"Naruto, shut up please!" Hinata Hyuuga begged, offering a reassuring smile at her new friend. She gently grabbed Naruto Uzumaki's calloused hands. They were definitely warm. "If we apologize every time we step on each other's toes, we'll never have any time to be real friends…"
Naruto quickly pulled his hands out of Hinata's stubbornly. He furrowed his eyebrows painfully and pouted like a little kid on the verge of a tantrum. "Almost killing you is not the same as stepping on your toes," the blond protested, meeting Hinata's light gray eyes with his azure ones.
Hinata raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Almost is a big word there, Naruto. Almost decides everything and while you almost did, you didn't," the blue-haired future medical ninja explained, fumbling once again for Naruto's hands. She held them in a death grip.
Naruto looked away from Hinata's wise eyes and bit his bottom lip nervously. Hinata had a different perspective of life than him perhaps. Almost meant too close to him. All of the almosts had been engraved into his brain. But Hinata's almosts disappeared like they weren't of any importance.
That was maybe why they were different.
Naruto felt his eyes burn with contained tears. The Kyuubi vessel couldn't believe he was breaking down in front of someone he had promised he'd remain strong for. All of the doubts, sorrow, and fear came crashing into him like ocean waves.
Naruto Uzumaki hated that feeling. He refused to acknowledge it as if he ignored it, it might go away. Ignoring it only seemed to make it worse.
"It's okay to cry in front of me," Hinata assured, her eyes sympathetic. She smiled with the left side of her mouth. "Isn't that the whole point of having a friend? You're comfortable with them and you can cry and laugh and… feel wonderful…"
Naruto finally met Hinata's eyes once again. "I don't want Kyuubi to take me away," the spiky-haired teenager mumbled, his voice small and weak. Naruto looked like a kicked puppy and in pain.
It broke Hinata's heart.
"I won't let you go," the Hyuuga said quietly, lifting her and Naruto's connected hands to prove her point. His hands were moist with sweat.
"You promise?"
"I promise." And Naruto felt safe.