Naruto looks down at her hands and carefully twines his fingers with hers.
"Hinata?"
"Mmm?" She asks, her eyes rising to meet his.
"I love you, you know?" She smiles in a way that lights up her whole body
"I know. I love you too." He nods, squeezing her fingers and wishing it didn't have to end this way.
But it always ends this way.
"Nee-san!"
He hears that scream every night of his life and it breaks him worse every time.
The citizens of Konoha have a problem.
Their seventh Hokage is young, handsome and friendly. He is a hero and beloved by most. And yet, he's single. Unmarried and seemingly completely unattached. They don't understand, can't understand how that can be. After all, he certainly has no shortage of admirers and he definitely strikes as the type who'd want a family, so how is this possible?
It's a question no one has an answer to.
Well, no, that's not entirely true. He probably knows and the people that know him well enough that it wouldn't be awkward for them to ask about it, probably know too, they just never feel the urge to share.
Which has left quite a few frustrated villagers.
Rumours abound of course about him and all sorts of people, but they are just that, rumours. Rumours on flimsy ground and Konoha is hungry for the real thing.
And then it happens.
The Seventh Hokage and the Head of the Hyuga Clan. The rumour sweeps across the village like a wild fire. The two spend an inordinate amount of time together. They work tirelessly to change the Hyuga clan and then, with that accomplished, they still work together. They collaborate on all manner of village projects, rejuvenating Konoha side by side. She is a valued ally and confidant and he takes a very special interest in all the Hyuga clan affairs.
People grow suspicious. And then...
They are seen walking through the village. They are seen laughing, sparring, browsing stalls at the market. She visits the Hokage Tower for non business reasons, he pops by the Hyuga compound just to say hi. They eat out together. At the ramen stand, at cafes.
Secret Lovers. It is a whisper heard throughout Konoha.
It is clear, with all the time they spend together, the way he makes her smile like no one else can, all the things they do together, all the things they've accomplished. They are in a secret relationship.
And the village is alive with it.
"Hanabi." Hanabi slowly blinks open her eyes and gasps at Hinata smiling in front of her.
"Nee-san..." Her voice trembles but Hinata smiles reassuringly and opens her arms. Hanabi falls into them, the sobs torn from her throat.
"Why...nee-san, why-why did you...why?" Hinata's fingers stroke her hair and Hanabi can feel waves of calm rolling through her.
"I'm your big sister. That's what we do." Hinata's voice is soft and Hanabi shakes her head furiously against her sister's chest.
"No! No, you-you shouldn't-you shouldn't have..." Her voice is too choked to carry on but Hinata simply tightens her hold on her.
"I'm so proud of you Hanabi."
"How can you-I'm not like you, not like you would've been."
"You're better." Hanabi pulls back in shock, her cheeks wet with tears. Hinata smiles kindly, brushing the hair away from Hanabi's face.
"You're a better clan head than I ever would've been. And I've seen all the things you've done with Naruto-kun to improve the village. You're incredible Hanabi, I'm so proud to be your sister." Hanabi shakes her head again, tears blurring her vision.
"Nee...nee-san, I-I..." She can barely get out the words and Hinata presses a kiss to her head.
"I love you."
"Nee-san!"
Hanabi can't tell what she hates most.
The nightmares where she watches her sister disappear or real life where she doesn't get the luxury of waking up.
Hanabi Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki are not Secret Lovers. They are not lovers in any way at all and they would never want to be.
What the villagers don't know is that Hanabi Hyuga had a sister once. She was kind and brave and beautiful. Compassionate, strong, determined. They don't know that Hanabi loved her, cherished her, wished she could be just like her. They don't know that Hanabi's sister was her hero. That once upon a time Hanabi thought her sister was weak and frail only to be proved completely and utterly wrong.
They don't know that Hanabi Hyuga's sister is dead and that she misses her so much it hurts.
What the villagers don't know is that Naruto Uzumaki was in love once. She was empathetic and understanding and courageous. Stunning, brilliant, resilient. They don't know that Naruto adored her, admired her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. They don't know that the woman Naruto loved was the love of his life. That once upon a time Naruto thought she was a shy, dark weirdo and then he realized she was one of the most amazing people in the world.
They don't know that the woman Naruto loved is dead and he misses her so much his heart has never stopped breaking.
They don't about Hinata Hyuga and maybe that's the real crime. Hinata Hyuga was a ninja, a sister, a daughter, a cousin. She was a team mate, a friend and a girlfriend.
She was a living breathing person with a life she should still be living but instead she's just a memory most people seem to have forgotten.
Hinata Hyuga was a hero and most people don't know that.
She liked flower pressing.
She always wanted a cat.
She hated seafood.
She died for her baby sister.
But she is only a statistic, a name on a memorial stone.
What the villagers don't know is that Hanabi and Naruto banded together after her loss. They drew closer in remembrance of someone loved and lost, they helped each other work through their grief. They set out to make Hinata's dreams come true, to keep the promises they'd made. They changed the Hyuga clan and then they kept changing things because they made a good team and because they owed it to the memory of the woman they loved.
They don't know that Hanabi sees Naruto as a big brother. She has lost both her cousin and her sister and while Naruto can never make that okay, he makes it hurt a little less.
They don't know that Naruto sees Hanabi like a little sister. He has lost so, so many things but she reminds him that he also gained a great deal.
As it turns out, the villagers don't know a lot of things.
"Nee-san!"
She knows the minute she kneels down that there's no saving her.
She tries anyway.
"Hinata!"
The wounds are too deep, her skin is too pale and there's far too much blood.
She pours even more chakra into her jutsu.
I'm not losing her, I can't.
"No no no no no no, Hinata, no, please no..."
She's already gone.
Still, she keeps trying.
"Nee-san! No! Nee-san nee-san nee-san!"
She's lost her patient.
Her friend.
I couldn't save her.
"Hinata! Wake up! Hinata, please, please don't leave me. I love you..."
Every single day of her life, Sakura Haruno sees Hinata Hyuga.
She sees her falling into Hanabi's arms and hears Hanabi's scream.
She sees her blood pooling on the ground, much too red and Naruto's voice as he sees her, as he runs to her.
She sees Naruto holding her hand as he begs her incoherently, over and over again.
She sees her lips moving in her final words, Hanabi shrieking her grief.
She sees the life leave her and Naruto falling apart at the seams.
She sees herself failing to save her, the first time she hasn't been able to save someone close to her.
She sees her in the shadows in Hanabi's eyes, in the lines on Naruto's face.
Sees her in the haunted face in the mirror.
Every day Sakura Haruno sees Hinata Hyuga.
She sees her ghost and she knows she always will.
"No, no...I...I couldn't...I'm so sorry..."