Hinata stared into space, the same words echoing again and again in her mind.

Because…I love you, Naruto-kun… Naruto-kun… Naruto.

"More naruto?"

"What?" Hinata glanced up to see the ramen shop owner Teuchi holding out more of the spiral-decorated fishcakes and realized she'd spoken aloud. "N-no, thank you," she mumbled, ducking her head to hide her embarassment.

It had been three weeks since Pain's attack on Konoha.

Three weeks since Hinata threw herself between Pain and Naruto. Three weeks since she'd confessed her love to him. Three weeks since she'd unexpectedly survived the blow she thought would kill her.

At first, she'd been too weak to do much, still recovering from her wounds. As she healed, she spent her time observing Naruto. He was busy, always helping with the building projects and chatting to villagers and fellow ninja, and she never managed to get close enough to speak to him.

Hinata desperately wanted to speak to him. Through the gift of Byakugan, she'd seen Naruto's reaction to her confession-he'd been shocked, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, but she had no chance to find out how he felt now that the surprise had worn off. Did he have an answer to her feelings?

The entire village had been destroyed, and rebuilding projects were slow, but familiar places like the Ichiraku Ramen stand were reappearing daily. So the moment she heard Ichiraku had reopened, she came in for a bowl of ramen and waited for him to appear.

Naruto arrived precisely eight minutes past noon.

"Occhan!" he called. "Miso pork ramen with double noodles please!"

"Coming right up," Teuchi called back.

Hinata straightened her back, set down her chopsticks, and was about to turn around when Sakura called her name.

"Hinata? Good to see you!" she said, taking the seat beside her. "How are you feeling?"

Hinata's heart sank. She wanted to speak to Naruto alone, but instead she resigned herself to politeness.

"Much better, thanks to you," she replied. "H-hello, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at her as if she'd materialized out of nowhere. "Uh…hey, Hinata." He sat next to Sakura and took his time selecting a pair of chopsticks.

Sakura didn't seem to notice the awkwardness. "It's really good that you're getting around so well; you suffered some serious injuries."

"Right…" Hinata caught herself twisting her fingers and forced herself to stop. Why won't he look at me?

The arrival of Naruto and Sakura's ramen halted the conversation. Hinata purposely ate slowly, trying to match her pace with Naruto's so that they could leave at the same time.

"Delicious!" Sakura set down her bowl. "Thanks for the meal. See you later, Hinata. You too, Naruto."

Naruto hastily slurped up a mouthful of noodles and wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. "Where are you going?"

"To the hospital. I have work."

"I'll walk you there." Naruto was already digging in his pocket for his wallet even though his bowl wasn't empty. "Just let me pay and-"

"I don't need you to walk me." Sakura gently pushed him back down on his seat. "Finish your lunch, OK?" She gave Hinata a wink as she walked out.

"Damn it…" Naruto muttered as he fumbled with the coins. "Sakura-chan, wait!"

"Um, Naruto-kun?"

Hinata watched Naruto freeze and stiffly turn towards her. Now that she had his attention, she was almost afraid to speak.

"Hey, Hinata." Naruto sounded almost as nervous as she was. "It was nice seeing you, but-"

"Um!" Hinata spoke louder than she intended. "About what happened…"

"Yeah, I don't…I don't really want to talk about that right now."

"It's been three weeks. I just… I don't even know if you heard me or if you remember…" She stopped, gathered her courage. Just say it. "M-my confession."

There was a long pause while Naruto fidgeted with the zipper of his jacket.

"I remember," he mumbled.

"Th-then…" Hinata swallowed; her throat had gone dry. "Do you have an answer?"

Naruto let go of his zipper. "Hinata, I…" He crossed his arms then shook his head and stretched his arms behind him. 'Look, you're really nice, and...we're friends, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"And I want to stay friends with you. But…see, I like someone else, and…"

Hinata heard buzzing in her ears. Naruto's mouth was still moving, but she couldn't hear him. Not that it mattered what he said-he was rejecting her.

What had she expected? That Naruto would be so impressed by her confession and rescue attempt that he would suddenly fall in love with her? That he'd realize Hinata loved him best and change his heart?

She should never have said anything. Ducking her head to hide her tears, she moved away from Naruto, too hurt to properly excuse herself.

"Oof!" Sakura cried out as they crashed into each other. "Watch where you're g-Hinata? Hinata, are you OK?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's whole demeanor brightened. "Did you come back because you missed me?"

"As if. I left my ID at Ichiraku. What happened?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Hinata said, trying to leave again.

"Hinata, seriously, what happened?" Sakura pressed, and something inside Hinata snapped.

"Leave. Me. Alone." She pushed Sakura away a little too forcefully, knocking her to the ground. Sakura was too stunned to react, but Naruto was furious.

"What the hell, Hinata? You can't treat Sakura-chan like that!"

Hinata looked at them both, too emotional to even try to defend herself, before turning and bolting away.

When Hinata woke up the next morning, she had one moment of blissful ignorance before she remembered what happened the day before. Remembering brought back the tears, so she crawled back under her quilt and sobbed, with no intention of leaving her bed that day.

Someone pounded on the door.

"Onee-sama!" Hanabi opened the door without waiting for an answer. "Father's summoned us. We need to report to him at once."

Hinata did her best to dry her tears and disguise the sobs as hiccups; Hanabi didn't seem to notice. "But I'm not dressed yet."

"Doesn't matter. We need to meet him right now."

Hinata followed her to her father's sitting room in the back of the main house. She was a little surprised to see Neji already sitting in the room, but she said nothing and only acknowledged his presence with the tiniest of nods.

"Good; you're all here." Hiashi looked terrible, as though he hadn't slept the night before. Hinata was about to ask if he was sick when her father continued. "Hanabi, you may stay; you need to hear this too."

Hanabi obediently knelt on the floor beside her sister.

Hiashi took a deep breath and began. "I have serious news. The entire clan will be addressed later today, but as this news affects you personally, I felt it best to give you advance warning."

Hinata's head began spinning; her stomach was in knots.

Hiashi sighed heavily and went on. "Haruno Sakura was found dead this morning."