Wake Me Up With Summer Rain
Story 1: Dried Tears

How is it that he is always alone?

No matter where I go, he always seems to be alone. I wish I have the courage to tell him how I feel, but I can't. Not that I won't, but I can't.

This started since I was a child, when I first met him, I always saw him alone…

"You such a loser!"

"Yeah!"

"Get away from my children, you monster!"

"Leave or we'll kill you!"

"Die, you freak!"

'Just die…'

I never understood why the village acted so cold to him. Father tells me to never associate with him, but I also noticed this sadness in his eyes when he tells me this. He cannot say anything that may jeopardize the family name, as the head of our clan. I can tell he wants him to be happy but he is restrained from doing so.

When I met him at the Academy, he played by himself on the swing. Iruka-sensei yells him at all the time, but he always treated him to Ramen later on. Other kids pick at him, or their parents pull them away from him whispering some horrible thing about him. I never understood why. Mother never said anything bad about him, ever in my life.

"He's a good boy, who had good parents who wished for his happiness. They died for his future, and he will overcome this, my child. I promise you that. If you like, I can talk to your father about having him as a candidate for your husband…"

Mother always said this about him. I always thought she was joking about him being my husband, but it seemed that she spoke truthfully about it. Father speaks of this seldom. When he does, he always said that Mother could see clearer than anyone in our family. I miss Mother. Father misses her too.

I usually hide behind trees, with a good view, just to see him. I see this confidant, smiling boy with sapphire blue eyes like the ocean and golden hair like the sun. Even with that carefree smile of his, it has a cloud of sadness radiating from it. I still to this day do not understand why.

I want to hold him, and will that sadness away. I always do.

When he left the village to train with Jiraya-sama, I missed him. So I trained. I made sure that I will be able to impress him. I will be able to tell him everything. I do all of this for me.

And for him.

When he came back, I was happy. So was he.

Just as friends.

Now I can't talk to him.

I just can't.

"I'll just forget about him…"

Father arranged this marriage with one of the Lords in the Cloud village. They threatened to ally themselves with the Sound earlier because of something that happened a while ago, which I don't know. They offered a union between the wealthiest lord of their land to the daughter of the most prominent clan in the Leaf.

Me.

I accepted out of duty for the Leaf village. My first responsibility is keeping the village safe from everything.

Then…

Why did he come to see me, and tell me to run away?

He kept begging me not to go through this. I really wanted to listen to him.

Comfort him that I won't go through this. I would be able to confess my secrets to him. I want to be with him as his wife.

But I didn't. I just pushed him away.

I asked him not to come to my wedding.

"If you can't be happy for me, I think that it would be the best if you didn't come."

"But, this is wrong! You know this and so do I! Please, Hin…"

"This is no longer about us. It is about the survival of the village. You and I know that. Please understand this. I'm doing this for the village. For my clan. For…"

"Why is it that you always lie to me Hinata-chan?"

'Why Hinata-chan…'

I chose to forget him, and I did.

But he never forgot me.

I regret it to this day. I am not married to that lord. His village was attacked by the Sound and they allied with the Leaf and Sand to fight them. He still is around. I don't know. His question haunts me right now. It never leaves my mind.

I'm seventeen now. I rejected him once and I could never get him back.

I understand his sad eyes now.

I caused that pain.

And he still loves me even to this day, wherever he his now…

'Why Hinata-chan…"