You might have called this afternoon perfect. The sky was a deep azure, and the sun shone down, illuminating every leaf and every blade of grass. Not a sound could be heard except for the melodic call of a blackbird and the speech of a boy and a girl outside of the woods.
"You know what?" the first voice mused.
"What?" replied the second enthusiastically.
"Maybe you're not so bad after all."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've been thinking, and I can't help but wonder if maybe I've been a little harsh to you."
"So what are you saying? That you like me?"
"I think," the first voice concluded, "I do, Naruto-kun."
"YES!"
"Hey, quit celebrating. It's not like this is permanent or anything."
"Well I'll make it permanent." And without another word, he leaned over and kissed her.
Hinata blinked in disbelief at what she was seeing. Naruto had finally got what he wanted. But it wasn't her. It was Sakura. I ought to be happy for him, Hinata told herself. Besides, after ignoring me for all this time, he deserves a bitch like her, an inner voice cried out. Hinata was shocked at what she had just thought. It wasn't like her at all. On the other hand, this wasn't like Sakura at all. She was always chasing after Sasuke, who clearly just wanted to be left alone. But now Hinata was left with the knowledge that she and Naruto would only ever be friends. She walked solemnly over to the nearest tree, still hearing the faint sound of Naruto and Sakura's conversation in the background. Being the silent type, crying was not her thing. Instead, she sat down on the ground, in regret that she had never done anything, glad that Naruto had got what he wanted, but at the same time wishing it could be her.
And that was when she heard the crash.
Instinctively she looked up; the trees were maybe 20 feet tall – anyone to have fallen from one of them would be in pain. She picked herself up off the ground, hoping it was maybe just a heavy load being dropped hopefully not on someone's toe or a logging team cutting down a troublesome tree
(troublesome)
the word flashed in Hinata's mind. She could feel another presence. Her heart sank. Someone really had fallen. And she was the one who had to help them. She turned her snowy eyes to the left, and saw a figure on the ground, surrounded by fallen leaves.
"Stupid tree."
Hinata drew closer – cautiously; this person could be dangerous – and whispered "Are you okay?"
"Do I look it?" Hinata recognized the voice to be that of Nara Shikamaru. She had never really spoken to him before, but didn't see him as anything of a threat.
"I... I'm sorry," the Hyuga girl replied, her head drooping a little. Shikamaru managed to stumble up from the forest floor, but Hinata noticed he was limping. "Um ... c-can I help?" she offered, suddenly realizing she was stuttering.
A smile broke out on Shikamaru's face. "You're blushing."
"W-what?"
The lazy genius shook his head. "Nevermind. Note to self: Don't take naps in trees."
Hinata repeated her question. "Can I help?"
Shikamaru yawned, before replying: "No, I'm fine. Is something wrong?"
"W-well..."
"You look troubled."
Hinata's eyes widened. Why was it any of his concern what was wrong? And how could he tell?
"Hinata," he sighed, "I'm a lot like you. I'm the observer. I know when there's something wrong. I don't do. I watch." He had just answered her question without her even saying anything.
"Well if you must know," the shy girl began, "I... I think Naruto-kun's going out with Sakura."
"Ah, yes. I know Sakura, that obsessive little brat. So troublesome... well, at least Ino will be happy," Shikamaru muttered.
"Why, do you like her?" Hinata wondered.
"Not in that way. I support her, but she's too high-maintenance for me. She's always wanting MORE."
"Wow... you know a lot about people," Hinata said admiringly. "What about Temari?" she asked, recalling the punk girl's crush on Shikamaru.
"Well, I can imagine that working, but although you might not think it, she has the same sort of motives as Ino. She's fiery. She wants to be heard. And I think she's really just too much for me."
"And... i-if you d-don't mind me asking..." The blue haired girl hesitated.
"Go on?"
"Me?"
Shikamaru paused briefly to remove a twig from his hair. "You've never struck me as someone Naruto would be interested in – although I don't mean that in a bad way, of course. He's more suited to someone like Ino or Temari, because MORE is all he has. You, on the other hand, have something they never will. You have the gift of acceptance, and that's what I like about you."
"R-really?"
"Sure. I mean, you're the only one who could get me to talk for this long," the spiky haired boy replied. With a smirk, he added, "You're blushing again."
Hinata looked at the floor uneasily. "I'm... I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Shikamaru reassured her. "I think it's cute."
This was the first time Hinata had heard Shikamaru talk positively about anything. Normally it was always "this is troublesome" or "that is such a drag", but this time there was none of that. "Thanks," she replied almost silently. She watched as Shikamaru sat down against the tree he had fallen from.
"Heh... I wonder if anyone else is going to fall from there," he mused as Hinata came and sat beside him. "Maybe Chouji's up there looking for apples."
"Maybe," Hinata agreed, as Shikamaru edged closer to her. "Shika-kun?"
"Yes?"
"You're sitting on my hand."
"Crap. Sorry."
"It's okay." Hinata felt her cheeks burn red as she realized just how close she was to Shikamaru. Their faces were only millimetres away-
"GOTCHA!"
She looked up, startled, to see Naruto and Sakura staring from the cover of a nearby bush. "Who's observing now, huh?" Naruto challenged.
Hinata expected Shikamaru to make some sort of comment about how troublesome the whole situation was, but he simply said "Piss off. She's mine."