everyone's been giving him a hard time, and it's not his fault. It's all mine, really. Don't worry about me. I'm giving up, for sure this time," she proclaimed, carrying an eloquence that indicated her request was more than a suggestion.

Shino looked at her for a long time, expression unreadable. Hinata matched his stare, eyes never leaving her teammate.

"Reconsider," he said.

Hot frustration rose in her chest.

"This is my–"

"Why? Because you said that you could not so easily replace your affections for Naruto. Therefore, it is not time for you to give up," he cut off and continued before she could speak, "Tell me, would it honestly make you happy to give up your love without talking to Naruto yourself? You are providing yourself with closure too early."

Her eyes squeezed shut and she curled her toes. "I don't know."

"Wait a little longer," Shino offered gently, softening his monotone.

As if on cue, Naruto rounded past the grove of oak trees and sprinted the last stretch– a straight path up a hill, dappled with shade from long tree branches. Kiba darted out from behind the corner, hot on his heels.

Hinata's eyes drifted to Naruto. His arms pumped up and down, sweat trickled down his forehead, and his mouth hung agape as he puffed out pants. Rushing, rushing forward. Always running full speed ahead to the finish line. Whenever Hinata stretched out her arms and extended her fingertips and maybe, just maybe, thought she could graze his back…he would run out of her reach. Sprint away and leave her with nothing but his shadow. Naruto would never look back. Naruto had no reason to look back. Not when there were spectacular things like his newfound popularity, Sasuke's retrieval, and the road to Hokage on the horizon. Naruto was going to finally be happy. And that was all she wanted from day 1, honest.

Yet...and she was being horrible, she knew, she couldn't help but count the days in his shadow, never walking beside him.

"What is it that I am waiting for?" She finally replied, more to herself than for Shino's sake. The day Naruto found his true love? The day he finally rejected her? She was so tired of being a consolation prize. Of being Naruto's consolation prize. If by some chance, Naruto did date her, would he wake up every morning imaging her face to be someone else's? The image shook her harder than she wanted to admit, and she felt the embarrassing pressure of tears pricking her eyes.

"Hinata," Shino said urgently, concerned.

"Sorry, I," she cleared her throat and blinked away the moisture, "I think I'm going to take a break from training early today, I don't feel so well and I need to prepare to meet Sakura-san for lunch anyways," she explained, mentally patting herself on the back for not a single stutter.

"I see," Shino droned, staring at her with his eyebrows slanted ever so slightly–Shino code for suspicion.

"I'm fine, please don't worry about me," she waved off, mustering up her brightest smile before shifting to the side and blocking herself from Shino's view. Her face fell and she closed her eyes, placing her hand over her face–four fingers above her eyebrow and her thumb on her cheekbone–and discreetly wiped her eyes with her palm. When she re-opened her eyes, her heart nearly jolted out of her chest.

Standing in the dirt path, right in a middle of his race, Naruto had stopped short and with panting breaths, openly stared at her. The intensity of his blue eyes could pierce through walls, and he looked at her with a fervency that she had never seen before.

She blinked, was he really looking at her? She twisted her neck back and quickly scanned the surroundings. Nothing too unusual. Her thoughts were interrupted by a cacophony of thumps and startled yelps.

"The hell Naruto?! Why'd you stop like that? We're racing ya know," Kiba growled, brushing dirt off his pants as he pulled himself off of Naruto.

"I know, I know," Naruto insisted. Still sprawled out on the floor, he tilted his face away from Kiba and blushed. "Sorry I um…I got distracted."

"Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun, are you okay?" Hinata called, her face scrunching up in worry. She took a few steps forward.

"I'm fine, nothing more than a few bruises," Kiba responded back, waving his hand in the air.

"Me too! Even though Kiba is heavier than he looks. Like a lot heavier," Naruto replied.

"Oi," Kiba narrowed his eyes, "It's all muscle."

"All muscle huh…" Naruto grumbled under his breath. A wince flashed across his face and he sucked air through his teeth. It didn't go unnoticed by Hinata's keen eyes, and she crossed the distance between them. Hinata was still Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, could you please show me your hand? The prosthetic," she gently elaborated, extending her hand and laying her palm up. When she saw the hesitance in his eyes, she turned to Kiba and said, "Kiba-kun, I think Shino-kun wanted to ask you a question. Could you please find out what he needed?"

"Hah?" Kiba ruffled his hair. "Yeah, I guess."

When Kiba moved out of hearing range, Naruto opened his mouth, only for nothing but silence to come out. Perplexed, Hinata waited patiently. As he sat gaping like a fish, however, Hinata nodded in what she hoped came off as reassuring.

"Hi," he finally settled on.

Smooth, she could practically hear Naruto's thoughts out loud as his ears burned red. Her lips quirked into a tiny smile. "Hello."

Stepping past roots that jutted out of the dirt and broken branches, Kiba didn't look up from the forest floor and grumbled about how he definitely would have won if Naruto hadn't frozen like a deer in a light. He didn't look up until he reached a foot away from his teammate. "Yo Shino, what did ya want?"

"I do not require anything of you," Shino informed point-blank, unsurprised by Kiba's company.

Kiba, on the other hand, scrunched his face in confusion. "Huh? Hinata told me you wanted to ask me something."

"That is not true."

"Oi, what's going on?" Kiba complained, but Shino had no more to say on the subject. He turned his attention back to Naruto and Hinata, and nearly did a double take at the tender way Naruto looked at her, blue eyes soft and glowing with warmth. It wasn't the way he looked at a new ramen dish, or how his face lit up when a villager praised him, or even anything like that… if Kiba had to describe it he looked at her as if he liked–

Nudging Shino in the arm, he lowered his voice. "Shino, you seeing this?"

His teammate's head slowly bobbed up and down.

Despite being a fairly normal Shino response… a feeling in Kiba's gut turned into words, "Hey are you alright?"

"Yes," Shino answered immediately.

His suspicion doubled two-fold. "You sure?"

After a brief pause, Shino nodded again. His hands emerged from both of his pockets, sliding out slowly and stopping at the fringes of his pockets. Fingers curled slightly, he pinched the fabric of his jacket before allowing his hands to fall limply at his sides. He did not turn towards Kiba and said, "Yes. Why? Because I know what my priorities are."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Haruno Sakura was amazing. No question about it. Anyone who disagreed was simply… wrong.

Of course, Hinata wasn't the only who realized this. Villagers idolized her, medical professionals revered her, and that ice block of a human, Uchiha Sasuke, protected her with every fiber of his being.

Suitors across all villages clamored for her attention, and Hinata absolutely understood why. As a combination of beauty, brains, and brawn, it was no wonder that everyone under the sun loved her. Hinata couldn't even remember the last time anyone had a crush on her, probably because no one ever did, and when she looked at Sakura, she knew it was no secret why.

"–So I was thinking, even though physically these children are healed, how do they feel…on the inside? I want to create…a program that helps children cope with living through the war. After seeing everything that Sasuke-kun and Naruto went through…I don't want any child to have to suffer like they did. What do you think Hinata? You think I can do it?" Sakura asked a touch hesitantly, the silent wish for approval tucked in her question.

Hinata set her fork down with a clink, the answer already obvious. With a firm nod, Hinata reassured, "Absolutely. Sakura-san, there's no one else more suited for the job. You're going to make so many people happy."

Sakura beamed, bright and happy and not at all like a dark, weird girl. "You really think so, Hinata?"

"Of course," she replied. An emotional support clinic was a great idea—Sakura was amazing for always, always wanting to help people. To save people. She actually made differences.

The smile on Sakura's face lit up even brighter, and she said, "I'm so glad we've started having lunch together more regularly. You are like a breath of fresh air compared to…" she rotated her wrist in the air, "actually you just are a breath of fresh air. You're the sweetest person I know, not to mention the nicest."

You're wrong, that's not right. She thought immediately, guilt bubbling within her. I'm petty and awful and…jealous. Why am I jealous of my close friend?

But Hinata kept those thoughts locked tight as she pulled on a tight smile. "You're giving me too much credit, Sakura-san."

Sakura shrugged. "I don't think so."

Hinata pressed her lips together, her mind unconsciously scouring for any of Sakura's flaws. Large, green eyes openly shined back at her, warm grin still in place.

Nope. Nothing. Why was she even looking for imperfections? What kind of friend was she?

"Hey Hinata? Is something wrong?"

Was she always so transparent?

"No, I'm alright," Hinata swiftly responded, shaking her head for extra emphasis.

"Are you sure?" Sakura pressed in concern.

With all these people studying her like a book, Hinata wished she had just stayed home and burrowed into her bed.

Nevertheless, Hinata schooled her face into perfect composure and mustered up a smooth answer, "Yes, I'm definitely alright. Perhaps I'm still a little tired from Ino-san's party."

"Still?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, but seemed to accept the answer. She chuckled, "I guess you did go pretty hard, I was surprised Hinata."

Pink dusted her cheeks and she laughed politely. In all honesty, Hinata would have preferred to erase the entirety of that night.

The two ate in silence; Hinata noticed that something preoccupied Sakura's mind, but not in a particularly negative way. Usually she would have inquired her friend about it, except today she felt content to push her food around her plate…

"Cinnamon buns? That's the food you like?"

Bright blue eyes peered curiously at her before he craned his neck forward. He leaned over the windowsill and studied her cinnamon bun like it was an unknown specimen.

She peeped out a squeak, jolting upright and nearly falling out her chair.

"N-Naruto-kun," she managed to say, berating herself for stuttering.

"Hi again Hinata!" He replied cheerily, smiling with a thousand-sun intensity that couldn't possibly be directed at her.

Naruto watched her expectantly, his smile faltering as her shock melted into confusion. When it dawned on Naruto that she didn't have words to reply, he cleared his throat…only to be interrupted by Sakura smacking his forehead and thrusting his head back.

"What are you doing you idiot?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Hinata's a classy girl, you've got to give her space."

"Oh," Naruto rubbed his neck, an embarrassed blush tinting his cheeks. He shyly met her eyes, "Sorry about that Hinata. I finished eating lunch early with Kiba and Shino and wanted to find–I mean, I ran into you guys here," he finished quickly.

Hinata blinked. "Can you say that again?"

"I finished eating lunch early with Kiba and Shino and ran into you guys here," Naruto repeated, his smile now a bit strained.

"Oh…okay."

"What are you eating Sakura-chan? Smells good!" Naruto changed the subject, leaning so far down that the tip of his nose touched Sakura's cake.

"Hey! What did I just say about classy girl's needing their space?" Sakura reprimanded.

"You said classy girls like Hinata need their space. You didn't say anything about yourself–hey hey OW! My arm isn't supposed to twist that way!" He yelped, struggling to wriggle out of Sakura's death grip.

"You're over exaggerating, I'm barely using any force," Sakura muttered, suddenly releasing Naruto's arm and flicking his forehead with a 'thwock'.

He reeled backwards, hands flying up to nurse his new bruise. "Ow?! And you wonder why I didn't think you were…." he halted, gulping down thick saliva as Sakura's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, "I mean…what-was-I-thinking-of-course Sakura-chan is classy."

"That's what I thought," the pink-haired girl said with a simper, raising a cup of tea to her lips.

Just like that, Hinata faded into the background—a forgotten wallflower in the shadows of the main characters. Naruto and Sakura continued to banter, but their words blended into empty chatter as Hinata watched the two of them together. She swallowed down the discomfort that rose to her throat, ignored the misery that soaked her heart, and looked at Naruto and Sakura—really looked at them.

They were good for each other. Konoha's hero and heroine. If they began a relationship, no one would be surprised. She watched the way they bantered—easily, with their sentences flowing out like second nature and with a familiarity from years of trust. Even though Sasuke held Sakura's heart, there must have been a time in Sakura's life, perhaps on a tranquil night when she couldn't sleep and stared at the ceiling, when she paused and earnestly considered Naruto's feelings. What if Sasuke couldn't reciprocate Sakura's affections? Would Sakura one day…

Hinata sharply inhaled, exhaling in a shaking shudder. She chastised herself for acting un-okay, when she was definitely okay, but neither Sakura nor Naruto had even noticed. Of course not, why would they? Why would he? He wanted Sakura all his life: not Hinata, never Hinata. Why would that change now? In the deep recesses of her heart, Hinata had clung onto a small sliver of hope. A small, stupid sliver of hope that snaked, zigzagged, and winded down to nothing more than a dead end.

From above her, Naruto laughed, heartily yet almost nervously, though she had missed the conversation and didn't know why. Hinata flickered her eyes towards him and her curiosity vanished. Of course he wasn't looking at her. Of course it was something Sakura had said that made him laugh.

Sakura made Naruto smile. Naruto made Sakura smile. She knew him inside and out. He knew her inside and out. She was amazing. He was amazing. Together, they could…they could…

They could make each other so happy, the thought played like a song, repeating like a chorus in her mind. Hinata wanted to be happy for them, she really did. She only wished she could do so without hating herself.

A slam on the table and clattering of silverware arrested everyone's attention. Naruto and Sakura's heads whipped forward, faces painted with as much shock as she felt.

"I have to go," Hinata breathed shakily, the words flying out. Her eyes drifted down to her hands stretched tautly over the table, supporting her weight as she found herself suddenly standing. When Naruto and Sakura did nothing but stare at her in concern, her frustration only intensified. Why did everyone keep looking at her that way? As if she was a doll ready to break and they had to sweep up her pieces?

Hinata cleared her throat and collected all the poise she had left, "I have to go meet my father for some training. I'm sorry for not letting you know earlier, Sakura-san. I'll see you later," Hinata offered a small smile to Sakura before turning towards Naruto, "Good bye Naruto-kun," she addressed.

"Hinata wait–" Sakura called, also rising to her feet. But Hinata darted out in a flash, already out the door and disappearing faster and faster.

What was she doing? She was so…so awful. She was so horribly jealous when she had no right to be. She wanted to feel happy; she was supposed to feel happy for him. How many times had she gone over this? Haruno Sakura was amazing and everyone under the sun loved her, Sakura was the best and Naruto deserved the best. Hinata fell nowhere in that picture. So why why why did she–

A firm grasp encircled her wrist and she jerked backwards. She spun around to divert the momentum and kept herself from falling. Bent over, one hand on his knee and the other still gripping her wrist, Naruto blurted out, "Was my place okay?"

Hinata's lips curled into a slight frown. "What?"

"You know, my apartment, my room," Naruto peered up at her through his eyelashes, almost bashfully, "I know it's pretty messy…and maybe smells a little funny. I should have tried to clean it up more before I left."

Something clicked into place in Hinata's mind.

"Your…your place," her eyes widened.

"I was trying to find your house, honest. But I got lost and I didn't know what to do so I just brought you home and I swear I didn't do anything," Naruto continued as Hinata noted that he unnecessarily rambled as much as she unnecessarily apologized.

Before he could say more, Hinata bowed lowly, remembering the manners embedded in her. "I don't know how I could have forgotten, I'm so ashamed…Thank you for taking care of me the other night."

Head still bowed, she continued, "I sincerely apologize for being such a burden to you…it's so embarrassing. I-I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Naruto laughed, clasping his hands behind his head. "Don't be embarrassed! I do more stupid things in one day than you do in your entire lifetime."

Hinata giggled in spite of herself, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Naruto perked up. "Like, if I wrote down every embarrassing thing I did it'd fill a whole scroll! So don't worry, you don't need to feel bad and you definitely don't owe me anything."

Her giggles subsided and she shook her head. "Naruto-kun…"

Naruto smiled, taking a step closer. "Hey, wanna hang out with me? We could get some more training in." A funny look crossed Naruto's eyes, as if remembering something important. "Actually, let's not train," he suddenly amended, "do you want to come over to my apartment? I just got this new ramen I wanted to try and I'm not completely full from lunch—"

Alone with Naruto? She broke eye contact. "A-Actually I have to go, bye Naruto-kun," Hinata announced, slipping away before he could respond.

"Wait what?" Naruto called from behind, bewildered. "Hinata?" The confusion in his voice was expected, but it was the concern that startled her. She quickened her pace, concealing her chakra pattern as she turned a sharp corner.

She felt like a coward. No, she was a coward. Weren't they friends? Why couldn't she face him? Hinata breathed deeply and released a shuddering exhale.

Don't overthink, he doesn't know what he's saying, she reminded herself. Did Sakura push Naruto to chase after her? Did Naruto make an impulsive decision to follow her? Whatever the reason, it had to be an innocent, friendly gesture.

Could he...could he maybe like me?

Hinata shook the thought off immediately, clearly delineating the line between dreams and reality.

x-x-x-x-x-x

She closed the door behind her with a soft click, leaning against the wooden frame. One…two…three…she counted down, exhaling a long sigh and closing her eyes. They fluttered open a few seconds later, and she bent over to untie the straps to her sandals. As she added her sandals to the Hyūga's neat row of shoes, a familiar padding of feet entered the foyer.

"Nee-sama!"

"Hi Hanabi-chan," Hinata answered, lifting her head up to acknowledge her sister with a nod.

"You've got a guest in the living room," Hanabi cut to the point, gesturing for Hinata to follow her. Even though her body stilled, her heart hammered against her chest. She chided herself for already jumping to conclusions.

"Who is it?" Hinata asked evenly, remaining rooted in her spot.

Her sister shrugged, "I'm really not sure."

"Can you give a description?"

"Uhh…blonde, loud, and honestly kind of obnoxious," Hanabi described.

Hinata tensed, swiveling on her heel. "I'm going outside for some fresh air."

"What? But nee-sama what about your guest?"

"Please give him my apologies," Hinata instructed, already slipping her foot into a sandal.

Hanabi materialized in front of her and tugged on her wrist. "Nee-sama…you're acting weird."

"No, I'm not. I'm fine," she brushed off, pulling herself out of her sister's grasp.

"Uh huh…" Crossing her arms over her stomach, Hanabi insisted, "at least check out the living room before you go. You have to see it."

"I can see it later—"

"Onetwothreefourfive, it's five seconds later now, let's go."

Before Hinata could further protest, Hanabi latched onto Hinata's arm. Her 'buts' and 'not now' fell on deaf ears as Hanabi practically dragged her to the living room.

"I-I don't want to see him right now," Hinata confessed in a rush of words, a little more than flustered.

"Huh?" Hanabi stopped in her tracks so suddenly that Hinata nearly toppled over her. "What are you talking about?"

"Naruto-kun…it's him isn't it…" she trailed off as they passed the opening to the living room. Hinata froze in her steps, jaw unhinging slowly.

Was it really a living room anymore?

Sunflowers, violets, peonies, carnations, roses (so many roses), and huge bouquets of colorful flowers invaded every nook and cranny of the Hyūga living room. It smelled like a field of flowers after a summer rain, and even without her Byakugan Hinata could see water droplets speckled on the fresh petals.

"T-This is…"

"I know right?" Hanabi finished, pulling a kunai out of her sleeve and twirling it in her index finger.

"Who brought all of these?"

"Your guest, of course."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "My guest?"

"That's right!" Came a familiar voice, soon followed by a blur of blonde and ending in a tackle hug.

"It's not a him," Hanabi teased, smirking as Hinata blushed from her incorrect assumptions.

Hinata wriggled out of the surprise hug and held the person's shoulders at arms length. Her mouth opened and closed in confusion until she finally blurted out, "I-Ino-san? Why did you bring all these flowers?"

Her 'loud, blonde, and kind of obnoxious friend' giggled bashfully, a touch nervously. Taking a large gulp of air, Ino clapped her hands together and closed one eye, peering at Hinata with the other.

"Sorry sorry sorry. I'm so sorry," Ino readily apologized, hanging her head lower.

"For what—"

"I wasn't quite sure which ones were your favorites so I brought all of them! A bouquet of every single flower that we stock. I would have come yesterday but it took me a while to prepare…" Ino babbled on.

"Ino-san, what are you apologizing for?" Hinata reminded, genuinely confused.

"What? You couldn't seriously have forgotten," Ino exclaimed, raising both her eyebrows.

The puzzle pieces sprinkled down like a shower of rain. Of course she hadn't forgotten, she only wished she had.

"Oh," she said simply. Unsatisfied, Ino continued to stare at her with beseeching puppy-dog eyes. Keeping her sigh as quiet and subtle as possible, Hinata elaborated, "It's fine Ino-san, really. I'm actually grateful that you pushed me with your dare. It helped me realize that well— I see now that—" she sighed again, louder this time, "anyways, it was for the better."

"Hinata…" Ino breathed out. The look Ino returned her couldn't be molded into words, but Hinata knew that she hated it. Her blue eyes shimmered with a glossy sheen, as if they quivered with unspoken words.

"It's fine. I'm fine," Hinata reassured with a hollow smile that did nothing to change Ino's heartbroken expression. She briefly considered the irony—why was she consoling others over her own broken heart?

"Did I miss something?" Her forgotten sister piped up, sliding closer to the other two kunoichi until she hovered between them.

Hinata hesitated, but Ino stooped down to Hanabi's eye level and pulled on the sunniest grin, all traces of her previously somber mood gone.

"No, everything's fine," Ino said smoothly, patting Hanabi's dark brown hair and brushing the stray bang out of her eyes. "You should be very proud of your sister, she's amazing you know? Super strong too."

"Of course I know, and of course I am," Hanabi responded automatically, turning to her sister with a playful, but warm, smirk. There must have been something amusing in Hinata's expression, because Hanabi soon broke out into giggles. "Nee-sama, you blush from everything," she said, amused, "I'm going to return back to training now. Bye nee-sama, flower lady." Hanabi lazily waved her hand in the air as she strolled out of the room.

After Hanabi exited the room, Hinata shifted back to her guest. "Ino-san, I appreciate the gesture but please take all these flowers back. There's no need to apologize."

"Hey Hinata-chan, you know what I love the most in the entire world right? I'll give you a hint, starts with the letter 'S,'" Ino said, ignoring her completely.

Pursing her lips, Hinata decided to humor her, "Um…could it be Sai-kun—"

"Shopping! You are absolutely correct! That's what you said, right?"

"S-Sure…"

"So how about it? You ready to go?"

"What? Right now?"

"Yes right now! I know that you're free," Ino added with a wink.

"But, um…but—"

"No buts! I'll treat you! I'll buy you anything you want."

"N-No there's no need for that," Hinata shook her head, fiddling with her hands as Ino eagerly bounced around her.

"Nee-sama just go already," Hanabi called from afar. "It's better than staying at home and hiding from the other loud, blond you're avoiding."

Hinata groaned quietly in defeat.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"So what do you think? Cute right?" Ino queried, throwing aside the fitting room's curtain. She twirled around to show off a purple top that ended snugly below her breasts and a long matching skirt.

"Yes, very," Hinata agreed, deciding not to point out that the new outfit already had an uncanny resemblance to her usual attire.

"Thanks! I think I'm going to get it." Ino beamed, rotating back to the mirror to fix her hair. "What about you Hinata-chan? Find anything cute?"

The Hyūga heiress shrugged. "Not really. I don't really go shopping often, a lot of things don't suit me—"

"Nonsense!" Ino interrupted. "You're adorable, end of story!" She grabbed Hinata by the wrist and led her over to a bin of clothing.

"Ino-san, I think you're supposed to change back into your clothing before leaving the fitting room…"

"Small details, small details," she waved off, her focus on perusing through a bin of mix and match clothing. "What do you think about this?" A tiny, Chinese style qipao fell over Hinata's arm. Pale flowers snaked up the vibrant red fabric, and even though it was admittedly cute, Hinata had no problem rejecting it.

"No…not again, this is much too…revealing."

"Not again?" Ino's interest piqued.

"N-Nevermind," Hinata hastily amended, shifting away from the topic to dig through the pile of clothing. "Um…what about this dress?" She suggested, holding up a brown dress with a deep scoop line.

"Ohhh, very daring, I like it Hinata-chan—"

"With a shirt underneath of course, it'd pair well with a long sleeve shirt or turtleneck."

Ino groaned. "Come on Hinata-chan, you've got a body to die for. You can totally take advantage of it. If you weren't so modest then you'd have all the boys wrapped around your finger. Even Naruto would never be able to take his eyes off of you again."

Hinata stilled. A frown settled on her face, and as it deepened, so did the cold feeling encasing her heart. "Is that so?" She said carefully, replacing the brown dress back in its place. "Is that the only way? To be honest, I don't think that'd even be enough."

She knew it was unfair. It wasn't what Ino meant. Even so…she simply couldn't help it. Where did all this bitterness come from? (It was always there. Even from the beginning you were a petty, insecure little girl).

"No that's not what I—damn it." Running a hand through her blonde hair, she bit on her lip. Her eyes squeezed shut. "You know what? Screw Naruto, screw all boys! I'm so done with trying to impress their dumb asses."

"…Ino-san?" Hinata furrowed her brow, unprepared by the sudden tirade.

"How can our feelings not be taken seriously? Why can't they be grateful for what we have to offer? For who we are? When is myself going to be good enough? You know what," Ino snatched the discarded brown dress and then promptly marched to the register.

Fuming, Ino dug around in her satchel and slammed down a mix of bills and coins. "I'm buying this dress for you. Right now. And you're going to wear it with all the turtlenecks and winter jackets and whatever you want."

Hinata stepped towards Ino, tugging on her sleeve. "Ino-san? Are you alright?"

She combed her blonde bangs up towards her hairline before letting them flop over her eyes again. "Yeah," she said breathlessly. "Sorry about that. Don't know what came over me."

Hinata gave her arm a light squeeze. It occurred to her that this shopping trip might not have been for her. "Ino-san, it's alright. I…" A wry, innocent smile lifted her lips. "I agree with you." She laughed, nervously at first, but then blossomed to an unlady-like guffaw. "That's probably not what you wanted to hear, and it's far from reassuring advice. But…I think I understand."

Surprise flashed in Ino's eyes. Fondness tailed after it, and then tapered off into that indescribable sadness. "Hinata," was all Ino said, her anger considerably ebbed.

"Yes?"

"You know what? You should wear this dress right now, I want to see how cute you look in it."

"Now? B-But I don't have anything to wear underneath."

Ino's sharp eyes scanned a rack to their left and honed in on a plain, cream-colored long sleeve shirt. She plucked it off of its hanger and thrust it into Hinata's hands. "There you go!" She chirped. Without waiting for Hinata's protests, Ino prodded Hinata towards the fitting room.

The curtain shut closed, and in a blink of an eye Hinata found herself within a spacious fitting room clutching her newly acquired clothing. Her confused reflection blinked back at her. Reluctantly, Hinata slipped off her clothing. The long-sleeved shirt fit surprisingly well, and she pulled the dress over her head with relative ease. There really wasn't a need for such fanfare, she thought, as she threw back the curtain and stepped out of the changing room.

"Love it!" Ino cheered, clapping her hands excitedly.

"It's alright," Hinata said, already inching back towards the fitting room. "Thank you for buying it for me," she added, remembering her manners.

"It looks great!"

Hinata stilled, frozen in place. Her hand clutched onto the doorframe as she inclined her head slowly backwards.

Her breath hitched, any thoughts she had unfurling and disappearing in the blankness of her mind.

Luckily, Ino swooped in gracefully, "What the hell are you doing here Naruto?!" Ino shifted towards him, arms akimbo.

"Eh? I'm not allowed to be here?" Naruto replied, rubbing his neck.

"I mean why are you here?" Ino clarified.

"Oh," Naruto kept his mouth open to continue, but suddenly hesitated, closing it shut. After collecting his answer, he said, "Just happened to be in the area. N-Nothing suspicious."

Ino raised an eyebrow, and Naruto shifted his eyes to Hinata. "I've never seen you wear brown before. Is it your favorite color?"

Hinata shook her head, "Um…no."

He perked up, eyes brightening. "Let me guess, it's lavender right? Or at least some sort of purple."

Disbelief flooded Hinata's eyes, as did a warm, fluttery feeling in her chest that had no business being there. "Um…yes, actually."

Naruto broke into a broad smile, "Yosh, at least I got something right," he sounded strangely proud, "It's a good choice, lavender matches your eyes really well."

"Thank you," she replied levelly, desperately making sure that her voice didn't come out as a squeak. He stared at her; so openly and warmly, and dare she think fondly? —she must have been imaging things. She closed the curtain abruptly, leaning against the mirror and listening to the blood pound through her ears.

"What's with you Naruto?" Ino asked suspiciously.

"Huh?"

Exasperated, Ino sighed, "I'll get to the point. What are your intentions?" She kept her voice low, but Hinata could still hear the crispness in her whispered breaths.

"Don't worry! I have an answer this time," Naruto exuberantly responded. Apparently, subtly wasn't in Naruto's skillset. "Hinata's my friend, yet I barely know anything about her. I thought—'how is that even possible? I thought we were close friends. Why don't I know the basics?' It's weird, isn't it? I can't believe it took me so long to think about it."

"Naruto, you know she can hear everything you're saying, right?"

Indeed she could. She had taken off the dress and switched into her civilian clothing, now clutching the brown fabric in between her fingers. Don't allow yourself to be easily flattered, she reminded. He's trying to be a better friend—Naruto's a nice person who does nice things for all of his friends and she wasn't a special exception.

And well….That was fine, wasn't it? He wasn't obligated to give her more attention than any other person.

Why did she keep running away? She wasn't just not-nice and not-sweet, she wasn't even a good friend.

With a long inhale through her nose and exhale through her mouth, Hinata raised her hand towards the curtain. As her fingers grasped the coarse cloth, a beeping alarm blared from the other side.

"Ahh already?" Naruto muttered to himself, she could hear him fumbling with plastic on the other side. Something clacked onto the floor. "I gotta head out, I'll see you around Ino."

"Where are you going?"

"My job!" He paused, as if waiting for something. "Bye, Hinata," he called eventually. Her name rolled off his tongue gently. Softly, like he was setting down fine China. She didn't know whether to be frustrated by his cautiousness, or incredulous that he made her sound so…precious.

"Bye, Naruto-kun," her mouth said automatically, though she made no move to open the barrier dividing them.

Moments later, Hinata heard the familiar thudding of footsteps—the rough scritch-scratch of sandals hitting pavement. His retreating back was a sound she was only all to accustomed to.

"Hinata-chan? Are you still changing?" Came Ino's voice from the other side.

But Hinata didn't answer immediately, leaning back onto the mirror and feeling the cold glass seep through the material of her shirt.

"Hinata-chan?" Ino prodded again.

This time, Hinata responded back with a simple, "Yes?"

"Remember how I kinda blew up earlier?" Skipping the wait for Hinata's answer, Ino continued, "Hinata, I don't think you need to agree with me. He's almost there, I know it. He's just an idiot about understanding his own feelings."

Hinata struggled to reign in her sigh, "Ino-san—"

"No Hinata, I mean it. You two would be so good for each other."

"He's Konoha's hero and I'm nowhere close to being Konoha's heroine," Hinata interjected.

"What? That doesn't matter. What matters is that you're a person that makes him better. You're his hero."

"I beg to differ," she bit back quickly, shoving down her betraying heart's hopeful flutters.

"You know I wasn't really drunk. Well, not that drunk."

"What?"

"I wasn't really that drunk," Ino repeated. "I know, I know that I put you and Naruto on the spot and that was horrible of me, but I just really want you two to be happy. I didn't think it'd turn out so badly…"

"I am happy," Hinata insisted, growing more and more frustrated as those memories broke out of their closed drawers.

"Just give him a little more time, Hintata. He's almost there," her voice dropped lower, pleading.

Eyelids closing shut, Hinata slumped down the mirror and landed on the ground with a dull plop. "I know that all of you have good intentions. And I appreciate it, I really do. But no one understands how many times my heart has already been broken. I-I can't do it anymore. I can't keep picking up the pieces only to crush them again. It hurts. It hurts a lot to be second place. I know, I've never been first for anything in my life."

"Hinata…that's not true," Ino persisted.

"It is true, it's already been this way for too many winters to count. It's always nothing but a cycle of false hope and disappointment. I can only lie to myself for so long."

"Hinata, this is Naruto we're talking about here. He's not exactly the brightest when it comes to romance."

"He's really not as dumb as everyone thinks he is…" Hinata muttered in his defense.

"See? Only you would say something like that. You'd be good for him. In fact, he needs you. Don't you think you understand him better than anyone else does?"

Hinata curled her toes. "I wouldn't say that…"

"Why not?" Ino pressed.

"Because," Hinata wavered, "because that makes me sound like I'd be a first choice," she finished quietly.

"And what's weird about that?" Footsteps shuffled closer. "Hey Hinata, I'm coming in—"

"No," Hinata jumped to her feet and quickly gathered her bag. "Sorry Ino, I have to go," she said as soon as Ino appeared through the entryway.

"Hinata—"

She ducked around Ino and bustled away before the blonde could even blink. "Thank you for the dress!" She called out before exiting the store.

What if he...could he.. Could Naruto-kun like me back? We could hold hands and go on dates together and maybe he'll even want to marry me…

Hinata skidded to a stop, pressing the heel of her palm into her eyes. What was she doing? How could she have forgotten this morning already? This time wouldn't be any different than the last one hundred. How many times had she already gone through this?

How many nights had she stayed up slaving over the most perfect piece of ramen-flavored Valentine's Day chocolate? Only to see Sakura toss Naruto a simple square of chocolate, and after witnessing him jump for joy for like a pleased puppy, let her gift melt. How many times had she tried to ask him on a date? Only for him to innocently invite Kiba, Shino, or his teammates to tag along. How many words had she mistaken for having a deeper romantic meaning? Only for them to be an unintentional remark and for Naruto to have no idea what he truly means to her.

How many days had passed since she confessed her love before facing certain death?

The same number of days that he left her with no answer.

Something wet slipped out from beneath her palms. She let it drip to the floor. She allowed the confusion to unleash in her mind, wreak havoc upon her heart, because she didn't know what else to do. She really didn't.

x-x-x-x-x-x

x-x-x

Author's Notes: So...this only took 4 months...I will try to make sure that the next chapter doesn't take as ridiculously long! Thank you to all the readers for patiently waiting and continuing to be so supportive! I've been a bit more active on tumblr, and am definitely better about answering questions there. I have a few stories on there too that I decided were too short to make it onto fanfiction. Hinata's chapter actually had to be split into 2 separate ones because it was getting ridiculously overwhelming for me to pace, so: 2 more storyline chapters and then epilogue left! :)

EDIT (9/8/15): Really Long Explanation about Naruto "guilt-tripping" and Hinata/Sakura Jealousy

I've been getting a lot of comments and message about these 2 points so I figured I'd just explain myself here. I usually like having my readers figure things out, but I've gotten so many I decided I should share my side.

This is not a Naruto guilt-trip story. Parts of it perhaps, because when you see your friend hurt (Hinata) you can't help but feel frustrated with the source (Naruto). But it is clearly established in the Shikamaru chapter that Naruto has a good heart and simply doesn't get it; Shikamaru knows this and earnestly tries to help him. Hinata knows this as well. Naruto does not owe her anything. Now, getting that out of the way, a large inspiration for this story is: how can someone not respond to a confession for 2 years? 2 years is a huge amount of time of being in the dark. If you confessed to someone and they didn't answer you for 2 years, you know what that feels like? "He doesn't feel the same way and doesn't have the heart to tell me," is Hinata's thoughts, while the reality is more like, "Does she really love me? How is that even possible it doesn't seem like she does. I don't know what to do with this information and I don't understand my own feelings." So I think some people confuse "guilt-tripping Naruto for not responding for 2 years," for "guilt-tripping Naruto into liking Hinata," and the second one is not what I'm going for. Shino spells it out in Ch. 8, "Naruto, no one will hold it against you if you do not choose to return Hinata's feelings. Believe it or not, all of us wish for you to be happy as well." (Then he amends it because he's thinking of Sakura/Ino's outspoken personalities and really, a little bit of himself.)

It is in no way my intention to bash his character. It's not out-rightly spoken, but I'm really trying to highlight that he's a good guy with a lot of self-doubt/insecurity which muddles his elementary understanding of romance. A lot of "guilt-tripping" is actually...what I picked up from canon and fillers! Sakura calling Naruto an idiot in the Last without explanation–and I know people don't really count the fillers but they're writers too and I watch their interpretations, a lot of the fillers show the rookies exasperated with Naruto or in Naruto SD it's a running gag for Neji to physically assault him. Not everyone is guilt-trippy, namely Shikamaru, Sai, and Chouji. Which is why I chose Shikamaru to educate him because of his objective sympathy and lack of strong opinion in the Last.

Next up, jealousy. The people we tend to be most jealous of...are the people closest to us. And it feels utterly awful. It's this very quiet sort of suppressed jealousy, because these people are your friends and friends are supposed to be nurturing and supportive 100% of the time. Being jealous of your friends feels socially inappropriate, it is riddled with guilt. But this hidden envy pops up occasionally in a fight or on a plain ol' bad day– sometimes as subtle as a mean inside thought to a snappy comment like, "Oh, like you ever have trouble getting boys/getting jobs/doing well in life."

Breathing life into Hinata as a real, normal girl, she must have this quiet suppressed jealousy. In the Last movie it's instantly there: when she thinks someone else gave Naruto a scarf first she immediately back paddles and leaves. Leaves because she doesn't know what to do with this uncomfortable feeling. Leaves to go cry by herself because she thinks her thoughts on Naruto not requiting her feelings has been affirmed. (And she's wrong, but she doesn't know that). Fushigi Doll put it rather nicely in her review, "It was not a matter of seeing Sakura as a love rival, rather, it was Sakura's disposition and Naruto's attention and actions towards Sakura Hinata's envious of." It hurts. It hurts to be so different from the kind of person Naruto appears interested in and to wonder how her shy/polite personality could ever be preferable. Back to the Last, it hits her hard to not be the mystery girl desired by Naruto, but you know what she says? Something along the lines of "I'm happy he's happy," as tears drop down her cheeks, because true to character Hinata is sweet and kind.

Doesn't mean she's not allowed to have negative emotions and feel upset that "she's not good enough" for Naruto's feelings. "I'm happy he's happy," has truth to it, and it's repeated throughout the entire story. But there's so, so much to explore underneath that line, enough to write an entire story on...