Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
(Kiba POV)
"If I promise to protect you, will you protect me?"
"Yes. I'll protect you forever."
"So you'll stand for me?"
"Yes. You'll stand for me?"
"Yes."
We were twelve when we made those promises, Hinata and I. It was right after the chunin exams. But, if back then I had known how those promises would end, I wouldn't have made them.
Because she kept her promises, and I couldn't; She could stand, and I could not.
She has changed since then. She is seventeen now, stronger, faster, more confident. She no longer wants to die peacefully, but, as any good shinobi, in battle.
I only wish that her new hope hadn't been granted.
We were on a mission. Just Hinata and I. We did as we were told and destroyed a bandit hideout near the border. It took a lot of chakra, but we were speeding home, and didn't bother to rest first.
She didn't bother to activate her byakugan. I didn't bother to sniff out dangers. We thought we were safe. We weren't.
Strong. She had always been strong, even if most people didn't see it. Mentally strong first, then physically as she built up strength. But that wasn't enough.
Because we hadn't taken precautions, the ambush completely surprised us. It was only ten bandits, but it was enough.
They stabbed the weakened Hinata first, then turned to me.
She stood. Even with a kunai through her chest, she stood.
Standing. That's all she ever did. No one saw it. They saw weak, shy Hinata. She called them blind behind their backs. She called me blind. I didn't understand.
I do now. I wish I had back then, maybe I could have sympathized more. But now it's too late.
Her father called her weak. Her cousin tried to kill her. Her sister didn't give her half a look. Her stupid crush couldn't see how much he meant. No one saw how much they meant.
But she stood. She forgave them all, didn't give their coldness a second thought. She faced her fears, trampled them to Hell, even.
She faced her fears. Life, death. She lived. She died. She was scared. But she stood.
She kept all her promises, kept to them. She never backed down. I couldn't see it. Not back then. But she stood.
If someone knocked her down, called her worthless, ignored her; then she stood back up. And she stood.
Sometimes I wish she did back down sometimes. Like with her promises. Especially those two we made when we were kids. The ones she died by. The ones she couldn't keep anymore. The ones that prevented her from promising ever again. But she stood.
She stood, blood dripping from her mouth. She fought. They fought. She struck. They struck. She went down. They went down.
And with tears dripping from my eyes and my heart almost refusing to beat anymore, I realized that Hinata could no longer stand.