Disclaimer: I don't own Uzumaki Naruto or Hyuga Hinata, or any of the other characters mentioned in this story. If I did, there would be a lot more romance.
Hinata sighed, stirring at her bowl of ramen gloomily with a chopstick. It was cold now, and she most likely wouldn't eat it at all. She had seen Naruto-kun come this way and followed him, sliding into a seat on the right of his and ordering the same kind of ramen.
But Naruto-kun's heart belonged to Sakura, not Hinata. Naruto-kun didn't even see Hinata most of the times, as if she were made of air; it was as if she was invisible.
'Sakura doesn't deserve you, Naruto-kun!'She thought at the boy beside her, wishing she wasn't so timid so that she could say it out loud. 'She doesn't even really know you, not the way I do.'
"Hehe, you got that right!" Naruto-chan didn't even seem to notice Hinata as he talked and joked with the man behind the counter and his daughter, as well as Sakura. His smiled lit up his entire face; Hinata loved to see the way his eyes looked when he smiled, when he laughed. They shined as if there was a light behind them, and she loved it so much.
Sakura had probably never noticed those eyes of his. If she had, surely she would return his affections?
On the rare occasions when Hinata managed to talk with Naruto-kun, her Naruto-kun, they really did get along very well. But in order for these happy conversations to happen, Hinata had to be very brave and make physical or verbal contact with Naruto-kun. Most of the times, Sakura would stroll along. Sometimes, she did see them and stop to chat, like today. It didn't matter what Sakura did; Naruto-kun wouldn't remember Hinata again until Sakura was far out of sight, and by that time, Hinata was long gone. Her nerve would abandon her.
Naruto-kun was so kind, so brave. How was it possible that Sakura didn't see it? He was almost the embodiment of the fire. Wasn't that what the Sandaime Hokage had said? Yes, she was sure she had heard someone quote him on that: "All the ninjas in the hidden village of Konoha have a will of fire; the strong will to protect Konoha. As long as they have that will of fire, everyone in this village is family." Naruto-kun was truly that will, that will of fire that Sandaime had described.
'But Sakura doesn't see it,' Hinata thought sadly. 'So how can she say that she knows you, Naruto-kun? She doesn't, not hardly.'
It occurred to Hinata that she and Naruto-kun may never be together. He couldn't see her because he was so focused on Sakura. Their relationship had faded before it even started, faded when Naruto-kun realized his feelings for Sakura.
"Hinata-chan? Hinata-chan?" Naruto-kun's hands were waving infront of her face all of a sudden.
She blinked, feeling herself blush. "Oh! N-Naruto-kun, w-what is it?!" She looked at him, and noticed that Sakura was no longer seated on his other side.
He grinned at her. "You kind of spaced out for a second, huh?" He laughed. Hinata's blush grew deeper. He seemed to see it. "But that doesn't matter, Hinata-chan. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go for a walk."
"S-sure!" She smiled at him again.
"Great! Let's pay and go right away!" He beamed at her, and his eyes shone.
Maybe she wasn't so invisible after all...