"Sakura!" A tiny voice calls to me from a distance. I know that voice!

"Hinata!" Running up to her, I can tell by how fast she appears that she's running towards me, too. Her hand is waving excitedly in the air; she must be happy to see me after such a long while. "What a pleasant surprise! I haven't seen you in forever," I say, hugging her.

She's blushing. I can tell that she has something that she desperately wants to tell me. "Yeah, it has been a while. How have you been?"

"I've been ok. How's Naruto?" I ask impatiently. I know she has something she wants to say about him, and I also know that she wouldn't mind telling me about it.

Now she's blushing harder. "Um… ha-ha, Naruto and I… um… Well, we're together now."

"That's great! I'm so happy for you guys. He's good to you, right?"

Her eyes grow wide and full of inquisition. "Uh, what do you mean, Sakura?"

I hesitate. I probably shouldn't have said it so soon. "Well, I just mean that… never mind."

"Oh, please continue!" she urges me emphatically. "I would really like to know… I haven't talked to you for a long time. If there's something I need to know about Naruto, I'd very much like to hear it from you."

I look into her eyes and know that she is sincere. Now I have to tell her. "Well, Hinata… Naruto and I, we were together a few years back. It was only for a short while, so –"

"Oh, that!" she smiles. "Yes, Naruto already told me. He says that you two were just experimenting. It was a long time ago; I don't mind at all."

Shocked, I stare at Hinata at a complete loss for words. Of all of the people I know, I would have thought that Hinata would be one of the most jealous when it came to her personal relationships. I also know that she has loved Naruto for years, since we were all children. "Oh… well, that's good that he told you." I force a smile out. "What else did he say?"

She thinks for a moment. "Well, he said that you didn't go any further than kissing. It doesn't matter to me either way. He still has respect for you, and he doesn't speak badly of you at all."

"Did he tell you that he tried to get me to have sex with him? I turned him down of course, but he did try –"

"Sakura, I don't care. He's with me now, so it doesn't bother me at all, honestly. I know that you have someone else, anyway. You've always had someone else."

I look at her, trying to decipher what she could be talking about. Someone else? Is she thinking of Sasuke? She would have plenty of reason to… I just barely got over him a few months ago. I, similar to Hinata, have loved Sasuke since we were children.

"Let's change the subject," she says to me. "How is your lover? Are you two together yet?"

I roll my eyes. I hate having to explain this story to everyone. "We were together for two years. We broke it off almost a year ago, and I haven't really talked to him since then."

"You're kidding!" she exclaims disappointedly. "That's horrible! I thought that you two would be a perfect match."

What? No one has ever said that about me and Sasuke! Everyone thought that we were horrible together… even before he left Konoha when we were younger. He never made a good teammate, he never liked me (until a few years ago), and our tempers are so similar that there was never any balance in our relationship whatsoever. Maybe she knows something that I don't… "Hinata, what are you talking about?"

She looks at me, confused. "Sakura, seeing you two together made my heart leap. You worked so well with one another, and you were always there for each other. The way you talked, the way you walked, the way you acted when you were with him… it made me realize that there really is someone out there for everyone. That's why I don't mind that you and Naruto and you got together: Naruto is my someone. I know that it wouldn't have worked between you and him."

"But Naruto was different. I never really saw him in that kind of way, anyway. It was just an experiment, kind of like what happened with me and Ino…"

"What happened with you and Ino?" Hinata asked curiously.

Great, another story that I have to explain. "Hinata, it was a long time ago. I just figured that since Ino and I had been friends since we were very small that there might have been something more between us. Ino and I never went public, but that's because I was officially with Sasuke at the time. I found out later that Sasuke was just using me to get to Ino, anyway."

Hinata's jaw practically fell onto the floor. "What?! That's crazy! Wow, I never would have thought… well, what happened afterwards?"

"Afterwards, Sasuke asked if I wanted to threesome with him and Ino, and I told him to go to hell. I loved Sasuke, and I loved Ino, but in two very different ways. It was clear to me that neither of them loved me, though. Ino was using me for her own selfish needs, and Sasuke was in love with Ino the whole time that he was with me. I mean, what the hell? Sasuke was my first everything except kiss, and Ino was the first woman whom I had ever wanted to do those things with. They can both kiss my ass; I don't want anything to do with either one of them anymore."

I expected to see judgment in Hinata's eyes as I was telling her these things. Instead, she was nodding her head and thinking intently about what I was saying to her as I said it. She was able to read between the lines. Looking straight at me, she says, "Have you told Kakashi yet?"

Stunned, I think about the implications for a while before I respond. Now I know that she knows something that I don't. "Huh? Why would I tell Kakashi?"

"Because you two understand each other – you always have. You two have always had that special connection, and you both know that you will always be there for one another. Because he's your someone, of course!"

What the hell is she talking about? "I'm sorry, Hinata. I don't think I understand…"

Her lips are pursed together, and she is rubbing her chin with her right index finger. Suddenly, as if she's had an epiphany, she gasps. "Ah, I know what went wrong! You thought that I was talking about Sasuke the whole time!" she says, grinning in delight. A short giggle escapes from her as she trembles ecstatically. "You silly girl, Sakura! I'm talking about your someone. You know, the man you've loved for years and apparently never knew it!" She can't stop smiling. "Kakashi, you weirdo! Gosh, couldn't you see it? Couldn't everyone? I thought for sure you would have been with him by now. Someone should have told you, at least."

I'm confused. "Wait, so you mean that it was obvious that I have been in love with Kakashi for years? It can't be true. That doesn't even make sense, Hinata."

"Sure, it does! Sakura, you and Kakashi are so perfect together. Of course, it was inappropriate when we were children, but now that you've been an adult for years… I just figured that you and Kakashi would have –"

"Ew, Hinata! That's just weird. I can't believe you even thought of that. He's my teacher."

"Was your teacher," she corrects me. I can't really argue with that. "Besides, he's your someone."

"Would you please stop saying that?" Now it's just annoying. "How do you figure that he's my 'someone,' anyway?"

Hinata is laughing out loud. "Sakura, look at him! He's tall, handsome, and he cares about you. He's been showing it ever since you joined Team 7. Maybe it didn't start out in the romantic sense, but I think you've grown on him. After Team Kakashi, while he was in the hospital, I visited him a few times. He would always talk about how strong you were, and how even though you were ferocious sometimes, he still thought that you had grown into a beautiful young woman. He had that far-away look in his eyes, like he wasn't just talking about you or thinking about you, but he was there with you. And… Sakura, I've seen you do that with Kakashi, too."

Thinking about it… she's right. Wow, how could I have not seen it?

"I just know that if you and Kakashi get together that everything else will fall into place. You've had your heart broken, but he's always been there to fix it for you. You've been hurt, but he's always been there to protect you. He always will be. Isn't he everything you've ever wanted in a man, Sakura?"

With the realization that I am in love with someone whom I've never even given a chance come the tears of regret for having done so. The same tears come with the joy of recognizing the love which I have ignored for so long. Joy is accompanied by the hope that someday I could still make him mine forever. And so my emotions unfold and evolve before me, just like my undying love for him. "Yes, Hinata," I breathe. "Kakashi is everything I have ever wanted in a man…"