Rated T for just a lot of angst. I wrote this to show my utter disdain towards the actual Naruto ending so all those who enjoyed the ending, you won't enjoy this fiction. But all of you were disappointed, why not give it a try.

A collection of drabbles post-war and how reality seemed to catch onto our favorite shinobi-tachi.

She heard a sound from behind. It was a sharp gasp from a heavy voice. She hesitantly turned to look around, just above her slightly behind. Narrowed wincing, white eyes, filled with pain, etched into her memory. The figure fell from the air, body completely pierced – probably every single vital organ hit – and he coughed a large amount of fresh blood out.

'Neji-nii-san!' Her mind rushed as she saw him fall to the ground while protecting her. 'Neji-nii-san! Neji-nii-san!' She kept screaming in her mind but no voice came out.

He coughed a little more blood, his breathing extremely shallow and labored. "Hinata-sama, this is for you…"

She stood with her eyes wide in fear. Her body was riddled with shock and horror. His cursed seal mark was slowly disappearing from his forehead as Naruto came rushing to hold his body up.

Suddenly blood started pouring out his eyes and they rolled back; she couldn't understand whether it was due to pain or because he was finally gone. But with her hands on her mouth, her tears pouring out relentlessly, she tried her best to stand her ground.

His white pupils disappeared and his entire eyeballs became blood shot. She could easily make out micro-hemorrhages in his eyeballs.

"Neji-nii-san!" She yelled, moving a foot closer to him.

Within a few following moments, Neji placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders and pushed himself back on his feet. Hinata looked up with swollen eyes and he gave her a fearsome look. Looking down at her, he spoke, now with an angry face, "Your carelessness led to this Hinata-sama. If only you had learnt better as a shinobi. If only you were stronger. You always needed my protection. And now I'm dead Hinata-sama. Look at me." He spoke, his voice thundering at her.

"No! Neji-nii-san!" Hinata shouted, her eyes closed shut with hands over her ears.

All the sounds were gone. The atmosphere around her changed. She could feel it. Fearful, she slowly opened her eyes to be shrouded in darkness. She squinted, trying to adjust to it. Beyond the incomprehensible darkness, she could make out a mirror on the wall with a small dressing table beneath it.

"My room…" She whispered to herself, taking in a long deep breath.

Her forehead was covered with sweat, her hair sticking to her neck. Her whole form was trembling. For that moment she couldn't move. Nothing. She could barely breathe properly. 'It was just a dream…' She explained to herself, trying to find the strength to move again.

After a moment's pass, she began to feel her limbs. She slowly moved her torso around, sitting with her legs dangling from the bed. She felt scorched and yet shivered in the coldness of the November night. Her bare feet touched the cold ground and she felt slightly calmer. She rubbed her arms in a hug to feel a little warmer, turning her head over her shoulder to see back at her bed.

Golden. The purest golden she had ever known. Strong arms out of the quilt, face turned towards the opposite side, lay him. He seemed not to have noticed Hinata's predicament at the moment and slept peacefully as she sat looking back at him.

'Naruto-kun…'

She kept staring back at him for a while – trying to shuffle through her emotions. When it seemed not to help, she got up to her feet and slowly walked out their room. She wasn't carefully with the door or her steps; his sleep was far too deep to be woken by such things.

She walked down the hall to her children's room. She peered in to see them both in their respective beds, fast asleep. Bolt had his hand up his shirt, pulling it up half way. His mouth was open and he was snoring lightly. Hinata smiled slightly, feeling at ease with the sight. Himawari, on the other hand, was barely recognizable by her short azure hair. The rest of her was hidden beneath the blanket. It was cold after all.

Hinata moved towards Bolt's bed, pulling up the covers and tucking him in as carefully as she could without disturbing him. Then she walked to Himawari's bed and lightly sat on the side. She stared at the closed window, moon high up and lighting the entire village. Her children had a really good view, she pondered. Third story apartment with the view of half the village. Konoha did indeed shine under the full moon. She couldn't see the moon from where she sat and she was too tired to view it with her Byakugan so she just presumed it to be full and lie back next to a sleeping Himawari.

Her hand brushed the little girl's soft hair and she stirred, tiredly opening her eyes. Her small hands snuck out from the quilt and she rubbed her eyes hard before looking at her mother smiling at her.

"Okaa-san…" Himawari muttered, confused about why her mother was with her at this hour of the night. "Why are you here?"

"I thought I'd sleep with Himawari-chan tonight. Will you let me?" Hinata whispered, her voice soft and loving towards her beloved daughter.

Himawari was still half asleep so she just looked at Hinata in confusion for a short while before nodding and snuggling in closer to Hinata. Hinata rose up Himawari's covers and moved in, putting at arm around her small form and forcing her eyes shut. She needed to sleep. She didn't want to and she was afraid of it, but she needed to sleep.

"Yo, Sakura!" Ino said with her hand up, waving at the pink haired girl.

Sakura looked up while walking, smiling at Ino and running to her flower shop. "Long time!" Sakura chimed with a huge grin on her face.

"Well you're the one with the brat. I'm mostly just around here and there!" Ino jibed, elbowing Sakura and letting her in from the back door of the flower shop into her home.

Sakura and just shook her head and looked at Ino with a straight face. "You know, I feel like you don't pay enough attention to your son."

Ino huffed while putting tea in front of Sakura, "I think I do. I'm training him to be strong enough to not need my attention. Besides, you'd be surprised how much he is like Sai personality-wise. He isn't the dependent type."

Sakura looked at her friend with heavy eyes in that moment. Ino looked like she had gotten lost in thought. Sakura turned her head to the side, stirring the spoon in her tea, and asked, "Say Ino… Are you happy? With Sai?"

Ino snapped out of her phase and looked directly at Sakura and immediately replied, "Of course I am. He was my choice and I was his. He is unorthodox and sometimes downright strange. But I can definitely say I'm happy."

Sakura, not lifting her eyes up, spoke after a pause. "What makes you happy…?"

Ino stared at her friend's odd trivia but decided she'd not deny her best friend. "I don't know. Don't get me wrong. He is no gentleman. He has no manners. He is terrible in public and I still have to explain even the most miniscule things to him."

Sakura looked up at Ino when she started listing down her husband's negative traits spontaneously without a single breath. But then she saw Ino's face turn from an expression of annoyance to a soft smile. "But Sakura… He's kind. He's kind to me. He isn't obsessive or restrictive. He lets me do whatever I want. He doesn't hold me back. We train together and he deems me his equal. Sometimes when he stays out later than me, he comes home with small gifts. I know he doesn't mean anything by them. I know he doesn't understand what they mean. But the first time he brought me chocolates, he told me that he read somewhere in his books that it makes women happy. Since then I know that all he wants is to see me happy. I see him put in an effort for us. And most of all…" Ino paused, looking up at a picture of her and Sai on the wall. It was their wedding photo. She was in all white and he was in all black. And she looked beautiful.

Sakura waited with keen eyes, wanting to know what was remaining. "Most of all… When he looks at me, Sakura, I know he sees no one else but me." Ino smiled.

Sakura's eyes widened a bit in shock. "He never looks at any woman but me. His loyalty is unrelenting. And that makes me feel special."

She could feel it in her head and behind her eyes, Sakura. Tears were welling up and ready to fall. She began to have a throbbing headache and the sudden urge to break something. Not a vase or a glass. She wanted to go to a mountain and flatten it out with her fist. And even that seemed insufficient for the feelings she had harbored inside her.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" Ino asked looking worriedly at Sakura's changing expression.

Sakura snapped back to reality at Ino's inquiry and shook her head harshly. "Yeah I'm fine, I'm fine. I just recalled I had to do something." She said with a crackling voice.

"Are you sure- Sakura!" Ino shouted as she watched Sakura run out the back door.

Ino followed suit to find Sai standing outside their house with a flat face. Ino looked at Sai for a second to find him shaking his head. His eyes were closed and he was clearly showing his disapproval.

"Sai…"

Without saying a word, Sai crossed Ino and disappeared into their house. And Ino knew that Sakura was long gone and out of sight. Catching up to her now would be useless.

Shikamaru had his set of vices. Amongst his top vice was his extreme laziness. Everything was still troublesome. Being a husband. Being a father. Being such a top figure in the Konoha politics. But he had to admit one thing. He had good parentage. And came with that, great wisdom in all areas needed. He was turning out to be a great husband, a great father and a very reliable council member and right hand to the Hokage.

But his life was far from perfect. He would spend his days at the office, lounging about staring out of the window. He would spend his evening with Shikadai playing Shogi and sometimes practicing the shadow arts. And he would mostly spend his nights alone. Due to his choice of companion, he was bound to be alone quite a bit.

Temari was not a Konoha Shinobi. Not only that but she was a proud Sand nin. And not only that, she was irreplaceable to the Sand Hokage, Gaara. So she soon decided to return to Suna. And she would visit whenever Gaara would and sometimes when she had taken a vacation. And no matter how much Shikamaru tried explaining this to Shikadai, he couldn't understand why his mother would prioritize her work before her son. He saw Sakura and how she cared for Sarada. He was Inojin and it made him envious to see how solid his mother and father were together. Even Chocho had her parents around. He saw Kurenai's daughter and thought to himself, "Her father is dead. My mother is alive and yet it feels pretty much the same." He was resentful. And Temari had no words to fix it.

She had become paranoid about groups of rogue nin inciting a war when she heard of the escalating attacks on Suna. Although Gaara never called for her, upon the orders of Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, she went to assist Suna in the fight against rogue Suna nins who had held a grudge against Suna long before the war.

But upon losing one of the members in her team in Suna, Temari was horrifically fear-struck with flashbacks from the war and abruptly decided to move back to Suna and stay there until the threat was completely annihilated.

She knew fully well that her one and only son resented her. And it tore her apart to see him look at her with those hateful eyes. But she couldn't blame him. She couldn't hate him for it. Worst of all, she couldn't fix it. She couldn't change it. She was not ready to let go of her life's work as a nin. She was too proud and good a kunoichi to just give it all up and settle in a foreign village. She knew her duty to her village was irrevocable. She had been left so traumatized by the state of the world during the Fourth Shinobi War that she was willing to throw away everything just to make sure peace continued forever. So she threw away her motherhood and her love for the sake of maintaining equilibrium around her village. She would make sure no child would ever have to suffer that kind of loss again.

So what did she have left? She was too tired of blaming herself so she quietly blamed Shikamaru. She blamed him for not explaining to their son about how important his mother's work was. She blamed her husband for making her son resent her. She once even accused Shikamaru of feeding Shikadai's hate by telling lies about her. And she felt pathetic as she said those words while Shikamaru just looked at her with lazy eyes.

He was too tired of Temari's constant blame game. He loved her. He respected her. But at that moment in time, he couldn't stand her presence for long. She would visit after such a long while and all they would do was fight. Although the fights were one sided because Shikamaru knew that it was only her guilt talking, he was tired of pretending to be the bad guy. He was tired of being a good husband. It was beyond troublesome. He's rather just raise his son on his own. Which he was already doing.

Shikadai spoke his first word with only Shikamaru around. He took his first step with only his father around. When he saw a nightmare, he would only call out his father's name. Shikadai was an incredibly smart child. He never called for his mother when he was afraid or needed help. Unlike other children, he never once asked his father where his mother was. He already knew well. And he was not going to waste his energy. He would rather just rely solely on his father. And till now, things were going pretty fine just like that.

It was late in the night. Naruto stood at the window, staring out onto the village. He wanted to tell himself that he was just enjoying the view but in the back of his mind, he was actually scanning the village for ANYTHING wrong that could be linked to his son. Bolt – was he a difficult character.

Naruto couldn't understand it. He was not ready to believe that his stupidity could be passed down to his son by genetics. He had his reasons for his stupidity. He had no family whatsoever and no one to love him or believe in him. Bolt had everything. He had a family. He had lots of friends and he was the son of the Hokage that everyone loved. No matter how much the elders scolded him, everyone loved Bolt. Not to mention Bolt was quite adorable in his own ways.

Hinata once told Naruto that Bolt just felt neglected and Naruto shook it off by saying that him being the Hokage's son, he should know better. "He should be proud that his father works all day to keep the village safe! Don't worry Hinata! In due time, he'll learn dattebayou!" And that conversation was dismissed.

Himawari was a much easier child. She would always welcome Naruto with open arms and never complain nor cry about his departure. She was strong. She understood.

The door flung open and Naruto's train of thought went off track as he swished around to see who it was. "Sakura?"

His eyes were a bit wide in shock as he saw tears falling down her eyes.

"Naruto…" Sakura hiccupped, running towards him and crashing into his arms.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Naruto asked worriedly, immediately looking around for any bruises or harm.

Sakura stayed in his arms, crying in his shoulder. He was so warm. His hold was gentle. His embrace was always inviting.

Naruto slowly brought his hands up, placing one hand on her back while the other dug into her hair. "Sakura… I'm here. Tell me what's wrong."

Naruto had abandoned honorifics for Sakura long back. She was no longer the cute, energetic kunoichi who he swooned over and he was no longer the happy-go-lucky, idiotically persistent jinchuuriki-harboring miracle boy. She was now one of the strongest female nin and the best medic nin in the village. He was the Hokage and with that, came maturity and responsibility that, even upon a very resistant personality like his own, nurtured adulthood.

Sakura shook her head and then moved away from him just enough to look into the bluest blue. "Naruto… The war is over. We won. The whole world is at peace. This is what we wanted right?" She started with a strained voice, her eyes swollen.

Naruto just nodded his head lightly, looking back into the greenest green.

"Then why am I not happy? Why don't I feel happy?" Sakura whimpered, tears falling out again.

Naruto wasn't the slight bit shocked at this confession. He cupped Sakura's face with his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Sakura… I wish it was easy for me to answer that. But I have no answer…"

Sakura clutched hard on his shirt. She felt pathetic bawling like a teenage girl to her once comrade. He had grown to become a respectable and honorable man. He achieved his dream and became the Hokage. He was recognized and admired by everyone. Well, everyone but his own son.

Sakura jolted out of her daze on that thought. 'Son.' She thought to herself. He had a family. A complete one. A beautiful wife, a trouble-making son and a lovely daughter. He already had his happiness. She moved out of his embrace almost forcefully and looked at his accusingly, "You should go home to your family. Hinata-chan must be waiting."

What would he understand? He already found his happiness. How could he possibly –

And her lips were crushed with his immediately. Her eyes were wide as she took a step back to keep herself from falling back. She didn't care. She kissed back and she did so very forcefully. Naruto grabbed Sakura by her waist and pulled her with fully force, her body colliding with his almost painfully. "You already know who my happiness is." He said with a fire in his eyes.

After that Sakura couldn't remember when she left the Hokage's office but only that it was after dawn. She also couldn't remember when her buttons were torn off but she had to sew them on again.

Naruto wasn't a forceful lover. Naruto was one of those few men who submitted to the desires of their mistress. And Sakura was from no angle a woman who enjoyed submission. She would always be the one on top. And the 'always' in that held meaning. It had been 4 years since their little indiscretion began. It was supposed to be a onetime thing. But it never remained as such. One drunken night led to another and then they stopped pretending that they were drunk altogether and realized that this was inevitable.

Both had their set of reasons.

Sakura was alone. Sasuke was not coming back. He was pardoned of his crimes and had the opportunity to settle down with his family yet he chose to stay away. He chose to abandon her. On top of that, everyone pitied her for being left with Sasuke's daughter. Sakura loved Sarada like her own but the truth was harsh. Sarada was not her daughter. Sarada was what was left of Sasuke's unknown relationship with his former comrade, Karin. Sakura raised her like her own daughter but she was scared. She was scared that one day Karin might come to take away her daughter. More than that, she was afraid that Sarada would find out the truth and choose to abandon Sakura and leave as well. The day Sasuke gave Sarada in Sakura's arms; Sakura's died a little inside. She was well aware that Sasuke was led astray and angry and he was done a lot of injustice. But her love for him was unparalleled. She supported him and gave him the benefit of the doubt when no one did. She not once gave up on him. She kept telling herself that he was in pain. That he was suffering unimaginable loss. But when she held on to Sarada she realized that Sasuke seemed to have quite some time on his hands of frivolous romance. He could turn to someone as crazy and dark as Karin but not to Sakura, who loved him so much. And although she still loved him, at the back of her mind she knew that she loved him a little less every time she saw Sarada.

One would think that the only man who had it all was Naruto. He became the Hokage and fulfilled his dream. He retrieved his best friend and got him fully pardoned. He got married to one of the most beautiful kunoichi in Konoha who loved him like no other and he had from her, two amazing children. But he wasn't at all happy with how things were. He acknowledged long back that marriage was a rash decision on his part and he wished that he had taken more time consider the venture. He was young and seemingly in love and overtaken by Hinata's love for him. But the truth was that his love for Hinata was nowhere near his love for Sakura. He long back accepted that he was indeed in love with both women. But Sakura took his heart while all Hinata did was take his home. And 4 years ago when Naruto first realized that Sakura had the intention of having an affair with him, he was thrilled. He was thrilled because he had by then spent 11 years with Hinata and their marriage was the epitome of a jaded travesty. Prior to marriage, Hinata wouldn't let him touch her because she was too shy and each time he would approach her, she would start taking deep breaths to keep herself conscious. Initially it was amusing but that amusement was short lived and turned soon after into an annoyance. After marriage, she turned into a boring housewife who lurked at home all day. They immediately had a son and since his birth, Hinata became so consumed with motherhood that her relationship with her husband began to crumble. To top it all off, Hinata never became the Clan Head. Because she could not produce a Hyuuga heir, Hanabi had been deemed the next Heir to the throne. He had caught her time and again, sulking at the state of Hyuuga affairs. But when he would ask, shed tell him that she was not allowed to say and that he shouldn't worry himself with Hyuuga matters.

Naruto had just sent word from one of his secretaries to retrieve Kiba. He was needed for a tailing mission in hopes of going on Sasuke's latest lead on the White Zetsu Army. But all he got back in return was another Inuzuka member with his fellow companion canine. Inuzuka Kiba was indisposed.

Inuzuka Kiba was a late bloomer. His abilities were not the best in his clan but they were still formidable. What made him popular amongst his people was his great closeness to the Hokage and the Hokage's wife. He was an honest person with a pure heart. Amongst their entire academy class, Naruto, Kiba and Rock Lee were the most alike. They were persistent. They were honest. They were hard working and they proved to the world that they were worth the time.

Now Kiba had Tamaki. One could say she was the girl of his dreams. She was just as sweet and kind. She was innocent and her shyness made Kiba explode with adoration. But above all else, she was accepting of him. He who was always covered with dog hair and had the most peculiar sense of taste and smell. She bore with it all. And that too, with a smile.

She made his heart melt when he would watch the love that she began to develop for Akamaru. He had found the perfect girl. Sure, he had a crush on Hinata for the longest time. But it was adolescence and it was long forgotten. He did feel a slight guilt though – Tamaki had a lot of Hinata-esque traits. But after a while, he forgave himself. He did so because one day Tamaki and Hinata stood together, talking, and the only one that made his heart swell with Tamaki. Since then he knew that he loved Tamaki for who she was and not because she was similar to Hinata.

Kiba had something great going. It really was until the day he saw Tamaki with tears in her eyes as she hugged Akamaru's large head close to her chest. Kiba recalled standing there in denial. He remembered feeling numbness. And he remembered how that numbness turned into rage and he shoved Tamaki to the ground and grabbed a hold of Akamaru's body.

Kiba was born to a very unlucky clan. He was taught of his misfortune that day. He was part of the clan who would watch their closest companions die out countless times in one lifetime. A dog's life could only stretch so much. Akamaru had already outlived his years and Kiba was sure he was prepared for it. But he wasn't. And now he was at a complete loss. He was 35 and retired. He refused to take in any other companion, too afraid of the pain and not ready to replace Akamaru.

Tamaki made it easier. But he knew that the loss of Akamaru was a permanent mark on him. He knew he couldn't rely on anyone like he relied of Akamaru. He felt like he lost half his life's years.

Hinata was a smart girl. And because she was smart, she knew her presence in Naruto's life was becoming more and more of no consequence. Facts were tough. Soon after they were married, a few months into the marriage actually, she started noticing how infrequently Naruto would bed her. Initially it was great, she thought. Naruto was just as inexperienced as her and because of that, it took them quite some time to figure out how to even be pleased with sex. Sure they reached a stage where they started enjoying it. But soon after she realized that she was not enough. And it dawned upon her that she had never been enough for him. No matter how much she loved him, she had to go as far as to put her life on the line just for him to notice her.

After Bolt was born, Hinata grew up. Having a child to call her own; having gone through a very difficult and complicated childbirth, Hinata was convinced nothing to bring her down. Bolt would be her strength. She started drowning herself with Bolt and his work. She made sure to give him extra attention, making sure she was a father and a mother to him since his actual father was always at work.

Then Himawari was born and she saw herself reflected in her. She was delicate, fragile and kind. And when she saw all those traits did she realize why she herself had once been called weak. Her kindness would be her weakness. Her daughter would be turn into another Hyuuga Hinata. And Hinata would not stand for it. She vowed that she would give Himawari the strength and love that Hinata never received. She would not let her daughter go through what she did.

Hinata would frequent Neji's grave every once 2 months or 3 months. She would light incense and place flowers and some food. After Himawari's birth, Hinata took her along to visit his grave in her first time out of the hospital. Since then, the number of visits just kept increasing as she would narrate to Himawari how great and noble her late-uncle was.

But when Bolt was about to join the academy, Hinata was struck by the worst news.

"Hinata, come and sit." Her father gestured, tapping to his side from where he sat.

"Hai, otou-sama." Hinata bowed, taking off her shoes and stepping up into the mansion and sitting next to her father with folded legs.

She was ever graceful. Bolt was in the courtyard playing with Himawari where once she and Neji sparred.

"Hinata. I see you've been putting in a great effort with your children. It is indeed commendable. Sometimes I see you with my grandchildren and it reminds me of how your mother cared for you. It brings me great joy." Hiashi smiled with soft eyes.

Hinata smiled as she looked at her children play catch. She nodded. All she could remember of her mother was how much love she got from her. She only wished she could give the same to her children.

"Hinata. You are my eldest daughter and you know a father's love will never falter. But we need to address this now. I have already delayed this long enough." Hiashi said with a stern voice, his face turning with resolve.

"Hai?" Hinata questioned, turning her body completely to her father.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She was worried. She hadn't seen her father with such a face ever since the war. She was very worried.

"You are the Hokage's wife. You are Uzumaki Naruto's wife, the wife of our savior and everyone respects you for that." Hiashi stilled for a second.

"Otou-sama, you're making me anxious. W-what is going on?" Hinata asked worriedly, her voice shaking.

"Although is in an honor that the Hokage chose my daughter as his wife, your children are not of the Hyuuga." Hiashi spoke. His voice was getting old just like him. He was aging really fast. The burden of the Hyuuga had gotten the best of him. And his youngest daughter was merciless.

"I know that Otou-sama. In any case, the Byakugan is a recessive gene. My children could not have acquired it." Hinata stated, her forehead crinkling.

Her father sighed and his lips turned into a frown. "Hinata… Starting Bolt's academy, he will no longer be allowed in Hyuuga grounds."

Hinata couldn't breathe. Above all else, she couldn't believe what she was hearing and that too from her own father.

"O-otou-sama, what are you saying? Is this a j-joke?" She choked on her words.

"Hinata… The Hyuuga don't marry outside their own clan because of this very reason. We are a very ancient and very secretive clan. No one from outside is allowed to venture beyond our walls. You need to understand that these are rules which cannot be broken and cannot be changed." He spoke, knowing full well that his daughter was about to lash out.

"Otou-sama, they are your grandchildren! How can you view them as a threat to the Hyuuga! They are my blood and so are they yours!" Hinata shouted, getting up on her feet and indeed lashing out.

Bolt and Himawari turned towards the ruckus and Hiashi immediately put them in a genjutsu so they didn't see what was happening.

"Hinata, calm yourself. Consider this rationally. Even if they are my grandchildren, all I am saying is that they won't be allowed in the Hyuuga compound. I'll still come visit them and you'll still be allowed here. It just that your children-"

"My children don't have the Byakugan like I do? I understand that but why should they have to pay for something which was out of their hands! How unjust do you think this is?" Hinata cried out, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't be a fool Hinata!" Her father looked towards her and scolded. "You knew full well the repercussions of marrying the Uzumaki boy and yet you went ahead with it. You knew your children wouldn't receive the Byakugan. And you were well aware of the clan rules. You had knowledge of everything and yet chose to ignore it. Do not blame other for your foolish lack of insight!"

Hinata was caught aback. She was supposed to be on the forefront yet she was thrown back. Who was she kidding? She knew this was bound to happen. She knew it all and chose to turn a blind eye in hopes that somehow things wouldn't turn out this way.

She was sitting recalling her conversation with her younger sister. It was mostly one sided with Hinata shouting and pleading at the same time. Hanabi had grown to be very elegant and very strict clan head. She married a very strong shinobi from the Main Branch who had excellent repute and skills, and was now about to give her to her first child. She was everything that the Hyuuga was expecting from an heir.

But she was nothing of what Hinata was expecting of her sister. Hanabi had started to easily get influenced by the words of the Elders. Because Hanabi never had quite the same resolve as Hinata, she never saw many flaws in the way of the Hyuuga. She had grown up to see Neji being a respecting and great guardian to Hinata but was too young to recall all the hate thrown by him at her. She had only seen how the Hyuuga system seemed to working perfectly.

She bowed lightly in front of Hinata and with calm demeanor, tried to explain that her nephew and niece were loved by everyone but they were not above Hyuuga laws.

"You will just let the Hyuuga stay this way? Will you not work to change it at all, Hanabi? Will you just be a puppet clan head and let the elders dictate you?" Hinata pleaded in a rather accusatory tone.

"Onee-san, I respect you greatly. And I love you. I have always looked up to you. But don't forget your place." Hanabi shot back, her aura seemingly dangerous. "Understand this onee-san. The dream to change the Hyuuga was yours. I never had this dream. If you so wished to change the Hyuuga, then that would've required you to not marry Naruto-nii-sama. And as I recall, you didn't want to give up on your petty crush and so threw me under the rubble. You left me to fend for myself at a very young age and so I was given this burdensome task. I am the one who sits here every day to work for the future of this clan. I am the one who undergoes rigorous unrelenting training every day. I am the one under constant scrutiny while you enjoy a leisurely life with Naruto-nii-sama and your children."

Hanabi was serious and Hinata was awe-struck. No one had given her the hard truth like Hanabi just did. It was suffocating her. She had not once stopped to realize that maybe her sister didn't want the burden.

"B-but… then Neji-nii-san-" She muttered between her tears, thinking of the great sacrifice Neji had made.

Hanabi cut Hinata off with an extremely sharp tongue. "Don't put this on me onee-san. Neji-nii-san placed his faith in you and died while protecting you. He was an honorable man. The one who let his sacrifice go to waste was you, when you denied his wishes of a changed Hyuuga and chose to abandon your clan for Naruto-nii-sama."

No words escaped Hinata's lips after that.

"How long will you keep this up, Sakura?" Ino asked with a somber voice.

Sakura had her hanging low. Ino had been her best friend since childhood. They had an unbreakable bond. So Ino knew exactly what was happening in Sakura's life.

"Sai told me that he volunteered for Naruto's protection and to shadow himself because he knew. Sakura… Sai would never tell anyone and hell do all that it takes to protect both of you. But not even he can stop people from finding out if this carries on…" Ino whispered in a low tone.

Although they were sitting alone, Ino felt as if even the walls were listening to them.

And Sakura felt quite disgusted with herself. She knew that Hinata had figured it out by the way they crossed glances. But she was unsure as to why Hinata hadn't at least mentioned it to Naruto. Because Hinata didn't mention it to Naruto, Sakura decided she wouldn't either. She was getting too comfortable with their arrangement as it was.

"Ino… I am beginning to need him in my life to stay sane." Sakura muffled the words out.

"Do you love him?"

It was a straight forward enough question but Sakura was finding it quite difficult to reach an answer. She had been grateful that in not even one of their escapades did Naruto confess his love for her either. Maybe she was not yet prepared to hear it or maybe in the back of her mind she already knew without him voicing it. Naruto's love for her was unflinching.

She recalled her path crossing with Hinata's more seldom than usually. Sakura was by no means going to stop her relation with Naruto any time soon but she would avoid the confrontation for as long as she could.

The breeze was soft and spring took over in all its glory. Hair sprawled on the ground in a mess, her white eyes filled with tears. She couldn't recall the last time she cried. To her displeasure she knew that she didn't hold back the tears because she was happy but because she had no one to shed them in front of. She tired of crying to herself. She briefly remembered an old incident at home.

"Otou-chan, okaa-san's eyes are red!" Himawari shrieked, looking at Hinata as if afraid.

Hinata lowered her gaze, not wanting to get caught. She didn't want to answer any questions. She didn't want an inquiry. She was best left to her devices.

Naruto looked at Hinata for a while trying to catch a glimpse of her eyes before saying, "Hinata, that looks pretty bad! You should get it checked. I think its infected or something!"

Her head rose almost instantly in utter disillusionment. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could he not have seen her sorrow? How could he not have noticed how miserable she had become?

She turned to her side and hugged her legs wanting to somehow become smaller and disappear. She was too close and she would will her Byakugan every now and then to make sure no one was coming her way. If anyone found out where she was she would surely be frowned upon.

"Neji-nii-san… I failed you. I let your sacrifice to waste. I became all that I feared of becoming…" She sobbed lightly, touching the stone in front of her.

She lay on the grass next to Neji's grave and it was incredibly morbid. But this was a place she found peace in. She would go to his grave and sit there for hours just talking to thin air. Neji's wasn't listening, she concluded. She was certain he didn't want to hear any more of her excuses. She was sure that he was already utterly disappointed in her.

She would dream of him. Some nights would be pleasant with Neji visiting her and consoling her. He would hold onto her hand and caress the back of it while telling Hinata that he is happy that he put his life down for her. And she would cry into his chest for what would seem like hours until he would stroke her hair and vanish, letting her out of her reverie. Other nights weren't so kind on her. She would be tortured again and again by images of his last moment and he would keep telling her that she destroyed him and all of the Hyuuga. She would wake up panting and sometimes even screaming.

But Hinata knew she wasn't the only one. The aftermath of the war lead to almost everyone on the battlefield scarred and struck by a form of post-traumatic stress. She had been in the medical unit helping Sakura with the wounded initially. But as time passed, she began to see more psychologically unstable patients than physically so.

Shino had gone into recluse and now refused to meet anyone. She wasn't sure what more she could do for him because she had already tried everything she possibly could. 3 very capable nins had committed suicide in the first year after the war and even though Konoha was completely rebuilt, their souls were permanently damaged.

"She was crying again…" He spoke as if in almost a whisper.

He stroke her short pink hair softly, his arm partly numb from the weight of her head on it. The Hokage's office was quiet and dark. The moonlight shone in and lit just the part of his desk which had a picture of his family.

"Did you ask her why?"

She had no right to worry about Hinata, she knew that. But she couldn't help herself. She didn't hate Hinata. She didn't blame her or think that Hinata wasn't good enough that Naruto came to her. She knew the odd circumstances.

"I couldn't… And even if I did and she answered, Sakura, what could I have done? I can't keep her happy and I think she's fully aware of that." Naruto replied, his voice crackling.

He would just keep pretending as if he didn't know anything and keep moving forward with his life. He knew Hinata was having some trouble with her father but he wouldn't question it because he was well aware that that territory was off limits. The Hyuuga had too many secrets and he was tired of prying through closed doors. He wasn't the same 15 year old inquisitive kid with great spunk; he was older and knew where his limits lay.

Reality in Konoha was a lot different than what was expected. The loss was unimaginable and to recover was not as easy as everyone had initially perceived. Sure they were safe and the world was at peace with just the occasional dilly dallying by nin who were born to be criminals. But the emotional toll that almost all of the Fire Country suffered was too great to overcome.

The life they had all perceived as teenagers was so straightforward and simple. But as they reached adulthood, life was realized to be too complicated to take for a right. Their happily ever after just turned into something of a satire on their own optimisms. The end of the War should've brought an era of unprecedented happiness but everyone caught on very fast. It was easier said than done, putting a War as encompassing as the Fourth Shinobi War, behind them and moving forward. They were all caught in a spiral of nightmares and flashes of loss and death.

End.

A/N. I will continue this as another story which will be mainly NejiHina but didn't add it here because I understand that no everyone appreciates that ship.