As the sun goes down (1)
'' Hinata was tired of waiting. With her final gift she's sure to end her love. But things don't always go the way you want and when hell breaks loose, Naruto is up to safe the world and the girl he's about to fall in love with. ' I finally realized what I want to protect, please wait for me!' ''
''Talking''
''Thoughts''
''Loud voice/ Kyuubi/ Jutsu ''
This is my take on what is going to happen after chapter 699 and the Movie: Naruto The Last. I hope you'll like it!
The winter festival was 2 days away and Hinata was on a shopping spree with Sakura.
As they looked around, Sakura smirked at her.
''Sooo~ Hinata. Are you going to give Naruto anything?'' She nudged the Hyuuga heiress, which made her blush and stutter.
''I-I w-well...!'' As she sat down on a bench, she played with her fingers, trying to avoid Sakura's knowing eyes. ''I do..'' The girl said slowly, blushing prettily.
''That awesome!'' Sakura grinned from ear to ear, putting her hands reassuringly on Hinata's shoulders.
Said girl smiled cutely, but then it turned downwards, making Sakura look at her questioningly.
''Hinata?'' She asked, being confused as to why she was looking so down. Shouldn't she be happy about this?
The heiress looked at her lap, folding her hands neatly.
'' I'm thinking about making Naruto-kun a scarf, because of it getting so cold... it's just that..''
She sighs and her pink-haired friend stared at her worried.
''I think it's the last thing I will do...'' Hinata finished.
Sakura frowned at her wording. ''What do you mean by that?''
She moved her gaze towards the medic, a strong feeling hidden behind her eyes and she started smiling, though rather than looking happy it was sad.
''I love Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan. I really do. But.. I just can't keep this up anymore. I want to stop now.''
Sakura's eyes widened and her grip hardened. ''Wh-what? Stop? Stop what?''
''I'm...I'm giving up now, Sakura-chan. I've waited for so long, did my best, stood beside him all the time... I just rea-'' But before she could finish the, Haruno shook her, trying to make her realise that what she was about to do was wrong.
''But Hinata! You can't give up now! You've loved him for years! Noticed him before anyone else did, you can't- no. You shouldn't give up, not now! Not when you got this far!''
The Hyuuga was only smiling at her friend. Turning her gaze downwards, she continued.
'' I just can't go on like this, Sakura-chan. Please understand. He never even gave me an answer to my confession. He could at least tell me if he doesn't like me, that's totally fine by me. I just wanted an answer, but this- all of this, it's just too much for me.''
There was a pause, as she took a deep breath.
''I think it's okay to give up now.''
Sakura could only stare at her friend. Her friend that fought so long, had to overcome so many hardships in her life. It wasn't like her to just give up, after all she shared the same nindo as her oblivious blonde teammate.
But what was there to say? Deep down Sakura knew she was right. She knew how hard it was to wait for the one you love, never getting an answer. It brought tears to her eyes. This shouldn't happen, it wasn't right- wasn't fair.
Because everyone knew that those two belonged together. Only Naruto was too oblivious to understand that.
''Let's keep on going, ne?'' Hinata said, little puffs of her breath being visible, showing how cold it already was. It pulled Sakura out of her thoughts and she nodded, wordlessly.
There had to be something she could do to help Naruto and Hinata. Just what she didn't know yet.
As the day was ending, Sakura held a meeting with the Konoha 11 ( minus Naruto and Hinata, so technically it was the Konoha 9) to discuss 'the problem' as she would call it.
There was silence as no one was aware of what was going to happen, after all they didn't know yet, what Sakura was up to.
Ino spoke first to break the ice.
''So... what are we here for, forehead?'' She crossed her arms, tapping her foot.
Everyone looked at the medic with expectations and wonder.
''We've got a serious problem guys.'' She stated. ''Hinata is going to give up on Naruto after the winter festival is over.''
Silence.
Ino's eyes widened. Tenten only blinked. And the guys, well they didn't really know what to say or think.
''Eh, yo kiddin' right? Hinata's loved that idiot for too long to give up just now.'' Kiba spoke up, stating the obvious. Shino only nodded at that.
Sakura shifted her gaze to the ground. '' She told me today when we were shopping. Hinata's tired of waiting and never getting an answer.''
Kiba's eyes widened. His teammate was giving up? When did this happen, that wasn't like her at all!
Shikamaru only shrugged. '' Wasn't it obvious though?'' Ino glared at him. ''What do you mean obvious. It's not like Hinata to just give up! She's loved him for so long! She ev-''
Before she could finish, Shikamaru spoke up again.
''Isn't that the reason why she's giving up?'' Ino shut her mouth at that, begrudgingly looking to the side.
He sighed. '' She's loved him for so long, never got an answer. How long do you think a girl like her can take that? Most people would've already given up a long time ago, but she didn't. She fought with him, stood by his side. I think you should understand how she feels, now shouldn't you?''
She knew that he was telling the truth, she really did. But it was annoying her to no end.
Rock Lee was pumping his fist into the air. '' HOW UNYOUTHFUL! THIS SHALL NOT HAPPEN, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!'' Tears were flowing down his face as he was shouting out his feelings.
Tenten only sighs at this, her chin resting on her arms. ''But what should we do? Naruto is just so oblivious when it comes to this.''
The others nodded. Ino let out an exasperated sigh as she was angrily propping her hand on her hip.
''What's worse he never even answered her! Who does that!'' She belted.
Kiba gritted his teeth. ''That punk.'' He shook his fist.
Sakura held up her hands to calm everyone down. As the room was quiet again, she spoke up.
''As you can see the reason for you guys to be here, is to help me make Naruto realize Hinata's feelings and get both of them together, shannaroo!''
''How troublesome...'' The two beasts, Sakura and Ino, shot Shikamaru an annoyed glare. He only shrugged as a response.
''How are we going to do this?'' Sai asked for the first time this night.
Sakura bit her lip. She's come so far, but to be honest she didn't know. ''I-I'm not sure, to tell the truth.''
''Ugh, seriously forehead?!''
She shot her a glare. '' Oh you got an idea, Inopig? I'd love to hear your strategy!''
Chouji held his hands up, trying to form a distance between those two. '' Calm down, please.''
''Hmpf!'' Was all he got in return, making him sweat-drop.
Shikamaru folded his hands behind his head.
''I think we should leave things as they are and not meddle with his feelings.''
Sakura stared at him furiously. '' THAT IS N-'' but she was interrupted by Kiba.
''As much as I hate to say this, Shikamaru is right.''
''The hell are you saying, mutt?'' The blonde girl barked.
The Inuzuka glared at her, continuing anyways. '' It's her choice, isn't it?! And besides, if Naruto doesn't know what he's loosing, then it's his fault. You shouldn't forcefully try to change someone's feelings if they're not up for it anyways. He'll fall in love when he feels ready, dammit.''
He grunted.
''Also I'm tired of this shit. He's not worth Hinata's time if he doesn't even answer her confession. He shoulda man up and say it straight and stop keeping her waitin'!''
Furious he turned around, signalising his dog to come follow him as he threw the door open to leave this place.
Ino shook her fist, ready to shout after him, but Chouji held her back, placing his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.
''I'm of the same opinion as Kiba. We should give them time, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't. It's for them to decide and not us.''
''Chouji-!''She tried to reason, but deep down she knew they were right.
Shikamaru yawned. ''Guess this meeting is over. Cya later guys. '' He lazily waved his hand as stepped out of the room, Chouji, Sai and Shino following him.
Rock Lee stared at the ground, shifting his foot. '' I'm sorry Sakura-san, but I think they're right.'' Tenten only nodded at that. ''Give them time and we'll see how it will end.'' Rock Lee pouted in a sad fashion and trotted out of the room, his teammate following him.
The pink-haired kunoichi stared at the door, her mouth shaped a thin line and her brows furrowed. She let out a sigh, shuffling her feet. ''They're right, aren't they?'' The blonde stared at her, smiling sadly. '' Guess so, huh?''
What they didn't know was that there's going to be a big change soon. Favorably helping them in their mission. They just had to wait, for if it's good or bad, they would find out sooner or later.
Naruto was strolling across town, heading for his most favorite place in the world – Ichiraku Ramen . After all he hadn't had ramen for almost two weeks. Two weeks! Only the thought was horrendous and scary itself. The mission he had been sent on was too long for his liking, but the good thing was it wasn't as hard and unpleasent as he thought it would be. He had to help the fewer and smaller towns rebuild their houses. Even after two years you could still see the destruction the war had done. But it was alright now, just a bit boring as there were only minor things to do and nothing special at all.
He sighed, at least there was his lovely ramen shop he could turn to when he felt down.
As the blonde looked up he saw an indigo haired girl standing on the road, looking off into the distance. Now he would usually just go on with his day, but when he saw who it was his face lit up.
Waving his hand he shouted at the girl.
''Oiiii~ Hinata! How's it goin'! Look who's back!'' he jogged towards her, a big smile on his face.
Said girl was startled and pulled out of her thoughts as she craned her neck towards the one that caught her off guard. Her eyes widened and a blush was creeping up her neck to her cheeks.
''Whatcha up to?'' Konoha's hero asked casually, still grinning.
She bit her lip, how was she able to forget him, when he was giving her this smile? She wouldn't know.
''A-ah I was just...'' But to tell the truth she didn't know. All she did was walking around town, seeing where her mind would bring her. She was so lost in thought that she never even realised where she stopped!
''Actually, I don't know what I'm doing here.''
Naruto blinked at her and started laughing.
''What? You don't have amnesia or anything right?'' he shot her a playful grin, which made her blush deepen even more.
She shook her hands in front of her. ''N-no of course not! I- I was just so lost in thought that I-'' But she was cut off as he held up his hand. ''Jeez Hinata, calm down I'm only joking''
''Oh..'' Was all she could say as she looked at him totally clueless as to what just happened.
He snorted at her facial expression.
''Since you're not up to something, yer wanna come to Ichiraku's with me?'' He grinned, folding his hand behind his head.
She blinked and nodded, blushing prettily. ''Yes.''
As they went down the path to Ichiraku's, she couldn't help but glance at him from time to time. She wasn't really listening to what he was telling her as she was too caught up with her own thoughts. Hinata knew deep in her heart that she could never stop loving him, she wouldn't be able to turn down any favors. How could she, when he stared at her with those blue eyes of his? Those eyes that held so much emotion in them, seen so many things and lived through hardships not even she could imagine.
She frowned and stared at the ground, not noticing the way he stared at her. His eyes fixated on hers, wondering why she was looking so sad. He reached out his hand, but quickly retracted them. What was he doing anyways?
He shook his head, blushing slightly.
Naruto cleared his throat gaining her attention again.
''You alright?'', he asked.
She smiled at him. '' I am, thank you for asking.''
But he didn't buy it and she knew. She knew better than to lie to him.
Biting her lip she turned her gaze towards the road in front of her and to her enlightenment she found that they have arrived.
''We're here!'' She stated happily, thankful she could change the topic.
He left it at that. Afterall there was a reason she wasn't telling him. Of course it didn't make him happy that she was keeping things from him, but there was no reason to pry for him either.
''Yea.'' He grinned at her. '' Let's go! I'm starving!''
Naruto being Naruto he chatted happily and loudly, telling her about his last mission. Groaning here and there, when he brought up something that annoyed him to no end. And she would giggle and laugh, blush and smile. Seeing the way his brows creased as he frowned, the way his eyes shined, when he told her about his mission.
It made her want this day to keep on, but she knew it would end. That's just how things are. And she was already dreading the time they left the shop and as he was about to say his good-bye, even as he was reluctant, she clasped the hem of his jacket.
He blinked at her. ''Hinata?''
The girl though wasn't looking at him, only staring at the ground. How was she able to tell him this? Her heart was ready to break, but she already made up her mind long ago. There was no turning back now.
''Hinata are you alright? Please look at me.'' He turned around, staring down at her bowed head. It worried him greatly.
''Did something happen?'' He tried again and as he was to take her face in his hands she spoke up, making him stop in motion.
''There's something I want to give you.'' The blonde blinked at her.
''Huh? Alright sure, what is it?''
She shook her head smiling sadly, though he couldn't see.
''I'll give it to you at the winter festival.''
He frowned. ''Okay but why are you so sad, Hinata.? Did something happen?''
Her grip tightened. '' I've only made up my mind.''
But what she said to him, made no sense, at least not for Naruto. '' Made up your mind? I'm not sure I can follow Hinata?'' As she stared up at him, he could see so many emotions, he didn't even know how to describe it. Sadness, hurt, fear, but the worst of all was the one of one's crushed hope. He knew that one too well and would recognise it always.
He grabbed her hand and stared down at her. ''Hinata! If something has happened, please tell me!'' ''Because I cannot see that face of yours like that.'' It made his heart ache and he didn't know why.
Said girl smiled at him, but he knew, he knew all too well that it wasn't out of happiness.
''It's alright, thank you.'' And then she wriggled herself out of his grasp and turned around.
''See you at the winter festival, Naruto-kun.''
He stood there, staring after her till he couldn't see her no more. Something was wrong and the way she said his name made him shiver. It felt different from before. It felt like he wasn't there no more.
There was something he didn't know and it made him feel uncomfortable.
Winter festival
The blonde kicked a stone as he walked down the road, nearing the festival side. He just couldn't stop thinking about the way Hinata was acting. She wanted to give him something, that was fine by him, but why did she look like she was about to cry and break down? It made no sense to him. Why would one feel down, when you want to give them something?
He shook his head and grumbled, his hands in his pockets, a faint attempt to keep them warm. Maybe he should've bought a pair of gloves together with his scarf.
'' Narutoooo!'' Said boy looked up, staring at his pink-haired teammate. He smiled and jogged towards her and his friends.
Everyone was there. They smiled at him, knowing they were complete now.
But as everyone was greeting him, the only thing that mattered for him was to find Hinata. He was craning his neck trying to find the heiress. And when he saw her standing behind Shikamaru, talking to Kiba and Shino, he sighed. She wasn't looking sad today, but rather happy and content. It made him smile. And when she turned around, looking at him with those gorgeous eyes of hers, smiling at him, he could only blush and scratch his cheek.
The Konoha 11 made their way through the crowd to try out the booths and find some food, afterall Naruto and mostly Chouji were complaining about 'how hungry' they were.
''Let's try this!'' Sakura said giddily, pointing at a kunai throwing game. Tenten grinned at them and the girls made their way to the stand. It resulted in them winning every game. The owner wasn't really happy about that, but what could he do? Those were well-trained kunoichis after all!
Shikamaru sighed at that. ''How troublesome'' Which made Chouji grin.
As the evening was proceeding Naruto couldn't stop keeping track of what Hinata was doing and shooting her glances here and then. The Hyuuga didn't notice thankfully. It would only make him feel embarrassed.
As the day was ending and the fireworks show was soon to start he noticed that her smiles were getting less and less, even though all of them had great fun. She would occasionally look around or bite her lip, sighing or shuffling her feet. Sometimes he would catch her staring at him and he would smile at her, which made her blush for a moment and stutter out an apology. It was cute, but he saw the way she was knitting her brows afterwards as if she was thinking about something difficult and it made him worried. She wasn't as happy as she should be. Of course she didn't want anyone to know, that's the reason why she would smile sometimes at her friends when they made a joke or two.
Naruto of course noticed, but didn't say anything. He would just have to wait when they were alone.
An hour later she would grasp the back of his jacket and he would blink at her. As she tried to say something he couldn't understand, it was too loud as there were too many people around them.
He grabbed her hand and led her to a nearby building, jumping on it's roof.
''Man they were way too loud down there, don't ya think-ttebayo?'' Naruto stated and grinned at her. Hinata nodded wordlessly at him. ''So whatcha wanna tell me, hm?''
He could see her swallow, take in a deep breath. Her eyes would avoid his, her feet shuffling and hands nervously clasping each other.
The blonde frowned at that. As he was about to grab her hands from shaking, she spoke up.
'' I made something for you Naruto-kun.'' He blinked. Ah yes, he almost forgot.
Hinata rummaged through her bag and found what she was looking for. She clasped the red thing in her hands in a nervous habit.
The girl swallowed thickly. There was no way back now.
She held the scarf in front of her and blushed.
''I made this for you, it's a knitted scarf. Seeing as you had none a week ago I thought it would be a nice gift.. but w-well now that I see you have o-one I just we-well you probably don't need it, but I really would like to give it to you a-an-''
''Hinata.'' He interrupted her to calm her down.
His eyes softened and he smiled, a faint blush on his cheeks. ''Thank you so much.'' He breathed.
The way he was looking at the scarf, made Hinata's breath hitch and she wasn't sure how she could tell him about her feelings.
He was reaching out for it, smiling so prettily and happily , that he didn't even know what to say. There wasn't anything that could describe how content he was. No one ever did something like that for him, not even on his birthday. She was the first to ever give him such a wonderful and self-made object. It brought happy tears to his eyes and he tried his best to cover it up. He couldn't cry now!
But the moment took a dramatic turn, that he wasn't even sure how to handle.
''There's something I have to tell you.'' The heiress whispered and he almost didn't hear it. Staring at her, he waited for her to keep on going, his hand stilling in front of the scarf. ''Huh? Sure, what is it?''
Her grip on the scarf tightened and she bit her lip. She then stared up at him in sorrow, her eyes filled with sadness.
''I thought about this for a long time, Naruto-kun and I never thought this day would come...b-but..but I..'' She felt like drowning, like she couldn't breath no more, but she had to do this.
He opened his mouth, but clamped it shut again as she continued.
'' I love you Naruto-kun. I always have and always will. I know that there's nothing in the world that would stop me from loving you.''
His eyes widened. They way she said it didn't make him feel warm though. It sounded sorrowful and his stomach started to feel tight and his breath hitched.
''That's why I've decided something.''
She took a breath and exhaled, closing her eyes for a moment. As she looked up again, staring into his eyes, she could see the stars reflecting in them and the confusion held behind them.
All he could do was stare at her. She was still smiling and he could swear she was close to tears. But why? Why was she looking at him like this? It was different from the time she confessed her love to him, so why was she staring at him as she's giving up hope?
''Hinata?'' He dared to ask. At this point he wasn't sure if his voice was still working. It felt more like a ghost of a whisper escaping his tongue. And all of his worries and the way his stomach felt tight, his throat as if it were strangled, he saw her lips move and his eyes widened.
''I'm giving up on you, Naruto-kun.''
And for the first time in forever his heart felt like it was about to break into pieces.
DUNNN DUNNN CLIFF HANGER!
So after i saw this movie poster for Naruto: The Last where Naruto reaches out his hand for Hinata, but she just stares at hers with those blank eyes, I had this thought. ''What if Hinata is giving up on him after so long'', but I also find the theory of her losing her memories quite interesting. That's why I started this story :D
Also I'm sorry for my bad english xD My native language is german! I hope you enjoyed this nontheless!